• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Everyday Healthy Recipes
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipe Index
  • About Me
  • Contact
  • Cookie Policy
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipe Index
    • About Me
    • Contact
    • Cookie Policy
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • Ă—

    Home » Recipes » Soups/Salads

    Simple Fennel Soup

    May 26, 2021 By Monika Last Updated December 10, 2021 8 Comments

    Jump to Recipe

    This simple fennel soup is creamy, nutritious and made using a handful of ingredients. It’s a delicious way of enjoying this vegetable, incredibly easy to make and perfect as a light meal. Made without potatoes or heavy cream and ready in under 30 minutes!

    You might also like simple brussels sprout soup!

    Top down view of creamy fennel soup in white bowl with spoon, chives and cheese in background.

    This delicious fennel soup is very simple to put together.  It is made by first gently cooking the fennel along with a handful of popular soup base ingredients (i.e. onion, garlic and celery) and then adding in stock.  This method helps bring out the lovely, sweetish, light aniseed flavour of the fennel. 

    Fennel is an ideal vegetable to use in a soup.  It cooks quickly, retains its distinct, complex flavour in cooking and makes a surprisingly effective natural thickener.  So it can turn even a minimalist dish, such as this soup, into a flavourful meal. Plus it’s incredibly nutritious!

    Good to know

    Despite a generous amount of fennel in this soup the aniseed flavour is quite mellow. 

    Ingredients and substitutions for making fennel soup

    • Fennel bulbs: For maximum flavour use medium size, firm bulbs with bright green stalks.
    • Spinach: Used for colour. You will not taste it in the finished dish.
    • Butter: Adds flavour. Use plant-based spread for a vegan option.
    • Oil: Used alongside the butter for ‘sweating’ the vegetables. Prevents the butter from browning.
    • Fennel seeds: Intensify the flavour.
    • Stock: Use either vegetable or chicken stock.
    Ingredients for making fennel soup on top of tin tray.

    How to prepare the fennel

    Start by rinsing your fennel bulbs thoroughly.  Cut off the roots (if present) and trim off the green stalks 1-2 inches above the bulb (they are quite tough and fibrous).  You can use the leafy fennel fronds that grow out of the stalks for garnish if you like.

    Many recipes recommend cutting out the core of the fennel but it is not necessary to do for this recipe. You can chop it up along with the rest of the vegetables.

    Cut the bulb lengthwise then cut the halves again so that you end up with 4 parts.  Slice each part across quite thinly (into approx. 5mm strips).

    Top tip

    Fennel discolours quickly so use it as soon as you’ve prepared it.

    How to buy fennel bulbs

    Look for firm bulbs, with no blemishes, dark spots etc.  The feathery tops (fronds) should be bright green.

    Tips for storing

    Store fresh fennel bulbs in a plastic bag in the fridge for up to 4 days.  Any leftover fennel pieces can be wrapped in a damp paper towel, placed in a plastic bag and refrigerates.

    Step-by-step recipe instructions

    1.In a large pot heat up the oil, butter and fennel seeds and cook gently until the butter has melted. 

    2. Add the onion, garlic, celery and fennel, season lightly, stir and cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes stirring often.

    Cooking chopped fennel for soup in large pot.

    3. Cover, lower the heat and ‘sweat’ the vegetable mixture for about 10 minutes or until the fennel is tender, stirring often (do not let the vegetables brown).

    4. Add most of the stock, cover and bring to the boil then lower the heat and cook for about 5 minutes.

    Cooking fennel soup in large pot with blue spoon.

    5. Add the spinach and continue cooking for another minute. 

    Adding spinach to chunky fennel soup in large pot with blue spoon.

    6. Remove from the heat and puree the soup.  Top up with the remaining stock if needed, adjust the seasoning and serve.

    Pureeing fennel soup in large pot with hand blender.

    How to make this soup exceptionally creamy

    If you only use a hand blender your fennel soup will be smooth and creamy but probably not exceptionally smooth and creamy! You might be ok with this but if you want to achieve truly fantastic results I recommend pureeing the soup in a high-speed blender (with or without using the hand blender first).  It’s best to do this in batches (especially if your soup is hot).

    You can, theoretically, pass the soup through a fine mesh sieve, but the results aren’t as good.  The soup is likely to be thinner as a lot of the fennel pulp will simply not go through the sieve.

    Using a blender means nothing gets wasted and you’ll enjoy a velvety smooth, creamy soup!

    Serving suggestions

    This fennel soup is delicious on its own but can also be served with a myriad of toppings including:

    • Grated parmesan, or another strong hard cheese
    • Crumbled feta
    • Fresh chives or dill
    • A dollop of sour cream or yogurt (or coconut yogurt for a vegan option)
    • Croutons, garlic bread, cheesy breadsticks, soda bread, your favourite bread
    • A drizzle of olive oil (or try adding a few drops of walnut oil)
    Side view of creamy fennel soup in white bowl with spoon, chives, vegetable peeler and cheese in background.

    Top tips

    • If your fennel comes with long stalks you can add these into a soup (such as chicken broth) or stew for a hint of aniseed flavour.
    • Once you’ve prepared the fennel bulbs use them immediately as fennel discolours quickly.
    • ‘Sweat’ the vegetable mixture (fennel plus the rest of the vegetables) with a bit of seasoning before adding the stock.  This will help the fennel release more flavour.
    • Use hot stock – the soup will cook faster.
    • It is important to cook the soup very briefly once you’ve added the spinach (so it retains its bright green colour).
    • Reserve some of the stock to add later (after you’ve pureed the soup) if necessary.  This fennel soup should be quite thick (adding too much stock may mask the flavour of the fennel or lessen its intensity).
    • Best served hot.
    • I like to use a generous amount of white pepper in this soup but black pepper will work too.
    • Freeze for up to 3 months.

    Other fennel recipes you might like

    • Creamy Beet Soup with Fennel
    • Pasta Bake with Fennel and Cherry Tomatoes
    • Easy Vegetable Casserole with Roasted Vegetables & Beans

    For more light meal ideas see my other soup and salad recipes.

    Keep in touch!

    If you make this creamy fennel soup recipe I’d love to know how it turned out for you. What ingredients did you use as garnish? Let me know in the comments below, thanks!

    Follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for regular recipe updates! Or you could subscribe to this blog and receive all my latest recipes right in your mailbox!

    Top down view of creamy fennel soup in white bowl with spoon.

    Simple Fennel Soup

    This simple fennel soup is creamy, nutritious and made using a handful of ingredients. It’s a delicious way of enjoying this vegetable, incredibly easy to make and perfect as a light meal.
    4.92 from 12 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Lunch
    Cuisine: gluten free, vegetarian
    Prep Time: 8 minutes
    Cook Time: 21 minutes
    Total Time: 29 minutes
    Servings: 6 servings
    Calories: 90kcal
    Author: Monika Dabrowski

    Ingredients

    • 1.1 pounds (500 g) fennel bulbs rinsed, trimmed weight, see Instructions for preparation tips
    • 1 onion finely chopped
    • 1 garlic clove finely chopped
    • 1 celery stalk finely chopped
    • ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
    • 1.76 ounces (50 g) baby spinach handful
    • 1 tablespoon butter regular or plant-based
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 2½ cups (600 ml) vegetable stock
    • Sea salt and white pepper to taste

    Instructions

    • To prepare the fennel start by rinsing the bulbs thoroughly.  Cut off the roots (if present) and trim off the green stalks 1-2 inches above the bulb (they are quite tough and fibrous).  You don't need to cut out the core.
      Cut the bulb lengthwise then cut the halves again so that you end up with 4 parts.  Slice each part across quite thinly (into approx. 5mm strips).
    • In a large pot heat up the oil, butter and fennel seeds and cook gently until the butter has melted. 
    • Add the onion, garlic, celery and fennel, season lightly, stir and cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes stirring often.
    • Cover, lower the heat and ‘sweat’ the vegetable mixture for about10 minutes or until the fennel is tender, stirring often (do not let the vegetables brown).
    • Add most of the stock, cover and bring to the boil then lower the heat and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the spinach and continue cooking for another minute. 
    • Remove from the heat and puree the soup.  Top up with the remaining stock if needed, adjust the seasoning and serve.

    Notes

    • If your fennel comes with long stalks you can add these into a soup (such as chicken broth) or stew for a hint of aniseed flavour.
    • Once you’ve prepared the fennel bulbs use them immediately as fennel discolours quickly.
    • ‘Sweat’ the vegetable mixture (fennel plus the rest of the vegetables) with a bit of seasoning before adding the stock.  This will help the fennel release more flavour.
    • Use hot stock – the soup will cook faster.
    • It is important to cook the soup very briefly once you’ve added the spinach (so it retains its bright green colour).
    • Reserve some of the stock to add later (after you’ve pureed the soup) if necessary.  This fennel soup should be quite thick (adding too much stock may mask the flavour of the fennel or lessen its intensity).
    • To make your soup exceptionally creamy I recommend pureeing it (in batches) in a high-speed blender.
    • Best served hot.
    • Serve with fresh chives, dill, grated parmesan, crumbled feta, a dollop of yogurt, garlic bread or croutons.
    • I like to use a generous amount of white pepper in this soup but black pepper will work too.
    • Freeze for up to 3 months.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 90kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 98mg | Potassium: 511mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 955IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 1mg

    *Nutritional information is automatically generated and should be considered as an estimate.

    **A note about baking: If using a fan-assisted oven refer to your appliance's instructions and adjust the temperature accordingly.

    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @Monika8021 or tag #EverydayHealthyRecipes!
    « Vegetarian Moussaka (Mushrooms and Lentils)
    Creamy Dill Mustard Sauce Recipe (Low Fat) »
    102 shares

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    1. dede

      January 04, 2023 at 8:36 pm

      4 stars
      Very tasty and easy to make. I like the suggestion at the bottom to add parmesan cheese. I would probably add a few croutons as well next time.

      Reply
      • Monika

        January 04, 2023 at 10:07 pm

        Croutons would be great with this soup:)

        Reply
    2. Jane

      November 16, 2022 at 7:17 pm

      5 stars
      Delicious! I only had 1 fennel bulb so I had to quarter the amounts, but it turned out very well. Might be a nice christmas eve recipe!

      Reply
      • Monika

        November 17, 2022 at 9:32 am

        Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for your feedback:)

        Reply
    3. Robertjm

      June 14, 2022 at 3:53 am

      How many servings are in this recipe? It’s unclear from the instructions. Certainly not the entire thing.

      Reply
      • Monika

        June 14, 2022 at 9:59 am

        Servings are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of the post, just above the ingredients. You should get approx. 6 servings.

        Reply
    4. Iona

      November 14, 2021 at 10:35 am

      5 stars
      Fabulous soup, easy to make and tasty

      Reply
      • Monika

        November 15, 2021 at 11:56 am

        Great to know, thanks for the feedback:)

        Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I am Monika, welcome to Everyday Healthy Recipes! This blog is all about simple recipes with a healthy twist, old classics with a modern take, and an occasional Polish dish thrown into the mix - all easy to make, healthy and delicious, perfect for everyday cooking.

    Find out more about me →

    Popular Posts

    • Authentic Polish Potato Dumplings (Kopytka)
    • Spinach & Feta Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
    • Mediterranean Vegetable Stew with Beans
    • Leek and Potato Dumpling Stew (Vegan)

    Polish Recipes

    • Authentic Polish Bigos Stew Recipe
    • 6 Pierogi Recipes Plus Tips for Making Pierogi
    • Polish Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Golabki) in Tomato Sauce
    • Polish Chicken Noodle Soup (Rosol)

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
    • About

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for recipe updates

    Contact

    • Contact

    Copyright © 2023 · Everyday Healthy Recipes