Forget plain steamed artichokes! These grilled chile lime artichokes are smoky, zesty, and loaded with flavor. Topped with a fresh pico de gallo and served with a creamy chile aioli, it’s the ultimate party food!
My family is a big fan of artichokes, in all forms. From pickled to steamed, we enjoy them all. I have made all kinds of dishes feature this prickly favorite like my braised baby artichokes and my Italian artichoke hummus.
I am always looking for new ways to serve up artichokes. I think you are really going to love this recipe for grilled artichokes and the lip smacking chile lime seasoning!
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Recipe highlights
- Unique: I often make steamed artichokes, my family absolutely loves them. We also have grown artichokes in our garden here in San Diego. This recipe is not only unique, but it is not like any other artichoke recipe you have ever tried! If you never tried grilling artichokes, you are in for a treat. And the final plate makes a gorgeous presentation!
- Simple: If you have never prepared artichokes, have now fear. They are actually very easy to prepare. Yes, there is some prep work, but it isn’t difficult or complicated. I break down the steps so you will have issues preparing this dish.
- Flavor: These aretichokes are tender and smokey. The chile lime seasoning rubbed through the grilled artichoke makes the meaty leaves irresistible. The fresh pic de gallo and the creamy dipping sauce takes this dish to a whole new level.
Ingredients needed
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- Artichokes: These are the star of the show! Pick artichokes in the spring when they are at the peak of their ripeness. You want a tightly packed artichoke with all of the leaves intact.
- Seasonings: Paprika, chile powder, garlic powder, lemon pepper and salt. If you don’t have lemon pepper, you can make your own by combining equal parts of black pepper and grated lemon zest.
- Citric acid: This is what gives this spice mix the tart zing that makes these artichokes so incredible. I found citric acid at my middle eastern market in their spice aisle, but you can also find citric acid online.
- Mayonnaise: The dipping sauce base is mayonnaise. Any variety you like can be used.
- Lime juice: You can use fresh or bottled lime juice.
- Tomato: Any ripe tomato can be used, including small cherry or grape varieties.
- Onions: When I eat onions raw, I prefer purple onions, but you can use any variety you have.
- Cilantro: Since this dish uses Mexican flavors, cilantro is used. If you have aversion to cilantro, you can use parsley or fresh tarragon instead.
- Avocado oil: Since we are grilling the artichokes, I like to use a high smoking point oil like avocado oil to oil the grates.
Step-by-step directions
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- Combine the spices. Mix together paprika, chile powder, garlic powder, lemon powder, citric acid and salt.
- Mix the dip. In a separate bowl, mix together mayonnaise and lime juice. Stir in ¾ teaspoon of spice mix and refrigerate dip until ready to use.
- Make the pico de gallo. In another bowl, combine diced tomatoes, onions and cilantro with lime juice. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Trim the artichokes. Using a serrated knife, cut off the top quarter of each artichoke. Cut the bottom stem so that the artichoke can sit flat and cut the leaf tips of the remaining artichoke leaves with kitchen shears.
- Steam the artichokes. Bring a large pot with an inch of water to boil. Add a steam basket and place the artichokes into the basket, top side up. If you do not have a steam basket, reduce water to ½-inch deep and place artichokes directly into the boiling water. Cover the pot and steam the artichokes on medium heat until slightly under-cooked.
- Cool the artichokes. Remove artichokes from the steam basket and allow to rest until cool enough to handle, about 10-15 minutes.
- Remove the choke. Cut the artichokes in half, revealing the heart. Carefully remove the fuzz and small leaves from the inside of the artichokes, but keep the rest of the artichoke intact.
- Season the artichokes. Place the artichokes, cut side up on a baking sheet and brush the inside and outside of each artichoke with olive oil. Sprinkle both the inside and outside of each artichoke half with spice mix.
- Grill the artichokes. Heat your grill to high heat and oil the grates. Place artichokes on the hot grill and grill each side until lightly charred and the artichoke is tender. If your artichokes are burning too quickly, reduce heat to medium-high. You want the outside of the artichoke to crunchify, not burn.
- Serve. Remove from the grill and place on serving platter. Top with chopped tomato mix and serve with chile lime dip.
Expert tips and recipe FAQs
This recipe is inspired by a dish I enjoyed in Carlsbad, CA. I ate at one of my favorite restaurants, Coyote Bar & Grill, enjoyed the live music outside next to their fire pits, and ordered up some chile lime artichokes.
I loved it so much that I decided to recreate it at home – with success! My family loves the combination of chilies and lime. If you love it too, you must try my oven roasted tri tip with chili lime seasoning and snack on some chile lime macadamia nuts.
Storing/Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Store any leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
TO FREEZE: You can also freeze leftover grilled artichokes (not the pico). Transfer to a resealable bag or freezer safe container and freeze for up to 4 months.
Choosing the right artichoke isn’t very difficult. You want a tightly packed artichoke with all of the leaves intact. The stem should be green like the rest of the artichoke. When you hold the artichoke and squeeze it, it should have make squeaking sounds as the leaves rub together. Sounds silly, but it’s true.
First you need to remove the thick leaves on the bottom of the artichoke, trim the tips that have thorns and cut off about ½-inch of the artichoke top. Rub some lemon juice along the cut side of the artichoke to keep it from browning and oxidizing. Then steam these babies in a steamer basket or in a pot with just ¼-inch of boiling water. Cook until the heart (the stem) is soft when pierced with a knife.
I still like to steam artichokes before grilling. This keeps them from drying out on the hot grill. You do not want to completely cook the artichokes, just steam until they are mostly cooked. Once they are partially cooked, remove them from the pot and let them cool. Cut the artichokes in half lengthwise and remove the hairy choke center. Gently remove it and discard it. Then season as you wish and finish cooking the artichoke on the grill.
Chile Lime Grilled Artichokes
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- ¾ teaspoon chile powder
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
- ½ teaspoon citric acid powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 3 teaspoon lime juice divided
- 1 tomato diced
- ¼ cup diced onions
- 2 tablespoon diced cilantro
- 2 artichokes
- 2 tablespoon avocado oil
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together paprika, chile powder, garlic powder, lemon powder, citric acid and ½ teaspoon salt.
- In a separate bowl, mix together mayonnaise and 1 teaspoon lime juice. Stir in ¾ teaspoon of spice mix and refrigerate dip until ready to use.
- In another bowl, combine diced tomatoes, onions and cilantro with 2 teaspoon lime juice. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Using a serrated knife, cut off the top quarter of each artichoke. Cut the bottom stem so that the artichoke can sit flat and cut the leaf tips of the remaining artichoke leaves with kitchen shears.
- Bring a large pot with an inch of water to boil.
- Add a steam basket and place the artichokes into the basket, top side up. If you do not have a steam basket, reduce water to ½-inch deep and place artichokes directly into the boiling water.
- Cover the pot and steam the artichokes on medium heat until slightly under-cooked.
- Remove artichokes from the steam basket and allow to rest until cool enough to handle, about 10-15 minutes.
- Cut the artichokes in half, revealing the heart. Carefully remove the fuzz and small leaves from the inside of the artichokes, but keep the rest of the artichoke intact.
- Heat your grill to high heat and oil the grates.
- Place the artichokes, cut side up on a baking sheet and brush the inside and outside of each artichoke with olive oil.
- Sprinkle both the inside and outside of each artichoke half with spice mix.
- Place artichokes on the hot grill and cook for 7-10 minutes on each side, pressing down with a spatula or panini press.
- Remove from the grill and place on serving platter. Top with chopped tomato mix and serve with chile lime dip.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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Written by Laura Bashar
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!
Congratulations on the Anniversary, and thank you for the divine looking recipe. It looks so good and my husband and I realized the other day that although we experiment with food a lot, we've never had non-marinated artichokes. I've been looking for a recipe to surprise him with… so thank you!
Sounds like a wonderful anniversary. I'm adding crunchify to my vocabulary.
I never know what to do with artichokes! I'm a fellow Camp Blogaway camper, flying in from Albuquerque. I figured I’d calm my nerves by saying hello to everyone online before this weekend, though it just seems to be getting me more excited (hence the 2am comment!) I’m looking forward to meeting you 🙂
~Danni with LambAround
Happy Anniversary! Artichokes look delicious but they do intimidate me. I will have to try this when I gather the courage.
Great Recipe and wonderful pics
farida
http://kitchensuperfood.com