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.
Looking for an upgrade to your kitchen tools? Check out my shop page here for my must-have kitchen tools and other Whip & Wander favorites.
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
Debra says
Too funny....that first line about an excuse to eat more butter! As if we need an excuse. Seriously though, I would make artichokes so . much more often if I thought to put them in the Insta Pot...brilliant.
Trish Bozeman says
YES! Gimme all the artichokes. They are a favorite spring time side dish for sure. We love cooking ours in our Instant Pot too! They come out perfectly steamed every time. I'm going to try your tip about adding lemon into the Instant Pot too. Genius! And yes, the perfect excuse to eat all the butter, lol!
Dana says
I will GLADLY take any excuse to eat more butter 😉
Not only have I never worked with full artichokes before, but never in the pressure cooker. I can't wait to try these. I love artichokes oh-so-much. This would be fab for entertaining, also. Easy, but faaaancy 😉
Jess says
I cook artichokes in my pressure cooker too and LOVE them! They are so great as dippers! I’ll definitely be trying your version! Yum!
Leanne says
I've never cooked artichokes, but both my hubby and I love them, so this entire post is super helpful for me! From how to choose them, prep them and cook them, you've covered it all Jenni! Awesome post!
Sean@Diversivore says
I had to smile at your first subheading. They are indeed a great excuse to eat butter, and that's a fine thing as far as I'm concerned. I generally break my artichokes down to hearts, but the delightful simplicity of this (relatively speaking of course - they are artichokes) really does make me think that this would be a wonderful meal or appetizer for a gathering or special occasion. Simple-but-fancy is one of my favourite kinds of cooking. Excellent breakdown of the method - very much appreciated!
Jacqui Debono says
I am growing artichokes, and have no idea what to do with them, so will save this for harvest time! Gorgeous photos too!
Sharon says
I'm all about simplifying recipes and using my pressure cooker is does just that! Now with this recipe, I can make easy artichokes for pasta nights.
Candice says
What an incredible recipe, Jenni! I was excited to make these, and chose to pair them with the lemon-dill sauce... amazing! They were ridiculously easy, and such a treat. Can't wait to make them again!
Tina says
I wish I came across this article in Texas when I had an artichoke plant. I had big plans of making these but never did. I didn't know how to prepare them. Your step-by-step instructions are super helpful. Saving this for future reference. I agree, artichokes are a great excuse to eat butter!
Anna says
I absolutely love artichokes, but must admit, the process of preparing them always overwhelms me a bit. Your step by step instructions and all the tips are so great, and definitely make it look achievable! Thanks for sharing all this knowledge!
Heather says
Oh I love artichokes! Thank you for including step by step photos on how to prepare artichokes I can never remember!
Cheryl Malik says
What a lovely recipe! YUMM!
Stacey Crawford says
Artichokes in the IP turn out perfect! Thanks for the detailed instructions 🙂
Kari - Get Inspired Everyday! says
I've never actually cooked my own artichokes before, so thanks for the breakdown and I definitely need to try these out!
Don Baiocchi says
I cannot tell you how helpful the step-by-step photos are. Anytime I've read instructions on how to prep artichokes it's just never been enough to make me feel confident that I could do it. Now I totally have to try these!
ChihYu says
Thank you for this easy way to prepare artichokes!
Raia Todd says
I've never made artichokes before. You make it sound so easy!
Daniela Modesto says
Artichokes are one of the most incredible foods and I love the pressure cooker way of making them! Thank you!
Jean Choi says
LOVE artichokes and I didn't know you can easily cook it in the pressure cooker! I'll definitely be eating more of it from now on using this method.