Name: Bacon Wrapped Dates with Goat Cheese
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 28 min
Cuisine: bacon
Ingredients: 16 Medjool dates; 4 oz. goat cheese; 8 strips of thin sliced bacon; 2 teaspoons honey (optional)

This image shows a hand holding a toothpick that has a bacon wrapped date on it. The date is stuffed with cheese and a plate of more dates is blurred in the background. — Bacon wrapped dates with goat cheese are an easy, three-ingredient game day appetizer that are also perfect for holiday parties!

Bacon wrapped dates are a forever favorite for me. If they’re on a restaurant menu, I can’t resist.

I gave making them myself a whirl for the first and time and guess what? They are way too easy.

I almost feel like I don’t need to give you a recipe card. It only takes three ingredients (four if you want to step it up a notch) and 10 minutes to prep this decadent appetizer!

These bacon wrapped dates with goat cheese have all the flavors and textures you could dream of! The dates are sweet and chewy. The goat cheese is creamy and warm. And the bacon? Salty, smokey, chewy. All the amazing bacon-y things we love.

This bacon wrapped recipe is perfect for any game day appetizer, New Year’s Eve spread, or holiday party. They’re delicious and insanely easy to make so it’s a win-win!

This is an overhead image of bacon wrapped dates skewered on a toothpick. The dates lay on a white rectangle plate on a white counter.

Ingredients and Substitutions for Bacon Wrapped Dates:

Dates: The base of this recipe. Honestly, I don’t think there are any substitutions here.

Goat Cheese: Made a deliciously creamy center, but you could use blue cheese, brie, whatever cheese is your favorite! I used plain goat cheese but they have honey goat cheese or herbed goat cheese. There are tons of options for you to customize to your own tastebuds.

Bacon: I used traditional pork bacon, but turkey bacon or even vegetarian bacon could work here!

Honey: I drizzled mine with some honey (totally optional) but you can keep them plain or even try some balsamic reduction.

This is a side view of a date stuffed with cheese and wrapped in bacon. A toothpick skewers through the date. The dates sit on a white piece of parchment paper.

This is an overhead image of dates stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped in bacon. A toothpick skewers through each bacon wrapped date. The dates lay on a white piece of parchment paper.

How to make bacon wrapped dates with goat cheese:

Pit. First you want to slice the dates in half lengthwise and remove the pits from the center. Discard the dates and place the dates on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Stuff. Next, place a couple teaspoons of goat cheese into the center of each date. You want to open up that slice you did in the first step, place the goat cheese in the center, and then close the date back up. It doesn’t have to be completely closed, just slightly close the opening.

Wrap. Grab your bacon piece and wrap it around the stuffed date. Secure it with a toothpick and place it back on your lined backing sheet.

Bake.

Can I freeze bacon wrapped dates?

Mine usually don’t last long enough to be frozen and saved for later, but you can! They should last for about 3 months in the freezer.

Make sure they are completely cool before storing. Place them in a single layer in an air tight container. If you need to make multiple layers, separate the layers with a piece of parchment paper.

When you’re ready to eat them, thaw them in the fridge the night before you want to make them. Then, bake at 350F for 10 minutes or until heated throughout.

This is a side view of a white rectangle plate with a bunch of bacon wrapped dates on it. The dates are skewered with toothpicks and the plate sits on a white counter.

This is an overhead closeup image of bacon wrapped dates stuffed with cheese. The dates are skewered with toothpicks and lay on a white plate.

Tips for this recipe:

Use Medjool dates – they are the dates you’d typically find in the grocery store but they are usually pretty sweet and meaty. You can find pre-pitted dates, but just in case yours have pits, I’m giving you a tutorial of how to pit dates yourself.
Use thin strips of bacon – this will make sure the bacon cooks fully. Thicker cut bacon can take longer and also kinda throws off the flavor ratio in my opinion.
Cut the bacon in half – before you wrap the dates, cut the long bacon strips in half. Eight slices of bacon, cut in half, will wrap the 16 dates. A full slice of bacon will be way too much for the date, so cutting them in half make for the perfect wrap!
Flip halfway through baking – to make sure you have even baking, I slip the bacon wrapped dates halfway through. All you have to do is pull the backing sheet out and use the toothpick to flip the dates to the other side. The bottom side tends to brown and cook faster than the top side, so flipping them halfway makes for more even cooking.

More tasty appetizers to try:

Did you make this? Leave a review below and tag me on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!

Recipe

GF Gluten-Free EF Egg-Free NF Nut-Free