Featured comment
This was a WINNER! Made a double batch for a party and they were gone in about 30 seconds. So simple, yet so delicious.
Margaret
These Dates Are The Perfect Appetizer.
Well well well well well. What have we here? To my hungry eyes, this looks like bacon-wrapped dates: soft, sweet Medjool dates stuffed with creamy, tangy goat cheese wrapped in salty, smoky bacon and baked to crispy-soft perfection.
Years ago I decided to start a dinner club. One of my friends brought these bacon-wrapped dates as an appetizer during our very first DCM –> dinner club meeting –> because sometimes life is hard and I can’t be more creative than that with a dinner club name. Come on, you guys, just GIVE ME A BREAK.
We all bellied up to the peninsula in our old kitchen and she unwrapped the foil from the Bacon-Wrapped Date plate and BAM. They disappeared. So awesome, so alarming, and so right.
The soft, melty goat cheese inside the warm, plumped up date (how much do you like it when I say plumped up date? mixed feelings here) wrapped in the little bite-sized pieces of bacon was the absolute perfect three-way combo for our food-cray group of girls.
Obsessed doesn’t even touch it.
These are one of my favorite appetizers ever. Hope you love it too!
How To Make Bacon-Wrapped Dates (In Pictures)
1
Stuff the date with cheese.
We’re using goat cheese here. Creamy, tangy, delicious perfection!
2
Wrap it in bacon.
Thin bacon is best so it gets nice and crispy. It should wrap around about 1.5 times – just enough to get that bacon on all sides.
3
Pro tip: Use a Toothpick
Basically what this is is me dealing with my annoyance about the bottoms of these little guys getting crispy-bacon while the sides stay chewy-bacon. It’s not evenly cooked and it’s not okay.
So my solution: stick a toothpick in each one and then use the toothpick to turn the Bacon Wrapped Dates every so often so that they get cooked on every side.
4
Bake in the oven.
Bake at 350 degrees until nice and crispy! Turn them as needed so they’re browned all around.
Variations On Bacon-Wrapped Dates
I love this recipe exactly as it is, but it can also be a blank canvas for whatever sounds fun and fancy!
Here are some options and variations to try:
- Add a glaze: I’ve made this with the most delicious bourbon glaze, and it’s pretty easy to make! Just mix about 1/4 cup of honey with 1 tablespoon of bourbon and brush the mixture on the dates when they come right out of the oven.
- Add a drizzle: These are really delicious when finished off with a drizzle of balsamic glaze or something sweet and spicy like hot honey.
- Add nuts: When you stuff these with cheese, add a whole almond, almond, or pecan for some nuttiness and crunch.
- Use a different cheese: Goat cheese is my preferred cheese, but blue cheese or feta cheese also work beautifully!
It’s a Salty/Sweet Food Love Affair
Salty from the bacon, deliciously sweet from the dates, and creamy and tangy from the goat cheese.
The combo of all three flavors: MIND-BLOWING.
Since learning to make these, they have been made approximately one bajillion and one times – for dinner club, for date night, for holiday parties, for sitting on the couch on a Friday night. You can sit and chat while it all just crisps right up in the oven.
They’re so ridiculously easy while also being the most fancy-looking snack. Just what we like to see in the hustle and bustle of holidays and also LIFE.
Your salty-sweet, melty-cheese loving mouth is going to love them like whoa.
How To Make Bacon-Wrapped Dates (Video)
Bacon-Wrapped Dates with Goat Cheese
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 (2 dates per serving) 1x
Description
Bacon-Wrapped Dates with Goat Cheese – a simple 3-ingredient appetizer that will blow you away! Enjoy with a crowd of friends!
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon (I find that thin bacon works better)
- 16 dates
- 4 ounces goat cheese
- toothpicks
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Slice the dates lengthwise on one side to create an opening. Remove the pit.
- Using a spoon, stuff a small amount of goat cheese into the cavity of each date and press the sides together to close.
- Cut the bacon slices in half. Wrap each date with a slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick.
- Arrange evenly on a baking sheet with raised edges (otherwise grease will get everywhere) and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the dates and use the toothpick to turn each one so it’s laying on its side. Bake for another 5-8 minutes, until browned to your liking, and turn the dates to the other side and repeat. Remove from the oven, place on a paper towel lined plate, and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition information is for two bacon-wrapped dates.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: bacon-wrapped dates, goat cheese dates, bacon and goat cheese, date recipe
Bacon-Wrapped Dates with Goat Cheese: FAQs
First: check out the toothpick hack above. For crispier, browned bacon, set the oven temperature at 375. For crispier bacon, bake longer. Keep leftovers in the fridge.
Usually, my bacon pieces wrap around the dates 1.5 times. If it’s wrapping more than twice around the date, trim your bacon slices so they’re a little shorter. If that bacon layer is too thick, it won’t cook.
Take these to the next level by putting a little honey bourbon glaze on top. Just mix about 1/4 cup of honey with 1 tablespoon of bourbon and brush the mixture on the dates when they come right out of the oven.
While I prefer thick-cut for eating, thin-sliced bacon actually works best here. It allows for the bacon to cook quicker and get crispier!
Yes! Blue cheese or feta cheese also work great here.
Yes! Preheat your air fryer to 390 degrees, then cook for 8 minutes undisturbed. Give your basket a little shake (or turn them using the toothpicks) and bake for another 3-5 minutes. Done!
More Appetizers To Feed a Crowd
- Elote Queso (Creamy melty queso, charred roasted corn, fresh jalapeño and garlic. YUM.)
- Homemade Cheesy Chili Dip (Made-from-scratch super quick deliciously Tex-Mex flavored chili)
- General Tso’s Cauliflower (Golden brown crispy fried cauliflower tossed in a savory-sweet sauce)
- Caramelized Onion Dip (This caramelized onion dip is a total crowd pleaser)
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our collection of best healthy snacks. Check it out!
How far in advance can I cook these before serving?
You can make them up to an hour ahead, serve at room temp!
Lindsay,
Thank you for the recipe! I knew the process but needed the temp.
I used a Cookie Butter Cheese I found at Sam’s Club and added a 1/4 pecan, wrapped 1.5 times with bacon. Cooked until crispy.
Husband said I was only allowed to make these once per week as they are tooooooo good!
Thanks again,
Cheri
These directions did NOT COOK the bacon all the way .. just cook the bacon prior for about 10 min and THEN wrap them and cook again . So annoying
Made these as written. Used feta cheese. These were absolutely delicious and I will make them again!!!
Thank you for the recipe 🙂
These were delicious 😋 & a hit for Thanksgiving appetizers. My husband who doesn’t like dates let alone different types of cheese, loved them and couldn’t stop eating them. He kept asking for more They were gone in seconds!!! Definitely will be making for Xmas appetizers as well.
Looking forward to making these for Friendsgiving! How far in advance can I prep them (before cooking) ahead of time?
Can these be served room temperature or do they have to be warm? I’d like to make them earlier in the day and serve in the evening.
yes, they can be served at room temp!
I’ve made a version of these jewels before, except I stuffed the dates with Bleu cheese and wrapped in prosciutto. To elevate the plate, I made a balsamic, red wine reduction to drizzle over each date. What a treat!
Excited to try!
I love your recipes! I can’t wait to try them all.
I just made these bacon-wrapped dates with goat cheese, and they were a hit at my dinner party! The combination of flavors is incredible, and they disappeared in no time. Thanks for the fantastic recipe!
Such an easy appetizer and delicious! Bacon makes everyone happy and you can’t go wrong with sweet and salty!
Do you put honey in step #4?
Yes, feel free to brush the dates with honey at the very end!
I love dates! But stuffing them with cheese and wrapping them with bacon takes them to the next level. These dates are the perfect combination of flavors and textures (sweet, salty, cheesy, creamy, crispy)! I’m obsessed! I made them for a party, and no one could get enough. Even people who thought they didn’t like dates loved these. Huge win!! I even reheated the few leftovers I had left the next day for a few minutes in the air fryer, and they were just as good as the day I made them!
Delicious and a big hit at the NYE party. I like to bake them on a wire rack to promote getting the bacon crispy. I did not flip them. So easy. They would be great in the Air Fryer, but not enough room for the batch I was making.
I made this recipe for my New Year’s Eve party 2025 and it was a huge hit. Very easy to make with great results.
Made these last night as a quick use what we’ve got pre dinner snack. Used a honey and fig goat cheese. Husband said “these are money” I agree! So easy! So delicious!!
Yum!!! A friend had made something similar for book club and they seemed so fancy! I couldn’t believe how quickly they came together when I made them tonight! Just stay close to your oven so you can keep flipping them. I will definitely make these again!
Use way more goat cheese and bacon than you think you’ll need, trust me on this one.
I made these as an appetizer for Christmas Eve. I served them with garlic infused honey. My Italian family loved them. They were so easy.
Hi David! Here’s how to make the glaze: Just mix about 1/4 cup of honey with 1 tablespoon of bourbon and brush the mixture on the dates when they come right out of the oven.
I made a sheet pan full of these bites using the toothpick tip to rotate and get the bacon crispy. I also drizzled with the bourbon honey after baking. We had another couple join us for dinner and everyone thought we had too many. They were all gone in a flash! What a yummy appetizer!
Making these for a girls weekend – can they be made ahead and heated or prepared a day in advance of cooking?
Hi Sue! These can be made a day in advance of cooking!
This is a new one on me but I’ll try anything once!
These are excellent. Easy to make and prep ahead.
My extended family loved them for football grand final last night.
Make again 👍🏻