Learn how to cook artichokes and eat them with this simple video tutorial and recipe for Instant Pot artichokes – you’ll love the creamy garlic dipping sauce!
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Ingredients in Instant Pot artichokes
You don’t need many ingredients to make this recipe – in fact, you need just artichokes, water and seasonings for the actual artichokes themselves. From there, serve with a dip of choice or my creamy garlic dipping sauce.
Here’s what you need:
- water
- artichokes
- lemon juice
- salt & pepper
Here’s what you need for the dipping sauce:
- light mayo
- sour cream
- parmesan cheese
- garlic
- lemon juice
- salt & pepper
Steaming artichokes in the pressure cooker
It’s easy to make these artichokes in the Instant Pot. Here’s how:
- Trim the stems off the artichokes and peel away any browned outer leaves.
- Chop off the tops of the artichokes, then rinse them.
- Place trivet inside Instant Pot, then pour in water.
- Place the artichokes in the Instant Pot facing upright, then pour lemon juice overtop and season with salt & pepper.
- Pressure cook for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix together ingredients for the creamy garlic parmesan dip.
- Do a quick release of the pressure. Serve the artichoke by peeling off the leaves and dipping in the dip. Enjoy!
What does artichoke taste like?
When they are raw, artichokes really don’t have a lot of flavour. If anything, the flavour is very mild, sort of similar to egg whites.
Some people associate the flavour of steamed artichokes with celery or early spring asparagus, crisp but with a nutty undertone. They are the perfect vehicle for dipping so whip up a batch and enjoy them as an appetizer with this creamy garlic sauce!
What dip goes best with artichokes?
There are plenty of delicious dipping options! Any type of creamy, tangy dip is perfect to serve with Instant Pot artichokes. Other dip ideas include roasted red pepper dip and hummus. Ranch or caesar dressing works too.
My favourite is creamy garlic dip though. The recipe to make it is in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Ingredient substitutions
- Mayonnaise – To keep the calories of the dip down, I use light mayo. Full fat, light, or even fat free mayo will work fine. You can even use a paleo-friendly mayo.
- Sour cream – Good substitutes for sour cream are Greek yogurt and creme fraiche. They are both thick and have the tang that sour cream has.
- Parmesan cheese – If you don’t have Parmesan cheese, any flavour of hard grated cheese pairs well with artichokes. If you need a vegan or dairy-free option, consider using nutritional yeast.
- Garlic cloves – You’ll be mincing the garlic to use in this recipe. If you would rather use pre-minced garlic from a jar, that will give you the fresh flavour as well. If you’re in a pinch, you can use dried garlic, but the flavour will be milder.
- Lemon juice – If you don’t have any lemon juice on hand, you can use lime juice or even orange juice.
How do you eat artichokes?
How the vegetable is eaten depends on whether you are serving it as an appetizer, snack, or as a meal in and of itself.
Snacking
The most common way to serve artichokes for snacking is with a dip. First, the entire artichoke is steamed, boiled, or sometimes baked. Then the outer petals are removed from the inner choke and used for dipping.
Appetizer
In addition to using the petals for dipping, the inner part of the vegetable can be incorporated into appetizers like spinach artichoke dip. They’re also delicious with chutney or preserves.
Another great way to use them is in soup – creamy artichoke soup is delicious! When they are steamed, the petals of the vegetable become very soft. As a result, they are easy to blend in a food processor or with an immersion blender.
Main Dishes
Because the taste is so plain, there are a lot of ingredients that pair well with this vegetable! One delicious way to serve them as a meal is to stuff them with meat or vegan protein such as chicken, beef or legumes. Grains like rice, quinoa, and lentils are perfect pairings for artichokes as well.
Additionally, artichoke hearts are often added to salads.
Instant Pot stuffed artichokes
Artichokes are absolutely delicious as is. Even better though, is stuffing them! You can take a steamed artichoke and stuff it with a mixture of breadcrumbs, garlic, Parmesan cheese, and a bit of oil.
To make Instant Pot stuffed artichokes, all you need to do is reduce the cooking time shown in the recipe below from 10 minutes to 5 minutes. After the first 5 minutes, you should do a quick release of the pressure.
When the pin drops to indicate that it’s safe to remove the lid, use tongs to remove the partially steamed artichoke and stuff the breadcrumb mixture between the petals. Then, place the stuffed artichoke back into the Instant Pot and set the cook time for the remaining 5 minutes.
Storing and reheating
This dish is best when it’s eaten fresh. But if you have leftovers, wrap them in plastic wrap or an airtight container and store them in the fridge for up to 3 days.
The best way to reheat them without making the leaves too soft or soggy is on a sheet pan in a 350 F. oven. Place them in a single layer and it will take about 15 minutes to warm them through.
More Instant Pot vegetable recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Here’s the steam basket trivet in case you lost the one that comes with your Instant Pot
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on storing the leftovers
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Instant Pot Artichokes
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 4 artichokes
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
Creamy garlic dipping sauce
- 1/4 cup light mayo
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp each salt & pepper
Instructions
- Prepare the artichokes by trimming the stems and peel away any browned outer leaves. Chop off the tops of the artichokes (about 1/4 of the way down). Rinse the artichokes.
- Place trivet inside Instant Pot, then pour in water. Place the artichokes in the Instant Pot facing upright, then pour lemon juice overtop and season with salt & pepper.
- Place lid on Instant Pot and make sure valve is set to seal. Press the pressure cook button and set to high, then cook for 10 minutes. Instant Pot will take about 5-10 minutes to come to pressure then pressure cook for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix together ingredients for the creamy garlic parmesan dip.
- Do a quick release of the pressure on the Instant Pot by flicking the switch at the top with a spoon. Open the lid when pressure gauge has dropped and the lid opens easily. Once lid is safe to open, remove artichokes with tongs.
- Serve the artichoke by peeling off the leaves and dipping in the dip. That's how you eat it - enjoy!
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