Recipes and Cooking How to Cook Cooking With Fruits And Vegetables 16 Date Recipes to Try Whether You Want Something Sweet or Savory From appetizers to dessert, these recipes with dates deserve a spot on your menu. By Christine Fiorentino Christine Fiorentino Christine Fiorentino is a home chef, food writer, and on-camera personality based in Montclair, New Jersey. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Published on March 2, 2023 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Blaine Moats When I hear the term “nature’s candy,” the first food that always comes to mind is dates. Their sweet flavor and chewy texture make dates the most candy-like dried fruit on the planet. Dates can be used in baked goods, desserts, and savory meals. They sweeten up dishes and add flavor and texture. These recipes with dates bring an extra bit of sweet goodness to the table. Try whipping up one of these date recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or dessert. 01 of 16 Mango-Ginger Banana Bread Kritsada Panichgul There's banana bread, and then there's next level, stop what you're doing and swoon banana bread. Not only does this date nut bread recipe have a brown sugar streusel topping, but the batter calls for fresh mango and sweet dates. Every single bite is a surprise of flavor and texture. View Recipe 02 of 16 Oatmeal Slices with Dates and Nuts Need to prepare a batch of cookie dough in a hurry? Look no further! This date cookie recipe is simple to make but have a sweet and nutty twist. Chewy dates and toasted pecans add flavor and texture. The combination of cinnamon and rolled oats with the molasses flavor of dates is truly delicious. View Recipe 03 of 16 No-Bake Coconut Date Cracker Bars with Browned Butter Glaze Jason Donnelly Buttery crackers serve as the crunchy base for this no-bake dessert. Top them with a brown sugar and butter mixture that include dates, coconut flakes, nuts, and a bit of dark rum. A spreadable topping sprinkled with crunchy pecans is the perfect finish. Just chill this date bar recipe in the refrigerator, slice, and devour! View Recipe 04 of 16 Roasted Dates with Bacon Blaine Moats I think we can all agree at this point that the classic bacon wrapped dates recipe is perfection. Not only do they taste phenomenal together, but they are an elegant appetizer recipe everyone will enjoy! This recipe requires just three ingredients and a few minutes to prepare. All you have to do is stuff, wrap, bake, and serve. View Recipe 05 of 16 Date-Walnut Honey Bars These aren't your average date bars! Why, you ask? They've got a sweet apple jelly filling creating a moist center. A nutty walnut topping gives each bite the perfect bit of crunch. Sweet and toasty flavors are perfectly balanced here, with texture from crisp walnuts, sticky chopped dates, and the slight crisp of an oatmeal crust. View Recipe 06 of 16 Healthy Energy Bars Tracy Benjamin Energy bars are simple to make at home, and often much healthier and less expensive than those you'll find on grocery store shelves. These bars have cashew flavor, are naturally sweetened with magical Medjool dates, and have chunks of bittersweet chocolate throughout. They'll fuel you up without having to worry about a sugar crash. Prepare a batch of these for the week and start out strong! View Recipe 07 of 16 Oatmeal with Goat Cheese, Dates, Walnuts and Honey Blaine Moats Make this sweet, savory, and satisfying oatmeal for breakfast, as it boasts an unexpected flavor combo. Creamy goat cheese and sweet dates are balanced with the nutty crunch of walnuts and a honey drizzle. View Recipe 08 of 16 Bacon and Cheese-Stuffed Dates Jason Donnelly This stuffed dates recipe is loaded with crispy crumbled bacon, garlic, blue cheese, cream cheese, and Dijon-style mustard. All you have to do is stuff them, bake them, and serve them up on a beautiful platter. View Recipe 09 of 16 Slow Cooker Moroccan Lamb Tagine This lamb tagine (tagine is a savory Moroccan meat or poultry stew, as well as a ceramic vessel in which dishes like this one are traditionally cooked) is hearty, comforting, and full of warming spices like ginger, cumin, turmeric, and cinnamon. Fresh vegetables and dates cook low and slow with lamb shoulder to build layer after layer of flavor. View Recipe 10 of 16 Chocolate Date Truffles with Walnuts Jason Donnelly You can’t go wrong with homemade truffles! Medjool dates work as a sticky binder for toasty crushed walnuts, bittersweet cocoa powder, and apple juice. Serve this date ball recipe at your next dinner party, or bring them to a friend’s house next time you’re on dessert duty! View Recipe 11 of 16 Slow Toasted Granola Andy Lyons This simple and delicious date granola is made in the slow cooker and is full of different flavors, textures, and health benefits from honey, applesauce, protein-packed peanut butter, cinnamon, fiber-rich flaxseed and dates. Enjoy it over yogurt, in parfaits, with your favorite milk, or just as an on-the-go snack. View Recipe The 10 Best Slow Cookers For One-Pot Meals, Soups, and Casseroles in 2023 12 of 16 Walnut Butter Fruit Bars Blaine Moats Homemade walnut butter works as a binder for candy-like dried dates and apricots, and crunchy whole grain cereal flakes. These no-bake bars aren’t just packed with texture, but they’re full of fiber and protein. View Recipe 13 of 16 Date-Ginger Cake Blaine Moats The unique flavor combination of earthy ginger, sweet dates, and oranges make this cake enjoyable for breakfast with tea or coffee, or dessert with a glass of your favorite chilled Prosecco. The option to prepare this cake with either fresh or ground ginger makes this recipe even more friendly for baking at home. View Recipe 14 of 16 Ginger-Turmeric Barley Pudding Carson Downing Pearl barley is the whole grain base of this recipe with dates. When cooked with turmeric, ginger, honey, and vanilla, it becomes a comforting winter dessert. A homemade date ginger syrup is the perfect finishing touch. View Recipe 15 of 16 Medjool Date-Sweetened Barbecue Sauce Jason Donnelly Many purchased barbecue sauces are sweetened with sugar or corn syrup. Here, we've added Medjool dates for sweetness and spices like cumin, cinnamon, dry mustard, and paprika to perk up the sauce. View Recipe 16 of 16 Fruit & Date Lumberjack Cake Andy Lyons A lumberjack cake often includes dried fruit and apples mixed in. This twist on the classic stars pears, flaked coconut, and dates. A glazed pear and kumquat topper creates a party-worth presentation. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit