The 5 Best Substitutes for Fennel

Fennel is a dynamic vegetable; it finds its way onto our plates in many ways. Add a beautiful crunch to fresh salads, taste the pop of fennel seeds in your morning breakfast sausage, or get a wisp of lacey fennel fronds as a garnish.

Unfortunately, fresh fennel can be hard to find year-round, and not every grocery store always has fennel seed, so these snaky swaps are perfect for those times when you can't get your hands on fennel in any form.

What Does Fennel Taste Like

Fennel can refer to either the bulb or the seed of the fennel plant. Both have somewhat similar licorice flavors, but they have much different uses. Fennel bulbs have a texture similar to onions; they are stacks of fibrous layers, though fennel is more fibrous and stringy than onion. Each layer is more similar to the texture of celery.

When eaten raw, fennel bulb has a crisp, crunchy bite and a sweet, anise-like flavor. In order to enjoy fennel raw, it's best to shave it very thin to preserve its crunchy texture without the unpleasantness of the fibers running the length of the bulb.

Like onions, fennel becomes much sweeter when it's cooked down. It's heartier than onions, so it retains its bite much longer but it caramelizes beautifully with some time and patience. The licorice-like flavor is tamped down significantly when cooked; it takes on more of a "brown" flavor. Once caramelized, it's difficult to discern fennel from onions on flavor alone.

Fennel seeds are tiny, pod-like seeds from the fennel plant. They may be small, but they pack a wallop; fennel seeds are extremely flavorful. They're loaded with flavor-carrying oils, so their licorice-like flavor is prominent. Fennel seeds are much more potent than the blub, and the seeds lack the fresh sweetness that the bulb has.

Best Fresh Fennel Substitutes

Onion

In recipes where fennel is caramelized or deeply cooked for long periods, reach for a yellow or white onion to substitute. Both get nicely caramelized and easily take on lots of browning. Plus, long-cooked fennel has almost the exact same texture as long-cooked onions. Substitute equal amounts of onions for fennel in recipes.

Celery

Raw fennel has a big crunch and slightly stringy texture, just like celery. This swap works excellent both for raw and cooked recipes, but since raw fennel is hard to substitute, this swap is most common in recipes that call for raw fennel, like salads.

Leeks

Leeks have a mild onion flavor, so they're a perfect replacement for sauteed fennel, where it's not quite fully caramelized. Opt for leeks when you still want a little bit of texture; leeks and fennel have a similar fibrousness that makes leeks the perfect swap here. Depending on the size and usable portion of your leek, one large leek should easily replace one small fennel bulb.

Best Fennel Seed Substitutes

Anise

Fennel, both fresh and the seed, tastes very licorice-like, so anise is the perfect swap when it comes to swapping out fennel seed. Star anise works especially well in brines or marinades where the spices are left whole; use one star anise pod per teaspoon of whole fennel seed. Anise seed can also be substituted for fennel seeds; just use half as much anise seed as fennel seed.

Caraway

If you find yourself with a recipe that calls for whole fennel seeds to be left in the final product, like in homemade sausage, caraway seeds are the perfect swap. They're very similar in taste to fennel seeds and look almost identical. Caraway seeds can also be used for recipes like fennel butter, where the recipe calls for ground fennel. Swap them in an equal ratio for fennel seeds.

Related:

• Easy Fennel Recipes
• 7 Roasted Fennel Recipes That Are Delicious and Nutritious