This recipe for fennel and apple slaw is a great side dish for Fall recipes, especially for people that don’t like traditional coleslaw. While it can be made any time of year, apples and fennel are both at their peak in the early months of Autum. A fennel apple slaw is easy to make with endless variations and goes especially well with pork.
Crispy apples and subtly sweet fennel are married here with a bit of onion, herbs, and a lemony dressing to create a wonderful side dish for pork entrees. Fennel and apple slaw also works well with sausage, ham, chicken, or beef recipes. This apple slaw was also created as the perfect accompaniment to match my apple cider braised pork shoulder, as a side dish or as a topping on cider pulled pork sandwiches.
As mentioned before, fennel and apple slaw is also a great option for people that don’t like traditional coleslaws. I count myself among that group, as I’m not typically a fan of cabbage, or lots of mayonnaise. This recipe replaces both of those with fresh fall fruits and vegetables and a simple dressing that can be made numerous ways.
Jump to:
🥘 Ingredients
The ingredients are kept short and sweet here, and I’ll split into both the apple fennel slaw, and the lemon dressing.
Fennel and Apple Slaw
Fennel – One medium fennel bulb should be plenty here. Look for a nice, off-white bulb that still has the green fronds attached. That’s usually how it’s sold, but if you get it with the herbs attached, we’ll make use of them.
Apple – One large apple might be enough or use two small to medium apples. The choice of apple is up to you. Granny Smith is a popular choice and adds a nice, tart flavor to the slow. If you prefer things sweeter, go with an apple like Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, or Cosmic Crisp. You’ll also be able to adjust the sweetness with the dressing.
Onion – Use half of a red onion here. They add a bit of color, as well as a subtle sweet and spicey flavor when used raw.
Fennel and Apple Slaw Dressing
Olive Oil – Use a good quality extra virgin olive oil for the base of this dressing.
Lemon – Fresh lemon juice adds a nice punch of acidity to the dressing and a bright citrus flavor to the overall slaw.
Honey – A bit of honey adds flavor and sweetness to this recipe. Along with your choice of apple, honey can help control the overall sweetness of the fennel apple slaw.
Herbs – A small amount of fresh herbs can add some flavor to this type of salad. You can use the fronds from the fennel, which add a very subtle anise flavor and some nice color or choose an additional herb to add here. Good choices include flat leaf parsley, cilantro, mint, basil, tarragon, or dill.
Salt & Pepper – A little salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste. Just use a bit in the dressing and taste everything after you toss it together, then add more if you wish.
🔪 How to Make
Fennel and apple slaw is easy to make and comes together quickly. For the best results, follow the order in the instructions to keep the cut apple from browning.
Start by making the dressing so you can toss the slaw as soon as you’re done cutting. I like to use a small canning jar, but you can also add the ingredients to a large, glass mixing bowl and whisking together. Add the extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, honey, fresh herb of choice, and some salt and pepper to taste. Close the jar and shake vigorously or add everything to a large mixing bowl and whisk together. Set it aside.
Cut the red onion in half through the root end and remove the outer skin from one of the halves. Thinly slice the onion and place it in a bowl of water to soak. This helps to mellow some of the sharpness from raw onion.
Thinly slice the fennel bulb, place the slices on top of each other and thinly slice again into matchsticks. The matchsticks should be around ⅛ to ¼ of an inch. Repeat with the apple in roughly the same size. Optionally, if you have a mandolin with a julienne blade, this can be used for both the fennel and apples.
Drain the onion slices and add them along with the fennel and apple matchsticks to a large, glass mixing bowl. If placing in the same mixing bowl as the dressing, give it a good whisk again before adding the ingredients. Otherwise, shake the jar of dressing again before adding to the bottom of a large, glass mixing bowl and add the fruits and vegetables. Toss everything together and taste, adding more salt and pepper if needed. Set aside to marinade in the dressing for 20-30 minutes before serving for the best flavor.
📖 Variations
This fennel apple slaw recipe is open to numerous variations, from the main ingredients, to making it more of a salad than a slaw, to the dressing flavor profile.
Different Ingredients & Salad Options
No Fennel – If you’re just not a fan of fennel, you can replace it with celery or celeriac. The flavor will change, but both options provide a similar crunch to the raw fennel. Other good options include green onion, leeks, endive, or bok choy (especially the white part).
Apple Options – As mentioned in the ingredients above, you can control the sweetness level of this slaw with your choice of apple. Granny Smith is a great choice for a tart flavor, while Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, or Cosmic Crisp are great for a sweeter flavor. Golden Delicious can also make for a good middle ground.
Apple Cabbage Slaw – If you do prefer a more traditional style of coleslaw, you can also replace the fennel with thinly sliced cabbage instead.
Fennel and Apple Salad – If you want to change this from a slaw into a salad, you can add some more greens for an easy change. The best options for this include arugula and baby spinach. I’d also recommend some extra toppings from the list below this. Other good choices for toppings or mix-ins include pomegranate seeds or chow mein noodles.
Nuts – For a little more crunch that’s not another crisp vegetable, mix in some nuts to the apple slaw or salad. Some toasted and chopped pecans or walnuts work best, pine nuts can work too.
Cheese – Not so much for the slaw version, but for the fennel apple salad version, some cheese goes well also. Shaved, harder cheeses like parmesan or pecorino are good, or something softer like feta.
Dressing Options
Vinaigrette Dressing – If you’d prefer a vinaigrette style dressing instead of the lemony dressing, you can replace the fresh lemon juice with apple cider vinegar instead. If you do this, I recommend at least tossing the apple matchsticks in some lemon juice before putting everything together. This will help keep them from browning.
Coleslaw Dressing – If you want a creamier dressing that’s more like traditional coleslaw dressing, swap out the olive oil for mayonnaise and the honey for Dijon mustard and add apple cider or white vinegar.
Mustard Vinaigrette – If you like a more mustardy flavor while remaining mayo free, swap the honey out for Dijon or stoneground mustard and the lemon juice for apple cider or white wine vinegar.
Maple Dressing – Finally, you can also keep the dressing as it is but swap the honey for real maple syrup for a different flavor in the sweetener.
💭 Frequently Asked Questions
Technically speaking, all parts of fennel are edible. The most used part is the white bulb, which is like cabbage and celery with an anise or licorice flavor. The green fronds are also used as herbs with a less anise flavor and a slight citrus flavor. The stalks tend to be very fibrous and hard when raw, and the best use for them is in stocks to impart flavor and be removed.
Peeling the apples is totally optional. When they’re cut into thin matchsticks, there’s barely any peel left on each piece other than the tips.
🍽 Equipment
Most of what you need to make this fennel and apple slaw is a sharp knife and a big bowl, but here’s a few things that can help.
Glass Bowl – As with all my recipes using fresh fruits and vegetables, I recommend a glass mixing bowl when tossing everything together. Anything non-metal is fine really, because metal mixing bowls can impart a slightly metallic taste.
Mandolin – You can slice everything involved here with a quality, sharp knife, but a good quality mandolin can make quick work of fruits and vegetables that need to be finely and evenly cut. One with a julienne blade option can also make cutting matchsticks a simple task. If using a mandolin, I highly recommend cutting gloves as well.
Small Jars – Totally optional, but I prefer making small amounts of a homemade dressing or vinaigrette in half pint mason jars. They make vigorously mixing ingredients easy and can emulsify vinaigrettes without the need for a blender or immersion blender. The jars are also great for storage if you make a larger batch of any dressing.
❄️ Storage
Because of the fresh ingredients used here, especially once mixed with the dressing, fennel apple slaw is best the day it is made. If you have leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
While it shouldn’t actually go bad quickly, it’s best refrigerated and eaten within 1-2 days of being made. Considering that, if you want to make it ahead of time, I wouldn’t push it much more than the day before you plan on using it.
Does not freeze well, with or without the dressing.
📋 Recipe
Fennel and Apple Slaw
Ingredients
Lemon Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1-2 teaspoons honey
- 1 tablespoon minced fennel fronds, or herb of choice
- ⅛ teaspoon salt, to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Fennel Apple Slaw:
- ½ large red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 bulb fennel, thinly sliced into matchsticks
- 2 med apples, thinly sliced into matchsticks
Directions
- Start by making the dressing so you can toss the slaw as soon as you’re done cutting. I like to use a small canning jar, but you can also add the ingredients to a large, glass mixing bowl and whisking together. Add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, 1-2 teaspoons of honey, 1 tablespoon of minced fresh herb of choice, and some salt and pepper to taste (about ⅛ of a teaspoon each to start). Close the jar and shake vigorously or add everything to a large mixing bowl and whisk together. Set it aside.
- Cut the red onion in half through the root end and remove the outer skin from one of the halves. Thinly slice the onion and place it in a bowl of water to soak. This helps to mellow some of the sharpness from raw onion.
- Thinly slice the fennel bulb, place the slices on top of each other and thinly slice again into matchsticks. The matchsticks should be around ⅛ to ¼ of an inch. Repeat with the apples in roughly the same size. Optionally, if you have a mandolin with a julienne blade, this can be used for both the fennel and apples.
- Drain the onion slices and add them along with the fennel and apple matchsticks to a large mixing bowl. If placing in the same mixing bowl as the dressing, give it a good whisk again before adding the ingredients. Otherwise, shake the jar of dressing again before adding to the bottom of a large mixing bowl and add the fruits and vegetables. Toss everything together and taste, adding more salt and pepper if needed. Set aside to marinade in the dressing for 20-30 minutes before serving for the best flavor.
Equipment Used
- Mandolin (optional)
- Cutting Gloves (optional)
Comments
No Comments