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I’ve been on a mission to sweeten more of my dessert recipes with dates lately. If you ask me, dates are the BEST natural sweetener because they are loaded with fiber and essential minerals, like calcium and iron.
You may have already tried these amazing Date-Sweetened Brownies and Date-Sweetened Peanut Butter Cookies, but I also wanted to give you an option for using dates as a sugar substitute in practically ANY recipe. That’s where date paste comes in.
I remember hearing about date paste years ago, but I was always leery of trying it because the method for making it sounded so… vague. Recipe directions usually go something like “add enough water and blend until a paste is formed.” But how much water and how many dates you use could vary SO MUCH with those instructions! Especially if you soak the dates first.
Maybe that works for some home cooks, but I prefer hard and fast measurements so that I can easily follow along. (That’s why I’ve always loved baking– give me a set of solid directions I can follow and I’m happy.)
That’s why I’m sharing my exact measurements for making date paste today, along with some recipes that I’ve used it in, so you can see how you can use date paste as a substitute for sugar.
Why are dates good for you?
- They may help lower cholesterol. Dates are loaded with soluble fiber, which may help to lower the total cholesterol in your blood.
- They’re good for bone health. Dates contain minerals like selenium, magnesium, manganese and copper, which are thought to keep bones healthy and help to prevent osteoporosis.
- They’re good for constipation. Dates are known for helping to relieve constipation, most likely due to their soluble fiber and magnesium content.
- They’re rich in iron. Dates are a plant-based source of iron, which may help to prevent anemia. (I ate a bunch of them during my second pregnancy, and I managed to avoid anemia like I had during my first pregnancy.)
- They’re good for your skin. Dates contain vitamins C and D, which are thought to help with skin elasticity.
Are dates good for diabetics?
I know some people are scared of the “sugar” in dates, but research has shown that dates are a low glycemic food. A study that tested the effect of eating dates on healthy individuals and on those with diabetes found that dates do not cause significant glucose spikes in the blood, and therefore may be beneficial for diabetics as part of a healthy diet. (source)
How to Make Date Paste
The ratio I’ve been using to make date paste is 1 cup of tightly packed dates (about 8 ounces by weight) + 1/4 cup of water. I wanted to use as little water as possible, so as not to add too much hydration to a recipe when making sugar substitutions, but this seems to be just enough water to also make the dates blend in a normal food processor. (That way you don’t need a fancy high-speed blender!)
Ingredients
- 1 pound Medjool dates , pitted (about 2 cups tightly packed)
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- In the bowl of a large food processor fitted with an "S" blade, combine the pitted dates and water.
- Process until very smooth, scraping down the bowl to make sure all of the dates are incorporated.
- Store the date paste in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks, and use it in your favorite healthy recipes.
Nutrition
Per Serving: Calories: 104, Carbohydrates: 28g, Fiber: 2.5g, Protein: 0.6g
How to use Date Paste as a Sugar Substitute
If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably seen me testing date paste as a substitute in various recipes. I wanted to see how date paste worked as a 1:1 substitute for various types of sugar in recipes, including coconut sugar and maple syrup. Keep in mind that when you use date paste as a substitute, the texture and sweetness will vary slightly from the original recipe– so maybe don’t experiment with this right before serving guests!
To Substitute Date Paste for Sugar:
Use a 1:1 ratio when subbing date paste for granulated sugar, like coconut sugar. I tested this method with my Gluten-Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies and found that the results were slightly softer and slightly less sweet, but the cookies still held together well. You can get away with adding slightly more date paste, for a sweeter flavor, but keep in mind that the date paste will create a more cake-like texture, rather than a chewy texture in baked goods. (I went ahead and used a full cup of date paste in this cookie recipe, and they still turned out well.)
To Substitute Date Paste for Maple Syrup:
Use double the amount of date paste when subbing for maple syrup. So, if a recipe calls for 1/2 cup of maple syrup, I’d recommend using 1 cup of date paste. I tested this method using my Paleo Pumpkin Spice Muffins, and the results were super-dry when replacing the maple syrup with a 1:1 ratio of date paste, but if you double the amount of date paste, the texture and sweetness are much better.
One thing I’ve noticed when substituting date paste for either a granulated sugar or maple syrup is that the baked goods seem slightly drier than the original, which I found surprising! I thought the date paste would make baked goods too moist, but that hasn’t been the case so far. I imagine that it might vary per recipe, particularly since there are so many variables in baked goods, like the type of flour used and the amount of oil called for, so I’ll continue to update this post as I experiment with this super-healthy sweetener even more.
(Next time I’m going to try to add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to the date paste, to help account for the dryness it adds. I’ll report back!)
You can bet that my daughter’s first birthday cake is going to be sweetened with date paste this year!
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Reader Feedback: Have you used date paste before? Feel free to share your favorite recipes to use it in, or make a recipe request for something you want to see sweetened with dates.
I love dates, but it’s important to go easy on quantity. Between 2 to 3 dates contain 25 grams of fructose, so eating more dates, or more of any kind of food containing fructose during the same day, can have some pretty nasty impacts on the liver (which has to break fructose down) and the rest of the body. See more here:
http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/is-fructose-bad-for-you-201104262425
I’ve been trying to learn as much as I can on the subject, and every study that actually compares the industrial fructose (like high fructose corn syrup or refined white sugar) to the fructose in fruit seems to show that fruit is EXEMPT from those negative impacts, possibly because of all the fiber and polyphenols fruit also contains. I’ve even seen a study where they studied fresh fruit juice, with the fiber removed, and it was still beneficial, rather than harmful. (And some of these studies have participants eat 20 pieces of fruit a day with no negative outcomes.)
If you have a link to a study that shows where fresh fruit has shown to have a negative impact, I would actually be really curious to take a look at it. At the moment, it seems that Dr. Lustig has a tendency to lump all fructose into the same category, but that doesn’t seem appropriate with the studies I’ve seen.
Unfortunately you havent understood the study, to compare high fructose corn syrup to fructose from fruit is idiocy
This is great! Thank you!
I don’t have a food processor. Would a nutribullet be ok? Thanks
Yes!!! Works great. I prefer to make mine in the bullet. Just add a tad more water, if needed.
Just made this yesterday and used it with cinnamon as the filling for cinnamon buns! (Used maple syrup in the actual dough) It was amazing!!!! I thought it might have a date taste but it doesn’t, really tasted like sugar and cinnamon! Thanks!!!!
Once again you amaze me with your innovations for everyday living. Thank you for guiding me along a healthful path where I no longer eat any sugar. Your recipes and advice have made living with no sugar a possibility and a joy.
Megan thank you this is a great resource – I’m with you girl, dates are the best natural sweetener around! I love using dates as a sweetener and below is a link to my families fave date loaf. But I’ve never made the paste up before, I usually just blend into the batter so a more looking forward to trying this method. Love your site, keep up the fun content xxxx
http://www.realsoupfortherealsoul.com/?p=1838
I’ve become addicted to the dates and almond butter that you introduced me to in your 3 day detox guide. Never in a million years would I have put that combo together, but I can’t get over how delicious it is. It has become one of my go-to snacks. Helps stabilize that low blood sugar feeling too, I’ve noticed. I would love it if you could do a post or video explaining the differences of the different dates out there, Medjool and Deglet Noor. Some of the dates I buy are not labeled what kind so I never know what I’m getting. I recently bought a bag that specifically said Deglet Noor so I tried them. They were huge and more sweet than other dates I have bought so maybe the bags I had that were not labeled were Medjool. I actually didn’t like the Deglet Noor. Do you have a preference? I noticed most of your recipes call for the Medjool. Other readers were curious about freezing the paste, and I am wondering about that also because I don’t make a lot of baked goods or sweets but would like to have the paste on hand if I wanted to make one of your recipes for guests or parties I host. Thank you.
Thanks for this post! Dates have literally changed my life. I love to just grab three or four and eat them like candy, with no guilt:) I learned about date paste about three years ago, and like you, was frustrated by the lack of concrete instructions. So I also experimented to come up with a consistency that worked well. You’re so right about the dryness of baked goods, and I will sometimes add a few tablespoons or up to a quarter cup of unsweetened applesauce to help with the moisture and binding properties. I’ve considered using ripe mashed bananas or shredded zucchini but haven’t tried that yet. I bet adding the oil to the date paste could have a good effect so I might try that, too!
Thanks for including the weight in the recipe! I hate to try to stuff the dates in the cup. I just bought a scale and it is so much easier to use.
Iove date paste! I usually make mine a bit thinner and mainly use it to sweeten oatmeal. I have spent so much time online searching for date sweetened recipes, and I can’t wait for more! Would love to see date sweetened snickerdoodles!
You have to soak the dates in hot water beforehand for 30 minutes or so. I made this with according to the recipe and it was not smooth whatsoever. I’ll use it in my smoothies so no problem.
I am hoping to replace my daughter’s sweetener in her oatmeal as well. Right now, I use a few drizzles of maple syrup. Can you tell me if the difference in taste is significant? Or should I start by using a bit of date paste & maple syrup & ween her off that way? Asking because I don’t eat oatmeal…at all. Please help. Thank you.
I think the flavor is similar, it just takes a lot more date paste to get a similar sweetness to maple syrup. You might need to thin out the oatmeal with a little extra water, to compensate for the thickness of the date paste, too.