These Italian stuffed artichokes are made with simple pantry ingredients and result in the most comforting, crowd-pleasing side dish recipe.
You know those recipes you make that immediately transport you to another time, perhaps another kitchen or another place? These Italian stuffed artichokes do just that for me: they take me back to my Aunt Dolly’s kitchen north of Boston where I first learned this family recipe along with her famous minestrone. A traditional Italian comfort dish, stuffed artichokes are a staple around the holidays in most Italian homes. They are also the perfect side dish for Sunday dinner. Drizzled with lemon juice then steamed until tender, the end result is cheesy, garlicky, and full of flavor.
Ingredients
- Artichokes: A little bit earthy and slightly bitter, the heart and bottoms of the leaves are what you eat on an artichoke.
- Bread crumbs: Just regular bread crumbs mixed with some oregano and basil for added Italian flavor.
- Parmesan cheese: A nutty and salty tasting hard cheese that melts and coats the stuffing of the artichokes.
- Parsley: Slightly peppery and earthy in taste, fresh parsley adds color as well as flavor to the dish.
- Garlic: Essential for most recipes in my book, garlic is pungent, aromatic, and when it cooks, it sweetens and strengthens in flavor.
- Lemon juice: Bright and acidic flavor that coats the artichokes before they cook.
- Olive oil: Coats the stuffing and tops to help everything cook evenly.
How to Make Italian Stuffed Artichokes
Start your Italian stuffed artichokes by making the filling. Take the Italian breadcrumbs and add them to a large bowl with the parsley, garlic, parmesan cheese, and some salt and pepper. Stir until fully combined.
Then take your artichokes and cut off the stems and the tops, cutting usually about an inch off the top. Then gently push out the leaves to that the flower opens up a bit for the stuffing to fall in.
Then take your fresh lemon juice and squeeze it over the top of each artichoke.
Fill in-between each leaf or petal with the stuffing until the artichoke is packed.
Drizzle over the top with olive oil and more lemon juice.
Put the stuffed artichokes in a large pot standing up, then fill with water to just under the outer leaf layer.. Bring to a boil, then cover with a lid and reduce heat and simmer for about 45 minutes or until leaves feel tender.
Serve warm, but not so hot that you can’t peel and eat them with your hands.
Serve garnished with additional lemon juice and fresh parsley, and enjoy your Italian Stuffed Artichokes! Looking for more vegetable side dish recipes? Be sure to check out my 20 Vegetable Side Dish Recipes!
Frequently Asked Questions:
To start, you eat the petals. They can be either dipped in a sauce or butter (I recommend tahini dipping sauce). The pulp portion of the petal at the base is what you eat. The stems are edible but would need to be peeled and cooked first.
If you need additional help to cook artichokes take a look at my How to Cook Artichokes {Easy Step-by-Step Tutorial} post.
No. However, you don’t want to eat the hairy choke inside nor the sharp, fibrous outer portion of the leaves because they are choking hazards, hence the name.
More Italian Recipes
- Italian Pasta Salad
- Best Italian Wedding Soup
- Italian Chopped Salad with Cannellini Beans
- Italian Chicken Pasta with Artichokes
- One-Pan Italian Sausage Pasta
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Ingredients
Video
Equipment
Instructions
- Soak artichokes in cold water for 30 minutes.6 whole artichokes
- To prepare the artichokes: Cut off stems of the artichokes with a sharp knife. Make sure the cut is straight so artichoke will stand flat.
- Slice off ¼ inch straight from the top of each artichoke (the prickly part).
- Stand the artichoke upside down and push firmly on the stem side to slightly open the leaves making room to catch the stuffing. Using scissors, cut the tip of each leaf straight across.
- Squeeze half of the lemon juice inside the artichoke.
- In a large bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, grated cheese, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper. Fill each leaf with the stuffing until artichokes are well packed.2 cups Italian bread crumbs, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup parsley, 4 cloves garlic, salt and pepper to taste
- Drizzle with olive oil then squeeze more lemon juice over the artichokes. Sprinkle with a little salt over the top and sides.6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Put artichokes standing up into a wide pot large enough to hold the artichokes. Add enough water to cover just to the top of the bottom row of leaves of the artichokes.
- Add 1 tablespoon of salt in the pot. Cover and let the water come to a boil. Lower the heat and let the artichokes simmer for 45 minutes or until leaves are tender. Serve warm.
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