Bacon-Wrapped Dates stuffed with tangy goat cheese and glazed with pure maple syrup are the perfect salty and sweet appetizer that you just can’t get enough of.
When it comes to holiday appetizer recipes my favorites are ones that are delicious (of course), tempting to eat, have just a few ingredients, and can be prepped in advance.
This bacon-wrapped dates recipe checks off all those boxes and more.
This simple, yet sophisticated finger food is like a symphony of flavors, with a sprinkling of fresh thyme to finish them off and make them holiday-ready.
I love that i can make these ahead of time and bake before serving for a warm bite!
Why You’ll Love this Appetizer Recipe
Always a crowd-pleaser. Bacon seems to go with everything and when it’s paired with a sweet date, stuffed with cheese, magic happens–they disappear. This is one of those, “can I get the recipe” type of recipes!
Easy go-to party appetizer. Follow this recipe once, and you’ll quickly see why this finger food is on my go-to party appetizer list. I love that it’s really a matter of assembly and there’s nothing fussy about it. But that can just be our secret!
Can be prepped in advance. Time is always of the essence when it comes to party planning, whether you’re the host or guest bringing an appetizer. What I love about these bacon-wrapped dates is that you can prep them up to 8 hours in advance and pop them in the oven just before serving.
My homemade cranberry pecan cheeseball is another easy make-ahead appetizer recipe you’ll enjoy.
Versatile recipe. Make this stuffed dates recipe your own by swapping the type of cheese (consider bleu or feta) or brushing on another glaze like honey. You can even stuff the date with a pecan or almond.
Ingredients Needed
Five ingredients is all it takes to make this wonderfully delicious appetizer.
Each component has so much flavor on its own, that making these stuffed dates is really more about assembly, rather than a precise recipe with measurements.
Medjool Dates – Get them as fresh as possible. You need about two dozen.
Bacon – Get thin-sliced, unflavored bacon. We’re going to wrap it around the date, so avoid bulky thick strips. Each bacon strip will be cut in half, so you need about 12 strips to wrap 24 dates.
Goat Cheese – The dates are slit open and stuffed with a dollop of soft goat cheese. It may be substituted with softened cream cheese, bleu cheese or feta.
Pure Maple Syrup – A touch of maple syrup elevates each bacon-wrapped date with a nice crispy glaze and a sweet flavor component. Be sure to use pure maple syrup, not pancake syrup.
Fresh Thyme– We eat with our eyes first, and a sprinkling of finely chopped thyme adds a nice touch of green to an otherwise reddish-brown appetizer. Thyme also adds a lovely contrasting flavor that I highly recommend.
Reserve some sprigs to dress up the serving tray.
How to Make Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates Wrapped in Bacon
Making this stuffed dates appetizer is a simple three step process: pit and stuff the dates, wrap them in bacon, and brush on glaze. Here’s what to do.
- Preheat oven to 350 °F. Prepare a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Set a rack on top of the tray (if you have one) so bacon crisps evenly and grease can drip through.
- Slice each date lengthwise, but not all the way through and remove the pit. Using a spoon, add a 1/2-1 teaspoon of goat cheese inside each date (depending on the size of the date), then push the date back together. A stripe of cheese will show.
- Slice the bacon in half so you have 20-24 shorter strips (depending on the number of dates you have.) Wrap a half-strip of bacon around each date and secure with a toothpick on the loose end.
- Place bacon-wrapped dates on the rack or tray and brush each with maple syrup.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until crispy. If you placed the dates directly on the tray, flip them over halfway through so the bottoms crisp up, as well.
- Remove from oven and brush each date with additional maple syrup. Sprinkle on thyme and a touch of cracked pepper, if desired.
Detailed recipe and instructions are in recipe card at bottom of post.
How to pit and stuff the dates.
To remove the pits, cut a lengthwise slit on one side of each date, not quite reaching the ends. Give the ends a little squeeze to push the date open and remove the pit.
Using a small spoon, or piping bag if you want to be extra tidy, stuff the dates and then push the edges back together.
Steps to wrap dates with bacon and bake.
Recipe Tips
Don’t overstuff the dates. The amount of cheese you fill each date with varies since the size of each dates varies. I land somewhere between 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of goat cheese per date.
This appetizer should be easy to bite into and a balance of components, so don’t overfill the dates.
Trim excess bacon fat. Trim off excessive amounts of bacon fat before wrapping around the date.
To prevent this from happening in the first place, look for bacon with fat evenly distributed along each strip. (In my photo above you can see I didn’t do this and half of the bacon has way more fat than the other.)
Secure bacon with a toothpick. Don’t skip this step, otherwise the bacon curls up as it cooks. Make sure to insert the toothpick at the loose end of the bacon. You don’t need to go all the way through.
Serve with toothpicks or without. For a more elegant appetizer, remove the toothpicks. If you choose to leave them in, use sturdy appetizer toothpicks.
More Easy Appetizer Recipes
- Cranberry Brie Bites (with Crescent Roll Dough)
- Cranberry Pecan Cheese Ball
- Stovetop Cinnamon Sugar Candied Pecans
- 10-Minute Marinated Mozzarella Balls
- Easy Caprese Salad Skewers
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Bacon-Wrapped Dates with Goat Cheese
Easy bacon-wrapped dates recipe that features pitted dates stuffed with goat cheese and coated in a sweet maple glaze. This easy 5 ingredient appetizer can be prepped ahead of time and is the perfect sweet and salty appetizer to serve to your holiday guests.
Ingredients
- 10-12 strips bacon, cut in half
- 20-24 dates, pitted
- 4 ounces goat cheese
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 4 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves removed from stems
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °F. Prepare a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Set a rack on top of the tray (if you have one) so bacon crisps evenly and grease can drip through.
- Slice each date lengthwise, but not all the way through and remove the pit. Using a spoon, add a 1/2-1 teaspoon of goat cheese inside each date (depending on the size of the date), then push the date back together. A stripe of cheese will show.
- Slice the bacon in half so you have 20-24 shorter strips (depending on the number of dates you have.) Wrap a half-strip of bacon around each date and secure with a toothpick on the loose end.
- Place bacon-wrapped dates on the rack or tray and brush each with maple syrup.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until crispy. If you placed the dates directly on the tray, flip them over halfway through so the bottoms crisp up, as well.
- Remove from oven and brush bacon with additional maple syrup. Sprinkle on fresh thyme and a touch of cracked pepper, if desired.
Notes
- Don't overstuff the dates. The amount of cheese you fill each date with varies since the size of each dates varies. I land somewhere between 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of goat cheese per date.
- Trim excess bacon fat. Trim off excessive amounts of bacon fat before wrapping around the date.
- Secure bacon with a toothpick. Don't skip this step, otherwise the bacon curls up as it cooks.
- Serve with toothpicks or without. For a more elegant appetizer, remove the toothpicks. If you choose to leave them in, use sturdy toothpicks meant for appetizers.
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