Roasting fennel bulbs brings out all the tender, buttery notes we love and locks in all the moisture. If you’ve scrolled through roasted fennel recipes time after time and still haven’t found the one – bookmark this! You’ll never go back after! With only 5 ingredients and 20 minutes, this simple roast fennel recipe yields a restaurant-worthy side that’s vegan, low-carb, super-healthy, and a dream to serve with everything from Roast Chicken to Baked Salmon and beyond. For more simple, healthy roast veggie sides, try our Roasted Beets, Roasted Onions, or sweet Roasted Acorn Squash.
What Does Roasted Fennel Taste Like?
Fennel bulbs have a complex and rich flavor profile with notes of licorice, anise, and hints of mint! While it’s delicious shaved into a fresh, Easy Fennel Salad, roasted fennel has such a unique flavor. Roasted fennel has a buttery, caramelized flavor with very mild licorice notes while raw fennel provides a crunch and sweet, stronger licorice flavor like in our. We also love a sautéed version such as in our Spicy Gnocchi with Fennel and Mushrooms.
How To Cut Fennel for Roasting
For our roast fennel recipe, we take big beautiful roast fennel bulbs and slice them right down the middle to slightly caramelize all the outer layers which create a beautiful centerpiece and vessel for garlic and olive oil. If you haven’t worked with fennel bulbs before, no worries. Here’s what to do:
Start with a sharp knife. Always your best friend in the kitchen, and particularly when working with veggies.
Take your fennel bulb and remove any stalks and leafy fronds. You can compost all of that, OR save the stalks to use in place of celery (think soups!) and fronds for a gorgeous, simple garnish.
Next, sit your fennel wide-side-up, and slice it in half. It should look similar to the inside of an onion, with the slices running vertically.
Now, lay the halves cut side down and cut into ½ -inch wedges or ⅓-inch wide half-moons for perfect slices. If you’re looking for a versatile root veggie, fennel roasted (or raw) is your gal.
How to Roast Fennel, Step-By-Step
In less than 30 minutes, you’ll have perfectly soft and buttery pieces of caramelized fennel waiting to be enjoyed! Even those who might be licorice adverse have raved about this recipe – as you roast them, the anise/licorice flavors take a back seat.
Crank that oven: We turn our oven up to 425°F in order to achieve the high heat, short time cooking method which produces a slightly sweet, tender interior.
Season the fennel: We only use garlic, salt and pepper to keep the roast fennel the star of the show! Make it your own by shaving some Parm over the top or adding a few additional herbs, like a sprinkling of fresh thyme.
Roast away! Spread out in a single layer so that each fennel slice will be equally tender and caramelized! Pro tip: If you love caramelization as much as we do, pop the broiler on for 1-2 minutes until the edges crisp up a tad. To avoid burning, don’t take your eyes off them!
What to Serve With Roast Fennel
Slightly sweet, roasted fennel is great on its own but thanks to its sweet, earthy flavor, it goes with so many things!
Try serving roast fennel as a perfect side dish for roast chicken dishes — try it with such as Easy Lemon Chicken, Spatchcocked Grilled Chicken, or even Grilled Chicken Thighs.
Or, as an elegant partner for slightly more fancy, holiday-level meals, like Pork Loin Roast or in Salmon en Papillote.
Or, take the roasted fennel and add it to salads like this Grilled Halloumi Salad or Simple Green Salad.
Last but not least, roast fennel shines as the main event in our super simple, Pasta with Roasted Fennel.
More Easy Roast Veggie Sides
Say Goodbye To The Winter Blues With Roast Fennel
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