Mom’s Artichokes and Artichoke Dipping Sauce

This recipe for Mom’s Artichokes and Artichoke Dipping Sauce brings back so many childhood memories for me. And my mom’s method for cooking them cuts the artichokes in half and makes this a perfect side dish for a special meal!

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I had an amazing mother who made homemade bread three times a week for her family of 10 children! I miss her so much, and out of all recipes on my blog, this recipe for Mom’s Artichokes and Artichoke Dipping Sauce is the one that makes me miss my mother the most. My mom served this as a special side dish, so today I’m featuring it as a Friday Favorites pick to remind you about it as an option for Easter dinner!

I grew up in a family where most of us considered fresh artichokes to be a delicacy, thanks to the wonderful mom who taught us to love them. But with a family of ten kids to feed, artichokes were pricey, so we never got them as often as we wanted. It wasn’t until I was well on the way to adulthood that I realized that some people didn’t eat artichokes, and had no idea how to cook them.

My mother always steamed the artichokes in a big pot, and in this post I’ll show you how to cook them in a vegetable steamer like my mom did. But these days I am cooking artichokes in the Instant Pot!

No matter which cooking method you use, I hope you’ll try my Artichoke Dipping Sauce, which is a lower-carb version of my mom’s sauce that was made with Miracle Whip. No judgements from me if you’re a Miracle Whip fan, but I prefer Mayo and it doesn’t have the carbs.

I like my mom’s Artichoke Dipping Sauce with artichokes whether they’re hot or cold, but melted butter is also great for hot artichokes. And definitely fresh artichokes are something I love to make for a treat!

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

• whole artichokes
• water
• fresh-squeezed lemon juice; I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice
• mayo
• sour cream

How did my mother’s method to prep artichokes make them more budget friendly?

My mother always cut the raw artichokes in half and cut out the “choke” part before she steamed them. This definitely made them more kid-friendly, but it wasn’t until years later I realized she also did that because she was cooking for 12 people and that method created perfect portion control; every person got half an artichoke!

More about cooking artichokes in the Instant Pot:

This post shares my mom’s method for steaming artichokes, which is the way I did it for years and also a great method for people who don’t have an Instant Pot. But check out How to Cook Artichokes in the Instant Pot to see how I would cook them now! Or if you want even more options, there’s a great post on Cooking Artichokes in the Slow Cooker or the Instant Pot on my Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker site.

More ideas for Artichoke Dipping Sauce:

My mother served artichokes with the lemony sauce featured in this post, and in my family we call that Mom’s Artichoke Dipping Sauce! (I’ve switched out the Miracle Whip for Mayo to make it lower in carbs, but make it the way you prefer.) Artichokes also delicious with melted butter for a low-carb option, and I think they’d also taste fantastic with Remoulade Sauce, Lemon-Mustard Vinaigrette, Basil Vinaigrette, Roasted Red Pepper Dip, or Tzatziki Sauce.

Are Artichokes low in Carbs?

Artichokes do have some carbs, but they are super high in fiber, so the net carbs aren’t high and they’re considered a low-carb vegetable for that reason. For this post I am considering one whole artichoke a serving for adults, but if you serve half the artichoke like my mother did that will be even lower in carbs!

Want more tasty ideas for artichokes?

Use Artichoke Recipes if you’re also an artichoke fan to see all the artichoke recipes on this site. Or check out Amazing Low-Carb Recipes with Artichokes to see a round-up of all my favorite artichoke recipes.

How to Prepare Artichokes for Cooking:

1. No matter how I’m cooking them, I always cut my artichokes in half the way my mother did!
2. I choose artichokes with the longest stem I can find, since the stems are tasty.
3. I trim the stem and even peel them if there are some discolored parts.
4. Then I cut the entire  artichoke plus stem in half.
5. The very center contains fuzz and inedible parts called the “choke”. Use a sharp knife and cut along the bottom of the choke (where it meets the artichoke heart) then grab the prickly part of the leaves and pull the choke out. This is the only part of the cooking process that is at all difficult.

How to Cook the Artichokes and make Artichoke Dipping Sauce:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. I like to use kitchen shears and cut off the sharp ends; but it’s optional and my mother certainly never did that.
2. While you’re trimming the artichokes, put several inches of water into a stovetop vegetable steamer and let it come to a boil. (I like to add a few tablespoons of my fresh-frozen lemon juice, to keep the artichokes from turning brown, but my mother never used that.)
3. When the water comes to a boil, put the artichokes in, cut side down.
4. Put the lid on the steamer and time for 25 minutes; then check (by piercing the artichoke heart with a fork) to be sure they are done.
5.  Check out How to Cook Artichokes in the Instant Pot if you prefer that method.
6. While artichokes cook combine the mayo, sour cream, and fresh-frozen lemon juice to make the dipping sauce.
7. Let artichokes cool slightly and then eat with Mom’s dipping sauce.

More Artichokes to Swoon Over:

• Air Fryer Artichoke Hearts
• Artichoke Antipasto Salad with Basil Vinaigrette
• Artichoke Frittata with Bacon
• Meatball Casserole with Artichokes 
• Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole with Artichokes

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Yield: 3 artichokes

Mom's Artichokes and Artichoke Dipping Sauce

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Mom's Artichokes and Artichoke Dipping Sauce is a recipe that makes me miss my amazing Mother, and fresh artichokes are a treat I loved from the time I was a small child! I switched out the Miracle Whip for mayo to make the Artichoke Dipping Sauce lower in carbs, but make it the way you prefer.

Ingredients

Artichoke Ingredients:

• 3  whole artichokes, stem trimmed, cut in half, and choke cut out (see notes)
• water
• 2 T lemon juice (see notes)

Artichoke Dipping Sauce Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup mayo
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 T lemon juice (see notes)

Instructions

Preparing Artichokes:

1. I choose artichokes with the longest stem I can find, since the stems are tasty.
2. Trim the stem and peel away any discolored parts.
3. I cut the entire  artichoke plus stem in half.
4. Then use a sharp knife and cut along the bottom of the choke (where it meets the artichoke heart), then grab the prickly part of the leaves and pull the choke out. (This is the only part of the cooking process that is at all difficult.)
5. I like to use kitchen shears (affiliate link) and cut off the sharp ends of the leaves; but it's optional.

Cooking Artichokes:

1. While you're trimming the artichokes bring, put several inches of water into a stovetop vegetable steamer (affiliate link) and let it come to a boil. (I like to add a few tablespoons of my fresh-frozen lemon juice, to keep the artichokes from turning brown, but my mother never used that.)
2. When the water comes to a boil, put the artichokes in, cut side down.Put the lid on the steamer and time for 25 minutes; then check (by piercing the artichoke heart with a fork) to be sure they are done.
3. Read How to Cook Artichokes in the Instant Pot or Stovetop Pressure Cooker if you prefer that method.

Making Artichoke Dipping Sauce:

1. While artichokes cook whisk together the mayo, sour cream, and fresh-frozen lemon juice to make the dipping sauce. (Start with one tablespoon of lemon juice and taste to see if you want more.
2. The sauce can be made ahead and kept in the fridge for a few days.

Notes

I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice for cooking the artichokes and for the dipping sauce. Start with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice in the sauce; then taste and see if you want to add more.

This recipe makes enough sauce for three artichokes if you can fit that many into your steamer or pressure cooker. Artichokes do have some carbs, but they're very high in fiber so the net carbs are low.

This recipe inspired by Mom's Artichokes, which are one of my best food memories from childhood.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

3

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 352Total Fat: 32gSaturated Fat: 6.3gUnsaturated Fat: 24.1gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 312mgCarbohydrates: 14.3gFiber: 10gSugar: 2.1gProtein: 4.3g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Artichokes do have some carbs, but they’re high in fiber, which makes them good for low-carb and Keto diets (especially with the low-carb artichoke dipping sauce I’m featuring here.) Artichokes are also a great low-glycemic food, and even though mayo is a “limited” food on the original South Beach Diet, when you eat the artichokes you aren’t eating the artichoke dipping sauce in huge amounts, so I would eat this for any phase of South Beach.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Side Dishes to see more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Danica's Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical notes for this Recipe:
This recipe for Mom’s Artichokes and Artichoke Dipping Sauce was first posted in 2006, probably with photos that would make me cringe if I saw them now! It was last updated with more information in 2023.

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