Best Recipes to Fall in Love with Dates
12 savory & sweet dishes celebrating one of my favorite and most versatile fruits
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Before we jump into the topic du jour (amazing recipes featuring one of my all-time favorite fruits), I had the honor of recently joining
on her fabulous Betty Eatz podcast. Betty also writes a Substack newsletter featuring fresh California cuisine, including mouthwatering taco and marg recipes throughout the entire month of May!Betty and I chatted about a lot of things on her podcast—from my experiences as a professional recipe tester (how I got into it and what the job entails) to what distinguishes a good recipe from a not-so-good one, plus other fun topics. I hope you’ll check it out, and of course, let me know what you think!
Ok, let’s dish!
Let’s celebrate the date!
I’ve been a loooongtime fan of dates. For more than a decade, one of my go-to breakfasts has been a warm bowl of steel-cut oats drizzled with almond or oat milk and natural peanut butter, topped with toasted flaked coconut and two or three sliced Medjool dates. Simple yet delicious.
I’m also constantly experimenting with new recipes that incorporate dates, as they add a lovely, natural sweetness to both sweet and savory dishes. And thanks to a relatively recent wave of date hype on social media, it’s now easier than ever to find great date recipes online.
Dates, which are most often consumed in a naturally dried state, are higher in calories than most other fruits, but they have many noteworthy health benefits.
They’re high in fiber (about 7g per 3.5-oz serving), which may help improve digestion and control blood sugar. Dates are a perfect quick energy source. Most foods that are high in sugar, but not other nutrients, create “sugar highs”—energy spikes and then sudden crashes. However, while higher in sugar, dates also contain fiber, which effectively counteracts blood sugar spikes. Additionally, dates are high in disease-fighting antioxidants, and they’re a good source of vitamins and minerals, like potassium, magnesium, copper, and Vitamin B6. Overall, they offer a lot in a relatively small package!
One of the most popular and widely available date varieties in the world is the Medjool date (originally from the Saharan region of Morocco and now also grown in places like California’s Coachella Valley). Medjool dates are plump and meaty, with soft, sweet flesh and flavor notes of caramel, honey, vanilla, and cinnamon. Natural Delights and Joolies are two of my preferred brands.
Dates have five ripening stages: hababuk, kimri, khalal, rutab, and tamar. The khalel stage is the first edible one. At this point, the fruit is mature; its color changes from green to yellow or red, and its sugar content has increased.However, not all varieties at this stage are suitable for consumption. Dates in the Rutab stage are more ideal for harvesting. Their color deepens to partially brown or black, and they become softer, sweeter, and somewhat juicy, though they contain less moisture than in the khalel stage. Most dates sold in grocery stores are at the tamar stage. They’re fully ripened and sun-dried, dark brown to black, chewy, dense, slightly sticky, and at peak sweetness (with nearly 50% sugar content). Tamar stage dates also have the lowest moisture, giving them a much longer shelf life than dates at earlier stages.
Dates can be eaten on their own, but also pair deliciously with nut butters or a soft, salty cheese. They sweeten up sauces, smoothies, salad dressings, and oatmeal. Because they are so sweet, you can use dates as a healthier substitute for white sugar in recipes. Date paste—made by mixing dates and water in a blender—can be substituted in a 1:1 ratio with sugar. Because they are sticky, dates can also be a useful binder in baked goods like cookies or snack bars. However you decide to eat them, just don’t forget to remove the pits!
12 great things to make with dates
These are twelve of my most-loved sweet and savory date recipes right now. Some I’ve been making for many years, while others are newer discoveries. However you look at it, each is a deliciously worthy vehicle for showcasing dates, and I wholeheartedly recommend every single one!
Dates are definitely one of those foods that grow on you over time, as your palate adjusts to their unique taste and texture. So if you’re less of a date fan, or (gasp!) a date avoider, I would start with something simple and tasty like the tater tots or smoothie and work your way up.
Sweet & Spicy Roast Chicken with Carrots, Dates, & Pistachios, Jenn Segal, Once Upon A Chef. I’ve been making this recipe for over ten years, and I’ll never tire of it. It’s the ideal dish for a holiday or special occasion meal. The dates roast alongside the honey-chili-citrus-marinated chicken and carrots, caramelizing into soft, sweet little bits that add incredible depth to the dish.
Sweet & Spicy Roast Chicken with Carrots, Dates, & Pistachios Roasted Cauliflower with Feta & Dates, Kendra Vaculin, Bon Appétit. Another winning sheet pan meal uniting so many of my favorite foods: roasted cauliflower, roasted red onions, feta, arugula, and of course, dates!
Roasted Cauliflower with Feta & Dates Charred Broccoli Salad with Almonds & Spicy Green Goddess Dressing, Jess Damuck, Health Nut. I finally made this much-hyped salad, and I’m honestly annoyed it took me this long. It’s incredible. The dates here offer a nice balanced sweetness. Make it vegan by ditching the anchovies and using non-dairy yogurt.
Charred Broccoli Salad with Almonds & Spicy Goddess Dressing Manchego-Stuffed Dates, Side Chef. This is one of the easiest and most liked appetizers I’ve ever made, using one of my favorite cheeses. Substitute bacon for the prosciutto—or leave the meat out altogether to keep it vegetarian. Or try the Blue Cheese-Stuffed Dates With Hot Honey (see below).
Manchego-Stuffed Dates Cauliflower Salad with Pistachios & Dates, Deb Perelman, Smitten Kitchen. This salad was the first recipe that showed me how wonderfully cruciferous vegetables pair with dates. It’s now a regular in my rotation.
Molten Date and Olive Oil Oats,
, Justine Snacks. This super-comforting oatmeal gets a light sweetness from the dates, cinnamon and chopped apple, with a pleasant hint of grassiness from the olive oil. It gives my above-mentioned favorite peanut butter date oatmeal a run for its money.
Molten Date and Olive Oil Oats Cinnamon Date Smoothie, Sohla El-Waylly, New York Times Cooking. This is one of my favorite smoothies. It’s tangy from the buttermilk and Greek yogurt, warmly cinnamony, slightly salty, and pleasantly sweet from the banana and little bits of date scattered throughout.
Cinnamon Date Smoothie Black Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies, Rawaan Alkhatib, Hot Date!: Sweet and Savory Recipes Celebrating the Date. Tahini is a great addition to chocolate chip cookies in general, but then adding the dates gives it a truly special flavor. I used regular tahini instead of black tahini. You’ll notice several other recipes from the beautiful Hot Date! cookbook made my list; it has so many fun, creative recipes showcasing dates.
Black Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies (made with regular tahini) Date Bark, Two Ways: peanut butter chocolate and Dubai chocolate, Sarah Fennel, Broma Bakery. This was the recipe that essentially got my kids to embrace dates (after picking them out of dishes for many years). For the peanut butter version, I highly recommended using crunchy peanut butter for a little extra pizazz. And I buy dried kataifi on Amazon to make the Dubai chocolate version (and also to use for other Dubai chocolate-inspired treats like these).
Peanut Butter Chocolate & Dubai Chocolate Date Barks Date & Cream Scones with Whipped Lemon-Vanilla Butter, Rawaan Alkhatib, Hot Date!: Sweet and Savory Recipes Celebrating the Date. Scone fans, rejoice! Dates are a delicious addition to this classic breakfast favorite. Two notes on the butter: I added a bit of honey to give it a mild sweetness that nicely balances the tartness of the lemon. I also substituted vanilla bean paste for the vanilla bean.
Date & Cream Scones with Whipped Lemon-Vanilla Butter Tator Tots Tossed with Hot Date! Butter, Rawaan Alkhatib, Hot Date!: Sweet and Savory Recipes Celebrating the Date. If you’re trying to introduce dates to your kids, this might be the recipe to start with. The tater tots are coated in a compound butter that’s “all the things”—cheesy, herby, salty, with a garlicky kick and just a hint of sweetness from the dates.
Tater Tots Tossed with Hot Date! Butter Tahini Date Granola, Rawaan Alkhatib, Hot Date!: Sweet and Savory Recipes Celebrating the Date. This tasty, well-balanced granola recipe gets its sweetness from date molasses, brown sugar, and chopped dates; its subtle nuttiness from tahini; and added texture from flaked coconut, pistachios, and walnuts.
Honorable mentions:
Ice Cream with Olive Oil & Dates, Ali Slagle, New York Times Cooking.
Roasted Dates with Blue Cheese and Hot Honey, Olga Massov and Sanaë Lemoine, Hot Sheet: Sweet and Savory Sheet Pan Recipes for Every Day and Celebrations.
Palm Springs Date Shake, Rawaan Alkhatib, Hot Date!: Sweet and Savory Recipes Celebrating the Date.
Chocolate Cherry Coconut Drops, Jessica Seinfeld, Food Swings. Here’s a slightly different version of the recipe online (minus the dark chocolate, plus candied ginger).
Please let me know if you try and of these recipes and what you think! And do you have any favorite recipes using dates? If so, please share! I’m always looking for new and delicious things to make with this magical fruit.
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Have a delicious week!
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I love dates! When I had gestational diabetes, they did not affect my blood sugar in any negative way, and that really sold me on them.
We eat dates fairly simply around here. There’s a recipe in the Ambitious Kitchen cookbook for brownie date balls that I make every week . I like all the muffins on Pinch of Yum that use them, too.
Thanks for the roundup and inspiration! I am eyeing that shake.
Love this list, esp the smoothie! Kerry, when you say dates, the first thing that will come to an Indian's mind is a sweet and sour date and tamarind chutney. It is a must-have condiment on chaat, THE street food that is the heartbeat of most Indians.