This braised fennel recipe is a delicious side dish for chicken, fish, or seafood. It has become one of my favorite ways to cook fennel.
Fennel is so underrated. It’s naturally sweet with a light licorice flavor. In this fennel recipe, we lean into that flavor and add fresh orange, which brightens and balances everything. It’s simple, but so good.
If fennel feels intimidating, don’t worry. Once you’ve cooked it, you’ll see how versatile it is. This is a great place to start if you’ve never made it before.
Key Ingredients
- Fennel: Choose fennel bulbs that are mostly white with pale green tops. They should feel firm and heavy for their size, without browning or soft spots. For this recipe, we use the bulb (the bottom part). You can save the stalks for homemade stock if you’d like.
- Orange: Fennel and orange are a classic pairing. We use both the zest and juice from half an orange to brighten the flavor. If you don’t have a fresh orange, a splash of orange juice works.
- Stock: Braising means we gently cook the fennel in liquid. Part of that liquid comes from the orange, and the rest is stock or broth. Both chicken broth and vegetable broth work well here.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Braised Fennel
Tip 1: How to cut the fennel. If fennel is new to you, it can look a bit intimidating, but it’s actually very simple to prepare.
- Pull off a few of the feathery green fronds at the top and save them. They make a beautiful garnish.
- Remove the stalks. You can save them to add to broth or stock later.
- Working with the bulb, trim the very bottom (just enough to clean it up), then cut the bulb in half.
- Use your knife to make two angled cuts to remove the core.
- Slice each half into wedges, keeping the end of the bulb attached. This helps the wedges hold their shape while cooking.
Tip 2: Cooking the fennel. Use a wide pot with a lid (a Dutch oven works well). Start by browning the fennel wedges in a bit of olive oil to add flavor and color. Then add the orange zest, orange juice, and broth. This creates a simple braising liquid that gently steams and simmers the fennel, making it tender and so flavorful. Once the pot is covered, it only needs about 8 minutes to finish cooking.
Serving Suggestions
This veggie side is especially good with light mains like poached salmon, baked salmon, perfectly cooked scallops, and this cilantro lime shrimp. I also love it with roasted chicken or this roasted turkey breast (which also has orange).
Pork and fennel go really well together, too. Try this with pork chops, pork milanese, or simply cooked pork tenderloin. And for a vegetarian option, spoon the braising liquid over couscous, quinoa, or farro, and add a heaping cup of garlicky white beans.
More Fennel Recipes
- Apple Salad
- Shaved Fennel and Arugula Salad
- White Wine Seafood Stew
- Perfect Fennel Salad – with lemon dressing and parmesan
Easy Braised Fennel
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
Most often, you’ll find fennel with stalks still attached. For this fennel recipe, we’re after the bulb, but make sure you keep the stalks and fronds for another day. Use the fronds as you would fresh herbs, and save the stalks for a future homemade stock (see our chicken stock recipe).
You Will Need
2 medium fennel bulbs
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium orange
¾ cup chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water
Salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
1Prepare the fennel: Cut off the stems/stalks from the fennel bulb, reserving some fronds (the wispy green tips). Slice the fennel in half lengthwise. Make two angled cuts to remove the tough core. Then cut the halves into ½-inch-thick wedges. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
2Prepare the orange: Use a microplane zester to zest about half of the orange.
3Brown the fennel: Heat olive oil in a medium pot with a lid over medium-high heat. Add the fennel wedges and brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side.
4Braise: Reduce heat to low, add orange zest, the juice of half an orange, and stock, and cook, covered, until fennel is tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve with a few reserved fennel fronds sprinkled on top.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. It reheats well on the stovetop over low heat or in the microwave. If it looks a little dry when reheating, add a splash of broth or water to bring it back to life.
- Serving: You can serve this hot, cold, or room temperature. They’re actually delicious cold tucked into grain bowls, salads, or alongside other chilled roasted vegetables.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
Question: do you store in the liquid? Thanks!
I am assuming you mean the fennel? I don’t, but usually end up using it up quickly after buying it.
We cooked this braised fennel and orange last night for our wintery dinner down here in Melbourne Australia and it was sensational along side or whole baked flathead. I have saved this recipe into my collection of favourites. Cheers, Garry
I made this last night to accompany some seared scallops. Nice and simple preparation, and very tasty. I’ll be making it again for sure.
I found the outer layer to be a little tough still. Next time I’d probably braise it an extra minute or two. Could have just been my fennel too, it was rather large.
Hi Adam and Joanne – that fennel looks delicious! I love the idea of braising it and serving it as a side dish.
Fennel is also great with a splash of Pernod. (The Barefoot Contessa’s recipe for lobster pot pie with fennel and Pernod is to die for!)
BTW, KJ said they would be posting the Fish and Corn Pudding Recipe this week – can’t wait!
Cheers,
Kathy
Fennel with Pernod is pretty amazing, Kathy! Not to mention, fennel + lobster + Pernod — there is a reason we all love Ina!
-Joanne and Adam
I’m a big fennel fan…I generally eat it raw as a snack or in salad and I’m totally in agreement that fennel and orange go well together. I’ve recently started braising and adding it to various dishes, most recently with salmon and it was an interesting combination.
We don’t usually have fennel raw – we should try that more often!
Beautiful! I love cooking with fennel, but have never prepared it this way. Time to change that!