Who said party food is just for the holidays? Unstuffed bacon & date
party bread is easy and elegant at the same time.
inspiration
Are you craving a party snack? I love party food, but I’m not great at cooking under pressure. Just ask my family—even with recipes I’ve made a thousand times, something always goes wrong if I feel even a little bit nervous. So I love making party snacks just for me.
I still remember the first time I had a bacon-wrapped stuffed date. I was at a cousin’s wedding in Washington, and those dates have lived rent-free in my mind ever since. Stuffed things are popular for parties, but they’re very fussy and tend to take forever. Who has time for that?
This unstuffed bacon & date party bread has all the flavors and elegance of stuffed dates but without the stress and the fuss.
why i love this recipe
I borrowed the term “party bread” from a friend. In grad school, covid was raging and none of us could go home for Christmas, so our flat hosted a party. My friend Elise showed up with a plate full of “party bread”—it was completely addictive and gone by the end of the night. This unstuffed bacon & date party bread is partially inspired by it.
Baguette slices are a tasty-yet-blank canvas for the tangy, creamy cheese spread, the sweet dates and smoky bacon. Honey gives them an addictive sweet-and-sticky vibe, and soaks into the whole thing. They’re sweet and savory, classy and elegant. They’d be a great Valentine’s Day appetizer!
details
This is so easy. All you have to do is mix the ingredients together, brush with honey, bake again, and you’re done!
I used two small take & bake baguettes from Target, baked them, and sliced them into eleven pieces each. You can use whatever your local grocery store carries, but I’ve included the link so you can get the vibe.
Once your bread is sorted out, you’ll mix fluffy whipped cream cheese with softened butter, Manchego cheese, chopped dates, crumbled bacon, and a pinch of salt. You’ll want to combine it thoroughly so you get bacony date goodness in every bite.
Use a spoon to divide the topping between the baguette slices. No need to worry too much about amount—just eyeball it and do your best. Bake for 8 minutes, then remove from the oven and brush each bread slice with honey. Bake for another 2 minutes, then garnish with parsley or chives.
notes
- Use whatever dates you can find. Medjool dates are tasty, but expensive and hard to find. I just used a bag of dates from the raisin aisle.
- Regular bacon works better than thick-cut here—the latter overpowers the other ingredients.
- If you can’t find Manchego, use gruyere or mozzarella. Or goat cheese, if you like it.
Looking for another tasty appetizer? Try spicy scallion wontons, garlic parmesan french fries & fry sauce, or roasted cherry tomatoes, boursin, & baguettes.
bacon & date party bread
Ingredients
Method
- Make bacon. Preheat oven to 425F. Lay five slices on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper. Bake for 15-18 minutes, then drain, crumble and set aside. Be careful! The bacon will be hot.
- Make topping. In a small mixing bowl, thoroughly combined cream cheese, butter, Manchego, dates, and bacon. Season with a pinch or two of salt.
- Assemble party bread. Put roughly ½ tbsp of the topping each on the bread slices and bake 8 minutes, or until cheese is melty.
- Finish and serve. Brush each slice with honey and bake again for 2 minutes. Add parsley or chives, if using, and serve.
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