I don’t know if I like the actual artichoke or the butter and garlic better! For some reason, I crave them and need to cook them every couple of weeks, and they have become our guilty pleasure for sure. I hope that you love our recipe for Instant Pot Artichokes as much as we do!
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I have always boiled artichokes…until now! When I boil them, I become pretty impatient and often find myself taking them out of the water before they have finished cooking. Why do they take so long?? If you are impatient and want really good artichokes, then you have to try cooking them in your Instant Pot. If you like artichokes as much as I do, be sure to check out my recipe for Instant Pot Artichoke and Spinach Dip!
Artichokes are the perfect snack, side dish or appetizer…or even meal! Yes, I could eat a couple of big artichokes for dinner…they are that good! And…they are pretty healthy, with the exception of the butter…and I use a lot of butter with mine! If you’ve never had fresh artichokes, you are missing out. They taste nothing like the jarred or canned versions since those are usually in a brine of some kind. Instead, the fresh artichoke takes on a savory, buttery taste when you make them fresh. And, one of the BEST parts of the artichoke is the heart. I never use to eat the heart because it was a pain to get to. But, if you put in the effort, you will be so glad that you did. It’s literally the BEST part!
Tips for making Instant Pot Artichokes
To double-check to make sure that your artichoke is cooked, stick a fork in the stem. If it’s soft, then your artichoke is finished cooking. If the artichoke stem starts to turn mushy, then it’s been cooked too long.
Start by pulling off the outer leaves. The first row of leaves is usually a little too tough to eat. When you pull off the leaves, you only want to eat the softer fleshy part of the leaf that is closest to the stem. Pull the leaf off of the stem, dip the bottom in butter and scrape the fleshy part off with your teeth. Discard the remainder of the leaf. When you start to get to the prickly hairs towards the center, do not eat the prickles. Use a spoon to scoop the prickly part off of the round base that is connected to the stem. Once all of the prickles and small hairs have been removed, dip the round heart into butter and eat. You can eat a small portion of the top of the stem as it is tender.
This will vary based on the size of the artichoke. The longer the artichoke cooks, the more tender it will be. Based on the size of the artichoke, it should take between 5 and 15+ minutes to cook. Extra Large Artichokes: 15+ minutes. Large Artichokes: 13 minutes. Medium Artichokes: 10 minutes. Small Artichokes: 5 minutes.
My go-to for dipping artichokes is very simple…butter. I prefer to use salted store-bought butter as there is a lot more flavor with the addition of salt to the butter. But, you can also add fresh lemon juice, lime juice, garlic, or even make your own dipping sauces or dijon mustard.
Artichokes, believe it or not, are actually flowers. The part of the artichoke that we eat is the flower bud of a thistle. Even though the artichoke is a flower, it is considered to be a vegetable…and a really good one at that!
Ingredient tips and substitutions
The full ingredient list is at the bottom of this post in the recipe card.
- Artichokes: You must use fresh, whole artichokes for this recipe. Do not use canned or jarred artichokes. Large artichokes with rounded leaves are the best. But, any size artichoke will work.
- Water: Water is the easiest to use for this recipe. But, if preferred, you can use vegetable broth instead.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic cloves or jarred garlic will work. I don’t recommend using dried or powdered garlic.
- Butter: Salted butter! Butter substitutes can be used, but may not be as flavorful and delicious when used to dip the artichoke in.
- Optional Ingredients: Lemon and homemade dipping sauces are great accompaniments for serving.
Directions for Making Instant Pot Artichokes
- Trim artichoke leaves and stem. Using kitchen scissors, trim the top ¼ of each artichoke leaf removing the pointy end. Trim artichoke stem using kitchen knife until it is 1 inch long.
- Make compound butter by mixing ¼ pound (1 stick) of softened butter and 2 tablespoons of minced garlic.
- Fill and top artichokes with compound butter by smearing the butter on the top of the artichoke and pulling butter into leaves with a spatula.
- Place a metal or silicone trivet into the Instant Pot and add 1 cup of water.
- Place the artichokes on the trivet, stem side down.
- Cover and seal the Instant Pot. Turn vent to sealing position.
- Let the Instant Pot come to pressure and cook 13 minutes. Timing will vary based on the size of artichokes. Large: 13 minutes. Medium: 10 minutes. Small: 5 minutes.
- When the timer goes off, carefully turn the vent to the release position. Quick release until steam no longer comes from the Instant Pot.
- Open the Instant Pot, remove the artichokes and serve with the remaining butter (melt the butter).
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Recipe
Instant Pot Artichokes
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- 1 Trivet
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 2 (2) Large Artichokes (Fresh)
- ½ Pound (113 ⅖ g) Salted Butter (2 sticks of salted butter-Softened-not melted)
- 2 Tablespoons (2 Tablespoons) Minced Garlic
- 1 Cup (236 ⅗ ml) Water
Instructions
Preparing Instant Pot Artichokes
- Trim artichoke leaves and stem. Using kitchen scissors, trim the top ¼ of each artichoke leaf removing the pointy end. Trim artichoke stem using kitchen knife until it is 1 inch long.
- Make compound butter by mixing ¼ pound (1 stick) of softened butter and 2 tablespoons of minced garlic
- Fill and top artichokes with compound butter by smearing the butter on the top of the artichoke and pulling butter into leaves with a spatula,
Cooking Instant Pot Artichokes
- Place a metal or silicone trivet into the Instant Pot and add 1 cup of water.
- Place the artichokes on the trivet, stem side down.
- Cover and seal the Instant Pot. Turn vent to sealing position.
- Let the Instant Pot come to pressure and cook 13 minutes. Timing will vary based on the size of artichokes.Large-13 minutesMedium- 10 minutesSmall- 5 minutes
- When the timer goes off, carefully turn the vent to the release position. Quick release until steam no longer comes from the Instant Pot
- Open the Instant Pot, remove the artichokes and serve with the remaining butter (melt the butter).
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only.
Leave a comment and rate this recipe!
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Daina says
I followed the directions exactly. I ended up having to put them back in for two minutes at a time several times. I am from the west coast so I‘m used to artichokes being very large. I guessed the ones I was cooking were small to medium, so I cooked them based on medium time frame recommendation. I never did get them done. Not sure why I couldn’t get them to turn out.
TheTastyTravelers says
Hi there. Thanks for reaching out. I’m sorry to hear that your artichokes did not turn out. It really does depend on what size artichoke you are making and how well done you like them. It sounds like you have some pretty big (I’m so jealous!)artichokes. I would recommend cooking them longer next time. Based on your feedback, I did go and update the recipe to include a longer cook time for extra large artichokes and made the recommendation to pressure cook an additional 2 minutes if you prefer your artichokes a little softer. I hope that helps! 🙂
brandy says
do you just eat the heart not leaves?
TheTastyTravelers says
You eat the heart and the meaty bottom part of the leaves. After they are cooked, the bottom of the leaves by the stem get soft. You pull off each leaf and then dip in butter and scrape off the meaty part with your teeth. When you start to get to the center of the artichoke, the leaves will become very small and a little prickly. Don’t eat those. Rip off the center of the leaves and all of the furry parts. I use a spoon to remove the fur to keep the heart in tact. Once the heart is exposed and all of the fur is removed, dip the heart in butter and enjoy! It’s so good!
Dawn Waarich says
Now I want burnt ends and artichokes!
TheTastyTravelers says
Me too! They were both sooooo good! Let us know if you try the artichoke recipe. 🙂