Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Dates

Bacon wrapped dates stuffed with honey whipped feta on parchment.

5 from 1 vote

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Dates

These simple and delicious bacon wrapped stuffed dates are an appetizer that will WOW your guest. A quick whipped honey feta is spread inside dates with thyme, pecans and orange zest and then wrapped in bacon and baked until crisp. Perfect to add to the spread and a leveled up recipe that doesn't feel like it took extra effort to make!

Prep Time20

Cook Time15

Total Time35

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Servings: pieces

Author: Lorie Yarro

Ingredients

24 medjool dates
12 slices thin cut bacon
8 oz block feta (crumbles will work too)
4 oz softened cream cheese
2-3 Tbsp honey
2-3 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
2 Tbsp orange zest
3 Tbsp chopped pecans

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Add the softened cream cheese, feta and honey to a food processor. Process the ingredients, pausing to scrape down the sides as needed, until creamy. I like it to be a thicker consistency so that it holds up well when in the dates baking. You can thin it out slightly with a touch of olive oil if desired.
Using a sharp knife, slice each date lengthwise (but not all the way through) and remove the pits from the dates. Spoon whipped feta into the center of each date–the amount will vary by the size of the date.
Gently squeeze the to hold it the date together. Lay the dates on parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle each with thyme leaves, orange zest and chopped pecans.
Slice each of the bacon strips in half and roll each date up in one of the half strips of bacon. We like to use a toothpick to pierce the bacon and date together, but you can also just put the loose end of the bacon underneath the date when lining the pan to hold it together.
Bake the dates in preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes or until the bacon is crisp or cooked to your liking. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for about 5 minutes before transferring to a plate. You can sprinkle with some extra thyme to garnish or brush the bacon with some extra honey. These can be served warm or at room temperature, but shouldn't be left out of the fridge for more than 2 hours. Enjoy!
To Make Ahead: You can assemble the stuffed dates and wrap in bacon up to about 1 day in advance and bake before serving.

Notes

Storage: Store any leftover bacon-wrapped dates in the refrigerator for about 2-3 days. Reheat in the oven, or the air fryer is great as well!

There will be extra whipped feta--when I was testing the recipe, I decided to just use the whole block because leftover whipped feta can double as more of an appetizer with some toasted bread or pita. You can certainly lessen the amount used to about 6 ounces feta and about 3 ounces cream cheese if preferred.

Speaking of extra whipped feta, you can omit the bacon and just eat the stuffed dates as is! I loved munching on just the dates stuffed with the feta and toppings--so amazing. You can even lightly roast the stuffed dates without the bacon and serve with a drizzle of honey. Or you can just make more of the bacon wrapped dates--the perfect appetizer to sort of play it how you prefer!

You can cook these on a sheet pan with a wire rack to keep the bacon from cooking in it's own grease. We usually just place them on parchment paper and then set any super greasy pieces on a paper towel quickly to absorb some grease, but a wire rack is great as well.

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