This One Vegetable Is My Weeknight Flotation Device

If you opened my freezer, you would immediately want to close it. Not because there’s something frightening in there, but because it’s loaded. I’ve got it filled to max capacity with all of my favorite foods that help me whip up meals at a moment’s notice. One such essential is frozen vegetables and I’ve got plenty of variety, but the artichoke hearts are my favorite. Unlike corn or green peas, which don’t elicit much excitement from my diners, artichoke hearts add sophistication and easily “level up” even the most basic meals. 

The only time I ever had artichoke hearts growing up was when we ordered spinach-artichoke dip at a local neighborhood restaurant. I didn’t even know what an actual artichoke was at the time, but what I did know was that I loved that dip. It wasn’t until I was studying nutrition in college that I became truly acquainted with the vegetable. I found out that it was a nourishing food that could be enjoyed in more ways than just dip. Culinary school solidified my appreciation, and I’ve been finding ways to cook with artichoke hearts ever since. 

My Favorite Ways To Use Frozen Artichoke Hearts

Weeknight dinners are often a rotation of familiar recipes at my house. There’s usually some kind of pasta, a type of casserole, soup or stew, and always pizza. The rotation offers plenty of opportunities to add my favorite frozen vegetable. For many pasta dishes, I include frozen artichoke hearts right to whatever sauce I’m making, no need to even thaw. If I think the artichoke hearts are better as a last-minute addition to the pasta, I’ll cook them following package directions in my microwave and stir them in just before serving. 

The same thing goes for casseroles, soups, and stews. When it comes to pizza, I’ll always defrost, then transfer the artichokes to a mesh strainer to remove any excess moisture, then I’ll pat them dry before adding them to my pizza. I use frozen artichoke hearts to make simple sides, too. You can easily roast them from frozen, tossing them with oil, salt, pepper, and other seasonings just before serving.

Here are more ways to use frozen artichoke hearts:

• Use as a toast topper. Cook frozen artichoke hearts then chop and combine with some cottage cheese, dill, lemon juice, and garlic as a delicious topping for toast. Stir in some chopped roasted red pepper or capers for even more flavor.
• Create a dip. Find your favorite dip recipe and instead of using canned or jarred artichoke hearts, swap in thawed, frozen artichoke hearts. Be sure to drain them before adding.
• Enjoy as a quick saute. Keep things simple and add your frozen artichoke hearts to a skillet with some olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and garlic or shallots or even some baby spinach or other hearty green and finish with a sprinkle of crushed red pepper.

Tips for Cooking With Frozen Artichoke Hearts

• Decide if thawing first makes sense. For soups and other liquid-based dishes with longer cook times, adding frozen artichoke hearts without thawing works. For other dishes where the liquid from thawing would affect the dish (like pizza or spreads), cook them first and drain before adding.
• Don’t cook in iron or aluminum cookware. If you’ve ever prepared artichoke hearts in iron or aluminum, you might’ve been surprised by the results. Your yellow-hued hearts probably came out grey thanks to a reaction between an acid present in artichoke hearts and the metal. To keep their color, use a ceramic, nonstick, or stainless steel pan for cooking. 
• Label and use. There’s a good chance you’ll buy a bag and only use half. Be sure you add the date you opened them before re-storing and keep them visible. Opened bags tend to get freezer burn more readily than unopened bags, so you’ll want to use them up sooner, rather than later.