How To Cook Artichokes Perfectly Each Time

Here’s the perfect foolproof recipe on how to cook artichokes! These artichokes are boiled so that you get a tender artichoke heart (doesn’t get dry like baked/roasted artichokes!) and this is also the fastest and easiest way of cooking artichokes perfectly each time. These artichokes are also deliciously seasoned with sea salt and thyme, and paired with a garlic balsamic dipping sauce. Low carb and keto friendly.

Update: I’ve added a new recipe for how to cook artichokes in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker.

Did you know that California produces almost all of the artichokes consumed in the US? I grew up in California and artichokes are one of my favorite appetizers. Whenever I see it on a menu, I always order it! These artichoke appetizers usually packed with flavor like garlic, pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice. If you’re wondering how to eat artichokes: you pull off one leaf at a time, dip it in a delicious mayo-based sauce, and scrape off the tender “meat” of it with your teeth. I could eat these nonstop.

Artichokes are in season from March to May, although you can find them in most supermarkets year round. Choose artichokes that have tightly formed leaves with a vibrant green color, and avoid artichokes that look dry or have loose or split leaves. After purchasing, I store artichokes in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to a few days.

Cooking Artichokes: 6 Different Methods

• Baking: You can bake a foil-wrapped artichoke in the oven, which gives it a lot of flavor, but it can get a little dry and dehydrated. Baking also takes the most amount of time compared to other cooking methods, and the length of time required for baking varies a lot depending on the size of the artichoke. It can be tough to balance the baking time required and avoiding dryness.
• Grilling: If you have a grill, go for it! I’ve never tried this option before because it’s so much easier to cook artichokes in the kitchen without firing up the grill. But if you’re having a barbecue and the grill is handy, this is definitely something that you can try.
• Steaming: This is a faster option compared to baking, but does require the proper steaming tools such as a steamer basket. Also, it’s not a foolproof method — you need to check occasionally to see if the pot needs more water, and steaming time can vary.
• Boiling (my preference): This is the easiest and fastest method of cooking artichokes. Also, it’s foolproof (anyone can boil water) and works for all sizes of globe artichokes. Best yet, it results in a really tender and delicious artichoke heart without any of the dehydrated effects that you get from baked/roasted artichokes. This method doesn’t get as much flavor as you would from baking and grilling methods, but I find that it’s easy to season the artichoke post-cooking to get all of the flavors you want.
• Pressure cooker: I’ve posted a new recipe for how to cook artichokes in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker. It’s a little faster than boiling and you won’t have to deal with a pot of boiling water, so this may be a better option for those of you with pressure cookers. Otherwise, boiling is still the easiest method.
• Microwaving: A reader mentioned that you can cook artichokes in the microwave. She covers and microwaves 2 artichokes for about 8 minutes with 1/2 cup water. I haven’t tried this method before, but it’s a very fast and quick method to cook artichokes when you don’t have a lot of time or access to a stove.

Preparing artichokes for cooking is simple. All you need to do is rinse them, slice off part of the stem (leaving about one inch), slice off the top third that’s inedible, and trim leaf tips to remove any thorns. See photos and video below on how I do this.

HOW TO COOK ARTICHOKES PERFECTLY By Boiling:

Video: Learn How To Prepare, Cook, Clean, And Eat Artichokes With A Dipping Sauce

You’ll also love this artichoke recipe because it’s one-pot (easy cleanup!), vegetarian, low carb, and healthy. I like foods that make me WORK to eat it — these artichokes take time to peel off each leaf, dip in sauce, and scrape with my teeth. 🙂 I love having these artichokes to munch on during a nice long TV session. It keeps me occupied with munching without getting too many calories!

Another reason I’m really excited to be making these artichokes is because it gives me an excuse to use sea salt. Mr. Savory Tooth’s distant cousin married a Hawaiian spear fisher, and he makes sea salt from Kauai in his spare time. We got a package of his homemade sea salt last year, and I’ve been saving it up for a special occasion. These artichokes definitely call for it. The artichoke hearts are so tender and juicy, and pair really nicely with crunches of sea salt chunks and freshly grated black pepper.

The recipe below is for 2 artichokes. If you’re like me and you don’t like sharing these artichokes, use more artichokes and multiply the recipe proportions as needed. Just make sure that you have pots big enough to boil them all!

If you liked these artichokes, check out my favorite appetizer dishes:

• baked jalapeno poppers wrapped in bacon
• spinach and artichoke dip
• roasted cauliflower with bacon and cheddar

5 from 11 votes

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How To Cook Artichokes Perfectly Each Time

Here’s the perfect foolproof recipe on how to cook artichokes! These artichokes are boiled so that you get a tender artichoke heart (doesn’t get dry like baked/roasted artichokes!) and this is also the fastest and easiest way of cooking artichokes perfectly each time.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 2 servings

Calories 410 kcal

Ingredients

For the artichokes:

• 2 globe artichokes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme to taste

For the dipping sauce:

• 5 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

Instructions

1. Prepping the artichokes: Use a serrated knife to chop off the top third of the artichoke (it’s inedible) and cut off most of the stem, leaving about an inch of stem.
2. Cooking the artichokes: Add the artichokes to a pot of boiling water. Cover with a lid. Bring the water back to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until tender, about 30 minutes. The artichokes are done when you can easily insert a knife into the stem with no resistance. Drain the artichokes stem-up in a colander until they're cool enough to handle.
3. Make the dipping sauce: While waiting for the artichokes to cool, combine and mix all of the dip ingredients until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.
4. Serving: When the artichokes have cooled, slice each artichoke in half. Remove the white and purple centers. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle freshly ground black pepper, sea salt, and thyme over each exposed half. Serve with the dipping sauce. To eat the artichoke, peel off a leaf at a time, dip into the sauce, and use your teeth to scrape off the meat of the leaf.

Nutrition Notes

This recipe yields 8 g net carbs per serving.

Nutrition Facts Per Serving

Calories 410
Total Fat 37g	57%
Saturated Fat 4g	18%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 25mg	8%
Sodium 900mg	38%
Potassium 480mg	14%
Total Carb 15g	5%
Dietary Fiber 7g	29%
Sugars 2.5g
Protein 4g

Vitamin A 0% · Vitamin C 27% · Calcium 6% · Iron 8%

MORE DELICIOUS APPETIZERS:

Hot Crab Dip

Bacon Wrapped Brussels Sprouts

Low carb crackers using almond flour

Instant pot artichokes

This post was originally published on July 29, 2016.