Most recipes with dates only use a handful, leaving you with half of a container sitting around. What can you do with the leftover dates? Oh, we can think of a few things...
Top Five: Things to do with Leftover Dates
Besides eating them straight from the box, here are our top five favorite things to do with leftover dates:
1. Add them to oatmeal: You can add a handful of chopped dates after the oatmeal is already cooked, or you can try cooking the dates along with the oatmeal. As Faith showed in her recipe for Steel-Cut Oats with Dates, Coconut, Cinnamon, and Pecans, the dates practically melt into the oats during cooking. You won't even need any sweetener!
2. Sprinkle them over salads: Chewy nuggets of date add both flavor and texture to an every-day dinner salad.
3. Make stuffed dates: This is super easy and one of our go-to appetizers. Cut a slit in the side, pull out the date seed, and then stuff the cavity with an almond and some goat cheese. You can eat them as is or broil them for a few minutes until they're toasty. You can also serve them drizzled with honey or wrapped in proscuitto.
4. Add them to a pilaf: Dates make an unexpected alternative to raisins in a savory rice pilaf.
5. Use them in another recipe: This sounds very obvious, and well, it is! There are tons of great recipes using dates out there, from sweet cookies to savory braises. Here are a few of our favorites:
Sticky Toffee Cakelets
Sunflower Date Cookies
Spiced Apple Cider Sopu with Sweet Potato Dumplings, Quince, and Dates
Braised Chicken with Saffron Onions, Italian Cous Cous, and Dates from Cookstr
Braised Beef Shortribs (with Dates) from Saveur
How else do you use up leftover dates?
Related: Top Five Things to do with Leftover Ricotta
(Image: Flickr member Stu Spivack licensed under Creative Commons)
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Fruits and Vegetables, Tips & Techniques, Inspiration, Recipe Roundup, Ingredients - Fruit, dates, top five, leftover datesRelated Links
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For the stuffed date idea, don't forget to wrap them in bacon b/f baking them: DELICIOUSNESS!
view orchidgirl1979's profile
Here's what I would do:
Stuff them with cream cheese and a pecan half, wrap with bacon, secure with toothpick, broil until bacon is done, try to wait until it has cooled slightly before popping it into your mouth.
You can make a bunch of these and freeze them, then pull them out when you have guests for a delicious and always well-received appetizer.
view Forthright Fattie's profile
Who has leftovers? Not me, but I just might buy some to do some of these suggestions.
view lawoman's profile
We always used to fill them with peanut butter and roll in sugar for a treat.
view mgood's profile
I add cut-up dates to muffin batter. And I have done the wrapped-in-bacon thing, which was great, but now I'm going to try the goat cheese and almond thing, or maybe the cream cheese and pecan thing.
view Joan A.'s profile
I like this smoothie:banana, dates, buttermilk and ice. The dates make it super sweet so there is no added sugar in it.
http://www.pinkbites.com/2008/10/banana-date-smoothie.html
Cheers
view pinkbites's profile
My favorite is similar to the previous post. A date milkshake, vanilla ice cream and dates in the blender. So delicious, it tastes like a brown sugar milkshake.
view Benny's Dad's profile
Mmm, that date milkshake sounds good. Dates can be chopped up for muesli and process dates, coconut flakes and some maple syrup and/or almonds for a raw power bar.
view mstinagray's profile
plain... or sliced in half with a spread of fresh goat cheese. They are so delicious they really don't need embellishment!
view jrstar45's profile
I would stuff each one with an almond and then roll them in some melted dark chocolate and maybe give a sprinkle of toasted coconut. Chill and serve!
Nancy
http://testkitchenette.wordpress.com
Love the milkshake! I made the version stuffed with goat cheese, wrapped with bacon, and broiled for the holidays a few years ago, they were a hit!
view charmedbynancy's profile
I just made the sticky toffee cakelets... so yummy!
http://whatsonmyplate.wordpress.com/2009/03/08/sticky-toffee-cakelets/
enjoy!
view Tonya @ What's On My Plate's profile
I would just eat them! why isn't that an option. :)
view Emelye's profile
Another great idea is this Basra Date Tarts for a healthy and tasty sweet treat.
view Hartley from Kitchen Caravan's profile
Waldorf salad!!! With diced dates! but it has to be the kind pictured---- not the medjool kine. I use 5 big fiji apples, about 3 ribs of celery, 5 tbsp of mayonnaise, an 1/8 cup of lemon juice and 2-3 packets of splenda.... it's so stinking good- I can eat the whole salad myself!
view jendowning's profile
I do'nt think I've ever had leftover dates. We eat piles of them regularly, as is.
view seidhr's profile