How to Cook Artichokes + Easy Recipes

1. Gloves, water, and lemon juice

When cleaning artichokes, we advise wearing gloves or rubbing your hands with lemon juice.

We do this because otherwise, our fingers will turn brown. This happens due to the high amount of antioxidants in artichokes, one of the highest in any vegetable.

Antioxidants react with oxygen and color your hands.

Also, to prevent the artichokes from turning brown, fill a bowl with cold water and lemon juice. This will slow down the oxidation, keeping your artichokes bright and green.

2. Thorns, outer petals, and stem

We want to remove the thorns, so go ahead and cut them off with a bread or serrated knife.

Rub the inside of the artichoke with lemon to prevent it from turning brown.

We also want to eliminate some thicker outer petals, which are way too hard to eat.

We prefer to remove most of the outer leaves until we get to the tender inner leaves, which are light yellow.

But you can keep more leaves if you prefer; trim them down with kitchen shears or scissors, then remove them once cooked.

Next, cut off the stem, or part of it, leave a couple of inches or about 5 cm, and peel it with a paring knife or vegetable peeler, removing the woodier part on the outside.

At the same time, trim the bottom part of the artichoke.

3. Carve out the hairy choke

And finally, before cooking the artichoke, we’ve got to remove the choke, the fuzzy part in the center, mainly if we serve them to kids.

The choke is very unpleasant to eat and can be a little dangerous, as it’s made of tiny hair that can get stuck in your throat.

To remove the choke, gently open up the center of the artichoke with your thumbs, exposing the fuzzy part.

With a small knife, cut out the choke, then remove it with a teaspoon. With the choke, remove the small leaves attached to it, as they can be quite spiky.

Some like to remove the choke after the artichoke is cooked. You can do that by slicing the artichoke in half and removing the choke with a spoon.

We think it isn’t enjoyable to do that operation while eating. So, we remove the choke before cooking the artichoke.

4. Put them in cold lemon water

Put the clean artichokes in the bowl with lemon water and cover them with a damp piece of kitchen paper to slow oxidation and keep them green and fresh.

If you want to get ahead and clean your artichokes in advance, you can keep them in a bowl with lemon water in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

Also, if you don’t want to discard the outer leaves of the artichoke, we have a recipe on how to use artichoke scraps to make some delicious recipes like soup or mayonnaise.

Steamed artichokes

Steamed artichokes are probably the easiest artichoke recipe. It would be best if you had a pot with a lid and a steamer basket to cook the artichokes in a steamer basket.

Add about an inch of water (2.5 cm) to the pot, add some aromatics like mint or bay leaves, place the steamer basket in, arrange the artichokes on the basket, face down, and cover with the lid.

Bring the pot to a simmer and steam until the artichokes are soft. It can take between 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the artichokes.

When tender, place the artichokes on a plate, garnish with freshly chopped parsley or mint, a drizzle of olive oil, or serve them with vegan mayo and chimichurri.

When cooked well, steamed artichokes melt in your mouth; they are creamy, have a mild flavor, are slightly nutty, and somewhat sweet.

Another delicious way of serving steamed artichokes is to cut them open in half, arrange them on a plate, then season them with finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, minced garlic, olive oil, salt, and a squeeze of lemon.

Check out our steamed artichokes recipe.

Braised artichokes

If you don’t have a steamer basket, try braising the artichokes with water in a medium to large pot that fits them snuggly.

This recipe is called “Carciofi alla Romana” in Italy (artichokes Roman style).

You can do it in a pot, instant pot, or pressure cooker (reducing the cooking time by about half).

To do that, clean the artichokes as we did before. Cut out all the tougher outer petals for this preparation.

Then, add a drizzle of olive oil, a crushed clove of garlic, and some mint leaves to a pot. Next, take your artichokes, season them with salt on the inside, and put them face-down into the pot.

Add water to cover about half the artichokes, put a lid on them, and simmer them on medium to low heat for about 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the artichokes.

Once tender, serve them on a plate with fresh parsley, a squeeze of fresh lemon, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Artichokes “alla Romana” is an excellent starter and vegetable side dish; serve them with crostini, no kneaded focaccia bread, or bruschetta.

Pan-fried artichokes

Artichokes are so versatile that they can be cooked quickly in a pan.

Cut the artichokes into quarters. With a small knife, remove the choke, then put the artichokes in the bowl with cold lemon water.

Sautè the artichokes in olive oil on medium heat for about 3 minutes, and add ¼ cup of dry white wine. You can use vegetable broth if you prefer not to cook with wine.

Simmer without a lid for about 5 minutes; once the wine has evaporated completely, add a cup of water and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Cover with a lid and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes or until the artichokes are tender.

Sprinkle with chopped parsley or mint, and serve. They are great as a starter and added in a chickpea frittata. 

Roasted artichokes

Another great way to cook artichokes is to bake them in the oven with potatoes.

First, peel and cut 3 to 4 medium potatoes into wedges and put them in a large pot with cold water. Set aside.

Then, clean the artichokes as before, cut them in quarters, remove the choke, and place them in cold lemon water to prevent them from turning brown.

Now preheat the oven to 430°F or 220°C, and boil the water with the potatoes.

Pre-cook the potatoes for 5 minutes. Then add the artichokes to the boiling water and boil with the potatoes for five more minutes.

Pre-cooking the potatoes and the artichokes will keep them soft and moist inside once baked.

Drain the potatoes and the artichokes and place them onto a baking tray.
Season with a generous pinch of salt, black pepper, dried herbs, and spices like rosemary, mint, paprika, a drizzle of olive oil, and a couple of crushed garlic cloves.

Toss everything together, then bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, till the potatoes and the artichokes are crispy and golden on the outside but fully cooked on the inside.

Serve as a side with freshly chopped parsley, chipotle sauce, or tahini dressing.

Artichoke pasta

This 20-minute artichoke pasta is creamy, tangy, and packed with tender artichoke hearts. It’s an easy yet restaurant-worthy everyday meal that everyone will love.

Artichoke salad

This bright, fresh, Italian-inspired artichoke salad is a quick side dish and a healthy meal where arugula, tomatoes, artichokes, and olives marry a tasty Italian dressing.

Artichoke pasta bake

This creamy artichoke pasta bake is with artichokes, peas, and potatoes cooked in a pan; it’s excellent as a delicious and fulfilling pasta dinner.

Artichoke pesto

Enjoy artichoke pesto just like any other pesto; it’s super quick and easy to make at home. It’s excellent as a sauce with pasta, a spread on bruschetta, or pizza and veggies.

Artichoke cream cheese (dairy-free)

This vegan cream cheese is made with five simple ingredients, and it’s smooth, velvety, and perfect to use as a starter, dip, or spread in a sandwich.

Make it with artichokes for a tangy and tasty condiment that you can easily meal–prep for the week.

Artichoke hummus

We make artichoke hummus with the scraps – leftover leaves and stems – of the artichokes.

It’s as delicious and creamy as hummus and roasted red pepper hummus and with a nutty artichoke flavor.

Cream of artichokes

This artichoke cream is made with 100% pure pulp extracted from the artichokes’ boiled scraps (leaves and stems) with a rotary vegetable mill.

Serve it as a main dish and make our no–knead focaccia for a Mediterranean–inspired dinner.

Artichoke mayonnaise

This is best served with deep-fried artichokes. We first make a vegan mayonnaise with vegetable oil and soy milk.

Add a dash of lemon juice and a pinch of salt, then mix it with the artichoke pulp extracted from the scraps of the artichokes with a rotary vegetable mill.

When buying artichokes at the farmers market or grocery store, it’s good to make sure they are fresh, as old artichokes tend to have a choke with more hair and rigid leaves, so you’ll have to discard more.

An artichoke is fresh when it’s 1) heavy, 2) squeaky when you squeeze its head/leaves, 3) toned, not floppy, especially the stalk, and 4) has a uniform color, with a few or no dark spots.

We are using purple artichokes here, but sometimes you can find green ones, also known as globe artichokes, depending on where you live. Both types are delicious.

Ingredients that go well with artichokes

Lemon

When cleaning artichokes, lemon juice is essential to prevent them from turning brown, but it’s also delicious on top of them once they are cooked. It adds a fresh and acidic touch that enhances the sweet, nutty flavor of the artichokes.

Mint and flat-leaf parsley

Those two fresh herbs are a match made in heaven with artichokes. We use mint for cooking the artichokes and the Italian flat-leaf parsley to sprinkle on top once they are cooked.

Olive oil

Another excellent flavor match, best if good quality, and extra virgin olive oil. You can use it for cooking the artichokes and for drizzling on top. It’s divine with them.

Garlic

Fresh garlic complements its flavor perfectly.

Mayonnaise and butter

Artichokes are very low in fat; from a mouthfeel perspective, they go well with fatty ingredients.

Aside from extra virgin olive oil, we love them with our vegan mayo as a dip and, in rare cases, with melted or dairy-free vegan butter.

Health benefits of artichokes

According to WebMD, artichokes are a superfood thanks to their high antioxidant content.

Several proven studies show that artichokes can help control blood pressure and hypertension, lower cholesterol, and improve liver function.

They contain few calories per serving, virtually no fat, low sodium, and a relatively good amount of protein at 4 grams per medium artichoke.

To top all of this off, they are packed with essential nutrients such as potassium, vitamin C, magnesium, folate, and plenty of fiber.

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