If you love cooking with dates as much as we do, you’re in for a treat! I’ve rounded up some favorite date recipes. From energizing breakfasts to crave-worthy desserts and even savory dishes with a hint of sweetness, these date recipes showcase just how versatile and delicious this ancient fruit can be.
There’s something truly special about dates—their natural caramel-like sweetness, soft, chewy texture, and incredible versatility in both sweet and savory dishes make them a must-have in any Mediterranean kitchen.
I love blending them into a luscious smoothie, stuffing them with nuts and cheese for the perfect appetizer, baking them into a decadent dessert, and even caramelizing them in extra virgin olive oil for an addictive snack.
And let’s not forget their health benefits! Packed with fiber, antioxidants, and essential minerals, they’re a wholesome way to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Table of Contents
- Dates for Breakfast
- Savory Date Recipes
- Apple Walnut Salad with Dates
- Stuffed Dates
- Healthy Broccoli Salad with Dates and Almonds
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Dates
- Pastilla Recipe (Skillet Chicken Pie)
- Adas Polo (Persian Rice and Lentils with Caramelized Onions, Dates and Raisins)
- Date Desserts
- Date Cookies with Pistachios
- Healthy Carrot Cake
- Date Bars with Chocolate and Tahini
- Maamoul (Date Filled Cookies)
- Chocolate Covered Dates with Almonds
- Date Caramel
- More Recipe Roundups
Dates for Breakfast
Kickstart your morning with natural sweetness and energy-boosting power! Dates are packed with fiber, potassium, and essential nutrients; the perfect way to fuel your day.
Creamy Tahini Date Banana Shake
Tahini gives this creamy and refreshing banana-date smoothie staying power that will keep you going all morning. It tastes like a milkshake, but it’s dairy-free and packed with fiber, protein, and heart-healthy fats. Add more almond milk to thin it to your preferred consistency and a shake of ground cinnamon for a delicious finish. Wan’t a chocolate version? Try making it with our Dark Chocolate Tahini with sea salt!
Olive Oil Granola
This crunchy, golden homemade granola is naturally sweetened with honey (I love using wildflower honey for this recipe) and Medjool dates, giving it the perfect sweetness without refined sugar. Loaded with nuts, seeds, and warm spices, it’s a wholesome, fiber-packed breakfast or snack that’s even more delicious sprinkled over a Lemon Yogurt Parfait with Berry Compote!
Banana Walnut Bread
This family-favorite banana walnut bread recipe swaps butter and sugar for nutritious extra virgin olive oil and honey. Ground cardamom, cinnamon, and nutmeg give it a wonderfully homey aroma and chopped dates add chewy pockets of sweetness. When I have this breakfast treat in the house I like to enjoy a slice along with some Spanakopita Egg Muffins to add some more protein.
Savory Date Recipes
Dates aren’t just for sweets—they add the perfect touch of chewy richness to savory dishes, too! Paired with cheese, tossed into salad, or used to balance bold spices in hearty entrees, these recipes prove just how versatile this little fruit can be.
Apple Walnut Salad with Dates
An underrated pairing is that of chewy, sweet dates and crunchy, tart apples. This duo of fruits stars in a simple salad with tangy fresh goat cheese and crunchy walnuts. Using peppery arugula and juicy, slightly bitter endive adds even more flavor contrast with the sweet fruit. I love to make this autumnal salad with something warming, like Simple Mushroom-Barley Soup.
Stuffed Dates
If you’re looking for a no-cook party appetizer that’s ready in less than 10 minutes this goat cheese stuffed dates recipe is for you! All you need is Medjool dates, goat cheese, walnuts, and a little bit of honey. The real trick of this recipe is warming the dates in the oven — the heat softens both the dates and the cheese, making them a wonderful combination of warm and melty, sticky and chewy, salty and sweet. Yum! I like to finish them with a sprinkle of sunny Aleppo pepper flakes to contrast with their sweetness.
Healthy Broccoli Salad with Dates and Almonds
This vibrant take on a healthy Broccoli Salad recipe is packed with crunchy vegetables, sweet dates, and toasted almonds, all tossed in a creamy Greek yogurt dressing with toasty coriander and tangy sumac. It’s fresh, crunchy, and flavorful; a perfect make-ahead salad for meal prep or a quick side dish.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Dates
Shallots add a peppery bite, while dates lend a chewy texture and welcome sweetness to crisp-tender roasted Brussels sprouts in this holiday table-worthy vegetable side dish. Toasted, sliced almonds provide crunch, and a dressing made with orange zest, fresh thyme, and tangy apple cider vinegar compliments the sweet dates and earthy flavor of the sprouts. This dish is a perfect pairing for our Roast Spatchcock Chicken.
Pastilla Recipe (Skillet Chicken Pie)
A savory chicken pie from Morocco and Algeria, Pastilla (or bastilla) is made with crispy, flaky phyllo dough and a tender shredded chicken filling seasoned with warm North African flavors including Ras El Hanout, ginger, and cinnamon. Chopped dates, parsley, and almonds punctuate the filling with sweetness and freshness. Moroccan-style carrot salad is wonderful on the side.
Adas Polo (Persian Rice and Lentils with Caramelized Onions, Dates and Raisins)
A traditional Persian rice dish, Asas Polo is seasoned with cinnamon and saffron, and layered with caramelized onions, lentils, raisins, and dates. It cooks gently until the layer of rice on the bottom of the pot crisps into a golden layer of crunchy rice called tahdig. It’s a wonderful combination of sweet, savory, and earthy flavors. Serve it with Shirazi Salad and a side of yogurt sauce, such as Tzatziki.
Date Desserts
Satisfy your sweet tooth the natural way! Dates have a caramel-like flavor that makes them a wonderful star in sweet recipes that cut back on refined sugar without sacrificing flavor.
Date Cookies with Pistachios
Sweet chopped dates, nutty pistachios, and fruity extra virgin olive oil add incredible flavor to this simple drop cookie recipe. Because the base for the batter is extra virgin olive oil, there’s no waiting for butter to soften, which means that you can mix up a batch of this date cookie dough in only moments with just a bowl and a spoon. Swap the pistachios with chocolate chips and you’ve got a chocolate chip cookie recipe with less refined sugar. New to baking with olive oil? Read out full guide: Baking with Olive Oil.
Healthy Carrot Cake
This recipe is Mediterranean Diet-friendly carrot cake. Honey sweetens the batter made with whole wheat flour, Greek yogurt, and olive oil, while cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger add layers of spice. Chopped dates folded in form pockets of caramel-like sweetness. This is a carrot cake I could eat as breakfast, a snack, or for dessert. Add a dollop of whipped labneh as a healthy swap for the rich creaminess of cream cheese frosting.
Date Bars with Chocolate and Tahini
Chewy, chocolatey, and nutty; think of these no-bake date bars as a healthy twist on a candy bar. The recipe is free of refined sugar, dairy, and gluten, but it’s rich and satisfying. All you need to make it is a food processor to blitz up the dates! Make a batch and keep them in the fridge for any time you’re craving a little something sweet.
Maamoul (Date Filled Cookies)
Maamoul are shortbread cookies filled with creamy date paste, and they’re a favorite on the dessert table throughout the Middle East for holidays and celebrations of all kinds. You can make these pattern-stamped, date-filled butter cookies using a maamoul mold, a cookie stamp, or a fork.
Chocolate Covered Dates with Almonds
Sweet and simple, dates stuffed with roasted almonds and dunked in dark chocolate are an easy but impressive treat that makes a wonderful host gift. I like to sprinkle them with crushed almonds or pistachios. To share a real treat, box up these chocolate dates with some honey-sweetened Greek Sesame Candy and Candied Orange Peel.
Date Caramel
Made with just five simple ingredients, this vegan date caramel sauce transforms whatever it touches into something special. Use it as a dip for apple slices or as a naturally sweet topping for oatmeal, Greek yogurt, or ice cream.
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