• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Pinch My Salt

Food, Recipes, and Photography

  • About
  • Contact
  • Links
  • Recipe List
  • Store
  • The BBA Challenge

How to Roast Whole Artichokes

November 6, 2019 by Nicole 92 Comments

Roasted Artichokes

Have you ever wondered how to roast whole artichokes? The method is simple and these whole roasted artichokes flavored with garlic, lemon, and olive oil are just amazing.

This post was originally published in 2010 and has been updated with a printable recipe. Scroll to the very bottom of the post to print.

I grew up in central California where I certainly ate my fair share of artichokes over the years. And during those four years I spent in Sicily, I probably ate way more than my fair share. Sorry, it couldn’t be helped.

My standard way of cooking whole artichokes is to steam them until tender and then eat them by peeling off the leaves one by one, dipping each into mayo before scraping off the tiny bits of artichoke “meat” with my teeth.

I continue to do this until I have ingested way more mayonnaise than any person needs to consume in one sitting (as evidenced by the huge pile of artichoke leaves towering in front of me by the time I’m done) and I have made my way to the heart, which I carefully trim and clean before eating it with even more mayo. 

Don’t judge.

In Sicily it was different. There, I mostly ate smaller artichokes that were drizzled with fruity olive oil and grilled over an open flame. 

Delicious!

Of course I cook and eat whole artichokes in other ways, too. I love stuffing whole artichokes with a mixture of bread crumbs, garlic, Pecorino, and fresh herbs. I’ll definitely be sharing that recipe here someday.

I also love artichoke hearts prepared just about any way you can imagine (especially breaded, fried, and drizzled with tart lemon-butter).  I love cheesy, bubbling artichoke dips and I love artichoke soups!

While I do enjoy eating artichokes in a variety of ways, I haven’t branched out much when cooking whole artichokes at home. I’ve steamed them and boiled them and occasionally I will finish a partially steamed or boiled artichoke on the grill, but that’s about it.

So when I ran across this method for Simple Roasted Artichokes, I knew I had to give it a try.

I don’t know why I never learned how to roast whole artichokes, but now that the heat of summer is gone and it’s not unreasonable to have the oven on for long periods of time, I will definitely be using this method more often!

Here are some step-by-step photos to show you how to roast and eat a whole artichoke. The printable recipe can be found at the very bottom of this post.

Artichokes in Wooden Bowl

I started with these gorgeous artichokes that I picked up at a fruit stand in Gilroy the other day. This is one of the many reasons I love living in California.

Cut top from Artichoke

First, I sliced off the top third of the artichoke with a sharp knife. All of that part is inedible, so you aren’t wasting anything by doing this. Plus, it looks so pretty!

Cut Stem from Artichoke

Next, I cut off the stem right at the base of the artichoke. The stem is edible if peeled, so you can save it if you want. Mine didn’t come with much of a stem, so I didn’t bother saving it. Also, the stem can sometimes be bitter.

Trimmed Artichokes Rubbed with Lemon

With the stems cut off at the base,  the artichokes will sit up nicely on their own. Aren’t they beautiful? There’s really no need to trim the thorns off the tops of the leaves, as they will soften during the long roasting time.

Artichokes Stuffed with Garlic

Now tear off a large square of heavy duty aluminum foil, drizzle it with a few drops of olive oil, and smear it around.

Place one artichoke in the middle of the foil and open up the leaves a bit with your fingers. Tuck a couple peeled garlic cloves into the artichoke. Sprinkle kosher salt all over it then squeeze lemon juice and drizzle olive oil over the top.

I used half a lemon per artichoke and probably drizzled a tablespoon or so of oil (maybe more).

Artichokes Wrapped in Foil

Once you’ve seasoned the whole artichokes for roasting, wrap the foil up around them, sealing it well. If you don’t have heavy duty aluminum foil, wrap it with an extra sheet of the regular kind. Repeat with as many artichokes as you want.

Place wrapped artichokes in a pan and roast in a preheated 425 degree oven for one hour and 15 minutes. If you are using small artichokes, one hour is good. Jumbo artichokes might take an hour and a half.

To make sure the artichoke it done, turn it over and pierce the bottom of the artichoke with a thin knife. The knife will slide in easily when it is tender enough to eat.

Unwrapped Roasted Artichoke

After removing them from the oven, let artichokes rest until cool enough to handle, then unwrap. The garlic will be soft and sweet and delicious– you’ll probably want to eat that first.

Artichoke Heart

Next, start peeling off the leaves one by one, and enjoy the garlicky, lemony, salty olive oil as you scrape each one with your teeth. I didn’t even need mayonnaise this time!

Down to the Artichoke Heart

If you’ve never dealt with a whole artichoke before, you might be a little confused or intimidated when it comes to finding the heart.

I’m here to help.

Remove all the leaves until it looks something like the photo above. There will be a bunch of thin tender leaves gathered in the middle.

Pull off remaining small leaves all at once

Grab the remaining leaves with your fingers, grasp the bottom of the artichoke with your other hand, and pull.

You can’t see me holding it with both hands, because one hand had to take these pictures!

Fuzzy Choke Revealed

The whole thing should pop right off like a cap, leaving some furry-looking stuff behind, which is called the choke.

Scoop out the furry part

Take a spoon and gently scrape out the choke.

You’re not going to want to eat that part, so just add it to your pile of discarded leaves.

The Heart Remains

What you have left is what I call the heart, but might be more accurately described as the artichoke bottom.

Whatever you want to call it, it is absolutely delicious and my favorite part of the artichoke!

Ready to Eat

The fork is only there for show— I always eat the entire artichoke with my hands.

The artichoke heart is delicious on its own or dipped in mayonnaise or aioli.

The End

While these whole roasted artichokes did take a long time to cook, they were definitely worth the wait! Whole roasted artichokes are simple to prepare and simply delicious.

Next time I might add even more garlic cloves because the roasted garlic was one of the best parts.

Give it a try!

Related Recipes:

  • Artichoke Hummus
  • Artichoke Cheddar Squares
  • Curry Artichoke Rice Salad
  • Creamy Roasted Cauliflower and Artichoke Soup

Artichoke Recipe around the Web:

  • Spinach Artichoke Lasagna from Cookie and Kate
  • Artichoke Shakshuka from Half-Baked Harvest
  • One Pan Lemon Chicken Orzo with Artichokes from Alexandra’s Kitchen
  • Artichoke Leek Frittata from Simply Recipes
How to Roast Whole Artichokes

How to Roast Whole Artichokes

Yield: 4 Servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 whole artichokes
  • 2 small lemons
  • 1/4 cup olive oil (plus a little extra)
  • 8 cloves garlic, peeled
  • salt, to taste

Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

    2. Cut 4 squares of heavy duty foil, each one large enough to wrap an artichoke.

    3. Drizzle a few drops of olive oil on each foil square and smear around a bit then set the foil aside.

    4. Using a sharp knife, carefully slice off the top third of the leaves of each artichoke then cut the stems off, right at the base of the artichoke.

    5. Place one artichoke on each square of oiled aluminum foil. Open up the inside leaves a bit and tuck a couple cloves of garlic in each artichoke. Sprinkle a good pinch of kosher salt all over each one. Squeeze half a lemon over the top of each then drizzle each with about a tablespoon of olive oil.

    6. Wrap each artichoke with the foil. Place wrapped artichokes in a pan or on a baking sheet and roast in a preheated 425 degree oven for one hour and fifteen minutes for medium-size artichokes.

    7. Let artichokes rest until cool enough to be handled then enjoy!

Notes

Small artichokes might be done in one hour and large artichokes might take an hour and a half.

The artichoke is done when the bottom is pierced easily with a thin knife. The knife will slide in easily when the artichokes are tender enough to eat.

© Nicole Cross
Category: Side Dishes

Filed Under: Side Dishes, Snacks, Tips and Tricks, Vegetarian

Previous Post: « Classic Persimmon Cookies
Next Post: Citrus Almond Olive Oil Cake »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Allison says

    April 18, 2013 at 1:13 pm

    This looks delicious! Pinning this now and plan to use it soon.
    Reply
  2. karingkare says

    July 5, 2013 at 1:50 pm

    I tried this a year ago... great recipe from allrecipes.com
    Reply
  3. Jessica says

    October 18, 2013 at 6:18 pm

    Made these tonight for dinner, fantastic! The garlic was delicious also and I too will probably put in more next time. Thank you so much for posting this!
    Reply
  4. Bella says

    December 2, 2013 at 8:00 pm

    Omg!! They came out insane my husband couldn't stop telling me how they are seriously better than this amazing Italian resturant that makes these insane roasted artichokes. That is a huge compliment! I have tried replicating them several times but I always boiled them first because that's how the resturant told me they do it... I am in artichoke heaven. Thanx
    Reply
  5. Sarafina says

    January 10, 2014 at 4:03 pm

    I'm Sicilian and have eaten these gems all my life in every way. I think using mayo is a crime and have always used good EVOO. The stems can easily be included in the packets by paring off the tough outer layer and cutting in half lengthwise. Sprinkle with salt and add a bit of the olive oil. Tuck in along side the artichoke and wrap tightly. Yum.
    Reply
  6. Jill says

    February 23, 2014 at 12:00 pm

    I try to avoid cooking my food with aluminum because it leaches into your food. Have you ever tried wrapping them in parchment paper first, then foil? I really want to give this recipe a try but would hate to ruin some great artichokes with a failed experiment.
    Reply
  7. Katy McCoy says

    April 14, 2014 at 8:36 pm

    I grew up eating articholkes, steamed. I tried roasting them tomight - OMG! Seriously, delicious. I know what roasting does for cauliflower - I can't believe I didn't think of this. I do beets the same way (although without the garlic!). This is my new go-to! Thanks!
    Reply
  8. Katy McCoy says

    April 14, 2014 at 8:37 pm

    I grew up eating artichokes, steamed. I tried roasting them tonight - OMG! Seriously, delicious. I know what roasting does for cauliflower - I can't believe I didn't think of this. I do beets the same way (although without the garlic!). This is my new go-to! Thanks!
    Reply
  9. Joyce says

    April 22, 2014 at 5:24 am

    This is the BEST way to cook artichokes period. OMG, my husband and I are both original Californian artichoke lovers and thought the steamed way was the only way. Now we will never go back to the steam method. Great job on sharing this recipe - our family and friends love it, too!
    Reply
  10. Lynette says

    May 17, 2014 at 11:13 am

    Can these be made a few hours ahead and kept warm in a warming drawer?
    Reply
  11. Megan says

    May 29, 2014 at 5:50 pm

    This artichoke recipe is incredible! I've always thought I loved artichokes and then I tried this recipe! So glad I found this recipe, thanks!
    Reply
  12. Cinthai says

    July 6, 2014 at 3:01 pm

    im going to go try this right now!! lets see how it goes. (:
    Reply
  13. Christine says

    August 4, 2014 at 1:10 am

    Thanks for this recipe. I definitely did not need any mayo with the artichokes! Very simple to make yet delicious.
    Reply
  14. Heather Adams says

    September 7, 2014 at 5:55 am

    Did you find that roasting them for such a long time made them dry? I'm just wondering if I should add 1/4 cup chicken stock to the foil packets.
    Reply
    • Nicole says

      September 8, 2014 at 8:17 am

      Heather- I really don't have any problems with them being dry. Enjoy!
      Reply
  15. AwesomeSauce101 says

    November 4, 2014 at 2:10 pm

    I love how she did this, it is soooo neat :) ;)
    Reply
  16. toni says

    November 11, 2014 at 12:04 pm

    I can't wait to try this! I'm an Italian American and I have enjoyed stuffed artichokes for ages. I never heard of eating them with mayo.
    Reply
  17. Juan says

    November 13, 2014 at 10:24 am

    Hi, I stumbled upon this recipe in desparate search for an easy recipe with some artichokes I recently purchased out of sheer curiosity. I want to thank this site for this recipe. It worked wonderfully! I have now lost my fear of cooking and eating an artichoke.
    Reply
  18. Katie Brigstock says

    April 25, 2015 at 2:24 am

    This was such a useful post! thank you! I was about to cook some artichokes and had no idea what to do with them so this was perfect! xx
    Reply
  19. Rommy says

    March 21, 2016 at 4:20 pm

    Hi, I was looking for another way to cook artichokes, I just found your recipe. Great explanations and good recipe.
    Reply
  20. June says

    August 9, 2016 at 12:07 pm

    Just found your website anxious to try roasted artichokes...if I can find any decent ones in market...live in Carmel...will have to travel I guess to Castroville. Been disappointed in what I've found in markets locally.
    Reply
« Older Comments
Newer Comments »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Posts by Category

Copyright © 2021 · Privacy · Terms and Conditions