I still remember the first time I had a bacon wrapped date. Do you?
Honestly? I don’t expect anyone to answer, “yes” to that question. I know… I have a weird memory for very specific details. My husband loooves that quality about me. Especially when I quote exactly what he said in some insignificant moment years ago to “win” an argument <insert kissy face emojis>.
When I lived in Portland, Oregon my sister came to visit very soon after I’d moved there. She introduced me to this amazing website, Eater 38. Eater names the 38 most essential restaurants you must visit in a city, and they update the list yearly. The restaurants are anything from food trucks ($) to five star dining ($$$) and they have not let me down in any city I’ve lived, especially Portland. It was through Eater 38 Portland that we found Tasty ‘N Sons, the place where I ate my first bacon wrapped date.
I can see it now: a date, stuffed with an almond, wrapped in bacon, ooey gooey and warm, lightly dripping in this maple syrup, cayenne pepper goodness. What a way to start a meal! Crunch, sweetness, spice, chewiness, magical.
Bacon wrapped dates were probably everywhere before that day, but I never noticed them. After my first experience, I couldn’t NOT notice them. Funny how that works, huh?!
Put these puppies out as appetizers for any holiday or special occasion and not only will they make your house smell uh-maze-ing, but they’ll be gone in no time. For ease of entertaining, you can even stuff and wrap the dates, store them covered in the fridge for a day or two, then bake them right before you serve. Keep in mind that they may take a few extra minutes to bake if they’re going into the oven straight from the chilly fridge.
These de-LICIOUS bites will go fast! So make sure you grab one or two for yourself before they’re gone!!
- 4-6 slices of bacon (see note above)
- 12 fresh medjool dates
- 2 ounces goat cheese
- 12 fresh sage leaves
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Cut the bacon slices in half if they are short and into thirds if they are long*. (*You want to cut the bacon into smaller strips that will wrap about 1.5 times around each date.)
- Slice the dates lengthwise on one side to create an opening and remove the pit. Using a butter knife, stuff a small amount of goat cheese into the cavity of each date. Lightly press the sides together to close.
- Lay one sage leaf along the open seam of the date. Wrap bacon around the date and sage. Lay on a rimmed baking sheet, bacon-seam side down.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes or until browned to your liking. Remove from the oven and place on a paper towel lined plate. Cool slightly, then plate and serve!
My friend Karin made this recipe for a dinner party last Saturday 🙂 It sure was a hit!! We loved the sage in there – among other exploding favors 👍👍👍
I’m so glad to hear! I’m always so surprised there’s so much flavor for so few ingredients.