Anise Seed Substitutes: Star Anise, Fennel and When Not to Swap

Out of anise seed? Star anise and fennel seed are the obvious stand-ins, since all three get their licorice-like flavor from the same main compound, trans-anethole. They aren’t identical, though: when America’s Test Kitchen swapped the three for one another, tasters easily spotted the change in biscotti, noticed it in pho, and had a harder time in Italian sausage meatballs.¹ One whole star anise covers 1/2 teaspoon of seed in a syrup or braise, fennel blends into a savory dish, and caraway gives just a hint.

Quick answer

How the ratios on this page are labeled

• Computed: based on a measurable physical relationship.
• Attributed: a named source publishes this ratio. We quote it as theirs.
• Disputed: named sources give different answers to the same swap. You get each one, side by side.
• Method: our starting point, based on how the two compare. Taste and adjust.

Why the substitutes work, and where they fall short

ATK puts it plainly: the licorice character comes from high concentrations of trans-anethole, but each spice comes from a different plant with its own secondary compounds, and that’s what tasters picked up on.¹

Is the swap acceptable at all? That’s where sources disagree, not on a ratio.

The way we read it: in a dish where anise is the flavor you’d name, any substitute will show. In a dish with lots of other spices, it may not. That’s the pattern ATK found.

If anise is the lead flavor in baking

Think biscotti, anise cookies and breads like the German Anisbrot, where anise is the characteristic ingredient. ATK’s tasters “easily picked out differences” when the spices were swapped in a biscotti recipe written for anise seed.¹ Expect a change.

1. Star anise, ground

Star anise is the dried fruit of a tree, with an anise-like smell and sweet flavor.

Ratio (Attributed, whole star): The Spice House says star anise is the stronger of the two and that 1/2 teaspoon of anise seeds replaces one whole star anise.² Flip that around and you get one whole star where a recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon of anise seed.

Ratio (Method, ground): McCormick’s conversion is 1 whole star = 1/2 teaspoon ground.⁴ Put that together with The Spice House’s swap and you get roughly equal volumes of ground star anise and anise seed. That’s math across two sources, not a tested ratio, so in a delicate cookie start a little under it and taste the dough.

Buy star anise from a food source. Japanese star anise (Illicium anisatum) is a toxic relative, and in 2003 the FDA reported about 40 illnesses, including seizures, linked to teas made from star anise.⁵⁶ See star anise.

2. Fennel seed

Sweet fennel has the anise smell and sweet taste, while bitter or common fennel tastes pungent and camphor-like.³ Go with sweet fennel seed if you can, and expect the flavor to shift.

Ratio (Method): Start with the same amount as the anise seed and taste. Grind it if the recipe uses ground anise.

If anise is one note in a savory dish

In Italian sausage, meatballs, tomato sauces and braises, anise is often one seasoning among many. ATK found the differences between the three spices “harder to detect” in Italian sausage meatballs, because the dish had lots of other spices.¹ This is where a substitute works best.

1. Fennel seed

Fennel seed gives the same sweet, anise-like note, and it’s already at home in pastries, sweet pickles and fish.

Ratio (Method): Start 1:1 and add more to taste once the dish has simmered.

2. Chinese five-spice powder

Five-spice is fennel seeds, cassia, cloves, star anise and Szechuan pepper, with licorice base notes and sweet top notes. Some versions add ginger, nutmeg, licorice, orange peel or galangal. Two of the five, star anise and fennel, carry anethole, but the cassia, cloves and Szechuan pepper will change the dish.

Ratio (Method): Start with half as much as the anise seed called for, and only in a savory dish where cinnamon and clove are welcome.

If anise is steeped in a liquid

For syrups, poaching liquids, braises and broths, a whole spice you can fish out is easiest.

1. Whole star anise

Ratio (Attributed): One whole star for each 1/2 teaspoon of anise seed, per The Spice House’s equivalence above.² ATK’s tasters also noticed swaps in pho broth,¹ so in a clear, lightly seasoned liquid, expect a difference.

2. Fennel seed

Ratio (Method): Use the same amount as the anise seed, in a tea ball or cheesecloth, and taste as it steeps.

If you want only a hint of anise

Caraway seed

Caraway is another parsley-family seed, with an aroma reminiscent of anise and a warm, slightly sharp taste. Its oil runs on different compounds, not anethole.⁷ Expect a rye-bread flavor with a faint anise edge, not anise itself.

Ratio (Method): Start with half the anise seed amount, in breads and savory dishes, not sweets.

What about licorice?

People often confuse anise’s flavor with licorice, and anise oil is traditionally used together with licorice in licorice candy.⁸ That makes licorice a partner for anise, not a stand-in. We didn’t find a credible source on using licorice root in place of anise seed.

What isn’t known

• You’ll often read that “most” licorice candy contains more anise than licorice. We found no source that supports it.

Related

• Anise seed, star anise, fennel seed, caraway seeds
• Star anise vs. anise seed, fennel seed vs. anise seed, caraway seeds vs. fennel seeds
• Star anise substitutes, fennel seed substitutes, caraway seed substitutes
• Chinese five-spice powder, star anise uses, the master list of herbs and spices

Footnotes

1. Andrew Janjigian, Why Anise Seed, Fennel Seed, and Star Anise aren’t Interchangeable, America’s Test Kitchen, 2020. americastestkitchen.com · Publication ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

2. Star Anise Substitute, The Spice House. thespicehouse.com · Merchant ↩ ↩² ↩³

3. Purwaningsih, Harmida and M. Brink, Foeniculum vulgare, PROSEA. uses.plantnet-project.org · Reference work ↩ ↩²

4. How to Grind Your Own Spices, McCormick. mccormick.com · Merchant ↩

5. Illicium verum Hook.f., Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. powo.science.kew.org · Reference work ↩

6. Teas Made from Star Anise Were Associated With Illnesses Including Seizures, US Food and Drug Administration, 2003. fda.gov · Regulator ↩

7. H. Toxopeus and J.H. Lubberts, Carum carvi, PROSEA. uses.plantnet-project.org · Reference work ↩

8. L.B. Cardenas and C.C. de Guzman, Pimpinella anisum, Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA). uses.plantnet-project.org · Reference work ↩

Also drawn on

• Anise (Britannica Editors, revised by Urnesha Bhattacherjee, updated 14 Aug 2026), Encyclopaedia Britannica. britannica.com
• Caraway, Encyclopaedia Britannica. britannica.com
• Five-spice powder (Tony Hill), Encyclopaedia Britannica. britannica.com
• Five Spice Powder (The Woks of Life, published 11 Nov 2020, updated 11 Jan 2021), The Woks of Life (the Leung family). thewoksoflife.com