🥓 What Makes This Recipe So Good
While the cheese-stuffed option is delicious, you really only need 2 ingredients to make an incredible bacon-wrapped date appetizer. They’re so good on their own that I promise you won’t be disappointed if you skip the goat cheese. I’ve been making these for YEARS and still I whipped up a batch the other day and may or may not have eaten like 15 of them in one sitting… The dates are naturally sweet, and when you wrap them with salty, savory, smoky bacon, they transform into something else entirely. I mean, they don’t literally transform, obviously. You still have bacon wrapped around dates. But the way the flavors work together is just out-of-this-world incredible. Go ahead and plan to double the recipe because your guests are definitely going to scarf these down in no time. There’s something sort of zen-like about putting these together. Some dishes you really have to labor over. With bacon wrapped dates, though, you can get into a rhythm of stuffing (optional), wrapping, skewering, and placing that’s actually a little relaxing.
👩🏼‍🍳 Chef’s Tips
If you can’t find or don’t have already-pitted dates, that’s totally fine. You’ll just need to remove the pit yourself! It’s super easy, so don’t panic. Just carefully cut a slit in the date lengthwise, being careful not to cut all the way through. Gently open the date and remove the pit. Repeat with the rest of the dates! I recommend using thin-cut bacon for this dish. Since it’s thinner, it’ll cook up faster, and it’s more likely to cook through evenly and crisp up nicely. We do bake the bacon for 10 minutes or so before wrapping it around the dates to give it a head start, but even still. With thick-cut bacon, you risk the inner layer not cooking as much as the outer layer, which can throw off the texture of the appetizer. Avoid overlapping too much of the bacon, or it’ll be too thick and will cook unevenly. I’ve found that cutting the bacon strips into thirds usually allows me to wrap a date completely without having to overlap the ends of the bacon too much. Sure, for some dates that might still be too long, and for others it might be just too short, but for the most part, it works well. If you’re able to wrap the bacon 1 ½ or even 2 times around the date, you’ll want to trim that piece of bacon down. If you like a good dipping sauce (who doesn’t), serve your bacon wrapped dates with honey, maple syrup, or even a little hot honey. This works for both the classic version and the cheese-stuffed dates, by the way! Goat cheese with a little honey is unbelievable.
đź«• Other Party-Perfect Dishes Your Guests Will Love
Garlicky Broiled Shrimp Strawberry Banana Cheesecake Salad Air Fryer Potato Skins 3-Ingredient Boursin Dip Perfect Deviled Eggs with Bacon 4-Ingredient Chili Cheese Dip Memphis-Style Cheese & Sausage Plate Sausage-Stuffed Mushrooms Bacon-Wrapped Scallops with Herb-Butter Sauce Banana Pudding Brownies Creamy Jalapeño Popper Dip (Low Carb, Keto)
