Instant Pot Artichokes

Instant Pot Artichokes: A delicious healthy snack made easily with an instant pot. With only a few minutes of prep, you’ll have a tasty appetizer to enjoy without guilt.

If you’ve ever considered making an artichoke, you’ll know how intimidating this process can be. How do you pick one? Prep one? Cook it? What do you serve it with?

It can be very daunting when you try it for the first time.

Thankfully, using an instant pot makes it much easier. I also explain below how to select them and prep them so you’re not lost in the process!

What I really love about artichokes (now that they’re one of my favorite snacks to whip up), is how healthy they are. There are an array of healthy nutrients and paired with a good sauce… they taste incredible.

You can eat several of these without guilt because well… they’re healthy!

But before we get to the recipe, let’s go over how to pick a good artichoke.

How to choose a perfect artichoke

When choosing an artichoke, you don’t want to grab the first one you see and head to the check out line. A good quality artichoke is key when it comes time to cooking.

When choosing an artichoke, you’ll want to make sure that:

• The leaves are tightly packed.
• The weight feels heavy for its size.
• It feels firm with a stem that doesn’t easily bend.
• You hear a “squeak” sound when you squeeze the leaves.

Note: Avoid washing your artichokes until right before you’re ready to prepare them. To preserve freshness, put a bit of water on the stem and dab it dry before storing in the fridge.

How do you prepare artichokes?

Before tossing your artichokes into the instant pot, you’ll need to prep them. This is done by removing the stem and slicing off the top of your artichoke. You’ll also want to snip off the tips of each leaf with a pair of kitchen scissors.

This ensures the artichokes sit level and are ready to eat upon cooking!

Does the size of an artichoke affect cooking time?

Yes! This recipe assumes you have a medium sized artichoke, so you will need to adjust cooking time for the size of yours. Small artichokes will only take 10 minutes, while larger ones will need to cook for 30 minutes.

Instant pot artichokes ingredients

• Artichokes: the primary ingredient for this recipe is artichokes – see notes on how to choose a quality artichoke.
• Water (see notes): you need enough water to cover the artichokes – see notes on how much water to use for your IP model.
• Lemon slices: a few lemon slices adds some acidity to the water to limit the browning of your artichokes.
• Toppings: I love to add additional lemon, butter, and salt to my artichokes once they’re done cooking. Add whatever you like to yours!

How to make instant pot artichokes

1. Prepare the artichokes by removing the stem and slicing off the top. Cut the tips off each leaf with a pair of kitchen scissors.
2. Add the steamer rack into the bottom of your instant pot and pour the required amount of water inside (see notes).
3. Drop a few lemon slices into the water and then place the artichokes stem side down, onto the rack.
4. Replace the lid and set it to the sealing position. Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes and quick release when finished cooking.
5. Serve with your desired toppings. Enjoy!

How much water should I add to my instant pot?

The amount of water you add varies, depending on the size of pressure cooker you own. Here’s a good guide to follow for this recipe:

• 3QT: 3/4 cup of water should be used
• 6QT: 1 cup of water should be used
• 8QT: 1 1/2 cups of water should be used

Why did my artichoke come out mushy?

This can happen for a variety of reasons – low quality artichoke, too much water, etc. But the most common reason is that it was overcooked.

In order to prevent this, you will want to quick release your whole artichoke (halved artichokes also cause them to overcook) and open the lid as soon as possible to release the moisture.

If you’d like to cut your artichoke in half, wait until after they have finished cooking.

What do I serve with artichokes?

A perfect companion to these instant pot artichokes is a good sauce. These are some of my favorites that I know you’ll love too:

• Melted Herb Butter: mix ½ cup melted salted butter with ¼ teaspoon dried parsley
• Balsamic Mayo Dip: mix ¼ cup real mayonnaise with ¼-½ teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• Melted Lemon Garlic Butter: mix ½ cup melted butter, 1 teaspoon lemon, and ¼ teaspoon garlic powder

More artichoke recipes:

• Tomato & Artichoke Salad
• Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip
• Easy Cheesy Killer Artichoke Bread

Try these other simple side recipes:

• Instant Pot Asparagus
• Whole Roasted Rainbow Carrots
• Perfect Roasted Rosemary Potatoes
• Keto Brussel Sprouts

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