Meat Stuffed Artichokes (Low Carb)

These meat stuffed artichokes are a delicious low carb dinner. The meat stuffing has mediterranean flavors of cinnamon and lemon with crunchy pine nuts. Enjoy artichokes in season with this easy dinner. 

I remember the first time I had an artichoke. It was when I was maybe 10 years old on New Year’s eve while on a family vacation in Colorado. I don’t remember it all that well but I remember I loved them! It was fun to break off one of the leaves, dip it in butter and scrape off the meat with your teeth. Also it was very tasty as anything dipped in butter usually is. Spotting a few beautiful arthichokes at the grocery store I decide to make my mother’s meat stuffed artichokes because I figured they would be fairly low carb too.

Eating Fresh Whole Artichokes

Have you ever tried eating a whole artichoke? It’s lots of fun as I mentioned above but it also takes quite a while to finish so it’s perfect dish for dinner if you are watching what you eat. The important thing to do when cooking artichokes is making sure you can put the leaves off easily. That’s when you know they are fully cooked. Then take a leave, dip it in butter and scrape the fleshy bottom of the leaf with your teeth. Trust me, it’s delicious!

Preparing Whole Artichokes

Here are the artichokes I bough pictured abovet. Don’t you just love the look and colors of a fresh artichoke? When my mom made this dish she would keep them whole, dig out the middle and then stuffed it with a mixture of spiced ground beef and pine nuts. I kept the stuffing but cut them in half to make it easier to clean and stuff. 

In the picture above you can see that once you clean the stem and take of the scraggly bottom leaves, you want to cut them in half. Next you want to cut the tops off about ⅓ or ¼ way from the top which is pictured with a dotted line. Next pull out the leaves in the pink area. There is no set amount of leaves to clean out however you want to get all of the fuzzy part at the bottom which you can scrape off with a spoon or knife. Now your artichokes are ready!

Cooking Whole Meat Stuffed Artichokes

There are many ways you can prepare your artichokes. Today I steamed them in the microwave and then baked them a bit. The first batch I did straight in the oven and they were not cooked well and pretty dry. So the second batch I prepared the artichokes and pre-cooked them in the microwave and then baked them after they were stuffed.

So in an oven/microwave baking dish lay down the sliced lemon and  ½ cup of water and then place the cleaned artichokes on top. Cover and cook the artichokes in the microwave for 8 minutes. Test to see if the leaves come right out when pulled. If not, cook for a few more minutes. This will depend on the size of your artichokes.

While they are cooking you can prepare the stuffing. Add a little oil to a large pan and saute the onion for a few minutes. Then add in the beef, salt, pepper and cinnamon. Cook this mixture until the meat is just starting to brown. That is when you add in the pine nuts and cook until the meat is browned. 

When the artichokes are done, take them out of the microwave and baste with the lemon water. Then stuff them with the meat mixture. I could eat the meat mixture just by itself as it reminds me of my grandmother’s cooking! Add some riced cauliflower and you have this Middle Eastern cauliflower rice pilaf recipe.

Bake the stuffed artichokes in the oven for 10 minutes. You can eat them as is or melt some butter and dip the leaves in when eating. I hope you like these meat stuffed artichokes as much as I do. They make a great low carb dinner or lunch. I have one waiting for me for lunch and I can’t wait to eat it!

The nutrition for 1 stuffed artichoke without the butter is:

297 cals / 21.3g fat / 10.3g carbs / 4.2g fiber / 18.4g protein = 6.1g net carbs

For more information about cooking artichokes check out my friend Julia from Savory Tooth’s post.

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Low Carb Meat Stuffed Aritchokes

These meat stuffed artichokes are a delicious low carb dinner. The meat stuffing has mediterranean flavors of cinnamon and lemon with crunchy pine nuts. Enjoy artichokes in season with this easy dinner. 

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mediterranean

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 297 kcal

Author Denise

Ingredients

• 2 artichokes, cut in half
• ½ lb ground beef
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ⅓ cup minced onions
• ⅓ cup pine nuts
• ¼ teaspoons cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 lemon, sliced
• ¼ cup butter, melted (optional for dipping)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Add the oil to a large saute pan and then add the onions. When they start to get translucent, add the meat, salt, pepper and cinnamon. Mix well.

3. When meat is just turning brown, add in the pine nuts and cook for a few more minutes.

4. Meanwhile cut the upper third of the artichoke leaves off with a chef's knife. Trim the end of the stalk and take off ragged leaves at bottom. Cut tips off the bottom leaves that are left and then cut in half.

5. Clear out some of the leaves in the middle so you have room to stuff them with the meat. Also clean out the fuzzy part from the heart of the artichoke. 

6. Lay slices of lemon in a microwave/oven safe baking dish. Place the artichokes on top. Pour ½ cup of water in the dish, cover and microwave for 8-10 minutes depending on the size of your artichokes. A leave should pull of easily when they are done.

7. When artichokes are done, baste with the lemon water in the bottom of the dish. Then stuff the middle with the meat mixture.  Bake for 10  minutes.

8. Serve with melted butter for eating the leaves with or just eat as is.