Air Fryer Bacon-Wrapped Dates

🛒 Ingredients

Ready to make a quick batch? You only need three ingredients.

Medjool dates: these are large, soft and squishy dates, perfect for wrapping in bacon. Smaller baking dates will not work with this recipe. Medjool dates are not dried fruit. They're actually fresh. They're harvested from the date palm and packaged right away with no processing required. Read more about their health benefits in this article, Everything You Need to Know about Medjool Dates.

goat cheese: or other soft cheese, like blue cheese or cream cheese. These are also delicious with Manchego cheese, or sharp cheddar.

bacon slices

🔪 Instructions

These bacon-wrapped stuffed dates make a quick and easy appetizer or snack, especially when cooked in an air fryer. Here's a quick overview of what you'll do. You'll find complete directions in the recipe card below.

1. Begin by removing the pit from each date. Use a sharp paring knife to cut a little slit lengthwise on one side of the date. The pit will come out easily.
2. Fill the cavity with a small amount (about a teaspoon) of goat cheese, or cheese of your choice.
3. Once you've stuffed the opening, gently pinch the date closed to keep the cheese in before wrapping with bacon.
4. Cut bacon slices in half widthwise. Place the filled date on one end of the slice, roll, and secure with a toothpick.
5. Air fry at 390°F. for 12 minutes, checking partway through. Air frying cooking times are always a basic guideline. It's a good idea to test recipes first in your own air fryer and adjust the time as needed.

👍🏼 Helpful Tips

• The easiest way to stuff dates is to fill a piping bag with goat cheese and use a frosting tip to pipe it into the cavity. An even easier way is to buy the goat cheese in a tube, snip off one of the corners, and squeeze it into the date.
• Don't overfill. If you're using blue cheese or cream cheese, just use a small spoon. For Manchego, simply cut a small slice. Use about 1 teaspoon of cheese per date, depending on their size. Don't overfill, or the cheese will melt and leak out while the dates are baking.
• Thinly sliced bacon works best, as it cooks faster. You'll only need half a slice for each date.
• Overlap the bacon. Wrap each date so that there is just a small amount of overlap and secure it with a toothpick. To prevent the bacon from coming off the date, make sure to insert the toothpick in the meaty part of the bacon and not the fat. If the bacon slice has too much of an overlap, part of it will not cook evenly.

🔁 Possible Variations

Change the type of cheese you use. Instead of goat cheese, try blue cheese, cream cheese, or another strong-flavoured cheese like sharp cheddar.

Or you could keep these authentically Spanish and serve them as tapas filled with Manchego cheese.

You may want to fill some of the dates with one type of cheese, and some with another, remembering that not everyone loves blue cheese!

A make-ahead bacon appetizer

Can you make these ahead of time? Yes! Fill the dates with cheese, wrap in bacon, secure with a toothpick, then freeze on a baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer the dates wrapped in bacon to a freezer storage bag and freeze for up to a month.

Let thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then follow the air frying instructions in the recipe card.

🗒 More finger food recipes

• Mini Cheese Balls on a Stick
• Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates with Walnuts and Mint
• 5 Tips for Making Crostini Appetizers
• 20 Easy Finger Food Appetizers
• Garlic Lovers' Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms