Grilling makes almost everything taste better, including artichokes! The trick to making a great grilled artichoke is doing most of the cooking before it ever hits the grill. The artichoke should be steamed and cooked till fully tender, but not overly soft. Brush them with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then grill till you char some grill marks into the stem. The result is a tender, flavorful artichoke – a nice change of pace from the steamed variety.
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How to Grill Artichokes
Give your artichokes a smoky flavor by finishing them on the grill. Learn how to clean, prep, steam, grill and sauce for tender, smoky results.
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Email Me RecipesServings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 3 artichokes
- 1 lemon
- 1/8 cup grapeseed oil, or any oil with a high smoke point
- Salt and pepper
NOTES
You will also need: Serrated knife or sharp chef's knife, melon baller, large pot with lid, steaming basket, pastry brush, tongs, grill
Instructions
- For each artichoke, rinse under cold water. Pat dry with a clean kitchen towel or paper towel. Remove any stray leaves from the stem of the artichoke.
- With kitchen shears, or sharp scissors, remove the thorny tips from the leaves.With a sharp chef's knife or serrated knife, cut about an inch off of the top of the artichoke.Keep a lemon handy to rub onto the exposed areas so that they do not oxidize and turn brown.
- Remove the bitter, fibrous end of the stem with your knife, leaving about an inch left on the artichoke. Be sure to rub a lemon onto the exposed end of the stem.
- Peel the outer skin from the remaining stem. The stem can have a more bitter taste than the rest of the artichoke and removing the skin helps to take away some of the bitterness. Rub exposed peeled stem with lemon.Run the artichoke under cold water, pulling apart the leaves to carefully rinse out the vegetable and remove any impurities.
- With a sharp chef's knife, cut the artichoke in half. Remove the furry, inedible choke with a melon baller or spoon. Rinse the artichoke to remove all pieces of the furry choke, if needed. Be sure to keep exposed areas covered with lemon juice throughout process.
- You can grill the artichokes as halves, or slice them into quarters. Quarters will cook a bit faster; halves make a nice presentation.
- Boil a large pot of water with a steaming basket inside. Be sure that the water level doesn’t touch the bottom of the steaming basket. When water boils, place as many artichoke halves or quarters as you can fit into the basket in a single layer, exposed side down. Steam artichokes for around 45 minutes, or until they are nice and tender (but not overly soft or falling apart). Steaming time will vary based on the size of your artichokes; quarters will cook faster than halves. You should be able to easily insert a knife into the stem. Taste test the base of a leaf to make sure they are cooked enough to eat, as they will not cook much on the grill-- grilling is done to impart a smoky flavor, and won't make them much more tender.
- Preheat grill. With a brush, coat exposed area of artichokes with grapeseed oil, or any oil with a high smoke point.Sprinkle with salt and pepper.Place artichokes, exposed side down and leaf side up, onto the grill over medium heat. Cook for about 8 minutes, or until you have nice grill marks.
- To eat the artichoke, pull off the upper leaves one at a time. For each leaf, place the edible meaty area at the base of the leaf between your teeth, then scrape off the soft edible flesh. Discard the rest of the leaf. Once you've finished eating the leaves, enjoy the meaty base of the artichoke known as the heart, as well as the stem.
- Once grilled, artichokes can be served with a variety of sauces. Of course, they go great with the traditional sauces, like hollandaise.Olive oil-based dressings like vinaigrette also work well. I particularly love serving them with fresh lemon herb sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
How to Grill Artichokes
Amount Per Serving
Calories 75
Calories from Fat 36
% Daily Value*
Fat 4g6%
Sodium 60mg3%
Potassium 261mg7%
Carbohydrates 8g3%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 2g4%
Vitamin C 17mg21%
Calcium 33mg3%
Iron 0.9mg5%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
Note: Strictly kosher Jews have their own guidelines for cleaning and consuming artichokes, which differ from the tutorials that appear on my site.
These instructions were very helpful. Thank you!
Great photos! Really helped me follow along with your recipe. They turned out great, goodbye steaming artichokes hello grilling!! Thanks for sharing!
I’ve tried many different recipes for grilled artichoke and yours was by far the best. Every layer was perfectly cooked. Thanks Tori.
Fabulous! So glad to hear it.
Can you do the steaming ahead of time or does it have to be right before grilling?
Hi Kim, you can do it ahead, but note that the longer a steamed artichoke sits the more it takes on a uglier “pea green” color– it doesn’t look as fresh. But you can cook it up to 24 hours ahead with no ill effects, other than appearance.
I saw artichokes for the first time and I liked it. The heart was like a bloosming flower. I’m scared to try your recipe I need tips please.
Hi Andrew, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. This post is quite thorough and has photos to help guide you through the whole process. If you have a specific question about anything, feel free to ask.
hi,
Thank you.
If I use canned artichokes and want to grill it, what would you suggest the best way around?
Helen
Hi Helen, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. I’m not sure I’d recommend grilling canned artichokes, since their texture is much softer.