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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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]
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.
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📖 Recipe
How to Make Date Paste
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)
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
- Rinse, strain and pit the dates.
- 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
Blend dates
- Blend until it becomes a smooth paste.
Store
- Store as a paste in covered containers in the refrigerator for a week, or freeze in ice cube trays long term.
Video
Notes
- 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
Angelica
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
Dee Dine
I include lemon juice to reduce the ultra-sweet flavor of dates and allow for a fresher overall flavor.