How to Cook Artichokes
on Mar 10, 2019, Updated Apr 01, 2025
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Everything you need to know about preparing and steaming fresh artichokes.
Artichokes are definitely one of the most alluring and mysterious vegetables around. A tender, slightly sweet heart sits in the middle, surrounded by a battalion of pointy leaves. They look much like flowers, and they are, in fact, a member of the thistle family. Artichokes are one of the best vegetables of the spring season. They do take a bit of work to prepare, but with this simple guide to trimming and preparing artichokes, they will easily become part of your home cooking repertoire.
Steaming artichokes is the easiest way to cook whole artichokes. All you need is a large pot and, optionally, a steamer basket. I don’t like to boil artichokes because that makes them waterlogged, and some of the flavor is lost to the water. The flavor of artichokes is mild, slightly nutty, a bit sweet and a bit bitter, somewhat like asparagus.
Recently I was asked to name my favorite vegetable, and I was stumped/torn, as I like so many. My sister, however, would not have hesitated for a second: favorite vegetable, artichoke; second favorite, artichoke; third favorite, artichoke. She might actually choose an artichoke over a slice of cheesecake — just kidding, she’d choose the cheesecake.
In short, if you are a person who loves lobster and is willing to go through the work to extract every delicious morsel, then this is your vegetable.
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FAQs
Perhaps part of the mystique of artichokes is that so little of the globe-shaped vegetable is good to eat. Essentially, it’s the heart, the base, that‘s edible. When you cook an artichoke and pull out the leaves, a small piece of the choke attaches itself to the base of the leaf, which can be scraped off with one’s teeth. The inner leaves are more tender than the outer ones. Then, once all the leaves are gone and the bristly thistle is scraped away, the artichoke bottom is there for the eating.
There is more than one way to cook an artichoke (and pretty much any food under the sun). My favorite method of cooking an artichoke is steaming. It’s a very accessible and basic method of cooking the entire artichoke without paring it down to just the heart first. But don’t miss the chance to cook artichokes on the grill when the weather allows. Those are a special treat all their own.
Artichokes are very nutritious. They are surprisingly high in protein for a vegetable and offer a nice amount of vitamins K and C, as well as folate, manganese, magnesium, and potassium, according to the Cleveland Clinic. They are also rich in antioxidants, which can ward off disease. Artichokes contain no fat or cholesterol.
The steaming time for artichokes depends on the size of the artichoke, which can range in size from 3 to 6 inches. An average-sized artichoke weighs about 8 to 10 ounces and will take about 25 to 40 minutes to become tender and cooked throughout. Smaller baby artichokes will steam in 15 to 20 minutes.
We always ate artichokes leaves dipped in melted butter mixed with some lemon juice, and that’s the way I like them best. You can also use mayonnaise (flavored or plain) or another dipping sauce. Try this Lemon Butter Sauce recipe — delicious with artichokes.
How to Prepare Artichokes for Steaming
- Trim the artichoke tops: Start by holding the artichoke firmly on its side and slicing the top 1/2-inch or so off with a knife.
Kitchen Smarts
You may want to cut a lemon to rub against the cut top to prevent it from browning (this is not necessary, but it is aesthetically appealing).
- Trim the artichoke base: Cut off the stem of the artichoke close to the base. Remove the smaller tough outer leaves around the base of the artichoke. Rinse the artichoke, separating the leaves as you do this.
- Trim the artichoke leaves: Cutting off the tips of each leaf with scissors is optional, but it looks neater. This also removes the tiny, pointy thorns at the tip of each leaf. Again, rub the cut edges with lemon if desired.
How to Steam Artichokes on the Stove
- Season the cooking water: Fill a pot large enough to hold the artichokes about 2 inches deep with water. The artichokes can be touching. Add salt to the water.
You can throw in some seasonings to add additional light flavoring to the artichoke. These might include some wine or broth in place of some of the water, peppercorns, fresh or dried herbs such as thyme, rosemary, parsley, or bay leaves, and slices of lemon. - Steam: You can use a steaming basket or just put the artichokes into the water, cut side up or down. Cover the pot, bring the water to a simmer over high heat, and then lower the heat. Simmer the artichokes for 25 to 40 minutes, or until a knife slides easily into the stem end or a leaf pulled from the artichoke comes out easily.
- Serve: Serve the artichokes hot, warm, or cold, sitting on their stems. There are some pretty artichoke plates intended just for this purpose. They have a little well in the middle to hold the artichoke and a surrounding circle for the discarded leaves. Serve the artichokes with melted butter mixed with some lemon juice, mayonnaise (flavored or plain), or another dipping sauce.
How to Eat an Artichoke
- Eat the leaves: To eat the artichoke, start by pulling off each leaf. Place the part that was attached to the heart between your teeth, and, pulling it out, scrape the tender bottom of the artichoke off into your mouth.
- Get to the heart of the choke: When all of the leaves have been removed and eaten, you will be left with the heart and the hairy choke. Use a butter knife or a spoon to scrape off the bristly hairs and discard. Now you’re left with the artichoke heart, the very best part. This entire part can be eaten, though there might be a bit of tough outer stem left at the bottom that you’ll want to cut away. Slice it, dip it, and eat it — you deserve it!
Artichoke Recipes
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How to Steam Artichokes
Equipment
- Steaming basket (optional)
Ingredients
- 4 fresh globe artichokes (or as many as needed)
- Lemon Butter Sauce (optional)
Instructions
Prepare the Artichokes
- Start by holding the artichoke firmly on its side and slicing the top 1/2-inch or so off with a knife.
- Cut off the stem of the artichoke close to the base. Remove the smaller tough leaves around the base of the artichoke.
- Cut off the tips of each leaf with scissors (it's not necessary, but makes a nice presentation and removes the spiky points).
Steam the Artichokes
- Fill a pot large enough to hold the artichokes (they can be touching) about 2 inches deep with water. You can add a few ingredients to the water if you like (see Notes), but you might also just add a bit of salt and leave it at that.
- Use a steaming basket or just put the artichokes into the water, cut side up or down (they can be squished a bit to fit). Cover the pot, bring the water to a simmer over high heat, then lower the heat and continue to simmer the artichokes for 25 to 40 minutes, or until a knife slides easily into the stem end or a leaf pulled from the artichoke comes out easily.
- Serve the artichokes hot, warm, or cold, sitting on their stems with melted butter mixed with some lemon juice, mayonnaise (flavored or plain), or another dipping sauce, such as Lemon Butter Sauce.
Notes
- You may want to have a cut lemon to rub against the top and tips of the leaves after cutting to prevent it from browning (this is not necessary, but is aesthetically appealing).
- You can add some seasonings to the water for a light flavoring. These might include some wine or broth in place of some of the water, peppercorns, fresh or dried herbs such as thyme, rosemary, parsley, or bay leaves, and slices of lemon.
- The steaming time really depends on the size of the artichoke, which can range in size from 3 to 6 inches (baby artichokes, which are even smaller, will steam in 15 to 20 minutes).
I used to walk past artichokes at the grocery store because they seemed too scary to cook. I finally was brave enough to try out this recipe and now I smugly put a few in my cart every time I shop.
I LOVE artichokes and I cook them all the time, but I have never considered adding herbs to the water when I steam them. What a great idea! I can’t wait to try it out.
My family is obsessed with artichokes and now we finally know how to prepare them properly! Thank you, Katie!!
You could marinate and put them in jars too for summer salads
yes!
Katie, We are entering our fourth week of lockdown for the Covid-19 virus here in Spain. Having no opportunity to go out at all apart from walking our dogs, we take it in turns to venture outside the gates once a day, so on this day I walked them down to the farmhouse very near to us and found the farmer and his wife picking the crop of artichokes……..a huge field I’ve watching spring up over the last weeks. He called me over and handed me a big bag full of artichokes freshly picked. I was delighted, passed the time of day with them in my less than perfect Spanish, and shot home with my bounty, and searched for how to cook them. I found you online, thank goodness, and then closely followed your guidelines using lemons from our own tree that were just ready. That lunch was superb! It made a great highlight for us…..we’d never eaten them before, so thank you so much for your advice………..Manolo now tells me he will drop a pile of them outside our gates for us whenever he picks some for his friends and family. He says could pick his entire crop as they are all ready, but he simply sells via market traders and as all markets are banned right now the crop will go to waste.
We are now looking at ways we can get some crop available to the expat community here to get some money for him without breaking any contact rules……..difficult times, but we have to help each other. Stay safe everyone! And eat good! xx
Christine, this is so wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing this. A bag of artichokes in the midst of all of this mess – what a lovely gift. I hope you figure out how to help him!