Super easy, and super delicious makes this Parmesan Roasted Artichokes With Pesto Dipping Sauce Recipe easy to love! This is another one of those childhood pleasures for my husband, Ed, as he and his sister would fight over the artichokes when their mom, our dear Nana, would steam up a few artichokes for them. Of course, they used to enjoy theirs with a gooey melted American cheese for dipping which just sounds entirely gross to me. So the only way I will make artichokes for him now is either steamed, or roasted as you see here.
To roast artichokes, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and either line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat it with non-stick cooking spray, or use parchment paper that has been buttered. I prefer to butter my parchment paper as the buttered coating adds better flavor.
Wash your artichokes thoroughly, including under the leaves by pulling them away from the body and running your fingers down toward the base of the leaves. Cut your artichokes in half, from the top down through the stem and rub the cut portions with a fresh lemon wedge to prevent them from browning. It is completely optional at this point as to whether or not you would like to cut the tips off of the leaves, they can be a bit pointy when enjoying these after they are roasted but they are also fairly soft. I don't bother with that (but I think Lauren would appreciate it if I did do that more often!).
You can use a spoon to remove the 'choke' of the artichoke, all of the purple leaves and the fuzzy inside portion. However, I personally think it is much easier to use a small knife to do this step. Once the choke is removed, rub the cleared section with the lemon wedge as well. Place your cleaned artichoke halves on the lined baking sheet, with the cut side facing up.
In a small microwave safe bowl, melt 2 Tbsp of the butter, then add the garlic and lemon juice. Drizzle melted butter and garlic over the artichokes, then turn the halves over and use your hands to coat the back side of the artichokes with the excess butter mixture. Leave the artichokes with the cut side facing down and roast in the oven at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 45-50 minutes, or until the stem base is tender when forked. If you are using smaller artichokes, you may want to check how tender they are around the 40 minute mark. No matter what size the artichokes are, when they are close to being done they will brown a bit especially around the edges where they are touching the lined baking sheet.
Remove the pan from the oven and turn the roasted artichokes so that they are facing upward now. Move your oven rack up to the top rack and set your oven to broil, use the low setting if you have that option. In a small microwave safe bowl, melt the other Tbsp of butter and combine the melted butter with the breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Top each of the artichoke halves with a quarter of the topping mixture and return to the top rack to broil. Do not turn your back on the artichokes while broiling as they will brown quickly. I like to broil with the oven door just slightly open to prevent broiling too quickly. Once the topping is golden brown and the Parmesan cheese is melted, remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before serving.
While your Parmesan Roasted Artichokes are cooling, combine sour cream and Basil Walnut Pesto Sauce in a small bowl. Add the optional (and highly recommended) lemon juice, if desired. Serve the Parmesan Roasted Artichokes with the Pesto Dipping Sauce. Enjoy!
Parmesan Roasted Artichokes With Pesto Dipping Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 artichokes
- 1 lemon (½ for rubbing cut artichokes, reserve juice from the 2nd half)
- 3 Tbsp butter (melted - divided 2Tbsp/1 Tbsp)
- 2 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- 1 Tbsp Panko breadcrumbs
- 4 Tbsp Parmesan cheese (grated)
- 1 pinch each, salt & pepper
- ½ c sour cream (or greek yogurt)
- ½ c pesto sauce (we used our Basil Walnut Pesto Sauce)
- ½ tsp lemon juice (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and line a baking sheet with either aluminum foil coated with non-stick cooking spray or use parchment paper and butter the surface (which is what we did).
- Wash your artichokes completely, pulling the leaves away from the body to clean underneath them as well. Cut your artichokes in half from the top down through the stem and rub the cut surfaces immediately with the fresh lemon wedge. If you like, you can remove the thorns from the tip of each leaf, however, it is not necessary as the leaves soften during the oven roasting.
- Use a knife to remove the 'choke' from the center of the artichokes, removing all of the purple leaves and fuzz from the middle of each artichoke half. Rub the cleared choke area with lemon once each half is done.
- Place your cleaned artichoke halves on your lined baking sheet with each of the artichoke halves facing up. In a small microwave safe dish, melt 2 Tbsp of the butter then add garlic and lemon juice. Drizzle over the artichoke halves. Turn the artichokes over and use your hands to rub any excess of the melted butter and garlic onto the back side (leaf side) of the artichokes.
- Place the artichokes in the oven (cut side down) and roast them at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 45-50 minutes or until the stem base is tender when forked (Particularly small artichokes may need to be checked earlier). The bottom side of the artichokes and leaf tips should also show some browning.
- Remove the pan from the oven and use tongs to flip the roasted artichokes over so that they are facing cut side up. Combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and the remaining 1 Tbsp melted butter, then top each of the artichoke halves with the cheese and breadcrumb topping.
- Move your oven rack up to the top for broiling and set the oven temp to broil (low broil option if you have it). Place the roasted artichokes back in the oven to broil, leave your oven door cracked and watch closely for the tops to be golden brown and for the cheese to be melted. Be attentive and do not walk away, as these will quickly burn when on broil.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before serving. While the artichokes are cooling, combine sour cream and pesto in a small bowl. Add optional lemon juice if desired. Serve the pesto dipping sauce with the Parmesan crusted roasted artichokes.
Nutrition
Angela is an at home chef that developed a passion for all things cooking and baking at a young age in her Grandma's kitchen. After many years in the food service industry, she now enjoys sharing all of her family favorite recipes and creating tasty dinner and amazing dessert recipes here at Bake It With Love!
Sounds delectable! Thanks for the encouragement to "try this at home!"
Thank you so much Laura! It's a pleasure to see you here! And definitely 'try this at home' everything is better when home made 🙂