Steamed Artichokes with Garlic Butter

Jul 14, 2024

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These steamed artichokes with garlic confit butter are decadently rich, and make a wonderfully tasty appetiser! While cooking artichokes may seem rather intimidating, they are surprisingly simple to make--especially with my cooking tips!

Looking for other vegetarian appetisers? You'll want to try these Italian breadcrumb stuffed artichokes and this roasted garlic and tomato burrata.

large artichoke with cheese and herbs on a plate.

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Ingredients
Variations
How to Make Steamed Artichokes with Garlic Butter
Recipe FAQs
Serving Steamed Artichokes with Garlic Butter
Expert Tips
Other Appetiser Recipes to Try
Steamed Artichokes with Garlic Butter

I love to cook with garlic confit and use the caramelised garlic cloves to create a rich and delicious garlic butter. My fridge is never without a jar of garlic confit or garlic confit butter! I use it in so many of my recipes, like garlic butter focaccia, garlic butter jacket potatoes, and garlic butter steak bites.

My mum loves to steam artichokes and serve them with a drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil and a light sprinkling of salt, but I like them even more with garlic confit! This simple, 3-ingredient garlic butter is a perfect artichoke dipping sauce--especially when eaten with the tender inner leaves and the artichoke heart.

Ingredients

Fortunately, you only need a handful of simple ingredients to make this tasty appetiser of steamed artichokes with garlic confit butter. Let me tell you about the key ingredients!

Artichokes: Choose fresh artichokes that feel heavy, and have tightly closed, vibrant green leaves. Avoid any that feel light, have dry or split leaves, or show signs of browning.
Garlic: You'll need two bulbs of fresh garlic to make the mouthwatering garlic confit butter--which is my favourite dipping sauce for artichokes!
Lemon: This hint of citrus keeps the artichokes from turning brown after they're cut, which can happen very quickly without the help of lemon juice! You'll need just half of a lemon.

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations

Lemon & Herbs: Add a couple tablespoons of finely chopped fresh herbs (such as parsley, thyme, or rosemary) and add the juice of half a lemon and some lemon zest to the melted butter.
Spicy: Add ½ teaspoon of chilli flakes and a pinch of smoked paprika to the garlic butter for a spicy twist.
Dijon: Whisk 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard into the butter for a tangy twist on the garlic butter.

How to Make Steamed Artichokes with Garlic Butter

trimming artichoke stems and removing extra leaves.

Trim the artichoke stems so about three inches of it remains.
Remove the outer leaves by pulling them toward the stem until they come off.

trimming spiky leaves and cutting off the tops of the artichokes.

Trim off the spiky tips of the leaves with sharp kitchen shears, as these are not pleasant to eat.
Cut off the top of each artichoke about 3 inches from the top. Be sure to use an extra sharp knife (or even a serrated one), as the artichokes are very tough.

holding trimmed artichoke and soaking them in a bowl of water.

Immediately rub the cut parts of the artichokes with half of a lemon to prevent browning.
Soak them in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes.

making the garlic butter and melting it in a pot.

Soak the garlic cloves in boiling water for 5 minutes, then peel off the skins. Put them into an ovenproof dish and cover with olive oil, then bake at 250°F (120°C) for 1 hour. Remove the garlic from the oil and place it in a pot or bowl along with the butter and a pinch of salt.
Mash the mixture well with a fork until the cloves are broken up and the mixture is well combined. While the artichokes are steaming as described below, melt the garlic butter in the microwave or on the stovetop.

simmering the artichokes and serving them with the garlic butter.

Fill a pot with 8 inches of water (or enough to cover two-thirds of the artichokes) and bring it to a boil. Add the artichokes, then cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until they're tender.
Once the artichokes are done cooking, drain them on paper towels, then serve them hot and fresh in a shallow bowl. Garnish with sea salt, grated Parmesan, and a generous amount of garlic butter. Enjoy!

Recipe FAQs

How do you clean and prepare artichokes?

Cut off the artichoke stem, leaving roughly 3 inches of length, and ensuring the base of the stem is flat so you can stand the artichoke up.
Remove the outer leaves that are at the bottom of the artichoke. Do this by pulling them downwards until they snap off the stem.
Cut off the spiky tips of the leaves with sharp kitchen spears, as these are not pleasant to eat.
Cut off the top of the artichoke with a sharp knife. This part is very tough, so a serrated knife may work best here.
Immediately rub the artichoke with lemon juice to prevent it from browning. It will brown very quickly once cut, so don't delay this step.
Pop the artichoke into a bowl of cold water and leave to sit for 5 minutes before cooking.

What is the best way to cook artichokes?

There are many ways that you can cook an artichoke: boiling, frying, baking or steaming. Steaming artichokes is rather foolproof, and is one of my favourite ways to cooks them! I was surprised by how easy this method was when I first tried it; now, I can't believe I was intimidated at the thought of cooking artichokes! They are incredibly easy to prepare, and very hard to mess up.
To steam artichokes, all you need to do is prep the artichokes, place them into a pot and cover two-thirds of them with water, and simmer covered for 25-30 minutes.

How do you eat artichokes?

There is a little bit of an art to eating artichokes! Once they are steamed, you can either serve them in halves or whole.
When eating them whole, spread the artichoke leaves apart first. Then, remove the leaves from the stem and then dip them into a sauce. Using your teeth, scoop off the flesh on the inside of the leaf, then discard the leaf.
Once you start removing artichoke leaves with pink inside them, this means you are getting close to the heart: the most treasured part of the artichoke. You will see something that looks like it's covered in lots of hair fibres, which is called the choke--and for good reason! It's inedible, and will make you choke if you eat it. Simply use a spoon to scrape away the choke until you reach the tender artichoke heart.

Serving Steamed Artichokes with Garlic Butter

There are many dipping sauces that go beautifully with artichokes! My favourite is garlic confit butter, but you could also create a garlicky yoghurt sauce, a lemon butter, or an olive oil packed with fresh green herbs. Another option is to simply drizzle it with extra virgin olive oil and a light sprinkle of kosher sea salt.

Round out your meal by serving this as an appetizer or side with chicken breast in creamy mushroom sauce, garlic butter maple carrots, and a slice of lemon butter cake for dessert.

large artichoke with garlic butter on a plate.

Expert Tips

The garlic confit will keep in the fridge for a few weeks, and garlic confit butter will keep for several days, so feel free to make it in advance.
Use a sharp knife to cut the artichokes. You may even want to use a serrated one, as parts of them are very tough.
After cutting off the top of the artichokes, immediately rub the cut surface with the lemon to prevent them from browning.
Want to change the flavours up a little? Experiment with adding other ingredients to the garlic confit butter, like lemon juice and zest, chilli flakes, a touch of Dijon mustard, or chopped fresh herbs.