Fennel Soup

With just a short list of simple ingredients, this easy fennel soup recipe lets the fennel’s delicate and perfectly sweet flavor shine. Creamy and yet dairy-free, this fennel soup is a comforting dinner or first course that takes just 15 minutes of hands-on time. 

Fennel is an under-appreciated and highly versatile vegetable. When you serve it raw for a shaved Fennel Salad it has an elegant, crisp anise flavor. When you roast it, it’s sweet and buttery with a milder tarragon flavor. And when you simmer it for fennel soup, it becomes meltingly tender, making it perfect for pureeing into a completely dairy-free and decadently creamy soup (and easily vegan if you use vegetable broth). 

While fennel is available year-round, it’s a cool-weather crop with its peak season in fall through early spring. For this fennel soup recipe, I prefer to keep things simple, keeping the ingredient list short to highlight everything fennel offers. There’s beauty in simplicity.

But there are also endless opportunities. I also use this soup as a base recipe for playful variations and delicious pairings, from substituting parsnips or carrots for the potatoes to adding spices like paprika or saffron.

This easy fennel soup is creamy and aromatic on its own—a comfort for cold days. But I’ve added some of my favorite variations that you can try below. No matter how you choose to make it, serve it with some crusty bread or a grilled cheese sandwich.

Table of Contents

1. Ingredients for this Fennel Soup Recipe
2. What is Fennel?
3. How to Dice Fennel 
4. How to Make Fennel Soup
5. Ways to Mix it Up
6. What to Serve with Fennel Soup
7. More Fennel Recipes
8. Fennel Soup Recipe Recipe

Ingredients for this Fennel Soup Recipe

This simple fennel soup only requires a handful of ingredients. Choose fennel bulbs that are firm and feel heavy for their size. Here’s everything you’ll need.

• Extra virgin olive oil: Olive oil prevents the onion and fennel from sticking to the pan while sautéing and adds richness. I like the mild and buttery flavor of our California Arbequina in this soup.
• Onion: Slowly cooked diced onion forms the aromatic base for the soup.
• Garlic: Sweet and nutty garlic complements the fennel.
• Yukon gold potato: I use potato to thicken the soup and make it creamy without adding cream.
• Fennel bulb: Fennel bulb has a sweet and mild anise flavor that perfumes the soup. Save the fronds for garnish and the stalks for homemade Vegetable Broth.
• Chicken stock or vegetable stock: Stock adds body and flavor to the soup. Use homemade or your favorite store-bought, making sure to taste and adjust for salt.
• Fennel seeds: The anise flavor in fennel bulb is delicate, so I like to enhance it with fennel seeds. You can leave them out if you prefer it milder.
• Salt and pepper: Enhance the other flavors in the soup.

What is Fennel?

Fennel is an aromatic vegetable related to carrots and parsley with a mild licorice flavor. It was first cultivated around the Mediterranean. It has a white bulb end, green stalks, and frilly leaves called “fronds” that resemble dill.

When raw, the bulb has a crisp texture and fresh flavor. Cooking brings out its sweetness and makes it meltingly tender. While the bulb is the most commonly used part, the whole plant is edible. Use the stalks to flavor chicken and vegetable stocks, and the fronds as a garnish or addition to salads.

How to Dice Fennel 

For this fennel soup recipe, I dice fennel just like I would an onion:

• Trim: Use a vegetable peeler to peel away any bruised spots, then use a chef’s knife to separate the stalks and the bulb. (Save the frilly dark green fronds for garnishing the soup and the stalks for making homemade stock, if desired.)
• Cut the bulb in half vertically. I leave in the core for this fennel soup recipe since it cooks long enough to soften and will be puréed later.
• Thin. Work with one-half at a time. Lie the bulb flat with the cut side down on the cutting board. Slice a series of vertical cuts from the top of the bulb to the root end, parallel to each other, about 1/4 inch apart, leaving the root end intact.
• Slice. Make a couple of horizontal slices parallel to the cutting board, again, not cutting all the way through the root so the bulb remains intact. 
• Slice the other way. Finally, dice the fennel with vertical cuts perpendicular to the first set of vertical cuts. 

How to Make Fennel Soup

This easy fennel soup requires about 15 minutes of hands-on time while you sweat the onions and fennel, taking in the irresistible sweet anise scent. Then, simply leave it to simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes. You’ll need an immersion or regular blender to puree the soup. Here are the steps:

• Get prepped: Dice 1 large onion. Trim and dice 2 large (or 3 small) fennel bulbs. Optionally, if your fennel came with the dark green frilly “fronds” at the top, save them for garnish. Mince 3 garlic cloves. Peel and dice 1 pound of Yukon gold potatoes into 1/2-inch cubes. 
• Sweat the onions and fennel: Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a Dutch oven or large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, fennel bulb, and 1 teaspoon fennel seeds. Cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Simmer the soup: Add the potatoes and 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Cook until the potatoes are fork tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Puree the soup: Blend the soup using an immersion blender, or transfer to a blender, working in batches with the steam cap off, then return to the pan.
• Serve: Ladle the soup into bowls. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil, cracked black pepper, and fennel fronds if you’d like. 

Ways to Mix it Up

Fennel has a delicate flavor that is highlighted in a simple preparation. But the mild licorice aroma complements many other flavors as well. You can use this as a base recipe to be adapted into countless other comforting soups. Here are some of my favorite variations on this easy fennel soup:

• Tomato and Fennel Soup: After sweating the onions and fennel, add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste along with the minced garlic. Replace the potato with one 28-ounce can of chopped tomatoes and reduce the stock to 2 1/2 cups. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes before puréeing the soup.
• Apple and Fennel Soup: Substitute 1 pound of peeled, cored, and chopped apples for the potato. I like to use a tart apple like Granny Smith.
• Paprika: Along with the minced garlic, add 3 tablespoons tomato paste, 2 teaspoons smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, and 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (you can stock up on all these spices and more at our shop).
• Saffron: Add a generous pinch of saffron threads (about 1/2 teaspoon) along with the stock.

What to Serve with Fennel Soup

Slices of fluffy Focaccia or crispy Sesame Breadsticks are perfect for dipping into this fennel soup. Serve with an easy salad like Lemon Parmesan Lettuce Salad or lemony Greek Maroulosalata.

When I make the tomato and fennel variation of this soup, I especially like a cheesy accompaniment like Pita Grilled Cheese, or crispy Fried Goat Cheese.

More Fennel Recipes

Soups and Stews

Lentil Potato Soup with Homemade Croutons

Italian

Italian Sausage and Lentils with Fennel

Sides and Small Plates

Roasted Fennel with Parmigiano Cheese

Meat and Poultry

Braised Chicken Thighs with Grapes and Fennel

Browse all Mediterranean recipes. 

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