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Home » Blog » Recipes Using Medjool Dates

Recipes Using Medjool Dates

 Updated: March 24, 2017    Lisa Leake    62 Comments

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Maybe I used to be living under a rock, but before our switch to “real food” I had never beforeMedjool Dates from 100 Days of Real Food purchased or cooked with dates. And I am just being honest here, but it’s possible I didn’t even know what dates were. Believe it or not Medjool dates are one of the oldest cultivated fruits in the world, which means they are also a whole food, of course. :) And even here in North Carolina you can easily find fresh Natural Delights Medjool dates at several local grocery stores including Harris Teeter, some Lowe’s locations and soon Earth Fare as well.

The great thing about Medjool dates is that they are so sweet so they can basically act as a sweetener in recipes. And when you are avoiding refined sugar you start to get creative when it comes to satisfying your sweet tooth. A few weeks after starting our “100 Days of Real Food” pledge a reader actually suggested a “chocolate torte/truffle” recipe to me (pictured) using Medjool dates, and looking back I honestly don’t think I would have survived our pledge without them!

Chocolate Truffles Sweetened with Dates from 100 Days of Real Food

So today, I’d like to share three more recipes using Medjool dates in case you are new to this versatile sweet fruit as well. I do want to caution you though that even though the date seeds look like little pecans they are hard as a rock (pictured), so whatever you do be extra careful to remove the seeds first!

Date Recipes from 100 Days of Real Food
Medjool Date Seeds

 

Bacon Wrapped Medjool Dates
5 from 7 votes

Course: Snacks & Appetizers
Cuisine: American
Keyword: homemade snack
Dietary Restriction: Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Peanut/Tree-Nut Free
Category: Freezer Friendly

Active Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 6 minutes
Total Time: 16 minutes
Servings (Adjust to suit): 4 people
Calories: 1040 kcal
A simple and flavorful appetizer from the Medjool Date website.

Print


Ingredients

  • 1 lb Medjool dates
  • 1 lb bacon, sliced
  • 6 oz nuts, minced (we used cashews, optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to broil.
  2. Split one side of Medjool date lengthwise and remove pit.
  3. Stuff with one teaspoon minced nuts. (Optional)
  4. Wrap entire bacon strip around date and secure with toothpick. To prevent toothpicks from burning soak them in water for a few minutes first.
  5. Place under oven broiler.
  6. Turn once to ensure even cooking and drain well (about 3 minutes per side worked well in our oven). Serve warm / immediately.

Recipe Notes

*To make this Peanut/Tree Nut Free omit the optional nuts.
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition Facts
Bacon Wrapped Medjool Dates
Amount Per Serving
Calories 1040 Calories from Fat 603
% Daily Value*
Fat 67g103%
Saturated Fat 18g113%
Cholesterol 75mg25%
Sodium 757mg33%
Potassium 1268mg36%
Carbohydrates 97g32%
Fiber 11g46%
Sugar 75g83%
Protein 24g48%
Vitamin A 210IU4%
Calcium 108mg11%
Iron 3.1mg17%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

 

Peanut Butter, Banana, and Medjool Date Pitas
5 from 7 votes

Course: Lunch, Snacks & Appetizers
Cuisine: American
Keyword: healthy desserts
Dietary Restriction: Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Peanut/Tree-Nut Free
Category: Freezer Friendly

Active Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings (Adjust to suit): 4 people
Calories: 428 kcal
A fun snack for the kids adapted from the Medjool Date website.

Print


Ingredients

  • 2 whole-wheat pitas, we got ours from Trader Joe’s
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 8 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
  • 2 bananas, peeled and sliced

Instructions

  1. Cut each pita bread in half, crosswise, to form four pita pockets.
  2. Gently open each pita pocket and spread 1 tablespoon of peanut butter to each of the interior sides.
  3. Top the peanut butter with the chopped dates, which have been evenly divided.
  4. Add the banana slices to each pita sandwich and then gently press the sides together to reform pita pockets.
  5. Eat immediately or grill on a panini grill for something extra special!


Recipe Notes

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition Facts
Peanut Butter, Banana, and Medjool Date Pitas
Amount Per Serving
Calories 428 Calories from Fat 108
% Daily Value*
Fat 12g18%
Saturated Fat 2g13%
Sodium 300mg13%
Potassium 809mg23%
Carbohydrates 76g25%
Fiber 9g38%
Sugar 42g47%
Protein 13g26%
Vitamin A 110IU2%
Vitamin C 5.1mg6%
Calcium 49mg5%
Iron 2.1mg12%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

 

Banana, Medjool Date, Vanilla Smoothie
5 from 7 votes

Course: Desserts, Smoothies & Drinks, Snacks & Appetizers
Cuisine: American
Keyword: easy smoothie
Dietary Restriction: Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Peanut/Tree-Nut Free
Category: Freezer Friendly

Active Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Servings (Adjust to suit): 2 glasses
Calories: 310 kcal

A sweet dessert-like drink.

Print


Ingredients

  • 2 bananas, ripe
  • 1 cup plain yogurt, whole-milk recommended
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 3 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 4 cubes ice
  • handful spinach, or other greens like kale or swiss chard (optional)

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients into a blender and puree together until smooth. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition Facts
Banana, Medjool Date, Vanilla Smoothie
Amount Per Serving
Calories 310 Calories from Fat 54
% Daily Value*
Fat 6g9%
Saturated Fat 3g19%
Cholesterol 20mg7%
Sodium 77mg3%
Potassium 917mg26%
Carbohydrates 62g21%
Fiber 5g21%
Sugar 46g51%
Protein 7g14%
Vitamin A 315IU6%
Vitamin C 10.9mg13%
Calcium 223mg22%
Iron 0.6mg3%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

This post has been brought to you by Bard Valley Natural Delights Medjool Dates. They are part of the Mediterranean Foods Alliance, which helps consumers discover the health benefits of Mediterranean foods. Tomorrow kicks off Mediterranean Diet Month so be sure to check out the details.

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About Lisa Leake

Lisa is a wife, mother, foodie, blogger, and New York Times Best-selling author who is on a mission to cut out processed food.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Janeth

    January 24, 2016 at 6:07 pm

    I love the smoothie recipe you can change the banana for any other fruit and it will be delicious

    Reply
  2. Lindsay

    December 30, 2015 at 8:11 pm

    My family and I just made the smoothie, delicious!!!! I used almond milk and added a large handful of organic baby spinach… My kids loved it! Even the husband loved it! This is the first smoothie I have made with spinach that you couldn’t taste the spinach. I like spinach, I don’t like tasting it in smoothies though. The medjool dates are so amazing for sweetness. Thank you so much for the recipe!!!

    Reply
  3. Mirry

    April 7, 2015 at 1:05 pm

    I love bacon wrapped dates. I stuff them with feta or blue cheese, brush with balsamic vinegar and pop them in the oven…. yum yum

    Reply
  4. David

    September 30, 2014 at 12:18 am

    Your vegan friends might not delight but the bacon wrapped dates are the pot luck item that will disappear first. Decadent and delicious.

    Reply
  5. Deb G.

    September 3, 2014 at 3:52 pm

    I love dates in my overnight oatmeal. So amazing!

    Reply
  6. Susan M.

    May 2, 2014 at 9:29 pm

    I found your site because I have a dear friend who came here from Iran and she brings me gifts of dates from Montreal and I was looking for ideas to cook with them. We love yogurt smoothies, and I’m excited about using 3 or 4 dates to sweeten them instead of sugar. I break up my very ripe bananas into small chunks and freeze them for smoothies. Using frozen fruit eliminates needing to use ice cubes to cool off the smoothies. Thanks for your recipe ideas!

    Reply
  7. Terri

    January 18, 2014 at 9:41 am

    Hi! Love all the date recipes, since I love dates!! My question though, is, do you have to buy Medjool dates or can you use any pitted dates? Seems like I can find other dates less expensive….

    Reply
    • Assistant to 100 Days (Amy)

      January 21, 2014 at 11:45 am

      Hi Terri. You can use other dates. ~Amy

      Reply
  8. Justyna

    January 8, 2014 at 9:56 am

    I wanted something a little different for my morning smoothie and decided to give this a go. It’s delicious! I think I’ll turn this into ice cream for my kids later this week. I’m going to put this one in my recipe box (I do fruit/veggie smoothies each morning and don’t want to get stuck in a rut so I have a huge – and growing – list of recipes). Next time, I think I’ll add a spoon of almond butter and see how that tastes.

    Reply
  9. Rosanne

    December 18, 2013 at 9:20 pm

    Hi, loving your recipes! Another suggestion for the dates is to put a chunk of pineapple inside the date and then wrap in bacon and broil-delicious!!!!

    Reply
  10. Crystal F

    November 5, 2013 at 6:14 pm

    I love medjool dates! I use them all of the time as a sweetener. My son has a milk allergy so I make hemp milk and sweeten it with a couple of medjool dates. I also chop one up and put it in our morning oatmeal, tastes just like I added a sweetener. I cannot wait to try the bacon wrapped dates, they look yummy!!!

    Reply
  11. Barbara Eberly

    September 26, 2013 at 11:09 pm

    I have discovered Natural Delights Medjool Dates recenlty. I remove the pit and put a natural (oil separated on top) crunchy peanut butter inside, close them again. OMGosh this is an awesome dessert. I usually eat one, and sometimes eat two. I have also used dates in smoothies. They have a lot of fiber and are so good for you. Much better snack or dessert than something made from refined sugar. Great for traveling, too, although good dates may be a bit sticky, better to eat at a rest stop with an apple.

    Reply
  12. Gretchen

    May 22, 2013 at 3:49 pm

    I just tried dates for the first time. (I planned to make the Lara bars but our family ate most of my cashews first). Anyway, I ate a date with a few raw cashews and it immediately made me think of pecan pie! Has anyone used them as a sub for the refined sugars to make a pecan pie-like dessert?

    Reply
    • Tracie

      January 10, 2014 at 10:00 pm

      I use them as a sweetener in pumpkin pie. My very picky 9 year old loves it! I purée in my food processor and add to the other ingredients instead of any sugar. I have not tried in a pecan pie but think it would be delish!

      Reply
  13. Suzanne

    August 15, 2012 at 9:17 am

    Thanks for the recipes. I am lucky enough to have a date palm growing in my garden. I have thousands of dates so I was looking for ways to use them. Fresh dates off the palm are completely different to the dates you buy in the shops. Shop bought ones are much harder and chewier. The fresh dates are really soft and sweet. I was never a fan of them when I was a child but I’m a big fan now!

    Reply
    • TBone

      July 30, 2013 at 9:06 am

      If you have thousands are you interested in getting rid of some? I live in small town and don’t have access locally to fresh ones. I’d love to try them. How much would you charge for a pound or so to be shipped to Georgia?? :)

      Reply
  14. Jessie

    May 9, 2012 at 2:11 pm

    I never even thought about dates before this post. I read this, then last night I went to Fresh Market and they had Pecan Date Rolls from the The Jewel Date Co. They are DELICIOUS! My husband didn’t like them so I guess I get them all to myself! And only two ingredients, dates and pecans!

    Reply
  15. Debbie

    May 6, 2012 at 9:32 am

    I really like dates and use them as sweeteners in smoothies. I printed off your recipes and cannot wait to use them.

    Reply

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