Bacon Wrapped Dates with Blue Cheese: What do you get when you combine dates blue cheese and bacon? An easy appetizer that’s the perfect addition to your next dinner party or holiday meal!
We have so many yummy appetizer recipes on the blog, but the bacon appetizers always find a special place in my heart (like this baked brie with maple syrup and bacon)!
Why you’ll love this recipe
My husband came home from the ranch after guiding last year, and said the chef, David, made the most delicious bacon-wrapped dates that were stuffed with blue cheese. So, after telling me what he thought they were made of, I wanted to see if I could re-create them for us, and although I have no idea if I did… these turned out DELICIOUS and are now my favorite, easy appetizer, go-to!
You can whip up this delicious appetizer for your holiday party, cocktail party, birthday party, party-because-it’s-Tuesday…you get the idea. There’s no bad time to make a batch of these blue cheese stuffed dates wrapped in bacon, and they are sure to be one of your favorite appetizers in no time!
Jump to:
Ingredients
You only need three simple ingredients to make this yummy finger food (and when you’re making bacon recipes, you don’t need much more than that)!
- 12 ounces pitted dates
- 1 lb bacon, sliced in half
- 2-3 ounces blue cheese crumbles
You can jump to the recipe card right now to get all the instructions, or you can keep reading for a step-by-step tutorial on how to make these bacon wrapped dates with blue cheese!
how to make bacon wrapped dates
- Preheat your oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray. If you are using a nonstick baking sheet you may not need to line it, but we would still recommend giving the baking sheet a spray with cooking spray so the bacon doesn’t stick.
- Using a sharp paring knife, gently slice dates lengthwise, not cutting all of the way through. You’re creating a “pocket” for the blue cheese crumbles.
- Stuff the cavity of each date with as many blue cheese crumbles as will fit in the center of the dates.
- Next, take the half-slice of bacon and cover the opening of the date with the piece of bacon and begin rolling the slice of bacon around the date, securing the blue cheese inside.
- Take a toothpick and slide it through the bacon slice, securing the bacon on both sides of the stuffed date.
- Place bacon wrapped dates on a rimmed baking sheet or baking dish, and bake in your preheated oven for 30 minutes. Turn dates over at the 20 minute mark to help the bacon cook evenly.
- When the bacon slice is fully cooked (we like to cook it until we have crispy bacon) they’re done. Transfer to a serving platter while warm and enjoy!
Substitutions
This recipe is delicious as is, but if you require modifications here are a few ideas…
- Dairy Free- instead of blue cheese, you could check your local grocery store for a dairy free alternative! If you can’t find blue cheese, you can use a dairy free cream cheese or even goat cheese in its place.
- Pork-Free- if you don’t eat pork, you could use a turkey bacon or chicken bacon instead (just be sure that it is very well secured with the toothpick as those types of bacon have more shape to them than pork bacon).
Variations
This recipe only has three ingredients, but there are so many ways you could change it up if you wanted to get creative!
- Bacon – There are a lot of different flavors you could experiment with here. Try a maple bacon for a sweeter twist, or a smoky bacon for a more savory take.
- Cheese – We love a good blue cheese, but not everyone does. This recipe would be just as delicious with any other soft cheese, though. Try cream cheese (maybe something with herbs or another flavor in it to up the flavor profile), goat cheese, brie, ricotta, feta; the options are endless.
- Brown Sugar – This recipe doesn’t add any sort of sauce or spice to the wrapped dates, but you certainly could. After you wrap the strip of bacon around the date you could roll the entire thing in brown sugar before securing it with the toothpick. This would create a sweet, caramelized exterior…mmm.
- Balsamic Vinegar – You could also try drizzling balsamic vinegar on after you place dates on your lined baking sheet. This would be especially good if you stuffed the date with feta cheese first. The combinations of the salty bacon, creamy cheese and savoury vinegar would be delicious!
If you try any of these variations, be sure to leave us a comment and let us know!
Storage
Store these bacon wrapped dates in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
You could also freeze your bacon wrapped dates in a single layer in a freezer safe, airtight container for up to a month (they might last longer, but after a month they won’t be as fresh).
Expert Tips and FAQs
The strong flavor of the blue cheese in this recipe pairs nicely with the dates, but other cheeses would be tasty as well! You could try any creamy cheese in place of the blue cheese (cream cheese, goat cheese, ricotta, feta or really any other soft cheeses that you like)!
Sweet dates are like a little bite of dessert, and because of that they pair nicely with so many things.
Dates make a great addition to salads, are the main ingredient in a lot of vegan dessert recipes, and are a great snack all on their own. Dates would also make a great addition to a charcuterie board as one of your “sweet” items!
Dates are very sweet, so they pair really well with salty foods or strong flavours. You could serve dates alongside cured meats (for example, as part of a charcuterie platter) or with other bold flavors like citrus, cinnamon, or ginger.
Related Recipes
If you liked this easy recipe and you are looking for more easy appetizers for your next party, you’ll love this simple cheese ball recipe and these baked portobello mushrooms!
Recipe
Bacon Wrapped Dates with Blue Cheese
Ingredients
- 12 ounces dates pitted (medjool dates work well)
- 1 lb bacon sliced in half
- 2-3 ounces blue cheese crumbled
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray. If you are using a nonstick baking sheet you may not need to line it, but we would still recommend giving the baking sheet a spray with cooking spray so the bacon doesn't stick.
- Using a sharp knife, gently slice dates lengthwise, not cutting all of the way through. You’re creating a “pocket” for the blue cheese crumbles.
- Stuff the cavity of each date with as many blue cheese crumbles as will fit in the center of the dates.
- Next, take the half-slice of bacon and cover the opening of the date with the piece of bacon and begin rolling the slice of bacon around the date, securing the blue cheese inside.
- Take a toothpick and slide it through the bacon slice, securing the bacon on both sides of the stuffed date.
- Place bacon wrapped dates in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet or baking dish, and bake in your preheated oven for 30 minutes. Turn dates over at the 20 minute mark to help the bacon cook evenly.
- When the bacon slice is fully cooked (we like to cook it until we have crispy bacon) they’re done. Transfer to a serving platter while warm and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Cara T says
AMAZING!! The perfect combination of sweet and salty, everyone loved them!
Olivia says
I love these so much! Such a yummy combination of flavors, I can’t wait to make them again!
jess says
Holy Yum! These are the best things that I have had in a long time! thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe