How to Cook Artichokes {Easy Step-by-Step Tutorial}

An easy step-by-step photo tutorial on how to prep and cook artichokes.

Artichokes are one of my favorite vegetables of all time. The creamy, buttery texture and slightly grassy flavor pairs perfectly with just a sprinkle of sea salt and a splash of fresh lemon juice. The ultimate low calorie, high fiber side dish, I love scraping the meat off each leaf.

When I was preparing artichokes recently over on Instagram stories, many of you mentioned that you love artichokes but don’t know how to prepare or cook them. To help, I’ve decided to show you, through a step-by-step photograph tutorial, just how easy artichokes are to cook at home.

The first step is to slice off the top of each artichoke, about 1 inch deep. Since most of the “meat” is located inside the bottom of each leaf, you don’t need the tough portion on the top of the leaves. Discard these pointy pieces (or get fancy and save them for a vegetable stock!)

Next, remove about one inch from the bottom of each stem. There is no real reason for this other than creating more space in the pot when you cook them. In fact, I don’t eat much of the stem at all so you could probably even remove more but I like the look of leaving a little of it intact.

Grab a pair of scissors for the third step and carefully slice off the pointy tops of each remaining leaf on the outer edge of the artichoke. Be sure to carefully rotate the artichoke in a circle to make sure you don’t have any prickly pieces remaining.

At this point you are now ready to cook the artichokes. My favorite cooking method is to line a steamer basket with lemon slices and bring 2-3 inches of water to a roaring boil. Place the artichokes in the pan, facing down, and cover tightly with a lid. Steam until the inner leaves pull easily and the hearts are tender, about 30-35 minutes.

Stay tuned for one of my favorite steamed artichoke recipes: Steamed Artichokes with Tahini Garlic Dipping Sauce.

No forks required.

Photography by Alejandro Photography

Check out more healthy and easy appetizer recipes on my Pinterest board!