Feta Stuffed Dates with Walnuts

This Feta Stuffed Dates recipe makes a great appetizer! It's made with whipped feta cheese, toasted walnuts, and wrapped in prosciutto.

Holiday parties are in full swing right now and many of us are consuming copious amounts of sweet goodies, savory bites, and festive drinks. One of my favorite appetizers to enjoy during the holiday season are these Whipped Feta Stuffed Dates.

Dates are often used in desserts like bars, cookies, or cakes because they are naturally sweet. It turns out, though, that this fruit pairs beautifully with savory ingredients like cheese, nuts, and meats.

This combination of flavors creates a dish that's sweet, savory, tangy, and a little earthy. The fact that dates are soft and bite-sized makes them a great addition to your next party menu.

These dates are stuffed with a creamy whipped feta that's blended with lemon juice and zest, along with toasted walnuts, and then wrapped in prosciutto.

They're literally bursting with flavor and pair well with other party appetizers and any type of beverages. This recipe is easy to pull together and feels downright gourmet.

Jump to:

• What Can I Stuff Dates With?
• Ingredients For Feta Stuffed Dates
• How Long Should Walnuts Be Toasted?
• Can I Use A Different Nut?
• How To Make Whipped Feta
• Prepare The Stuffed Date Filling
• What To Do With Whipped Feta
• How Do You Pit Dates For Stuffing?
• How To Make Feta Stuffed Dates
• What To Eat With Stuffed Dates
• How To Store Stuffed Dates
• Can They Be Frozen?
• Feta Stuffed Dates with Walnuts

What Can I Stuff Dates With?

Dates are amazing because they are incredibly versatile. A date can be eaten on its own, baked into desserts, or stuffed with savory ingredients to make a tasty appetizer.

A date picked right from a date palm can be consumed fresh. The dates we typically purchase in our local grocery store are dried or semi-dehydrated, which means that skin is usually wrinkled, they are dark brown in color, and the flavor is very sweet.

There is no limit to the things that can be used to stuff inside dates.

Cheese is a common ingredient used to stuff dates, particularly those that are soft in texture. Popular cheeses include goat cheese, blue cheese, gorgonzola, ricotta, mascarpone, and cream cheese.

Nuts like pistachios, hazelnuts, almonds, and walnuts are delicious paired with dates.

They can also be stuffed with sweet spreadable ingredients like peanut butter, almond butter, Nutella, and even chocolate.

Ingredients For Feta Stuffed Dates

Here's what you'll need to make this recipe.

• 1 lb. Medjool Dates
• 1 cup Chopped Walnuts (Unsalted)
• 8 oz. Feta Cheese
• 2 oz. Cream Cheese
• 3 Tbsp. Lemon Juice plus Zest of Lemon
• 3 oz. Prosciutto
• Pinch Kosher Salt & Pepper

How Long Should Walnuts Be Toasted?

Walnut help to give these stuffed dates an earthy flavor and a bit of texture. I always prefer to toast walnuts, or any nuts for that matter, before adding them to my recipes.

Toasting the walnuts helps to bring out the natural oils in the nuts and gives them a more robust flavor. It only takes a few minutes and is definitely worth the effort.

If you love toasted walnut, be sure to check out this Maple Walnut Pie!

1. To toast the walnuts, simply place 1 cup of chopped walnuts in a small cast iron skillet or any small skillet on the stove top.
2. Heat to medium-low and toast the walnuts for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
3. Once the walnuts become fragrant, remove the skillet from the heat and set aside to cool.

Can I Use A Different Nut?

Absolutely, feel free to sub walnuts for your nut of choice. Pistachio, hazelnuts, pine nuts, pecans, almonds, or macadamia nuts are all great choices if you do not care for walnuts.

Be sure to toast just as you would the walnuts if choosing another variety of nut.

How To Make Whipped Feta

Whipped feta sort of forms the glue of these Walnut Stuffed Dates. It's a creamy spread made with feta cheese, a bit of cream cheese, lemon juice and zest, and a pinch of kosher salt and pepper.

It's salty, tangy, and gives anything it touches a burst of bright flavor. Whipping the feta makes it light and easily spreadable. It can easily be prepared using a food processor.

1. To make the whipped feta, place 8 oz. of feta cheese into a food processor, breaking it into chunks if necessary.
2. Add 2 oz. of room temperature cream cheese to the feta.
3. Using a Microplane, zest 1 lemon into the food processor. Cut the lemon in half and add 3 Tbsp. lemon juice, being careful to remove any seeds.
4. Add a pinch of kosher salt and pepper.
5. Pulse the ingredients together and blend for 30 seconds or until the mixture is light and creamy.

Prepare The Stuffed Date Filling

Once the walnuts are toasted and the feta whipped, it's time to combine the two in order to create the filling that is used to stuff the dates.

1. Finely chop the cooled walnuts on a cutting board.
2. Add the chopped walnuts to the whipped feta and fold them into the mixture.
3. Place the mixture in the refrigerator for 15 minutes or so, until it has hardened slightly. Allowing the cheese mixture to set will make it easier to stuff into the dates.

What To Do With Whipped Feta

You may have some extra whipped feta after the dates are stuffed. There may even be enough to stuff 2 lbs. of dates, so feel free to grab some extra dates if you're serving a large group of people.

Alternately, you can cut this recipe in half and you will likely still have enough whipped feta to stuff 1 lb. of dates.

Whipped feta makes an excellent vegetable dip served with a crudité platter (make sure to alert your guests to the fact that it contains walnuts in case of allergies), as a spread on a sandwich, or used as the 'sauce' on a pizza or flatbread.

It can be used as a spread on crostini and topped with fresh vegetables, olives, or marinated artichokes.

Feel free to serve with crackers or toasted bread. Bread slathered with whipped feta and a big bowl of homemade soup sounds like a pretty tasty meal!

Any leftover whipped feta may be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.

How Do You Pit Dates For Stuffing?

Once the whipped feta walnut mixture is setting in the fridge, it's time to prepare the dates.

I used Medjool dates for this recipe, which can be found in the produce section of your local grocery store. Medjool dates are large in size and sweet in taste, making them the perfect choice for serving as an appetizer.

Unless they are already pitted, dates contain a pit inside of the fleshy fruit. The pit must be removed before serving to guests, as it is a choking hazard.

1. To remove the pits, simply cut the flesh on one side of the date with a pairing knife.
2. Open the date and remove the pit with your fingers.
3. Repeat with the remainder of the dates and discard the pits.

The process of removing the pits from dates is simple and helps to make room for the ingredients that are stuffed inside of them.

How To Make Feta Stuffed Dates

After the pits are removed from the dates and the cheese mixture has set, it's time to stuff the dates.

These dates are wrapped in prosciutto, which is thinly sliced Italian dry-cured ham. It's a little like bacon, but less salty and easier to work with when making recipes like this one.

Prosciutto can be found in the deli section of your local grocery store.

1. Open each date with your fingers and add a generous spoonful of the whipped feta mixture.
2. Repeat with the remainder of the dates.
3. Open a 3 oz. package of prosciutto and tear the pieces of meat into strips.
4. Wrap a strip of the prosciutto around each of the dates and twist the top of it together, so that it stays in place.
5. If the prosciutto does not stay in place, feel free to hold the dates together with a toothpick.
6. Larger dates may be cut in half if desired.

If you would like to keep this recipe vegetarian, feel free to leave the prosciutto out altogether.

Love prosciutto? Check out these recipes!

• Prosciutto Wrapped Roasted Asparagus
• Gruyere Prosciutto Tartlets
• Italian Prosciutto Grilled Cheese
• Arugula Pesto Prosciutto Pizza

What To Eat With Stuffed Dates

Stuffed dates are definitely party food. I would not whip up a batch of them and enjoy them for dinner. Feta stuffed dates are rich, flavorful, and meant to be served alongside other party appetizers.

Feel free to garnish the dates with extra chopped walnuts or fresh herbs like chives, parsley, or basil for some more color and flavor.

Looking for more party appetizers? Check out these recipes!

• Smoked Salmon Dill Ricotta Crostini
• Maple Spiced Roasted Nuts
• Mushroom Gruyere Tartlets
• Maple Walnut Baklava Tarts
• Smoky Baba Ghanoush
• Kalamata Olive Tapenade
• Fresh Spinach Artichoke Dip
• Rosemary Roasted Almonds
• Italian White Bean Dip

How To Store Stuffed Dates

Stuffed dates may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Storing in an airtight container will help prevent them from drying out.

These dates can be made the day ahead and stored in the refrigerator if needed.

Can They Be Frozen?

I find that recipes like this are best enjoyed the day of or within a few days and no not recommend freezing them.

Looking for drinks to serve with your stuffed dates? Check out these recipes!

• Raspberry Mule Cocktail
• Cranberry Apple Cider Mocktail
• Pomegranate Mojito Cocktail
• Virgin Strawberry Mojito
• Tom and Jerry Christmas Cocktail
• Bailey's Irish Coffee Affogato

Love Dates? Don't Miss These Recipes!

No Bake Coffee Date Protein Bites

Healthy Date Nut Bars

Bacon Wrapped Dates

Chocolate Date Energy Balls