Did you know you can caramelize a fennel bulb with onions? It can become one of the best dishes you've ever tasted! I didn't know that cooking fennel with anise flavor and onions would change the white bulb from ordinary to amazing. This will soon become one of your favorite fennel recipes.
Jump to:
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- It’s a slight upgrade from the usual caramelized onions that we’re all used to serving. Trust me, this caramelized fennel and onions recipe is sure to impress the family and guests!
- This recipe calls for simple ingredients that add incredible flavor.
- This side dish is a great way to use extra fennel. You might have bought it at the farmer’s market or grown it in your garden!
You need to spend some time to get the perfect caramelization of the fennel and onions. The result is worth it!
🛒 Ingredients
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Note: The full list of this recipe ingredients with their amounts and options are listed in the recipe card below.
🗒 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Heat a large skillet with oil and butter and then add the sliced fennel and onions.
- Stir occasionally. Make sure the onions and fennel are well coated. Add some salt and scrape the bottom for any stuck bits. To avoid the vegetables from drying out, lower the heat and add in small amounts of water if needed.
- After 30 minutes of cooking, start to add in the additional ingredients.
- At this point, you will have added the lemon zest, grated parmesan, chopped parsley, lemon juice, and black pepper.
- Remove the pan from the heat.
- Stir all the ingredients well so that all flavors are fully incorporated.
- Check to see that the fennel and onion are caramelized so that they are soft. If not, you can add the pan back to the heat for a little longer.
- Sprinkle the completed dish with slivered basil leaves or the fennel fronds, if desired.
🔪 Equipment
The following are affiliate links. We are a participant i the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
You’ll need the following items to make this pan roasted fennel and onion recipe successfully.
🤔 FAQs
These are the questions we are most frequently asked about making Caramelized Fennel and Onion Recipe.
If you have more fennel than what’s required for this recipe, you can store it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Fennel smells and tastes like sweet black licorice or anise. While this flavor profile is not everyone’s favorite, the caramelization with the onion is simply mouth-watering!
When choosing the perfect bulb, ensure it is clean and free of blemishes or splits. It should be whitish or pale green. The bulb should have a light smell of licorice or anise. Also, check for any flowers, as this means it is no longer fresh.
👩🏻🍳 Tips
- It's important to take your time when sautéing the fennel. This will make the strong licorice flavor milder and sweeter. This is particularly helpful if you don’t enjoy a strong licorice or anise flavor.
- Always use quality fennel when making this dish as it will result in the best taste and help extend storage life too!
- If you don’t anticipate using up excess fennel anytime soon then you may want to freeze it. Just make sure that you first blanch (scald in boiling water) the bulbs before freezing them for a couple of months.
📚 Variations
- Make a spicy version of this recipe by adding in some chili flakes or cayenne pepper.
- Instead of Parmesan cheese, consider sprinkling some crumbled goat cheese throughout the caramelized fennel and onions.
- Try using this caramelized fennel and onions recipe as a topping. It works well on baked brie dip, homemade pizza, or loaded baked potatoes.
- Make a caramelized leek, fennel and onion gratin with this recipe as one of the steps.
🥫 Storage
Caramelized fennel and onions can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You also have the option of freezing this vegetable side dish for up to 3 months.
Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat on the stovetop, adding a little olive oil if needed.
📗 Related Recipes
If you love vegetable dishes like I do, then be sure to add some of my favorite side dish choices such as Lemon Garlic Roasted Mushrooms, Tuscan Kale With Mushrooms And Garlic, Baby Arugula Tossed With Roasted Mushrooms And Leeks, and Lemon Garlic Asparagus With Parmesan.
If you're looking for a quick, zesty Greek-flavored dish, whip up our Mediterranean Chicken and Orzo Pasta recipe. It's ideal for busy nights or easy entertaining.
Sometimes I find myself getting even more excited about a vegetable side dish than the main course!
🍽 Serve with
Caramelized fennel and onions can be enjoyed as a side dish or topping to a delicious main course such as this Grilled Marinated Venison Steak, Italian sausage, or pork chops, roast chicken, or even seafood. It’s also perfect as a garnish to my Portabella Mushroom Pizza Hamburgers!
Of course, nothing has ever stopped me from savoring a slice of freshly baked Dutch Oven Bread with caramelized fennel and onions.
📞 Chiacchierata (chat)
We were at the farmers market going up and down the aisles when I spotted an overflowing bin of fresh fennel bulbs.
I turned to Honey and said, "Look at those bulbs, can you imagine how one of those delicious crunchy bulbs would taste in our orange salad? Let's buy one!"
"You sure, Babe? Look at this cart; it's loaded with vegetables and fruit. Will you be able to use it before it spoils?"
"Absolutely!" My mind kept churning out potential recipes. "Instead, I might use it in a quinoa salad." I'm so excited, fresh vegetables and fruit do that to me. 🙂
What's new? Check out my All Our Way Store on Amazon. We'll be adding more items we love and use or wish we had to make cooking fun and easy.
📝 Recipe Card
If you’re looking for a vegetable side dish that will stand out and transform an ordinary main course into something special then caramelized fennel and onions is a must-try!
The sweet, licorice-flavored fennel goes well with red onion. It is great as a side for roast or grilled meats. You can also use it as a topping or garnish. It can be mixed with cream cheese to make a tasty dip!
If you like fennel, be sure to try Orange Fennel Salad.
We love our caramelized onion. If you're like us, then you have to try out Saucy Tortellini With Caramelized Onion and Spinach. It's a fantastic one-skillet dinner.
And if you want to serve a salad that has the flavors of Southern Italy, try our Antipasto Mediterranean Chickpea Salad.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
📖 Recipe
Caramelized Fennel and Onions – A Slow, Easy Mediterranean Side
Equipment Needed
Ingredients
- 1 large fennel bulb slice fennel into ¼ inch slices.
- 1 large red onion may also use white onion cut in ¼ inch thick slices (halved then sliced lengthwise from root to tip)
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- Kosher salt
- 2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest may use orange zest
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice may use orange juice
- black pepper dash
- Basil leaves rolled and sliced for top optional
Instructions
- Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet uncovered over medium-high heat. Add the sliced fennel and onions and stir to coat. Stir occasionally, after 10 minutes sprinkle the vegetables with about a teaspoon salt. Lower the temperature to medium. You want the pan hot enough to get the caramelization going but not so much that the fennel and onions dry out. If that does happen, add a tablespoon or two of water.
- Stir occasionally, scraping up any bits that are on the bottom. The brown bits are the ones with the most flavor. Cook for another 30 minutes or up to an hour, depending on how impatient you are. The longer it cooks the more caramelized the onions and fennel become. Taste test along the way. The dish will have a lot of flavor and doesn't have to be cooked down all the way.
- When ready to serve, remove the pan from the heat, add in the grated Parmesan cheese, the chopped parsley, lemon zest, and lemon juice, and black pepper.
- Sprinkle with slivered basil leaves, if desired. Or serve with the fennel fronds.
- Pan roasted fennel is excellent served with Italian sausages, pork chops, roast chicken, seafood, or on crostini. I can't think of anything that I wouldn't serve with it.
Notes
Nutrition
Sign up for the emails and never miss another recipe!!
We'll never share your email or send you spam. Promise
Leslie
I've been searching for a recipe to use leftover fennel bulb and I've found it! This was delicious!
Marisa Franca
Hi, Leslie! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. We love it - it has such a unique taste and it goes well with everything. xoxo
Natalie
Caramelized onions are so good. My whole family loves it. But I never imagine adding fennel. I bet it add such a flavor punch. I must make this asap. Looks so delicious.
Jacquelyn Hastert
I love onions, so I know that I will fall quickly in love with these. I would eat them by themselves or a top of steak, burgers, or with fajitas.
Analida Braeger
I love onions so much on just about anything 🙂 these look like theyd be so good inside an omlette or on some shredded hash
Kelly Anthony
I hardly ever cook with fennel so I really enjoyed reading your tips on how to pick out the perfect bulb and how to keep them stored so the are fresh when you are ready to cook them. Such a great read and recipe.
Jenni LeBaron
Wow, I bet these caramelized fennel and onions are so aromatic! I can see these being lovely paired with steak, seafood, or even a good cheese!
Anne Lawton
What could be better than caramelized onions? Adding fennel to them! Such a great idea, now I have to find some fennel so I can make this.
Lorie
I already have a long list of things I want to add these caramelized onions to! IT's been a long time since I have had caramelized fennel--like ages, so this I am super excited for!
Leslie
Oh, I bet this would be amazing on a burger! Sounds like perfection! Thanks for sharing!
Nicolas Hortense
I absolutely love the way you served this fennel! An ingredient I often underestimate.
Sharon
I would add caramelized oninons to most dishes but the addition of fennel to them takes them to another level.
Aleta
The caramelization on this dish is just amazing! I love the simplicity of it and can't wait to make this dish for my husband; he loves fennel and especially onions. Thanks for sharing!
Veena Azmanovv
This is so very creative and yummy. I would surely make some and keep it as a quick and tasty backup for anything. I love it. Thanks.
Marisa Franca
It really does make an excellent side, Veena. Hope you try it.
Gloria
Caramelized onions are so delicious. Worth the effort and patience. This sounds like a great side dish....and I would even use it on pizza. Have you tried French pizza? The topping is caramelized onions. So good....and a bit different than the classic that everyone loves. This is a great side to any meat for sure.
Christine
I love fennel and am always looking for new ways to prepare it - Totally saving this recipe!
Marisa Franca
Hi, Christine! I made it again and put it on pizza. It was amazing!!!!!!
Sasha @ Eat Love Eat
Yum! This looks delicious! I love fennel - I need to use it more often!
Marisa Franca
That's what we're doing Sasha, eating it more often than what we used to. We even had it on pizza.
Erin
This would be lovely on top of some nice fish or chicken. Delicious!
Marisa Franca
Hi, Erin! We do a caramelized onion on tuna but next time I'll mix it up and use this combination.
Hanady @ Recipe Nomad
Thanks for the tips! I just bought fennel yesterday! Can't wait to try it with this recipe!
Marisa Franca
You're welcome, Hanady. Let me know how you like the recipe.
Heather
I absolutetly love fennel and I have never thought using it with carmelized onions. What a gorgeous delicious idea. I cannot wait to try this.
Veena Azmanov
I must admit - I'm a big fan of caramelized onions but never made them with Funnel. This sounds so yum. Can't wait to try this. Thanks Marissa
Marisa Franca
Hi, Veena! You'll be pleasantly surprised at how much better the onion tastes with the fennel.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan
Until we were back in India, I had never tasted fennel and it was a shock when I first got to taste it. It is an acquired taste and now after years of eating it, we love it. Caramelized onions are my weakness and believe it or not my 11 year old loves it more than me. I am going to give this a try.
Marisa Franca
Hello, Sandhya! It is amazing how our children can develop their taste. I hate cilantro the first few times I tried it and now I really like the taste. If you like caramelized onion, you'll love it with fennel.
Kylee from Kylee Cooks
Oh wow, I bet your house smelled AMAZING while this was cooking! I'd have a hard time keeping it for use in recipes, and just eat it with a fork!
Olivia @ Olivia's Cuisine
Caramelized onions are one of my many obsessions. However, I've never tried them with fennel. I also must confess that I don't cook with fennel that often! Need to get on that ASAP!
Marisa Franca
Hello, Olivia! It is so good. We had it last night on our pizza. It sounds crazy but we loved it!!!
Noel Lizotte
I'm such a sucker for the lovely fresh fruit and vegetable displays ... I pile my cart high, then have to get really inventive to get it all eaten before it expires. I can't tell you how many times I've diced and frozen simply because I'm too slow to eat it fresh. sigh.
Marisa Franca
Yes, Noel! I understand. It's just the two of us now but I still want to buy as if there are five. 🙁
Stephanie@ApplesforCJ
I haven't used fennel bulbs very often but this looks like something I would love. Especially since I really love caramelized onions. And I actually just bought a fennel recently and wasn't sure what I was going to make but now I do. Can't wait to try this 🙂
Marisa Franca
If you have any left over, Stephanie, put it on crostini as a topping. Last night we used it on pizza and let me tell you it was AHHHHmaaazing.
Amanda
I love fennel. Thank you for your tips on choosing and storing fennel. This dish is a winner!
Marisa Franca
Thank you, Amanda! I made the fennel tonight to put on our pizza. 🙂
Jennifer A Stewart
I'm not really a huge fan of the fennel flavors. I have a genetic thing that makes it taste like soap. Same with basil and anise and cilantro. I can have it in small amounts but full on is a bit harsh. Thank you for the instructions on how to store it. I am going to whip up this dish for my hubby as I know he likes it and never gets it because of me. DO you thin the roasting will mellow out the licorice flavor a bit?
Marisa Franca
Hi, Jennifer! The slow sauteeing makes for a very mild and sweet flavor. The lemon cuts the sweetness and the Parmesan gives it the salty taste. It is an in your face anise taste. It is milder cooked than raw. If you make it for your husband, you could take a small taste and see how it goes.
Molly Kumar
The salad sounds so delicious and I'm a huge fan of fennel. It's been so cold here this winter that our dinner most of the days is soup, salad and bread. So I'm going to add your salad in our next menu list to try.
PS: that basil plant looks so pretty,
Marisa Franca
Thank you, Molly. Love having fresh basil. Hope you try the dish. It tastes best hot as a side dish but would be wonderful as a crostini topping.
Jai Want
These look beautiful! Yum!
Marisa Franca
Thank you, Jai.
Adriana Lopez Martn
Fennel it is just a lovely ingredient. I like it raw too. Is perfect for salads to add crunch, aroma and flavor. Nice recipe thanks!
Marisa Franca
You're welcome, Adriana. We like it in all forms too.
Christine McMichael
Obsessed with Fennel lately! This looks and sounds like a wonderful side dish. Definitely adding to my list of sides to try out!
Marisa Franca
Hi, Christine! Since you like fennel you'll really like this dish. 🙂
Susie
Anxious to try this recipe......nice change from the ho hum sides. Thanks, Marisa
Marisa Franca
Thank you, Susie! The flavors are delicious yet subtle. Big hugs to you and the family!!
Julie | Bunsen Burner Bakery
Ha - I know the "I'm going to buy this great ingredient and can't wait to use it!" and then forget about it routine so well. You pulled a great recipe for this one - we love Ottolenghi's cookbooks and I can't wait to eat at his restaurant on our upcoming trip to London!
Marisa Franca
Hi, Julie! Oh, I hope you blog all about your experience at the restaurant! Lots of photos. Sometimes I get so excited at a restaurant we dig in before I think of grabbing my phone. Have a great trip!
Kathy McDaniel
I love fennel and caramelizing it with onions is genius! Looks delicious - decadent but light all at the same time! I will add this to my repertoire!! Yummy!!!
Marisa Franca
Hi, Kathy! The taste is so good! Can't wait to make it again.
Pam
I am so bad about buying a cart full of fresh fruits and veggies at the Farmer's market and thinking, "What will I do with this when I get home?" 🙂 I raise fennel in my herb garden so I can't wait to try this at home!
Marisa Franca
Lucky you, Pam! I wish we had the yard space plus the sun where we could have lots of herbs, tomatoes, zucchini, etc. What we do have is a few herbs. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
Karen (Back Road Journal)
I really enjoy the fresh taste of fennel and your recipe sounds like a great side of steak or chicken cooked on the grill.
Marisa Franca
It was perfect with our grilled chicken. Next time I make it I'm saving some to put on crostini.
Byron Thomas
I think fennel is so underused. I was introduced to fennel a few years ago by an Italian ex. Before that, I never had it. I fell in love with the flavour right away.
Marisa Franca
Hi, Byron! We miss the veggie when it's not in season. We love that subtle anise taste.
Lisa DeNunzio
As children we only knew fennel as a ubiquitous vegetable that appeared at the center of a restaurant table along with olives and celery. It is much more fun and flavorful to cook it as you have shown.
Marisa Franca
Hello, Lisa! We've started using fennel much more than what we used to. It adds just a wonderful flavor to a dish and now we discovered it can be the main attraction in a dish. Thank you for commenting. Buona giornata! Abbracci.
Frank
You're so right, Marisa Franca. Fennel develops such as wonderful "soft" flavor when it is slowly braised. It's quite a revelation the first time you try it. I've not tried it, but I can imagine the caramelized onion takes it to yet another level.
elizabeth | Ellie & Elizabeth
I'm starting a clean eating binge and this sounds perfect for me and hubby. It's funny how I love veggies now but not as a kid lol! And I laughed when you still had the fennel six days later because I do the same ??❤. Love it, keep them coming, have a great week!
Marisa Franca
Hi, Elizabeth! Would you believe I bought another fennel and it is sending out an SOS. Looks like I'll be making fennel tonight. 🙂 I guess our tastes now have become more sophisticated and so we like veggies versus just fruit and sweets. 🙂 I'll have to tell you about a new diet I'm going to start. Have a great week. Hugs!
Ciao Chow Linda
I think caramelized onions are one of the best flavors out there. Add caramelized fennel and I would make a pig of myself. I must go buy some and make this recipe. I promise to control myself. Ottolenghi's recipes are always so delicious.
Marisa Franca
Hi, Linda! I'm going to make some more tonight. I bought another fennel, and yes, it's in the fridge and getting to that point. But eating caramelized fennel and onion is not difficult by any means. I will try adding the goat curd like Ottolenghi some time. Buona giornata!
Jovina Coughlin
Delicious side dish. I really like how you made this recipe. I bet it was delicious.
Marisa Franca
Hi, Jovina! The end result was a pleasant surprise. We knew it would be good, but not THAT good. 🙂 Send some fish our way, please.