Julie Clark
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Bacon Wrapped Dates
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Sweet & savory Bacon Wrapped Dates stuffed with cream cheese and an almond make an easy appetizer for holiday parties. These little treats will melt in your mouth!
‘Tis the season for all of the parties and finger foods! Whether you choose a fancier appetizer such as cheddar gougeres or a savory bite the kids will love like pepperoni rollups, we’ve got your back with unique appetizers to serve for your guests.
Bacon Wrapped Dates Recipe
This is one of my husband’s dream appetizers. He can eat dates by the handful, straight from the container…and he loves bacon. He’s munch on these easy, but elegant appetizers over a sweet treat any time of the day. Today we’re talking all about bacon wrapped dates. What they are…how to make them…and the best way to cook them. And if you love the idea of these, try our orange walnut stuffed dates!
Devils on Horseback
As I researched bacon wrapped dates for this article, I realized that they are often called “Devils on Horseback”. This surprised me as I had never heard of this! Angels on Horseback are oysters wrapped in bacon, so a different take on that classic food is Devils on Horseback, replacing the oyster with a date or a prune. The savory combination is much-loved though…you can’t beat that sweet and salty flavor!
How do you pit dates?
You can fairly easily find pitted dates in the grocery store. I definitely recommend buying the dates pitted to save yourself some work. If you happen to have dates with pits, here’s how to pit them. Take a small knife and slice lengthwise down the date, going down about 1/8″ of an inch. You want to break through the to the center of the date. Pull open the date and remove the pit. Easy as that! It takes a bit of time, but is really easy to pit dates.
What do you stuff dates with?
I’ve seen dates stuffed with flavored cheese, chocolate, peanut butter, coconut, sun dried tomatoes and even nuts. But by far our favorite date filling is simply cream cheese. For this recipe we also added a whole almond. It adds richness and a nice crunch to the dates.
How do you make bacon wrapped dates?
The first step to making the dates is to stuff them.
- Cut a slit down lengthwise down the date. (If you’ve removed the pit then you’ve already done this step!
- Place an almond on top of a small chunk of cream cheese. Stuff this cream cheese and almond inside the date.
- Take ½ a slice of bacon and wrap it around the stuffed date. Attach the bacon with a toothpick. It’s best to use a thin sliced bacon so that it will cook quickly.
- Repeat with the remaning dates and place them on a broiler pan. This type of pan works perfectly because the fat from the bacon will drip down, allowing the bacon to crisp up nicely.
What temperature do you cook bacon wrapped dates?
Bake the dates in a hot oven at 425º Fahrenheit. A nice hot oven will allow the bacon to crisp nicely.
How long do you cook bacon wrapped dates?
Bake the dates for about 15-18 minutes or until the bacon is as crispy as you’d like it.
This recipe makes about 18 dates, but you can easily make many more. We like to serve the bacon wrapped dates warm. They have the best crisp texture right from the oven. If you need to make bacon wrapped dates in advance, reheat them in the oven right before serving. Set the oven to 350º F and cook for several minutes until they are heated through.
Bacon Wrapped Dates
Sweet & savory Bacon Wrapped Dates stuffed with cream cheese and an almond make an easy appetizer for holiday parties. These little treats will melt in your mouth!
Servings 18
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Total Time 28 minutes
Ingredients
- 18 dates (pitted)
- 18 whole almonds
- 2 ounces cream cheese (cut into 18 pieces)
- 9 slices thin-sliced bacon (cut in half)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Stuff dates with cream cheese and dates and then wrap each date in ½ slice of bacon.
- Stick each with a toothpick to hold bacon and date together.
- Place dates on broiler pan so the bacon juices can drain.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes.
Notes
The calories shown are based on the recipe making 18 stuffed dates, with 1 serving being 1 date. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**
Nutrition
Calories: 82kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 83mg | Potassium: 79mg | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 45IU | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 0.2mg
One of my favourites is; Try stuffing those dates with pre-sauteed spicy chorizo sausage that was removed from the casings, chopped and sauteed and then stuffed in the date and wrapped with bacon and put under the broiler– a sweet, spicy and salted treat, b/c of the bacon. The cream cheese sounds great too! Maybe you could try mixing the chorizo in the cream cheese before stuffing the dates. Give it a try !! It is wonderful with the chorizo <3 ENJOY!!