Easy, delicious Italian stuffed artichokes are nothing short of epic. Imagine the flavor of soft, buttery artichokes paired with a breadcrumb, Parmesan, garlic and parsley mix. So simple! But I promise, try them once and you'll be making them over and over again.

This is a classic Sicilian recipe for Stuffed Artichokes that in dialect are called Carciofi Ammudicati or Carciofi Ca Muddica which translates as Artichokes With Breadcrumb.

Table Of Contents

Ingredients
Possible Variations
How To Make - Step By Step
How To Store
Make Ahead
How To Serve
More Recipes With Artichokes
Full Recipe

Ingredients

With only a handful of simple ingredients, it's important that they all be of the high quality.

Fresh Artichokes - you can stuff almost any kind of artichoke. I’ve used Sardinian Thorny Artichoke - Carciofo Spinoso which is medium size and very rich in flavor. Large size artichokes varieties such as California Green Globe, Italian Mammole and rarely found Lyons quality are also great for stuffing. You'll probably need only 1 per serving as opposed to medium size artichokes that serve 2 artichokes per person.
Breadcrumbs - coarse breadcrumbs or Panko breadcrumbs are the best. They provide unique flaky texture. If not available, use regular breadcrumbs.
Parmesan cheese - Italian Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano. Alternatively you can use quality Pecorino cheese or a mix of both. Stay away from cheap imitations.
Fresh Parsley - Italian flat leaf parsley has the most flavor.
Fresh Garlic - use 1-3 garlic cloves depending how strong you want to feel its flavor.
EVO oil - an acronym widely used for Extra Virgin Olive oil. You'll need it for stuffing and a little for serving.

Possible Variations

Stuffing add-ons
- eggs - add 1-2 eggs after mixing all the ingredients for the stuffing, the mixture should be compact but still crumbly so that you can stuff it easily in between the artichoke leaves. This is how they stuff artichokes in Calabria.
- roasted cherry tomatoes - in Messina (Sicily) they prepare roasted cherry tomato sauce with a little bit of onions or green scallions. Half of it goes in the breadcrumb filling, the rest is where artichokes are cooked.
- eggs, salami and Provolone cheese - in Naples they make stuffed artichokes extra rich with small dices of Salami and Provolone cheese.
- olive and capers - another flavorful variation is to add finely chopped olives and capers to the breadcrumb mix.
- ground meat - if I want to make a complete meal out of stuffed artichokes I've stuff the hollow center with ground meat (usually chicken or turkey) mixed with a little bit of breadcrumb mix. Then stuff the rest of the artichoke in between the petals with breadcrumb mix only and cook as directed in the recipe).
Cooking method
- braised- you can braise stuffed artichokes like in this recipe using water or meat broth. If you don't need a strictly vegetarian dish, meat broth adds incredible flavor impossible to resist.
- braised then broiled - if you like crispy, lightly browned crust ontop of stuffed artichokes, braise them 10 minutes short, then finish in a preheated to 400 F (200C) oven under grill/broil. Make sure you use oven-safe pot/casserole or better yet Dutch oven.

How To Make - Step By Step

Clean Fresh Artichokes

Prepare a bowl filled with cold tap water and squeeze lemon juice in it. Clean and trim artichokes following a step-by-step guide on how to clean artichokes for stuffing.

Peel 1-2 garlic cloves and finely chop them together with a bunch of parsley leaves (stems removed). Add to a large bowl together with 1 ½ cup breadcrumbs and ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese. Add a pinch of salt. Remember both breadcrumbs and cheese also contain salt. Mix.
Add ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil or a little more if needed and mix again. You should get crumbly texture.

Stuff Artichokes

Stuffing an artichoke with breadcrumb mix.

Place cleaned artichokes top side down on a cutting board/tray and tap them a few times to remove excess water.
Loosen artichokes leaves working your way from the outer leaves to the center. Stuff the center with breadcrumb mix then between the leaves working from the inside out.

Cook

Add a splash of extra virgin olive oil in a pot/casserole, place stuffed artichokes and cleaned artichoke stems (if you have any) in between. Add 1 cup slightly salted water trying to pour in the gap between artichokes and avoid pouring water directly on the stuffing. Add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on top of the artichokes.
Set the pot on medium heat. Once boiling, set the heat to low and cover with a lid. Cook artichokes for 30-45 minutes until tender, depending on the size of the artichokes and desired consistency. I like to leave them slightly 'al dente'.

OPTIONAL: for the last 10 minutes of cooking, place uncovered pot with artichokes in the preheated to 400 F (200 C) oven and cook with grill/broil to brown the top crust. Make sure your pot is oven-safe and doesn't have plastic parts. Dutch oven works the best.

How To Store

Cooked stuffed artichokes can be stored in the fridge for up 2 days. You can reheat them with a little water added to the pot or simply bring to room temperature.

Make Ahead

You can stuffed artichokes the day before, arrange in the pot and store in the fridge. The next day, add water/broth to the pot and cook as directed in the recipe. This comes handy when you want to cut down dinner preparation time on a particular day.

How To Serve

This Italian stuffed artichokes recipe serves 8 as an appetizer or serves 4 as a main course, if you use medium-size artichokes. If you're preparing them for main course, make this delicious, hot and crispy Italian Chickpea flatbread or focaccia bread as an antipasto.

Stuffed artichokes also pair wonderfully with juicy Chicken Involtini.

More Recipes With Artichokes

Full Recipe