Roasted Fennel Pasta – Spaghetti tossed with sweet, caramelised roasted fennel, garlic, fresh red chilli and bright lemon zest. This simple, elegant dish comes together with minimal active time and pairs beautifully with a chilled glass of white wine.
Roasting fennel softens its anise notes and transforms it into sweet, caramelised slices that form the heart of this pasta. To balance that sweetness we add lemon zest, garlic and chilli for freshness and a gentle heat.
The longest step is roasting the fennel, but most of that time is hands-off. You can also roast the fennel a day ahead to save time on a busy evening.
This makes a lovely mid-week meal or an easy dinner for guests—serve with chilled wine and enjoy.
See the recipe below for ingredient notes, step-by-step photos, tips, variations and a video tutorial. For the full printable recipe scroll to the bottom or follow the recipe section below.
Ingredients
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Spaghetti – our preference, but any long or short pasta will work.
- Fennel bulbs –choose small to medium bulbs for sweeter flavour and better texture. Avoid bulbs with brown spots or bruising.
- Garlic – use fresh garlic for best flavour.
- Chilli –use ½ to 1 fresh red chilli depending on heat preference; adjust to taste.
- White wine –optional but adds depth; use a drinkable Italian white like Pinot Grigio, Vermentino or Pecorino. Omit if preferred.
- Lemon zest –use unwaxed lemons if possible since the zest is used.
Step by step photos and instructions
Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
Trim the fennel tops and bases, reserve the fronds for garnish, then slice the bulbs and cut into strips. Spread the fennel in a large roasting tin (photos 1 and 2).
Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt, cover with foil and roast for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and roast another 10 minutes until caramelised. Remove from the oven and set aside (photos 3–5).
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the spaghetti until al dente.
Finely chop the garlic and chilli. Warm 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan and add the garlic and chilli (photo 6).
Sauté the garlic and chilli gently for about 1 minute, then add the roasted fennel and stir to coat in the oil. Pour in the white wine and let it reduce by half (photo 7).
Add the drained pasta to the pan and toss with the fennel. Add 1–2 tablespoons of reserved pasta water if needed to loosen the sauce. Turn off the heat, add lemon zest, toss to coat, then serve in bowls garnished with reserved fennel fronds (photo 8).
Recipe tips and FAQs
- Quality ingredients –use good quality pasta, fresh fennel and unwaxed lemons for the best flavour.
- Roasting tray –use a large tray so the fennel pieces have room to caramelise instead of steaming.
- Variations to try –roast cherry tomatoes with the fennel, add sautéed shrimp, or include Italian sausage for a heartier dish.
Yes. Roasting the fennel can be done up to 1 day ahead to save time on the day you serve the pasta.
I don’t recommend freezing the finished pasta, but roasted fennel freezes well and can be defrosted before reheating and tossing with freshly cooked pasta.
More recipes with fennel to try
Sides
Grilled Fennel with Lemon Zest
Sides
Sicilian Fennel and Orange Salad
Sides
Baked Cauliflower Cheese And Fennel
Salads
Fennel Courgette Salad with Smoked Scamorza & Chilli
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Step By Step Photos Above
Most of our recipes include step-by-step photos, helpful tips and a video tutorial to make everything easy to follow.
Roasted Fennel Pasta with Lemon and Chilli
By Emily
Ingredients
- 14 oz spaghetti (400g)
- 3 medium fennel bulbs
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½–1 fresh red chilli
- ¼ cup white wine (60ml)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil plus extra for roasting
- Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
- Trim fennel tops and bases, reserve fronds, slice bulbs into strips and place in a large roasting tin.
- Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt, cover with foil and roast 40 minutes. Uncover and roast 10 more minutes until caramelised. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook spaghetti until al dente.
- Chop garlic and chilli and warm 3 tablespoons olive oil in a frying pan. Sauté garlic and chilli gently for about 1 minute, then add the roasted fennel and stir to coat.
- Add the white wine and reduce by half. Add the pasta and toss with the fennel, adding 1–2 tablespoons reserved pasta water if needed.
- Turn off the heat, add lemon zest, toss to combine and serve garnished with fennel fronds.
Video
Notes
- Quality ingredients – use good pasta, fresh fennel bulbs and unwaxed lemons for best results.
- Roasting tray – give the fennel space to roast rather than steam.
- Variations – try roasted cherry tomatoes, sautéed prawns or Italian sausage.
- Storage – best eaten fresh; you can freeze roasted fennel to speed future preparation.
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- I use extra virgin olive oil unless otherwise stated.
- Vegetable sizes are medium unless noted.
- Recipes are developed using a fan (convection) oven.
- Nutrition is calculated automatically and should be used as an approximation.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should be treated as an approximation.
