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    Home » How Tos » How to Make Date Paste (+ Benefits)

    How to Make Date Paste (+ Benefits)

    Mar 7, 2018 · Updated: Jan 30, 2023 by Dee Dine · Affliate links disclosure.

    Jump to Recipe

    An easy recipe for date paste, a healthy sugar replacement for eating and baking, using medjool dates. Make it in a blender or food processor. One ingredient, made in minutes.

    Date Paste

    Date paste is a healthy natural sweetener made of one ingredient, dates. It is the perfect substitute for white sugar or any sweetener in baking, drinks and other uses. I use it as my go to sweetener for smoothies, cookies and chocolate treats such as my chocolate smoothie and my chocolate fudge bars.

    Table of Contents
    • Why You'll Love This Recipe
    • Ingredients
    • How to Prepare Dates
    • Steps to Make
    • How to Store
    • How to Use
    • The Benefits of Dates
    • FAQS
    • Recipes to Try
    • How to Make Date Paste

    Why You'll Love This Recipe

    A Healthy Sugar Replacement. Dates are the best natural sweetener, loaded with fiber (10% daily requirement), and essential minerals like calcium and iron and magnesium.

    Don't Cause Blood Sugar to Rise. Date paste is a healthier sweetener because not only does it add iron and fiber, but also does not cause a glucose spike which work against weigh-loss.

    Easy to make. It's super easy to make in a blender or food processor using fresh soaked Medjool dates and water.
    How to: Ultimate Date Paste Tutorial (healthy sugar substitute)

    Ingredients

    Fresh Dates.  Medjool dates are best because of their size but smaller dates, such as deglet, are possible. Both types need to be softened and pitted. Find dates in the produce area of most supermarkets. They are not usually loose, but encased in packages.

    Lemon juice and water.  Lemon juice adds a brighter flavor, and water is needed to blend.

    How to Prepare Dates

    How to Soften. To soften dates, add them to just boiled water and let them sit for 5-10 minutes, until it is easy to pit them.

    How to Pit. Pit dates by tearing them in half, pulling out the center pit, and removing the stem stub at the end.

    Date Paste

    Steps to Make

    1. Prep dates by boiling them to soften them no more than 2 minutes.

    2. Rinse them, pit them and add them to a blender.

    3. Add lemon juice and water and blend until creamy.

    How to Store

    Store date paste in sealed container in the refrigerator for 1 week. Processed date paste is known to last for months in the refrigerator, but not so homemade date paste which has more liquid. Freeze it to store long term, and in ice cube trays so you can thaw only what you need.

    Date Paste

    How to Use

    Use Date Paste in Recipes

    • Chocolate desserts, such as my twix cups or homemade fudge cups
    • Healthy caramel, as in my chocolate caramel bars
    • Smoothies and drinks, as my caramel frappe
    • Sweet and savory sauces
    • Sweetener for cakes or cookies, such as millionaire shortbread
    • A creamy dip for fruits and cookies

    Use Date Paste in Baking

    You'll have to use judgement to use date paste instead of sugar and sweeteners in baking, but you can use these guidelines.

    Replacing Dry Sugar. Use date paste in 1-to-1 replacement, but realize that sugar does other things to textures in baking so you might get different results.

    Replacing a Liquid Sweetener. Increase the liquid in your date paste a bit and then replace the liquid sweetener 1 to 1. For instance, if your recipe calls for ¼ cup liquid sweetener, add ¼ cup of date paste and a tablespoon of water.

    The Benefits of Dates

    Date paste is merely a blending of fresh dates with water and lemon juice, so the nutrition in date paste is the same as the nutrition in dates. And dates are very nutritious.

    Here are the top 10 healthy benefits of dates.

    1. Dates are nutritious, high in fiber, protein, iron, B6 and essential minerals.

    2. Dates have a low glycemic index which is a measure of how high a food will spike your blood sugar. Dates are sweet but do not spike blood sugar. [source]

    3. High in antioxidants. Antioxidants are compounds found in select foods that actually protect your cells from free radicals which are known to cause disease. [source]

    4. High in flavonoids which boost immunity and reduce risk of diabetes and Alzheimer's disease.[source]

    5. Dates protect and improve the health of the brain. [source]

    6. Benefit labor during pregnancy. Natural tannins and the effect of other compounds found in dates on ocytocin are thought to promote cervical dilation and reduce need for induced labor in pregnant women who eat dates around their due date.[source]

    7. Dates are a delicious sweetener with health benefits. Dates contain fructose, and are sweet and have a caramel flavor. You can easily use date paste to replace sugar one on one in many recipes.[source]

    8. Bone Health. Since dates are full of phosphorus, calcium and magnesium, the are awesome for promoting bone health. [source]

    How to: Ultimate Date Paste Tutorial {healthy sugar substitute}

    FAQS

    Are Medjool Dates Best for Date Paste?

    Yes, medjool dates are best to use for date paste because they are large and meaty. Deglet dates also work, however deglet have less nutritional value then medjool and they are smaller.

    Is date paste healthier than sugar?

    Date paste, a blending of dates into a paste, is the healthiest natural sweetener of all time. In fact studies show while refined sugar has deleterious effects on the body, date sugar is beneficial in many ways [source].

    Is date paste good for you?

    It is high in magnesium, fiber, antioxidants and other nutrients [source]. In addition, date paste is known to not cause a spike in blood sugar. And recent studies show the sweetener can halt diseases and improve the health of the brain. [source]

    What does date paste mean?

    Date paste is a healthy sweetener made from blending fresh dates with water. They are vegan, gluten-free, paleo, refined-sugar-free and delicious. Also this sweetener is high in fiber, iron and other nutrients.

    Recipes to Try

    Chocolate Coconut Caramel Bars

    Sweet Potato Brownies

    Copycat Samoa Cookies

    Date Raspberry Ice Cream

    If you are on Pinterest, perhaps save the recipe using this image..

    Pots of finished date paste on a cement board.

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    How to: Ultimate Date Paste Tutorial {healthy sugar substitute}

    How to Make Date Paste

    Created by Dee Dine
    An easy recipe for date paste, a healthy sugar replacement for eating and baking, using medjool dates. Make it in a blender or food processor. One ingredient, made in minutes.
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe
    Cook Time 10 mins
    Total Time 10 mins
    Course Dessert, Snack
    Cuisine American
    Servings 12
    Calories 34 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 cup Medjool dates (10-12 dates, pitted and soaked at least one hour)
    • ⅔ cup water
    • 1 teaspoon lemon juice

    Useful Equipment

    • 2-cup Pyrex glass measuring cup
    • Weck glass storage jars with lids (5.6oz)
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions
     

    Prep dates

    • To make 1 cup of date paste, sit 12 dates in just boiled water for 5-10 minutes water.
      1 cup Medjool dates
      Date Paste
    • Rinse, strain and pit the dates.
      Date Paste
    • Add them to a blender along with ⅔ cup of water and lemon juice.
      1 cup Medjool dates, ⅔ cup water, 1 teaspoon lemon juice
      Date Paste

    Blend dates

    • Blend until it becomes a smooth paste.
      Date Paste

    Store

    • Store as a paste in covered containers in the refrigerator for a week, or freeze in ice cube trays long term.
      Date Paste

    Video

    Notes

    How to soften. To soften dates, add them to just boiled water and let them sit for 5-10 minutes, until it is easy to pit them.
    How to pit. Pit dates by tearing them in half, pulling out the center pit, and removing the stem stub at the end.
    How to use date paste:
    • Homemade chocolates or bar filler
    • Smoothies and drinks
    • Sweet and savory sauces
    • Fillings for bars, donuts, cakes or cookies
    • A dip for fruits and cookies

    Nutrition

    Calories: 34kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSodium: 1mgPotassium: 85mgFiber: 1gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 18IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 8mgIron: 1mg
    Keyword date-paste, how to make date paste
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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    About Dee

    Chocolate and ginger enthusiast. Dog and bird lover. I'm probably chopping chocolate in my Washington DC kitchen right now. More about Dee and Green Smoothie Gourmet »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Karen

      November 17, 2022 at 9:28 am

      5 stars
      Your date paste method is remarkably dependable. I've made it three times now and the texture is always the same. Thank you!

      Reply
      • Dee Dine

        November 17, 2022 at 9:29 am

        Thank you Karen!

        Reply
    2. Angelica

      February 09, 2022 at 9:44 am

      Hello, I'm looking for the best recipe for date paste and I came across yours. I have a question about the lemon juice. There are recipes with and without it; what is the purpose if it's included? Thank you

      Reply
      • Dee Dine

        February 10, 2022 at 12:16 pm

        I include lemon juice to reduce the ultra-sweet flavor of dates and allow for a fresher overall flavor.

        Reply

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    Dee Dine of Green Smoothie Gourmet

    I'm Dee, sharing delicious, science-centric recipes using nourishing plant-based foods laser-focused on nutritional impact. No matter your tastes, I hope you'll find a recipe to love. About Dee →

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