A great excuse to eat more butter
I've always considered artichokes to be a special occasion food, maybe because I assume they always take alot of work, or maybe because they are a perfect excuse to eat a whole stick of butter at dinner. Either way, I am here to tell you that they do not have to take alot of work, especially when you make Pressure Cooker Artichokes.
Though they are still a great excuse to eat a whole stick of butter. Just sayin'.
How to choose a great artichoke
- Choose brightly-colored artichokes that have tightly packed leaves. A small amount of brown is ok, but if the leaves are splayed, the artichoke is likely older and less fresh.
- They should feel heavy for their size. If they feel deceptively light, they are likely a little dry and potentially not very meaty.
- A fresh artichoke's leaves should squeak when squeezed, so give them a quick squeeze!
- Frost-kissed leaves do not mean the artichoke is bad. In fact, artichokes that have white frosty spots are often sweeter and more tender than others.
Easy steps to prep artichokes
- Remove any small leaves that are toward the bottom of the stem. They should pull off easily by hand.
- Slice the top 1-inch or so off the tops of each artichoke with a sharp kitchen knife or a serrated knife.
- Using scissors, work around the outside of the artichoke, trimming the sharp tips off of each outer leaf.
- Cut the base of the stem off so that the artichokes rest flat, bloom side up.
- Optionally, you can rub the tops of the artichokes down with 2 quarters of lemon wedges to help maintain the color of the artichokes. Regardless, they will darken a bit when cooked but the lemon will help them maintain more of their green color.
How to access the heart
- Once the large outer leaves have been removed (and the meat is eaten from them) you will get to the point where the leaves are very small, tender, and fairly meatless. You can easily remove these all at once be pinching the bunch and twisting them off in one motion.
- You'll be left with the heart and the fuzzy choke. DO NOT EAT ANY PART OF THE CHOKE. You can remove this inedible part of the plant by scraping it out completely with a spoon or knife. Discard once removed. The remaining meat is known as the heart and is delicious.
Adjusting the cooking time by size
I find that 15 minutes in the pressure cooker is the sweet spot for perfectly tender, though not at all mushy average-sized artichokes (about the size of your hand). If your artichokes are particularly large I would pop that number up by up to 5 minutes. If they are small (often smaller than your palm) which I often see at the farmers market, I would push that number down close to 10-12 minutes of cook time.
Which pressure cooker do I use?
I use the term “pressure cooker” rather than “Instant Pot” very intentionally because I want it to be flexible for those who may use other brands. I personally use an Instant Pot Ultra 6qt, but these Pressure Cooker Artichokes can easily be made in other electric pressure cookers as well.
The reason I mention this is because there is often small variations in machines. With my prior Cuisinart machine, I found that vegetables cooked much more intensely, so I likely would have lowered the amount of time that I cooked these in that machine.
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How to serve Pressure Cooker Artichokes
Artichokes are a great served as a first course, a light main, or a side dish and in my opinion, a simple sauce is best. Here are a few of my favorite options for artichoke leaf dipping:
- Melted butter + garlic
- Mayo + garlic blended into an aioli
- Mayo + a few healthy splashes of rice wine vinegar + a sprinkle of black sesame seeds makes for a tangy sauce similar to a Japanese Kewpie mayo.
- Lemon Dill Cream Sauce
- Romesco Sauce
- Lemon Herb Tartar Sauce
- Avocado Chimichurri Sauce
A note for special diets
These Pressure Cooker Artichokes are grain-free, gluten-free and friendly for Paleo, Keto, Whole30, Vegan and Vegetarian diets.
Print
Pressure Cooker Artichokes
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Appetizers & Bites, Sides
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Latin American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
I've always considered artichokes to be a special occasion food, maybe because I assume they always take alot of work, or maybe because they are a perfect excuse to eat a whole stick of butter at dinner. Either way, I am here to tell you that they do not have to take alot of work, especially when you make Pressure Cooker Artichokes.
Ingredients
- 2-4 artichokes (this same method can be used for how ever many artichokes you can fit in a single layer in your pressure cooker)
- 1 cup water (refer to the recommended minimum liquid for your machine and adjust if necessary)
- 1 lemon, quartered (optional)
Instructions
To prep the artichokes:
- Remove any small leaves that are toward the bottom of the stem. They should pull off easily by hand.
- Slice the top 1-inch or so off the tops of each artichoke with a sharp kitchen knife or a serrated knife.
- Using scissors, work around the outside of the artichoke, trimming the sharp tips off of each outer leaf.
- Cut the base of the stem off so that the artichokes rest flat, bloom side up.
- Optionally, you can rub the tops of the artichokes down with 2 quarters of lemon wedges to help maintain the color of the artichokes. Regardless, they will darken a bit when cooked but the lemon will help them maintain more of their green color.
To cook the artichokes:
- Place the rack insert or steamer insert into the bowl of your electric pressure cooker so that the artichokes can sit above the water.
- Add water to the machine and then the artichokes on top of the rack in a single layer. It doesn't matter if they are stem side up or down. Toss the two pieces of squeezed lemon into the pressure cooker if desired.
- Lock the lid to seal. Set to cook on high for 15 minutes. When finished, quick release the pressure.
- Serve warm with your choice of dipping sauce (see the post above for some ideas) and remaining lemon wedges. To eat, remove the outer leaves, dip them in sauce, and use your teeth to scrape the meaty ends off of the leaves.
How to access the artichoke heart:
- Once the large outer leaves have been removed (and the meat is eaten from them) you will get to the point where the leaves are very small, tender, and fairly meatless. You can easily remove these all at once be pinching the bunch and twisting them off in one motion.
- You'll be left with the heart and the fuzzy choke. DO NOT EAT ANY PART OF THE CHOKE. You can remove this inedible part of the plant by scraping it out completely with a spoon or knife. Discard once removed. The remaining meat is known as the heart and is delicious.
Notes
Nutritional information on Whip & Wander is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 artichoke
- Calories: 60
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 120 mg
- Carbohydrates: 13 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 4 g
Wendy Bailey says
This recipe is exactly how I always did my artichokes. So easy and delicious.
Jenni says
It's such a great and easy way to enjoy artichokes! Glad you like them.
Richard says
We’ve been cooking artichokes in our pressure cookers for years.
Have always prepared them as instructed in this recipe. We use the
Hellman’s mayo aioli method and have found that to be the best. As a child, in Chile, I remember dipping the leaves in an oil and vinegar mixture.
But, we’ve learned to use the mayo and lemon drops for dipping.
Also, I place a lemon cut in half in the water when cooking.
Thanks for your wonderful tutorial.
Richard
Jenni says
I'm so glad to hear you enjoy this method, Richard! The dipping options are what makes it such a fun recipe!
Matt says
Another California native that grew up with pressure cooked artichokes. Fast, easy, delicious; what's not to like? Although loved drawn butter as a kid, now generally prefer an olive oil & good balsamic vinegar dip. Great with any meal, especially on a hot day!
Matt says
Correction: Great with any meal, especially cold on a hot day!
Paul says
Love artichokes. Growing up in California my parents had artichoke plants every year. I always boiled them with lemon and garlic. The pressure cooker way yields the same results in a fraction of the time. I like hollandaise sauce with mine. When I get to the soft leaves I like to twist them of an clean out the small purplish or inedible parts squeeze the cone shape together and dip and bite of the very tender ends. I like that they are low FODMAP as long as they are medium in size.
Donna says
Loved all the tips here, I have tried making artichokes at home SOOO many times and completely butchered the whole process. Clearly I haven't been doing it right, because this version turned out perfectly without much hassle at all!
Amanda says
Any excuse to eat more butter sounds good to me! I never thought to cook artichokes in the pressure cooker, but I love how quick and easy it makes it. Thanks so much!
Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness says
I JUST bought a pressure cooker, and am DYING to try out recipes using it!!
I never knew how to make anything with artichoke, but this looks so easy, even I could do it! Than;s for the recipe 🙂
Emily says
Artichokes are one of my favorite things to make in my instant pot! I find that since I purchased my pressure cooker I make them more often because it is just so easy and delicious!
Alexis says
Artichokes are absolutely my favorite thing to eat. Oh how I wish they'd come down in price where we live. This recipe looks amazing!
Jere Cassidy says
Great step-by-step tutorial on cooking artichokes. I just need to get an instapot now..
Erika says
I've always been too intimidated to cook artichokes, but your step by step guide will make it easier and less intimidating to make.
Stine Mari says
This blog post has all the important information on artichokes, especially love how to know which one to choose!
Ramona says
Great way of cooking artichokes - always looking for new ways of preparing these gems - love artichokes and definitely should make these next.