This bacon wrapped dates appetizer stuffed with a tangy goat cheese is just about the best thing you can bring to any party or get together! They are the perfect mixture of savory and sweet with the dates and honey slightly caramelizing to perfection.
Samuel and I first had stuffed dates at a farm to table restaurant in Wichita Falls, Texas on a date. We immediately fell in love with them and decided to try our hand at our own stuffed date appetizer. After several not so successful attempts, we finally nailed a great combination with a cherry sauce and a smoky rub for the bacon.
We had no idea until I began to experiment and actually write this post that stuffed dates had become quite a trend in the food blogging world. Somehow it never reached us though I am on recipe blogs and Pinterest more than I should be…
Still, we were determined to have our own version of this decadent dish. And the following recipe is what came out of our (I’ll admit, mostly Samuel’s) experimentation. Enjoy!
Ingredients
For the Dates
Pitted Dates: We used deglet noor from Costco. They hold together better when baking than softer varieties of dates.
Goat Cheese
Raw Honey
Cinnamon
Bacon: Try to get an unflavored bacon. Alternatively, you can buy pork belly and slice it thinly as we did. It’s cheaper, and you know exactly what’s going into it! See the recipe note on this.
Pork Dry Rub optional, but delicious
For the Sauce
Red Cherries: fresh or frozen
Lemon Juice
Balsamic Vinegar
Apple Cider Vinegar
Sugar
Ground Nutmeg
Cloves: whole or ground
Tools You May Need
Sharp Knife
Cutting Board
Baking Sheet
Small Pan
Basting Brush optional
Cheesecloth optional
How to Make These Stuffed Appetizer Dates
Cherry Balsamic Sauce
STEP 1: Pit the cherries and add them into a small pot.
STEP 2: Add the balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, nutmeg, and cloves to the pot and bring to a low boil.
STEP 3: Allow the sauce to simmer for 20 minutes. You want the cherries to soften enough that you can mash them down a bit with a fork. While the sauce is simmering, start on the stuffing.
STEP 4: Mash the cherries up in the sauce, releasing as much juice as possible. Using a cheese cloth, strain the sauce into a bowl so that what you are left with is a smooth liquid. If you don’t have a cheesecloth, you can use a fork or a slotted spoon to remove the cherries.
Stuffing
STEP 1: In a small bowl, add together the goat cheese, honey, and cinnamon. Use a hand mixer or a fork to mix the filling into a creamy consistency.
Assembling and Cooking the Stuffed Appetizer Dates
STEP 1: Preheat your oven to 400° F and prepare a baking sheet and rack.
STEP 2: Line up your pitted dates on a plate or baking rack and slice a long opening across the top of each one for stuffing into.
STEP 3: Prepare your bacon (or pork belly) by seasoning one side of it with the rub and then cutting each slice lengthwise.
STEP 4: Using a small spoon, stuff a decent amount of the goat cheese mixture into each date, allowing it to pile just a bit over the top of the opening. Wrap each date in a piece of bacon, seasoned side out, and either secure it with a toothpick, or just set it folded side down onto your pan.
STEP 5: Finally, drizzle half of the cherry sauce onto the dates. Bake at 400° F for 20 minutes.
STEP 6: Remove the dates from the oven and top them with the last of the cherry sauce. Serve hot and enjoy!
Tips
- If you only have bacon that is pretty flavorful, you can skip the rub if you think the flavors will clash. But who knows, you may end up with something unexpectedly delicious!
- We love to slice our own pork belly and season it with our signature Asian Pork Dry Rub for the bacon. You can buy pork belly from an Asian market, Costco, or sometimes your local grocery store depending on where you live. Just slice it thinly with a sharp knife to use as regular bacon and save yourself some money.
- The dates we use (deglet noor) are a smaller variety of dates. If you use a large variety such as medjool, you will want to skip cutting the bacon lengthwise.
- If you like a slightly chunky sauce, instead of straining it, you can use an immersion blender to give it a few whirls and have the cherry chunks remain.
- We bake these on a baking rack and line the baking sheet with foil underneath to avoid as much of a mess from the sauce.
How to Store Appetizer Dates
You can store this dish covered in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days, but I guarantee you that they will never last that long.
Pin Stuffed Appetizer Dates For Later!
Stuffed Date Appetizer with a Cherry Balsamic Sauce
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 ½ Cups Pitted Cherries fresh or frozen
- 2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 Tbsp Sugar
- 3 Whole Cloves or 1/2 tsp ground
- 1 tsp Nutmeg
Stuffing
- 5 oz Goat Cheese
- 1 ½ Tbsp Honey
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
Dates
- 24 Dates Deglet Noor
- 12 Strips Bacon or Pork Belly
- Pork Dry Rub See Recipe Notes
Instructions
Cherry Balsamic Sauce
- In a small pot, add the pitted cherries, balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, nutmeg, and cloves to the pot and bring to a low boil.
- Allow the sauce to simmer for 20 minutes. While the sauce is simmering, start on the stuffing.
- When the 20 minutes are done, mash the cherries up in the sauce, releasing as much juice as possible. Using a cheese cloth, strain the sauce into a bowl so that what you are left with is a smooth liquid. If you don't have a cheesecloth, you can use a fork or a slotted spoon to remove the cherries.
Stuffing
- In a small bowl, add the goat cheese, honey, and cinnamon. Mix the filling well until it is creamy.
Assembling and Baking the Dates
- Preheat your oven to 400° F and prepare a baking sheet and rack.
- Slice a long opening across the top of each date to prepare for the stuffing.
- Prepare your bacon (or pork belly) by seasoning one side of it with the rub (see recipe notes) and then cutting each slice in half lengthwise.
- Using a small spoon, stuff a decent amount of the goat cheese mixture into each date, allowing it to pile just a bit over the top.
- Wrap each date in a piece of bacon, seasoned side out, and either secure it with a toothpick, or just set it folded side down onto your pan.
- Drizzle half of the cherry sauce onto the dates then bake at 400° F for 20 minutes.
- Remove the dates from the oven and top them with the last of the cherry sauce. Serve hot and enjoy!
Notes
- If you only have bacon that is pretty flavorful, you can skip the rub if you think the flavors will clash.
- We love to slice our own pork belly and season it with our signature Asian Pork Dry Rub for the bacon.
- The dates we use (deglet noor) are a smaller variety of dates. If you use a large variety such as medjool, you will want to skip cutting the bacon lengthwise.
- If you like a slightly chunky sauce, instead of straining it, you can use an immersion blender to give it a few whirls and have the cherry chunks remain.
Leave a Reply