Pasta with artichokes

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This super easy pasta with artichokes uses canned artichoke hearts and a creamy parmesan sauce. It’s simple, ready in less than 15 minutes, and utterly luxurious!

It makes a great weeknight treat, but it’s also something that you can pull out of your back pocket when you’ve got company or plan a cozy date night. 

If you’re not new to my recipes, you know that cream isn’t a pantry staple for me. But we’ve made it to the end of the year, and this month I feel pretty indulgent. Holidays are here and we deserve a treat, don’t we?

Well, this pasta with artichokes hits the spot! It requires a handful of ingredients, it’s ready in no time and it feels quite special too.

Made with convenient canned artichokes, cream (just 3/4 cup), parmesan cheese, and parsley, this pasta is indulgent without being too heavy. I also love how the artichoke hearts and the fresh parsley add bright flavor to balance the richness of the cream. 

Like my popular cream cheese pasta, ricotta pasta and spinach pasta, this artichoke pasta recipe is easy, delicious, and absolutely perfect to satisfy your creamy pasta craving! : )

List of the ingredients

• Pasta (tagliatelle, penne, fusilli…)
• Canned or frozen artichoke hearts
• Whipping cream or heavy cream
• Parmesan cheese
• Butter
• Flour
• Dry white wine
• Garlic
• Flat-leaf parsley
• Salt & pepper

How to make pasta with artichokes

(Note: this is a quick description with step-by-step photos, the full recipe is at the bottom of the page).

• Chop the fresh parsley and slice the artichokes.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet and cook the garlic until fragrant.
• Stir in the flour until it’s dissolved.

• Add the wine and stir until it’s incorporated into the flour-butter mixture.
• Stir in cream, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, mix until combined.
• Add the artichokes, stir gently. Turn the heat off, taste and adjust the seasoning.

• Cook pasta and drain (reserve some cooking water).
• Add the the pasta, the chopped parsley, and a touch of the pasta water to the artichoke mixture, toss gently until coated.
• Serve immediately with freshly ground black pepper and grated parmesan.

Artichoke pasta ingredients & substitutions

Pasta: I used stylish-looking tagliatelle to make the dish a bit more special, but feel free to use any long strand pasta you want here. Also penne or fusilli are totally fine for this pasta with artichokes.

Canned artichoke hearts: I used 1 can of artichokes in brine but you can use the same amount of frozen thawed artichokes. Easy peasy.

Dry white wine: it adds complexity to the sauce. Sauvignon blanc, pinot gris are safe bets for the recipe. If you can’t use white wine, use the same amount of broth or pasta cooking water + 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard (the mustard is an optional ingredient, but if you have it on hand I recommend it).

Flour: it makes a paste (aka roux) to thicken the sauce. You can skip the flour if you prefer a gluten-free option.

Butter: Use the the same amount of olive oil if you don’t have butter on hand.

Cream: I used 3/4 cup whipping cream. Essentially the recipe works fine with any cream with a fat content between 30-40% (half-and-half is too light, while I find the British double cream too thick with its 48% fat content).

Parmesan cheese: adds more flavor to your creamy sauce! I recommend using freshly grated parmesan cheese vs. buying the pre-grated cheese that won’t melt smoothly as well (or taste as good).

Garlic: for pungent notes. Who doesn’t like garlic?

Flat-leaf parsley: (aka Italian parsley) is more aromatic than curly parsley and adds fresh, citrusy notes to the dish.

Salt & pepper: adjust the seasoning to make sure it doesn’t taste bland. I added 1/4 tsp of salt, but you might want to adjust it to your liking. Serve with freshly cracked black pepper!

Note: reserve and use a splash of starchy pasta cooking water to toss the pasta with artichokes before serving. The starch in the water will thicken the sauce and will make the pasta moist without using more and more cream.

Love artichokes?

Me too, it’s definitely one of my favorite vegetables. And although nothing beats the flavor of fresh artichokes, I think that their canned or frozen counterparts can just do the tricks in many recipes like in these delicious:

• 15 Amazing artichoke recipes
• Artichoke soup
• Artichoke pizza
• Salad with artichokes and white beans
• Artichoke bruschetta

Here are more quick pasta recipes…

if you look for recipes that require everyday ingredients and ready in less than 15 minutes, here some of our favs:

• 13 Super quick pasta recipes
• Spaghetti with garlic & olive oil
• Pasta with olives
• Penne arrabbiata
• Pasta with peas

I hope you make this pasta with artichokes soon, and if you have a question, let me know by leaving a comment. I would love to hear from you! x

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