Easy Stuffed Baked Artichokes
These easy Stuffed Baked Artichokes are a favorite Italian appetizer or spring side dish. Stuffed with a savory filling made from breadcrumbs, herbs, olive oil and Parmesan cheese, they are then baked to perfection until the outer leaves are crispy and the artichoke hearts are tender and flavorful.
These easy stuffed artichokes are not only delicious but make a beautiful presentation! Whether you are serving them at the holidays, at a dinner party or adding a touch of class to a weeknight dinner, they are sure to impress.
They can be served as a vegetarian main course by themselves or try them as an Italian side dish! The salty, savory filling complements the earthy artichokes perfectly in the spring when they are at their peak season, although you can make this dish year round with globe artichokes, too!
This is the best artichoke recipe as it is so easy to make! Other simple recipes I love with this spring vegetable include artichokes alla romana, artichoke frittata and artichoke spaghetti!
Why You Will Love this Baked Artichoke Recipe
- Unique and fun: Baked Italian artichokes are not only a classic appetizer but fun to eat as each leaf can be individually removed and enjoyed.
- Flavorful: The earthy artichoke flavor gets even better when paired with seasoned breadcrumbs, nutty Parmesan cheese and fresh herbaceous parsley!
- Versatile: Serve these at special occasions, the holidays or for a weeknight dinner!
- Easy and impressive: Whether you’re hosting a dinner party or simply looking to add a touch of elegance to your weeknight meal, this artichoke Italian recipe is sure to please!
Ingredients
- Artichokes: You will need five artichokes. Pick roughly the same size of artichokes so they cook at the same time.
- Bread crumbs: Regular or Panko style bread crumbs work.
- Parsley: Fresh Italian parsley is an essential herb for Italian cooking and adds fresh flavor to the baked artichoke.
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper: For taste.
- Olive oil: Use extra virgin olive oil for both the breadcrumb mixture and to drizzle on top for a golden brown color.
- Grated Parmesan: Or pecorino cheese, freshly grated is best but shaved works, too.
- Garlic: Freshly grated garlic clove although garlic powder works in a pinch.
Variations
- Dietary modifications: As is this recipe for stuffed artichokes is vegetarian. For a vegan and dairy free modification, use a dairy free Parmesan cheese. For gluten-free, use gluten-free breadcrumbs.
- Lemon: For a burst of bright lemon taste, add some lemon zest to your breadcrumb mixture and rub your artichoke with fresh lemon juice.
- Italian seasoning: Add some Italian seasoning to your breadcrumb mixture for even more taste in this artichokes recipe.
- Saucier: Add some white wine, lemon juice, salt, parsley and butter to the baking pan, this also creates a wonderful dipping sauce!
How to Make Stuffed Baked Artichokes
To start you will need to do artichoke preparation. Clean your artichokes by rinsing them under water, then cut them in half, remove the fuzzy choke located in the center and cook them in lightly salted boiling water until al dente. Drain well.
In a medium bowl mix together the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil.
Place the well drained artichoke halves cut side up in the prepared pan, dived the mixture between the artichoke halves, drizzle with a little olive oil. Bake until golden.
Expert Tips
- Recommend tools: A serrated knife is easier to remove the spiny ends of the artichokes and you will need a 9 inch baking pan or Dutch oven.
- Parboil: Don’t skip parboiling your artichokes. It will make for more tender and flavorful stuffed artichokes.
- Same size artichokes: Choose artichokes that are the same size so they bake evenly.
- Extra crispy: Place the baked stuffed artichokes under the broiler for a few minutes to get extra crispy!
- Cooking time: Cooking times may vary depending on the size of your artichokes. The best way to know if they are done is to pull on a few leaves. If they detach easily, your artichokes are tender and ready. If they are hard to remove, your baked artichokes need more time in the oven.
What to Serve with Baked Artichokes
Serve your Italian stuffed artichokes with the sauce from the pan or try a dip such as aioli! As a starter, I love them paired with a main course such as hearty authentic bolognese.
They also pair well with main dishes such as fish, steak or chicken. Try them with seafood linguine, chicken parmesan or even sliced beef pizzaiola.
Recipe FAQs
First, if desired, slice the stem at the bottom. Next, cut across the top of the artichoke and then cut off the pointy tip of each leaf. Rinse under water being careful not to break off any of the artichoke leaves. Cut them in half lengthwise and remove the choke on the inside.
Eating an artichoke is at best described as interactive! Be sure to have some napkins handy as you will need them for your hands. To start, remove the outer leaf and use your teeth to scrape the breadcrumbs and ‘meat’ from the bottom of the leaf. The meat is the tender part located near the base of the leaf where it was once attached to the artichoke. Continue to remove the leaves and once you have reached the heart you can cut that into pieces and eat it. The stem is edible but may be slightly more fibrous than the heart.
While it is safe and not poisonous to eat the whole thing, you want to avoid eating the choke and the fibrous outer portion of the leaves as they pose a choking hazard. Technically, if you cook them long enough they may soften enough to eat, but most preparation methods focus on just eating the meat, artichoke heart and part of the stem.
Artichokes are in peak season March through May although you can often find them year round in most grocery stores especially around the holidays. To tell if an artichoke is still good to eat, visibly inspect it. If it is bright green with minimal or no browning of the leaves it is good to eat.
Storage
- Refrigerate: Store leftover baked artichoke in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the oven with some olive oil.
- Make ahead: Stuff your artichokes up to 8 hours in advance, store them covered in the refrigerator and then follow baking instructions.
Freeze: To freeze stuffed artichokes before you bake them, clean, parboil and then stuff them. Wrap individually and freeze in a freezer safe container. Bake from frozen adding a few minutes to the cooking time if needed. You can also freeze them after baking. Cool completely, wrap tightly and store for about two weeks in a freezer safe container.
So if you are a lover of artichokes like we are or are just looking to give them a try, I hope you enjoy this Stuffed Baked Artichoke recipe. Buon Appetito!
More Appetizer Recipes
- Italian Fried Artichokes
- Italian Stuffed Mushrooms
- Bruschetta with Pesto
- Zucchini Fritters
- Stuffed Zucchini Flowers
Easy Baked Stuffed Artichokes
Ingredients
- 5 whole artichokes (halved)
- ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan or pecorino cheese (or half and half)
- 3 tablespoons bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1-2 pinches salt
- 2-3 dashes black pepper
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
EXTRAS
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven 350F/180C. Lightly oil a 9 inch baking dish with one tablespoon of olive oil.
- Clean the artichokes, cut in half, remove the choke and cook in lightly salted boiling water for approximately 10 minutes or until al dente. Drain well.
- In a medium bowl mix together the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil.
- Place the well drained artichoke halves cut side up in the pan, divide the mixture evenly on top of each halved artichoke, drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes, the last 5 minutes broil for about 5 minutes until golden. Let sit 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
My mom and grandmother used to make large whole globe artichokes standing upright, with a little of the stuffing tucked into every leaf, then steamed til cooked through. Thanks for bringing back some wonderful memories. Will look forward to trying your recipe. Always enjoy your posts.
Hi JJ, sounds delicious, thanks so much, glad I could bring back some memories! Take care and I hope you enjoy the recipes you make.