It’s almost impossible to eat just one…but there is enough flavor packed into one of these little beauties to make your palate, heart and tummy completely happy! We’re all about finger foods and tapas around here and these are requested often by friends and family alike for parties and sides. I love them because they are so easy to assemble. Two ingredients - simply dates and bacon - roasted to perfection, are hard to beat!

The sweetness of the dates and the salty bacon make for an exceptional combination. But check out the ways you can up your bacon wrapped dates game in this recipe!

Serve these up at your next weekend BBQ or special event! You’ll be the foodie hero of the party!

Bacon Wrapped Dates
Approximately 20 bacon wrapped dates
Preheat oven to 400

Ingredients:
1 package of bacon
No sugar options: Pederson Farms, Wellshire, Applegate
8 oz of dates pitted

Instructions:
Cut your bacon in half in the middle. Take half a strip of bacon and wrap it around a pitted date. Place seam side down in a glass baking dish. Continue until all dates are wrapped. 

Bake for 20 minutes. Check dates/bacon and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes depending on how done you like your bacon. If underside is not done enough for you, flip dates and finish them off on the top rack for the remaining time. Remove dates with tongs, dab on a paper towel to absorb the bacon drippings, and then place on a serving plate. 

Optional: place an almond inside the date before wrapping in bacon for a little extra crunch.

Post Whole30//Food Freedom: Place a small amount of goat cheese inside the date before wrapping in bacon. 

The Combo: Place an almond and a dab of goat cheese in the date before wrapping in bacon. All combos are amazing!

Parties and creating time and space for people to gather and enjoy great food together are at the top of my list of favorite things to do. Having my “go to’s” for moments like these have been a game changer.

I enjoy a great recipe that takes time and there’s a more detailed creative process from start to finish. But there’s something about having a handful of recipes that are easy to pull off, taste amazing, and leave your guests glad they came and you feeling less stressed! This recipe contributes to all those things.

But it’s never just about the food for me. Its the whole experience of being invited, welcomed in, loved, included, and well fed! I love it all!

A little bit about dates.

The variety pictured above are Medjool dates. Deep, dark, and amber in color, larger and soft with some serious sweetness. Dates are harvested from date palms and are delicious as is, but are often used as a natural sweetener and binder for many raw and refined sugar free desserts. Date palms are very common in the Middle East and Northern Africa and dates have been a staple in the diets of people from the Middle East and Africa from ancient times to present.

Dates also have some great health benefits when eaten within reason! Healthy yes, but also the closest you’ll get to candy because they pack a decent sugar load per date. Each date contains approximately 16 grams of sugar! I’ve been known to eat a few too many of these babies! But apart from needing to be mindful about the sugar in your dates, here are some health benefits to consider:

Fiber
Great for an energy boost
Lots of great minerals
Awesome for making date nut crusts for healthy desserts
And lots more!

Check out this article from Dr Axe for more info!