Bacon-Wrapped Medjool Dates (Devils on Horseback) — A Date Farmer’s Recipe

Our grove in Sky Valley — written between harvests by the farmer.

If you know someone who claims they don’t like dates, this is the recipe that ends the argument. Bacon-wrapped Medjool dates — devils on horseback, if your grandmother made them — are the single most reliable appetizer I know: sweet, smoky, salty, and gone from the tray before anything else. We grow the dates, so take it from the source: this is what jumbo Medjool was built for.

We grow these. Fresh Jumbo Medjool Dates — Shipping Included | California Farm-Direct from our family farm in Sky Valley, California — from $19/lb, shipping included. See them →

Get jumbo Medjool for the tray — 2 lb $29 →
About 45–55 dates, enough for three trays · shipping included · ships from our farm within 3 business days

Why it works (and why jumbo matters)

A Medjool date is essentially nature’s caramel — and caramel plus bacon is not a fight anyone loses. The reason to use jumbo fruit isn’t vanity: a big, soft date holds its structure through a hot oven, leaves room for a filling, and gives you the right date-to-bacon ratio in every bite. Small dry dates vanish inside the bacon; jumbos hold the line.

The recipe

Makes 16 — about 25 minutes

• 16 jumbo Medjool dates, slit on one side and pitted
• 8 slices bacon, halved crosswise (regular cut, not thick — it crisps faster than the date dries)
• Optional filling: goat cheese, blue cheese, a whole almond, or a pecan half
• Toothpicks

1. Heat the oven to 400°F. If filling, pipe or spoon a teaspoon of goat cheese (or tuck one almond) into each pitted date and press closed.
2. Wrap each date in a half-slice of bacon, seam down, and pin with a toothpick.
3. Bake on a rack over a sheet pan 18–22 minutes, flipping once, until the bacon is rendered and crisp. For deeper color, finish 1–2 minutes under the broiler — watch them like a hawk.
4. Rest five minutes before serving; the centers come out molten.

Questions everyone asks

Can you make bacon-wrapped dates ahead?
Yes — assemble up to 24 hours ahead, refrigerate covered, and bake fresh. They’re dramatically better hot from the oven than reheated.

Can you make them in an air fryer?
Beautifully: 390°F for 10–12 minutes, flipping once. Work in batches so air circulates.

Goat cheese or no cheese?
Cheese adds a tangy cream that cuts the richness; the almond adds crunch and keeps them dairy-free. Our farm verdict: half the tray each way, and watch which empties first at your particular party.

What dates should I buy for this?
The biggest, softest Medjool you can get — it’s exactly why we pack only our largest fruit and ship fresh jumbo Medjool, shipping included. One 2-lb box makes about three trays.

Holiday party math: how many dates to buy

Plan on 2 to 3 bacon-wrapped dates per guest when there are other appetizers, and 4 if this is the main event. Our jumbo Medjool run about 22 to 28 dates per pound.

Party size	Dates needed	Buy
Up to 8 guests	about 24	1 lb, $19
12 to 20 guests	about 50	2 lb, $29
25 to 40 guests	about 100	4 lb, $49
Office party or caterer	250+	12 lb, $118 or bulk cases

Unused dates keep for months in the fridge and longer in the freezer. See our storage guide. Ordering for a holiday? Check the order-by dates on our Thanksgiving and Christmas pages. Bringing them to someone else’s party? A box of dates makes the host gift too.

Look who cooks with us

Don’t just take the farmer’s word for it. Chef Tien of Tien’s Table, a private chef in Palm Springs, makes a chèvre-stuffed version of this very dish with our Medjool. When people who cook for a living reach for your fruit, that’s a review you can taste.

More from the farm kitchen: six more ways to stuff a Medjool, building a charcuterie board around dates, and the date-sweetened pumpkin pie.

Start with the right date. Jumbo Medjool, from $19 → · Which date to buy · Healthy food gifts that ship