Sweet, salty, creamy and crispy, these bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with blue cheese are an easy appetiser that delivers plenty of flavour without a long ingredient list.
Medjool dates are filled with blue cheese, wrapped in streaky bacon and baked until the bacon is golden and crisp and the cheese inside has softened. With just a few ingredients and around 35 minutes from start to finish, they are perfect for entertaining, grazing boards, parties or an easy pre-dinner snack.
Bacon-Wrapped Dates Recipe
- Serves: 6
- Prep time: 10 minutes
- Cook time: 25 minutes
- Total time: 35 minutes
Ingredients
- 12 Medjool dates
- 100 g blue cheese
- 6 rashers streaky bacon, halved
- Fresh parsley, finely chopped, to garnish
Method
- Prepare the dates. Cut a small slit lengthways into each Medjool date and carefully remove the pit, keeping the date intact so it can hold the filling.
- Fill with blue cheese. Fill each date with a small amount of blue cheese. Avoid overfilling them, as the cheese will soften and melt during cooking.
- Wrap with bacon. Wrap each stuffed date with half a rasher of streaky bacon and secure it in place with a toothpick so the bacon stays wrapped tightly around the date while it cooks.
- Bake. Arrange the bacon-wrapped dates on a lined baking tray and bake at 200°C for 20–25 minutes, or until the bacon is golden and crisp and the cheese inside is warm and melted.
- Finish and serve. Allow the dates to cool slightly before serving, then finish with freshly chopped parsley.
How to Serve Bacon-Wrapped Dates
Let the dates rest for a few minutes after they come out of the oven, then serve them warm while the bacon is still crisp and the blue cheese inside is soft.
They work brilliantly on a grazing board or as a simple finger-food appetiser. The sweetness of the Medjool dates balances the salty bacon and punchy blue cheese, so they need very little else apart from a scattering of fresh parsley before serving.
Butcher's Tip
Streaky bacon is the right bacon for wrapping. It comes from pork belly and contains more fat than short cut bacon. As that fat renders during cooking, it helps the bacon crisp around the outside of the date while adding plenty of flavour.
Wrap the bacon firmly around the date and position the join underneath where possible. The toothpick will hold everything together while the bacon cooks and contracts.
Want to know which bacon suits different recipes? Read our butcher's guide to streaky bacon vs short cut bacon .
Watch How to Make Bacon-Wrapped Dates
Watch Bacon-Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Blue Cheese on YouTube
More Bacon Inspiration
If you love the sweet-and-savoury combination here, try our Crispy Bacon Focaccia with Grapes . It combines crisp bacon, jammy grapes and bocconcini for another easy entertaining recipe.
Want to understand which bacon is best for different jobs in the kitchen? Our Streaky vs Short Cut Bacon guide explains where each cut comes from and when to use it.
You can also browse The Lucky Pig deli range or head to our Recipe Hub for more butcher-approved recipes, cooking ideas and practical advice for getting a better result at home.
Visit The Lucky Pig Butchery
Need bacon or some advice before you start cooking? Visit The Lucky Pig in Bentleigh. Our team can help you choose the right product for the job and make sure you get the best result from it at home.
The Lucky Pig
452 Centre Road
Bentleigh VIC 3204
Leave a comment