Stuffed Dates, Three Ways: A Date Farm’s Party Playbook

Stuffed dates are the appetizer that disappears first at every party — sweet, salty, and gone before the cheese board gets touched. The whole trick is starting with a date big enough and soft enough to stuff. We grow those. Here are the three versions we make on the farm, plus the one everyone requests.

The base move (every version starts here)

Slit each Medjool lengthwise, pop the pit with your fingers — soft fresh fruit gives it up clean — and you’ve got a caramel pocket waiting for a filling.

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 →

Bacon-wrapped stuffed dates (the crowd killer)

• 20 Medjool, pitted · 20 almonds or a little goat cheese for stuffing · 10 bacon strips, halved
• Stuff each date, wrap in a half-strip, seam down (toothpick if you like), bake at 400°F for 15–18 minutes until the bacon crisps. The sweet-salty-smoky trifecta; nobody eats just one.

Goat cheese & pistachio (no oven, 10 minutes)

Pipe or spoon soft goat cheese into each date, press a pistachio on top, drizzle with honey and a crack of black pepper. Elegant enough for a wedding table, easy enough for a Tuesday.

Almond butter & dark chocolate (the healthy-ish one)

A teaspoon of almond butter inside, a drizzle of melted dark chocolate over, flaky salt, ten minutes in the freezer to set. This is the version that ends sugar cravings — see our whole guide to dates as the sugar swap.

Party math from the packing shed: figure 3–4 stuffed dates per guest. A 4 lb box ≈ 100 jumbo dates — a party of 25–30, covered, with the farmer’s fruit doing the talking.

Get Stuffing-Grade Medjool →Send a Gift Box →

Stuffing questions

What dates are best for stuffing?
Large soft Medjool, full stop — big pocket, easy pit, caramel flavor. Old dry dates tear and fight you.

Can I make stuffed dates ahead?
Cheese and nut-butter versions: a day ahead, refrigerated. Bacon: assemble ahead, bake just before serving.

Sweet or savory fillings?
Yes. The date is the rare fruit that flatters blue cheese and chocolate equally — that’s why it owns the appetizer board.

What about peanut butter stuffed dates?
The internet’s favorite version for a reason — a spoonful of peanut butter in a pitted Medjool, a pinch of flaky salt, optional dark-chocolate drizzle, ten seconds of work. Tastes like a candy bar that happens to be fruit and protein. Jumbo Medjool makes the difference: more room, softer bite.

More from the farm kitchen: dátiles rellenos — la versión tradicional · the valley date shake secret · keeping dates party-soft