Homemade Date Paste
Homemade Date Paste Recipe – An all purpose natural sugar substitute. Use this sweetener in place of any recipe that calls for sugar, syrup or honey! Paleo, whole30 compliant, refined sugar free!
This homemade date paste recipe is SUCH a lifesaver whenever I’m doing Whole30! It is the perfect 1:1 ratio substitute for virtually any sauce, condiment or dressing recipe that requires sugar/honey/maple syrup/agave nectar/coconut sugar.
It is the best natural sweetener I have found. I use it in SO many things! To sweeten my coffee (only when I’m not doing a Whole30. If you’re doing a whole30, no sweetened beverages!). In my BBQ sauce. In salad dressings. You name it.
Dates are simply wonderful. Natures candy.
How Do You Make Date Paste?
This recipe could not be simpler to make.
In a blender you combine 1 cup of pitted medjool dates with 3/4 cup of water. I always make my date paste right when I buy a new pack of organic medjool dates from Costco (best deal I’ve found!).
If you’re medjool dates are older and/or dried out, those can work too! Just give them a soak in warm water for at least 30 minutes, or up to 1 day. Just keep them soaking until they’re juicy and plump again. This will make it much easier for your blender to break them down and make them into a silky smooth paste.
There are date pastes you can buy, but they’re much more expensive. Homemade is always better!
Do I Make Date Paste in a Blender or Food Processor?
I prefer to make the date paste in my high speed blender. I find that it makes a much smoother date paste. I’ve made it in my food processor too, and it works, especially if the dates are extra plump and juicy.
I use a spatula to scrape it out and not waste a drop.
How Long Does Date Paste Last?
After making the date paste, I store it in a half pint mason jar. It is the perfect size to store the heaping cup of date paste this recipe makes. If you don’t have a half pint mason jar, any sealed container will do.
It will keep in the refrigerator for 3 months. But I doubt it will last you that long. You will go through it much faster than that.
Dates are the only sweetener that are Whole30 compliant. So much healthier, packed with nutrients, and delicious.
Print
Date Paste – A Whole30 Sugar Substitute
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 heaping cup 1x
Ingredients
1 packed cup of pitted organic medjool dates (about 14-15)
3/4 cup of water
Instructions
If your dates are very dry, soak them in hot water for at least 30 minutes (or up to 8 hours) to plump them up. If you just opened the carton and they’re still fresh and plump and juicy, no need to soak them.
In your high speed blender, combine the soaked dates and water. Blend on high speed for 3-5 minutes, until the dates are completely pureed into a paste, scraping down the sides a few times.
Transfer the date paste to a sealed container (I love using half pint mason jars), and store in the fridge. Will keep for 3 months.
Notes
You can use a food processor instead of a blender, but I prefer my blender because it gets the date paste much smoother.
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22 Comments on “Homemade Date Paste”
What ratio of date paste to sugar do you use in a recipe? E.g. if the recipe calls for 100gms sugar how much date paste do you use?
It’s a 1:1 ratio. You can always taste and add more if needed, but I do 1:1
Thank you! I am excited to try this for some of my favorite Asian recipes, ie Korean Beef and Firecracker Chicken! ? My husband will be ecstatic!
Hope you love it! Thanks Alys!
I couldn’t get mine as smooth as yours appears to be. Do you buy your dates pitted? Mine Costco only had ones with puts so I pitted them myself- I wonder if that makes a difference? Do you ever have to add more water? I put mine in my vita mix but the blades kept stopping like they do when there isn’t enough liquid?
I get the medjool dates at Costco too! Were the dates dry? You can soak them in super hot water to really soften them and help them blend super easy. And you can always adjust and add a little more water if it seems it needs it. If they’re sticking to the edge and not getting to the blade they’d definitely need another tablespoon or so of water. Hope you have better luck!
What would Be a honey to date paste ratio?
1:1 ratio!
Has anyone tried this in coffee??
Yes! I have and it’s so so so so good!
I never comment on recipes but I wanted to say this is life changing! The hardest part of whole30 has been no sugar in my tea in the morning. This is delicious and I am so happy. Thank you for a wonderful recipe
★★★★★
Thank you so much Erica! I’m so happy to hear that! Isn’t it great? Makes all the difference. Makes it much easier to wean off refined sugar. Rooting for you and your whole30 journey!
You saved my whole30 diet! Like Erica and April mentioned, not having sugar in tea or coffee has been difficult, but this is a game changer. Happy I found your post!
★★★★★
Hi Sarah! I’m so happy to hear it helped you! Way to go on completing your Whole30!
(Also, just want to clarify that you’re technically not supposed to have any sweetener in your drinks during Whole30 according to the official guidelines.)
I’m in the preparation stage of starting whole 30. If dates are acceptable to eat during the 30 days why are you not allowed to put in drinks? I’m excited to start my journey but I’m trying to get educated too.
Hi Debby! So excited you’re doing a September Whole30! I am too! The program doesn’t want you to recreate sweet drinks. To help wean you off your dependency on sugar. To be completely honest, it seems a little confusing that you can have coffee and dates, but not coffee with dates IN them. It all ends up in the same place. Haha! Just one of those rules that the program has deemed important for maximum longterm success.
I made this to use as an ingredient in Natalie’s herby coleslaw recipe but ended up using it frequently in my coffee. It is sweet but not overwhelmingly so! It freezes extremely well!
★★★★★
This does freeze really well and is a great addition to SO many recipes. I always keep this in my freezer!
I made Date Paste to make Balsamic Vinaigrette last month, and stored the rest in a mason jar in the fridge. I put the date on it (12-6-19) and then this weekend, when I went to make more salad dressing, I pulled out my date paste to find some moldy spots on it. The recipe says it can last in the fridge up to 3 months though. Should I freeze it next time?
Shoot! I am so sorry your date paste had mold on it. If there was a lot of air exposed to it, you can put saran wrap over the top of the paste and then seal the lid. If you really want to be safe, go ahead and freeze it.
I made this last night. My dad is currently dealing with pancreatic issues and with the possibility of cancer I’m having him avoid all added sugars. He LOVES meatloaf, but the recipe I was using calls for brown sugar. I made this date paste in place of the sugar and 😍 you can’t even tell! Thanks for such an easy and quick replacement.
★★★★★
What a wonderful daughter you are to make it for your Dad Gina. I hope he is feeling better soon!