Cook this Easy, Fast, Foolproof Instant Pot Artichokes (Pressure Cooker Artichokes) in 20 mins! A superfood nutrient powerhouse – high in antioxidants & dietary fiber, with delicious delicate flavors. Jump to: Recipe | Step by Step Photo Guide Tried the Recipe? Rate it here 4.91 from 21 votes Ever thought this thorny green flower-head looks out of place in the veggies section in the market? Artichokes might look intriguing & intimidating at first. How do I cook this? How do I eat this? What does it taste like? Can I eat the petals? What do you eat it with?? What is an Artichoke? Artichokes, just like broccoli & cauliflower, are nutrients-packed edible flower buds! 😀 This budding flower-head on an edible base is an age-old food from the ancient Greeks and Romans. Once the buds bloom, artichokes turn into large & beautiful purple flowers that are barely edible. I’ve always wondered what it’s like back in the days with so little knowledge about food & science. Who was the first person adventurous enough to think – ah! Let’s snatch this thorny green, budding flower from this 4-feet plant, and eat it! They had no idea if it was poisonous or if it posts any threats. Totally admire their bravery (or perhaps they were just desperately starving?).

But now we know artichokes have some of the highest levels of antioxidants and dietary fiber among the vegetables. Even higher antioxidant content than blueberries, broccoli, or red wine; and higher fiber content than avocado, carrots, or oats. Many enjoy the delicate natural flavor, plus the moist & tender meaty texture.

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE RECIPES + TIPS Tried & True Recipes Delivered To Your Inbox Weekly. 100% Free! SUBSCRIBE! Please check your inbox (sometimes Junk Box) and confirm your subscription! Then, add our email address to your contact list to ensure you will receive our recipes, tips, and giveaways! How to Purchase Artichokes? Here are some pointers for purchasing fresh & quality Artichokes: Compact petals still rather closed = more fresh & tender

Feels heavy for the size & firm

Fresh healthy green color (avoid dehydrated or wilted ones)

How to Store Artichokes? It’s not fun when you open your fridge, excited to try a recipe to find your ingredients gone bad 🙁 Here are 3 tips for storing fresh uncooked Artichokes: Slice off a bit of the artichoke stem, then sprinkle it with a little water, and place it in the fridge in an airtight plastic bag

Do not wash before storing

Best to cook within 5 – 7 days of purchase

Pressure Cooker Artichokes Experiment How Long to Pressure Cook Artichokes? Time for another experiment! 😛 What We Look For in Cooked Artichokes? Evenly cooked

Moist, tender petal flesh with a bit of crunch & perfectly cooked heart with a crunch (not mushy-mush or leathery)

The mild & delicate natural artichoke flavor being brought out We conducted 4+ tests with Artichokes using different cooking times & preparation methods in our Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker.

Pressure Cooker Artichokes Test #1 We first tried pressure cooking halved, cut off the stem, trimmed the thorn tips, and scraped off the choke Artichokes (as shown in below photo). P.S. we did leave one without scraping the choke to compare the difference. The results? Mushy-mush-mush overcooked artichokes… 🙁 Here are the Instant Pot Artichokes Experiment Results: *HP = High Pressure; QR = Quick Release After conducting the above pressure cooking tests, we achieved our desired results with Test #4! 🙂 *Note: we checked various places for the last few months, and we still couldn’t source larger Artichokes (ours were 250g, 11″ circumference). Be sure to adjust the cooking time according to the size of your artichokes.

You’ll Enjoy Instant Pot Artichokes Because: Easy, Fast, Foolproof – compare to 30 – 45 mins on the stove or even longer in the oven!

– compare to 30 – 45 mins on the stove or even longer in the oven! Healthy Nutrient Powerhouse – high in antioxidant & dietary fiber

– high in antioxidant & dietary fiber Versatile delight: you can enjoy it on its own as a snack or appetizer with your favorite dip, or sauteed, deep-fried, stuffed, stew…etc.

Ingredients for Instant Pot Artichokes 2 artichokes (1/2lb, 250g each, 11″ circumference)

4 cloves (13g) garlic, minced

2 tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter

Kosher Salt to taste (about 2 pinches)

Optional: lemon juice from 1 lemon

*For Vegans: you can use olive oil in place of unsalted butter for dipping sauce.

Tools for Instant Pot Artichokes Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker

Stainless Steel Steaming Rack Stand

Sauce Pan Instructions for Instant Pot Artichokes Step 1

Wash Artichokes Ingredient 2 artichokes (250g each, 11″ circumference) First, wash the artichokes by submerging them in cold water for 5 minutes. Optional – Step 2

Prepare Artichokes How to Prepare Artichokes? First, lay the artichokes on a cutting board sideways (as shown in below photo). Then, pull off any smaller petals at the base, and use a knife to cut off the stem. Then use a pair of kitchen scissors to trim the thorn tips (about 1 inch) off of all the petals (as shown in below photo). *Pro Tip #1: trimming the thorns are mostly for better presentation. You can skip it for convenience. *Pro Tip #2: we find it’s easier to scrape off the center choke after pressure cooking, so we skipped the scraping at this step.

Step 3

Place Artichokes in Pressure Cooker Ingredients & Tools 1 cup of cold water

2 whole artichokes

Optional: lemon juice from 1 lemon Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker

Stainless Steel Steaming Rack Stand Then, place 1 cup of cold water and a steamer rack in the Instant Pot pressure cooker. Place 2 whole artichokes on the steamer rack (as shown in below photo), and close the lid. *Pro Tip: If you like, squeeze some lemon juice on the artichokes to slow the rate of oxidation.

Step 4

Pressure Cook Artichokes Pressure cook Pressure Cooking Method: Trimmed Artichokes: High Pressure for 8 minutes (using the Manual/Pressure Cook Button) Uncut Whole Artichokes (1/2lb, 250g each, 11″ circumference): High Pressure for 9 minutes (using the Manual/Pressure Cook Button) Larger Artichokes: Please increase the cooking time accordingly.

Pressure Release Method: Quick Release Open the lid carefully.

Step 5

Prepare Garlic Butter Ingredients & Tool 4 cloves (13g) garlic, minced

2 tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter

Kosher salt to taste (about 2 pinches) Sauce pan While the artichokes are cooking in the pressure cooker, heat a sauce pan over medium low heat. Melt 2 tbsp (30g) unsalted butter and add in the minced garlic. Sauté garlic until golden brown. Do not let the garlic burn. Set aside to cool it down slightly. Season with kosher salt and adjust to taste (about 2 pinches).

Step 6

Serve Instant Pot Artichokes Serve Instant Pot Artichokes with Garlic Butter Sauce. Dip and enjoy the yummy Pressure Cooker Artichokes!~

How to Eat an Artichoke? When the Pressure Cooker Artichoke has cooled enough to handle, you can pull off the petals one at a time. Then, dip the white fleshy ends into the sauce. Eat only the soft, white fleshy part of the petal with the dip. Then, discard the remaining petal. *Tip: Easiest way to eat is to have the sauce side down at your tongue, then pull the petal outwards as you slightly clench your teeth to strip off the fleshy meat. Peel . Dip . EAT! and Repeat.

Continue to peel until you reach the Artichoke’s center choke (as shown in below photo). Don’t eat this fuzzy part, or you may really choke!! This inedible fuzzy part can be easily removed by a spoon or knife (as shown in photo below) and discard. Scrape, scrape, and scrape away…