How To Reheat An Artichoke – The Best Way
Vegetables are such a creative food category. There are so many different vegetables out there and most of them can be prepared in a variety of ways. Artichokes, though a less conventional vegetable, is just as versatile.
However, since it’s not so common to eat artichokes on their own or as the main star of your meal in many countries, you may not know the answer to this question:
How do you reheat an artichoke? The best way to reheat an artichoke is to use the oven to keep it crisp and heat it evenly. However, other great options include steaming or even microwaving your artichoke.
In this guide, we will share with you everything you need to know about how to reheat an artichoke.
There are some tips and tricks to know for every reheating method in order to avoid your artichoke becoming a mushy mess in the process.
The Best Ways to Reheat an Artichoke
Artichokes are so delicious if they are prepared properly. Maybe you’ve enjoyed a spinach and artichoke dip, want to make a specific artichoke dish that you found a tasty recipe for, or would rather eat it by itself.
Whatever the case, we’re here to show you the best ways to reheat an artichoke and enjoy it as if it’s fresh.
Reheating an artichoke, like reheating other steamed vegetables, is more complicated than just tossing it in the microwave.
When it comes to artichokes, you have to combat the potential of turning it mushy when you reheat them, so there are some important things to know before you try.
While it’s not overly complicated, it does take more effort than simply microwaving it until it is hot. We recommend reheating your artichoke in the oven if you have the time and resources to do so.
This is the very best way, but there are a couple of other options if you need some other method to try out.
We will walk you through each of these processes step-by-step, starting with our recommendation, which is to reheat your artichoke in the oven.
1. Using the Oven
Whether you have a simple baked artichoke or perhaps even a stuffed artichoke, you can use this reheating method for any artichoke that you are reheating.
There may be some steps you have to adjust depending on the state of your artichoke, but for the most part, it is a universal process.
Follow these steps to reheat your artichoke in the oven the best way:
- Wrap the exterior of your artichoke (the buds/leaves on the outside) in foil if they are intact. This helps to protect them during the reheating process. You can cover your whole dish in foil if you prefer, but we like just wrapping the buds in foil if they are present on the artichoke.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Drizzle just a tiny bit of olive oil over each artichoke.
- Add about 1-2 tablespoons of water to the bottom of your baking dish. This helps keep the artichoke moist without making it mushy.
- You can then cover your entire dish if you like.
- Bake the artichoke in this manner for about 15 minutes.
- Check the temperature to see if it’s warmed up completely.
- If it needs more time, give it an additional 10 minutes. You can repeat these 10 minute intervals until it is heated to your liking.
This process is pretty simple. The foil helps to retain the initial quality of the artichoke and keep it as close to the same quality and texture as the first time you cooked it. This is a tasty and simple way to effectively reheat artichokes.
In our opinion, the oven is the best way to reheat artichokes. You might even try this in a toaster oven if you don’t have a traditional oven available.
2. Steaming
You can also reheat your artichoke using a steaming method. This can work particularly well for stuffed artichokes and it heats the artichoke and whatever it is stuffed with, without making anything dry or mushy in the process.
This does take quite a bit more time, but the results are pretty delicious.
Follow these steps to reheat your artichoke by steaming it:
- Fill a soup pot with approximately 1-2 inches of water. You want to be sure your artichokes will not be covered or fully submerged in the water.
- Add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil into the water.
- Set your artichokes gently into the water and oil and drizzle just a little more oil over the tops of the artichokes.
- Turn your stove on to medium-high heat.
- Let the water and oil come to a boil. Keep your heat at medium and continue to steam your artichokes for about 25 minutes. You should plan to check them every 7-10 minutes to see if they are thoroughly reheated. You may need to add water to the pot during the process as well if it starts to get low.
- The leaves of the artichokes will pull off easily when they are done (if there are leaves intact).
- Serve and enjoy!
This method is great for reheating stuffed artichokes. They are already prepped and cooked initially but you can reheat them without jeopardizing any of the other parts of your artichoke.
This process does take the longest, but it is a simple process overall for enjoying tasty reheated artichokes.
3. Microwaving
Finally, you can also choose to reheat your artichokes using the microwave. This method works pretty well and is quick and convenient.
It is possible that your artichoke could be affected negatively, but it is not likely. Your artichoke should be just fine using this method if you follow the steps and procedures to do it properly.
The challenge here is that you don’t want them to dry out in the microwave, but you also don’t want them mushy. We have some tips to help with that.
Follow these steps to reheat your artichokes in the microwave:
- Start by placing your artichoke or artichokes into a bowl. You should use a bowl and not a plate for this process.
- Add about 1 tablespoon of water into the bottom of the bowl to help prevent your artichokes from drying out while being reheated. You can also drizzle a small amount of melted butter or olive oil over the artichoke as well and this can help it not dry out as well as preserve the flavors.
- Cover your bowl with a layer of plastic wrap. This is just one more level of protection against the harsh environment of the microwave.
- Reheat your artichokes in the microwave in 30-second increments. You may need to heat up to 2 minutes total, depending on the number of artichokes you are reheating in the process.
- Remove the plastic wrap and make sure the artichokes are reheated to your liking.
- Serve and enjoy!
The microwave is quick and convenient. It does have some added little steps, but they are not complicated.
These steps go a long way to making sure that your artichoke is reheated without altering the quality of its taste and texture. Sometimes, this is the biggest challenge of reheating anything.
Related Questions
We hope that you find this guide to reheating artichokes to be a valuable resource.
None of the methods are complicated, but there are steps to be aware of with each one in order to reheat your artichokes properly. Be sure to not skip any steps for the best results.
We invite you to take a look at the following question and answer section for some additional information that could be helpful.
How Do You Revive a Reheated Artichoke?
It’s always ok to add something to give your artichokes a better flavor. You can often revive them with some simple oil or butter.
You can also add additional seasonings to them to bring the flavors back to life. Try using just a sprinkle of sea salt and a dash of black pepper.
Choose some of your favorite spices or herbs and add them lightly. A little bit goes a long way; you don’t need to add very much of whatever you use and you will be pleased with the results!
Is It Safe to Reheat an Artichoke?
As long as you do not eat any of the parts of the artichoke that should not be eaten, it is perfectly safe to reheat and eat your artichoke.
If you eat the heart of the artichoke, you must be very careful with how it is prepared.
The primary parts of the artichoke that you simply should never eat include the tough outer petals (excluding the “meat” at their bases), the yellow “hairs” on the interior near the heart, or the stem.
