Bacon-Wrapped Dates with Blue Cheese
Sweet Medjool dates stuffed with tangy blue cheese and wrapped in crispy bacon
- 24Medjool dates(pitted)
- 4 ozblue cheese(crumbled)
- 12 slicesbacon(thin-cut)
- 2 tbsphoney(for drizzling)
- flaky sea salt(optional)
Can be assembled up to 24 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bake just before serving.
- 1Preheat oven to 400°F and place wire rack on baking sheet
- 2Make a small slit in each date if not already pitted
- 3Stuff each date with a small amount of blue cheese
- 4Cut bacon slices in half crosswise
- 5Wrap each stuffed date with bacon half, securing with toothpick
- 6Arrange on rack
- 7Bake 15-20 minutes until bacon is crispy, turning once
- 8Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with flaky salt if desired
- 9Serve warm
Medjool dates are larger and sweeter than other varieties. Don't overstuff with cheese or it will ooze out. Thin-cut bacon crisps better and wraps more easily. The rack is important - it allows bacon to crisp all around. These are best served warm when the cheese is still soft.
Bacon-wrapped dates with blue cheese is a preparation that draws on two distinct culinary traditions: Spanish tapas culture, where dates stuffed with almonds and wrapped in jamón or bacon are a classic bar preparation, and the European blue cheese tradition that stretches from French Roquefort to Italian Gorgonzola to English Stilton. The Medjool date originates from Morocco and was introduced to North American commercial cultivation in the 1920s via USDA importation from the Bou Denib oasis in Morocco. Gorgonzola, one of the world's oldest documented blue cheeses, has been produced in the Lombardy-Piedmont region of northern Italy since at least the 9th century CE, with written records from medieval documents; it received Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) certification from the European Union in 1996. The flavor logic of the preparation is precise: dates provide intense sweetness and a caramel-like depth, bacon provides salt and smoke, and blue cheese provides a sharp, funky tang that cuts through both. All three elements together create a bite that moves through sweet, salt, and sour in quick succession — a sensory design that makes the appetizer genuinely hard to stop eating. The preparation became a staple of American holiday party menus in the 2000s after appearing in food publications and being embraced by catering professionals.