Instant Pot artichokes quickly cook whole globes with ease to yield tender meat inside the leaves and heart. A delicious appetizer prepared under pressure that’s infused with lemons, garlic, and rosemary. Serve with dip for a healthy vegetable starter or snack.
A fast and easy way to prepare artichokes is by using an electric pressure cooker. Trimming the artichoke beforehand ensures efficient tenderizing of the outer leaves and into the center. A small amount of water, sliced lemons, garlic, and a sprig of rosemary creates aromatic steam for the vegetable to cook and absorb the herbaceous flavors.
Artichokes are natures healthy snack. Each serving provides nutritional benefits like fiber, vitamin C, and potassium. It’s an interactive appetizer that’s fun to eat, much like chips and salsa. Serve with your favorite dips like melted butter, aioli, or hollandaise sauce for a simple gourmet dish.
How do you prepare artichokes for the pressure cooker
The stem and tiny leaves at the base need to be removed in addition to the tiny thorns on the tips of the leaves. Use a chef’s knife to trim about an inch from the top of the globe and the bottom portion. This will help it sit level in the pressure cooker. Use kitchen shears to trim off the sharp points so that its ready to eat immediately after pressure cooking.
How to cook artichokes in the Instant Pot
- Trim the top to remove sharp thorns and the bottom stem.
- Add water, lemon, garlic, and rosemary to the Instant Pot.
- Add steamer insert and then artichokes to the pot.
- Cover and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes.
- Quick-release the pressure.
- Remove and allow to cool slightly before serving.
Similar to boiling artichokes, when it’s easy to remove the leaves with a gentle pull then it’s done cooking. The best part, in my opinion, is once all of the petals are removed, a meaty and tender heart is revealed at the core. Make sure not to throw this part away, or you’ll be missing out!
Why do you soak the artichokes in lemon water?
When the leaves are cut the flesh is exposed to oxygen, the natural enzymes in the vegetable create a browning reaction. To reduce this color change, combine water and lemon juice to create an acidulated bath for the artichokes. The acid-like environment halts the enzyme activity, leaving the leaves nice and green.
How does the size of the artichoke impact cook time?
Yes, artichoke can measure in size from as small as 2 inches to 4 inches or larger around, not counting the length of the stem. The weight can also be as small as 8 ounces to 1 pound in weight. The Instant Pot is very effective at cooking food once the steam is built up, therefore reducing the time by a few minutes for smaller globes.
What do you serve with this?
If you want to keep things simple, just sprinkle sea salt and freshly cracked pepper over the top. Some tasty dipping sauce ideas are homemade mayonnaise mixed with Dijon mustard and chopped basil, melted butter, hollandaise sauce, or a creamy pesto sauce.
More Instant Pot recipes
Why do you quick release the pressure from the Instant Pot when cooking artichokes?
I find that it’s best to quick-release the pressure because extra time in the steamy environment will cause the leaves to become overly mushy and darker in color. The slow release of the steam over 212ºF (100ºC) continues to cook the vegetable and changes its texture within minutes.
Instant Pot Artichokes
Ingredients
- 2 quarts water, for soaking
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 2 large artichokes
- 1 cup water, for pressure cooking
- 2 lemon slices
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1 sprig of rosemary
Instructions
- Fill a large bowl with 2 quarts of water and lemon juice.
- Prepare artichokes by using a chef’s knife to cut off about ¾ to 1-inch of leaves from the top.
- Hold the base of the artichoke and use kitchen shears to trim the ends of the leaves to remove the sharp thorns.
- Cut the stem off flush with the base of the artichoke bulb.
- Add cut artichokes to the lemon water.
- Add 1 cup of water, lemon slices, garlic slices, and rosemary to a 6-quart Instant Pot.
- Place the steaming rack on top.
- Drain the artichokes by turning them upside down and shaking off the excess water.
- Place the artichokes on top of the steaming rack, top side facing up.
- Make sure that the release valve is in the "Sealing" position.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot, turn and lock.
- Press "Manual" button on the Instant Pot on high pressure, and then set the timer to 20 minutes using the "+" or "-" buttons.
- It will take about 10 to 15 minutes for the pot to heat and build up pressure. You will see some steam release from the lid, and then the time will start on the display.
- Once the display indicates "On" and begins the countdown at "20", the Instant Pot will beep when the cycle is complete.
- Cover the steam release handle with a towel to avoid splattering. Carefully quick-release the pressure from the pot by sliding the steam release handle to the "Venting" position, releasing all of the steam until the float valve drops down.
- Open the lid and use tongs to remove the artichokes.
- The artichoke is ready when the leaves can be easily emoved and the meat is tender.
Notes
- Small artichokes (2 inches in size) cook 16 minutes; 4 to 6 will fit.
- Medium artichokes (3 inches in size) cook 18 minutes; 3 to 4 will fit.
- Large artichokes (4 to 5 inches in size) cook 20 minutes; 2 will fit.
- An 8-quart instant pot will need 2 cups of water.
- Large artichokes harvested in the early spring and summer may require less cooking time (12 to 15 minutes) compared to late summer/fall artichokes, which need 20 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet. All nutritional information is based on estimated third-party calculations. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.
JD Ross says
Probably just an oversight, but it bears mentioning that one should either remove the choke before cooking, or be aware of and carefully remove after cooking. Fuzzy little buggers aren’t called a choke for nothing.
Jessica Gavin says
Agreed! For cooking whole globes I leave the choke in and then remove the choke sitting on top of the heart. I’ll make a mention in the recipe notes, thanks!
Lorrie says
Right!
Eric says
JD, you have never had an Artichoke, if you are not familiar with the fuzzy part around the heart. I cook Artichokes every other week on Saturdays, and have done so for over 20 years. I typically steam them on a stove or 60-70 minutes and they are perfect, Tender. I am going to try on Instant Pot, just got one today. I will start with this recipe, sounds like the best one i have found.. I would like quicker than 70 minutes, but some recipes call for 8 minutes and then they are crunchy. Why even bother. Artichokes are wonderful, if cooked long enough to get soft and tender. I will try this one. Thanks
GWE says
Eric, you can cut that time down a bit by pre-warming the pot using “Saute” on high while you prep the ‘Chokes. I’ve doing this and it does appreciably cut that “warm up/pressure up” time. Try it…
E schuller says
Artichokes are nutritious and yummy! Love them and thanks for the recipe! I’m doing it tonight just for me. We had one left over from Mother’s Day. We have too many leftovers so the family is on their own. ?
I did want to add, Vitamin C is destroyed by heat so it won’t count if one is trying to get it into their diet.
Mary Heidt says
I made this tonight for myself as my husband does not like them. I followed the recipe exactly and needed to put them back in the instapot for another 12. They were average size. Just wanted to say. I will have for tomorrow.
Megan Fitzgerald says
My artichokes were also very underdone at this cook time. I had to double it to get leaves that would come off when pulled
Eric says
I’ve used this procedure multiple times (thanks!) and I’ve noticed that the required cook time seems to change with the time of year. For example, 12-15 minutes seems to be pretty standard from late winter to late summer but needs closer to 20m after late summer. Size doesn’t seem to be a factor. I don’t know if this has something to do with where my grocery store is sourcing them, the density of the petals, or what but I’m throwing it out there to see if others have noticed too.
Jessica Gavin says
Hi Eric- I think you may be on to an interesting observation. I also noticed that the crop in early spring seemed to cook faster compared to the fall bounty. I’m going to add that into my notes section. However, I did find that 20 minutes was a much better doneness compared to 12 minutes for the october artichokes I tested. The heart and meat was more tender and the leaves we pulled off much easier. Let me know if you see any difference next year!
Jessica Gavin says
Hi there! I did some additional testing and updated the recipe cook times. Thanks for your feedback everyone!
Mary Heidt says
I made these tonight. I had to cook mine for 20 minutes instead of 12. No problem. I make artichokes for myself has my husband does not like them. These were pretty big, not huge but nice size. this is the first time I have made them in the instapot. This is the way I will make them from now on. easy and good.
Jill says
Yes, definitely 20 minutes. 12 was not enough. Much better than an hour though!
Jacqueline Dufrain says
Accident I left one lg artichoke I was cooking in the instant pot for another 11 minutes, then released pressure. it came out perfect. I didn’t have lemons but I did have lemon juice and put some in the cup of water. I also added some sea salt.
Best artichoke I ever had.
Jessica Gavin says
Sounds like it was culinary fate!
Marge says
Tried this today and turned out awesome ? I’ve been a little intimated by my insta pot but I must say, it’s so easy and fast. Will be trying it out more often.
Jessica Gavin says
So excited for you Marge! Especially with artichokes coming into the season, now you can enjoy more of it!
Tom says
Hpw long do you soak them in the lemon water?
Rosa says
I have the same question
Steve says
I use lemon water or a bit of vinegar mainly to keep the cut surfaces from turning brown. As I trim them, they go into the acidic bath only until ready to cook them. The first one then has a longer time than the last, but they all taste the same at the end -delicious!
20 minutes was a little long for my 2 February ‘chokes, next time I’ll try 15 minutes. Instant Pot is definitely my favorite way to cook these beauties.
Jessica Gavin says
Thanks for sharing your tips!
Kellie says
I grew up with my mom cooking artichokes in a stovetop pressure cooker. This is definitely the easiest way to cook them. I agree there are different cooking times, which is sometimes frustrating. Good to know it’s due to the time of year. My son brought home a huge artichoke (10 inches across) from the farmer’s market last week so I ended up cutting it in half. It cooked in 12 minutes that way (Springtime).
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you for your feedback! I’ve found that once the pot heats up initially, it’s easy to bring it back up to pressure quickly for a few minutes if needed to keep cooking the artichokes. That is one BIG artichoke you got!
Cynde says
I have 2 extra large artichokes and there is not enough room for both of them to sit in the pot, is it ok to stack the artichokes?
Jessica Gavin says
I think you could place the artichokes off-center so that the other isn’t completely covering the one below. However, if they are very large, it might be good to cook them separately.
Karen says
Thanks for the great tips! Sadly I never thought to put a towel over the steam valve (I usually put it under my range hood and turn on the fan but it still leaves a mess). Also, didn’t know about the seasonal difference with cooking time. That would explain the inconsistency I have been struggling with.
Jessica Gavin says
You’re welcome, Karen! I’ve always found that it’s easy to cook a bit longer if needed, the Instant pot gets up to pressure quicker which is nice.
Marlene Taylor says
What is the time for 1 large artichoke
Jessica Gavin says
I would keep the time at 20 minutes, then add more time if needed.
AJ511 says
Wonderful. Very large artichokes, took 20 minutes and they were perfect. I was especially pleased by the subtle flavor and mouthwatering aroma the garlic, lemon and rosemary added.
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you for your feedback on the artichoke recipe!
suzi says
a great way to prepare artichokes! I always just used water but this really elevated the flavor and we really enjoyed them, thank you for this one!!! will do it this way from now on for sure!!
Jessica Gavin says
You’re welcome, Suzi! Thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the artichoke recipe.