Oven-Roasted Artichoke Recipe: Easy Delicious Baked Artichokes

Are you ready to make the most delicious baked artichokes ever? Bursting with bright and savory flavors of garlic, lemon and herbs, these oven-roasted artichokes are downright delectable on their own. But of course a side of mayo, melted butter, or aioli is always welcome too! Even better, this recipe is filing, healthy, and very simple to make. If you’re new to artichokes, don’t worry. I also share how to eat them.

I grew up eating steam-boiled artichokes as a special treat with my dad, often saying they were my “favorite meal”. That is, until we started making oven-roasted artichokes instead! This easy baked artichoke recipe brings them to whole new level. The fact that we can make them with almost all homegrown ingredients is the icing on the cake.

RELATED: Want to make it garden-to-table? Learn how to grow artichokes here, or check out our tips on growing garlic or culinary herbs! Artichokes can be grown as perennials in zones 7-11 and annuals in lower zones.

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INGREDIENTS

• Fresh artichokes. I recommend using at least two or three artichokes to nicely fill your baking dish, as they help to hold their neighbors upright.
• Garlic, 1-2 cloves per halved artichoke
• Fresh lemon, at least 2 – one for slicing and one for squeezing
• Butter and/or olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Optional: fresh herbs such as thyme, sage or oregano. I love our roasted artichokes with lemon thyme from the garden, though we’ve made it without herbs many times too!

INSTRUCTIONS

Prepare and Clean Artichokes

First we need to prep, halve, and clean the artichokes. If you’re not used to preparing artichokes, this is the most “difficult” part of the recipe – but really not difficult at all! Then it’s all easy going from there.

• Rinse the artichokes well, and then cut off most of the stem – leaving just about an inch. Also remove a few of the smallest lower leaves around the stem. Those won’t be good for eating anyway.
  
  
• You may also want to cut the top portion of the artichoke off (about the top inch) to remove the spiny tips of the leaves. Our homegrown artichokes are a spineless variety so we skip this step.
  
  
• Next, cut each artichoke in half. I find it easiest to do this with the artichoke placed upside down on a cutting board, starting at the stem end.
  
  
• Use a spoon or small knife to scoop out and remove the “choke” or fuzzy bits in the center of the artichoke, along with some of the smallest pokey leaves around it. The creates a nice little cavity to stuff the artichokes with garlic, butter, lemon and herbs. Be careful not to accidentally remove the heart! That’s the best part.
  
  
• Once cut, artichokes quickly oxidize and will start to turn brown. I like to rub lemon on the heart and cut portion of the leaves to reduce oxidation as I prep, but it’s purely cosmetic.
  
  
• Place artichokes in a baking dish; whatever size fits the amount and size of artichokes you’re roasting.
  

Season and Stuff Artichokes

Now it’s time to add some flavor!

• In the center cavity of each artichoke, add a clove or two of peeled garlic.
• Next, add an optional pinch of fresh herbs. I add a few sprigs of thyme, though you may want to rougchop larger herbs like sage or oregano.
• Squeeze fresh lemon juice all over each artichoke, in the heart area and over the leaves.
• Place a small pad of butter on top of the garlic and herbs.
• Sprinkle salt and pepper over all the artichokes, to taste.
• Add a slice of (washed) lemon to the center of each artichoke.
• Finally, add a light drizzle of olive oil over everything (optional).

Bake

• Preheat the oven to 425°F.
• Add about a 1/2 cup of water into the bottom of the baking dish under the artichokes. This adds some much-needed steam to help fully cook the artichokes.
• Bake the artichokes with the pan covered for 45 to 50 minutes, and then uncover for the final 5 to 10 minutes to get that nicely browned roasted finish!
• Medium to large artichokes should take about 55 to 60 minutes to fully cook, while small ones may only need about 45 to 50 minutes.
• Baked artichokes are done and ready to eat once the leaves easily pull off and the stem is fork-tender.

How to Eat Roasted Artichokes

Last but certainly not least: dig in! Like I said before, thanks to the butter, garlic, and herbs, these roasted artichokes are divine to enjoy as-is right out of the oven! It’s also delicious to dip the leaves in mayonnaise, melted butter, garlic aioli, or another similar decadent sauce. I love to eat the whole cloves of roasted garlic from the centers too.

• To eat artichokes, use your teeth to scrape the tender flesh off the thick base of each leaf (the part that was attached the stem or body of the artichoke). You’ll want a large spare bowl nearby to toss the spent leaves into.
  
• The closer you get to the middle of the artichoke, the more tender the leaves will become. You may be able to bite right into some of the centermost leaves rather than scraping them.
  
• Once all the leaves are gone, you’re left with the exceptionally delicious “meaty” artichoke heart in the center. The entire heart is edible, and often extends down into the center of the stem too.

Between the two of us, we often eat a two or three roasted artichokes (the whole pan) as our entire dinner. Yet baked artichokes are surprisingly good as leftovers too! I like to make an extra big batch so we can enjoy them cold as an easy lunch the next day. Store leftovers in the fridge and consume within 5 days.

If you need more guidance on eating artichokes, pop over to our steam-boiled artichokes recipe where I share step-by-step photos of breaking down and eating a whole artichoke.

There you have it! I’m glad I finally took the time to write up this easy recipe, since so many of you request it when I share peeks over on Instagram. I can’t wait to hear how you like it, so please leave a review once you try it yourself! Also feel free to ask any questions in the comments below. Thank you for tuning in, and enjoy!

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