3-Ingredient Bacon Wrapped Dates | Gimme Some Oven

My favourite bacon-wrapped dates recipe is made with (truly!) crispy bacon, tender Medjool dates, and stuffed along with your alternative of cheese. Simple to make and at all times a celebration favourite!

Bacon-wrapped dates. ♡

I’ve made this 3-ingredient straightforward appetizer extra occasions than I can rely for blissful hours, dinner events, vacation gatherings…you identify it. It’s a kind of recipes that magically works for almost any event and is at all times assured to be a crowd favourite. And I personally simply discover that sweet-savory-smoky taste combo to be perfection. That mentioned, I’ve developed a number of opinions through the years about what takes a bacon-wrapped dates recipe from good to GREAT. So at this time I believed I’d pop again in and provides my decade-old recipe right here a number of trendy updates!

First off, we’ve all formally gotta commit to any extent further to taking an additional 10 minutes to pre-cook the bacon earlier than wrapping it across the dates. In any other case, the bacon by no means has time to totally prepare dinner and crisp up whereas baking wrapped across the dates (or you find yourself having to bake the dates so lengthy that the cheese burns or oozes out), which is a tragedy that may simply be prevented. Merely pre-cook the bacon within the oven, or you’ll be able to cheat and purchase that pre-cooked smooth bacon that’s out there in most shops these days.

Second, persevering with on with the crispy bacon soapbox, the stuffed dates should be flipped midway via baking so that every facet can get evenly cooked. I’ve experimented with quite a few flipping strategies through the years and have discovered it’s merely best to poke the toothpick all through the date, which makes it straightforward to seize and shortly flip over.

Third, use a good-quality cheese. You solely want a small quantity for this recipe, however a richly-flavored cheese makes such a distinction in balancing out the flavour of the smoky bacon and candy dates. I’m a fan of a punchy gorgonzola or a tangy goat cheese, however a superb feta, Manchego, and even an aged cheddar are additionally nice choices right here.

Lastly, don’t neglect to season the dates! I at all times add a number of beneficiant twists of freshly-ground black pepper, and likewise love sprinkling every date with a tiny a pinch of flaky sea salt for crunch. The right end.

Sound good? Let’s stuff some dates!

Bacon Wrapped Dates Elements

Earlier than we get to the total bacon-wrapped dates recipe beneath, listed here are a number of notes in regards to the components you will want:

• Bacon: I like to recommend fundamental bacon for this recipe — not thick-cut, not turkey bacon, simply good skinny slices of bacon. We’ll pre-bake the bacon within the oven to the purpose that it’s principally cooked but nonetheless versatile, then wrap it across the dates and bake till crispy.
• Medjool dates: It’s vital to make use of particularly Medjool dates for this recipe, whose massive dimension, smooth texture, and scrumptious caramel-y taste work completely on this recipe. When slicing the dates to take away the pits, simply you’ll want to solely minimize via the high half of the date in order that the filling won’t run out the underside.
• Cheese: It’s vital to use a cheese that gained’t instantly soften and ooze out of the stuffed dates! I want a bacon-wrapped dates with goat cheese, a crumbly blue cheese or feta cheese, however be happy to make use of no matter cheese you like finest. (Manchego, Parmesan, or a superb aged cheddar are additionally nice choices!)
• Flaky sea salt and black pepper: Lastly, I extremely suggest including a number of beneficiant twists of freshly-ground black pepper to the dates, in addition to a tiny sprinkle of flaky sea salt in case you’d like.

How To Make Bacon Wrapped Dates

Full directions for the right way to make bacon-wrapped dates are included within the recipe beneath, however listed here are a number of further ideas to remember:

• Don’t overstuff the dates. All the time tempting, I do know. 🙂 However I discover it’s finest to only add a small quantity of stuffing as a way to preserve a pleasant bacon-to-date-to-cheese ratio, and likewise to maintain the stuffed dates sufficiently small that the bacon can simply wrap round them.
• Pre-cook the bacon. Once more, I actually discover that it’s value the additional step of pre-baking the bacon in order that it may be good and crispy as soon as wrapped round and baked with the dates.
• Serve instantly. These stuffed dates can undoubtedly be loved lukewarm after they’ve sat out awhile. However when served heat contemporary out of the oven, the mixture of scorching bacon, melty cheese and smooth date is downright irresistible.

Recipe Variations

Listed below are a number of extra enjoyable concepts that you just’re welcome to strive with this bacon wrapped stuffed dates recipe:

• Add nuts: Add your favourite nuts (marcona almonds, walnuts or pistachios are my favorites right here) to the middle of the date together with the cheese.
• Add fruit: Add a small fruit (resembling pomegranate arils or dried cranberries) to the middle of the date together with the cheese.
• Add chocolate: Add chocolate chips or a tiny piece of chocolate bar to the middle of the date together with the cheese.
• Add seasoning: Add some dried or contemporary herbs/seasonings to the cheese stuffing. (I really like including a sprinkle of the whole lot bagel seasoning or herbs de Provence, particularly when utilizing goat or feta cheese.)
• Add scorching honey: My straightforward scorching honey recipe can also be improbable drizzled atop these stuffed dates simply earlier than serving.

Extra Simple Appetizer Recipes

Searching for less difficult appetizer recipes which can be certain to be crowd faves? Listed below are a number of winners:

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