Have you ever wanted to learn how to cook artichoke? This lemon garlic artichoke is both easy and tasty! Follow these step-by-step instructions (with photos!) to learn the easiest way ever to cook an artichoke! A delicious recipe for dairy-free lemon garlic butter dipping sauce is included at the end.
I had never had artichoke before marrying my husband. But he loved it so, it quickly became a regular dish we made when cooking a special dinner. We were poor college students at the time so we often made a nice dinner at home for special occasions, such our birthday and anniversary, rather than going out to eat at a fancy restaurant.
Artichoke with butter for dipping, grilled steaks with mushrooms, roasted potatoes, and homemade chocolate lava cakes were our typical home-cooked fancy dinner. It’s the perfect dinner menu for Valentine’s Day, birthdays, or anniversaries. Going out to eat at a restaurant can be difficult for many people with food allergies. Cooking at home is sometimes just easier so you can avoid all the anxiety – and the potential cross-contamination!
Learning how to cook artichoke is a great way to transform your home-cooked dinners into something a little more fancy! Artichoke just feels extra special for some reason – probably because it’s not something we eat often!
Cooking an artichoke can seem daunting but it’s actually super simple once you know the steps!

What You Need to Cook Artichoke
The easiest way to cook artichokes is by seaming them. Steamed artichokes are so easy and you’ll only need a few things.
Equipment Needed
- Large pot: You’ll need a pot that is big enough for a steamer basket and two artichokes.
- Steamer basket: A steamer basket works best but if you don’t have one you can also place a metal Instant Pot trivet inside the pot and use that instead.
- Vegetable peeler: To peel the tough skin away from the stem. The stem is edible!
- Large knife: I use a big chef’s knife.
- Kitchen shears: The easiest way to remove the sharp, pointy tips on the leaves if by cutting them off with kitchen shears!
Ingredients to Cook Artichoke
- Artichokes
- Lemons: Fresh lemons give the artichokes great flavor and help prevent browning. You’ll also juice one of the lemon halves and add the juice to the dipping sauce.
- Minced garlic: This will get added to the pot with the steamer basket. Lemon and garlic is a great flavor combination for artichokes!
- Plant butter: You can also use regular dairy butter if you prefer. Melted butter (dairy or plant) makes the yummiest dipping sauce for artichokes!
- Garlic powder: For the lemon garlic butter sauce.
How to Cook Artichoke
Time needed: 40 minutes
How to Cook Artichoke
- Prepare the Artichokes
Wash the artichokes. Remove any petals from the stems. Discard leaves.
- Cut and Peel the Stem
Use a sharp knife to trim the stem. Cut about 1 to 2 inches off the bottom of the stem. Then use a vegetable peeler to peel the tough skin off the stem of the artichoke.
- Trim the Artichoke Top
Trim off the top of the artichoke. Using your sharp knife, trim the top inch off the top of the artichoke.
- Trim the Petals
Artichokes have prickly petals! Use kitchen shears to cut the pointy tip off each petal, leaving flat tops.
- Coat with Lemon Juice
Cut a lemon in half. Rub the lemon all over the artichoke – top, petals, and stem. This prevents browning.
- Steam the Artichoke
Add a few inches of water to a large pot. Add in sliced lemon and minced garlic. Place a steamer basket in the pot and add the artichokes to the steamer basket. Bring the water to boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer while covered, for about 30 minutes or until the artichokes are tender and the petals peel away easily. Serve immediately with dipping sauce.
How to Eat An Artichoke
- One by one, peel the petals off the artichoke.
- Dip the bottom of each petal into your dipping sauce. Use your teeth to scrape off the soft, meaty portion on the bottom of the petal. Discard the petal.
- The fussy part on the inside of the artichoke is called the choke. It’s not edible. After you have removed the outer leaves, cut the fuzzy choke off the top of the remaining portion. Discard.
- After removing the choke, you will be left with the artichoke heart and stem. These are both edible! Cut them up and dip in your dipping sauce. Dipping sauce recipe below.


Artichokes pair well with just about anything! We usually serve them with a nice steak but they are great with anything else from Tomato Basil Pasta to Honey Mustard Chicken!
Looking for more tasty vegetable dishes? Try these:
PrintHow to Cook Artichoke – With Lemon Garlic Sauce
Learn how to cook artichoke! Steaming artichokes is easy once you know the steps! This steamed artichoke is flavored with lemon and garlic and includes a tasty recipe for lemon garlic butter for dipping!
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Steamed Artichoke
- 2 artichokes
- 2 lemons, halved
- 1 clove garlic
Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce
- 4 tbsps plant butter
- 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- Wash artichokes. Remove any leaves from stem. Peel the stems with a vegetable peeler then trim the stems by cutting an inch off the bottoms.
- With a large chef’s knife, cut an inch off the top of the artichoke
- Using kitchen shears, cut the pointy tips from all the leaves, leaving each leaf with a flat top. Halve the lemons and rub one half all over the artichokes. Juice the other half to equal 1/2 tbsp.
- Fill a large pot with a few inches of water. Add the lemon halves and the minced garlic to the water. Place a steamer basket inside the pot.
- Arrange the artichokes in the steamer basket. Cover. Bring to a simmer over medium low heat.
- Simmer for about 30 minutes or until the artichoke is tender and the leaves are easily removed.
- Meanwhile, in a small dish melt 4 tbsps of plant butter. Mix in 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice and mixed garlic.
- When the artichoke is done steaming, serve it immediately with the lemon garlic butter for dipping.
Nutrition
- Calories: 140 calories
- Fat: 11 grams
- Carbohydrates: 9 grams
- Protein: 2 grams
Keywords: how to cook artichoke, lemon garlic artichoke, steamed artichoke
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