Date Paste Recipe – The ultimate all natural sweetener

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Last Updated on February 23, 2021

With this date paste recipe, I have a special treat for you, even if you think you don’t like dates…This blog post could be a big game changer, especially, if you are a sweet tooth.

At least it was it for me, when I learned about it in a Plant-Based Master Cooking Class last year with Sebastian Copien. His mission is to take the culinary aspect of plant-based cooking to a whole new level. Thanks to him, I can present to you a way to sweeten cookies, cakes and other foods actually wholesome and healthy. 


Ditch finally the syrup in your kitchen

Eating clean or mainly plant-based foods for me never excluded the one or other treat. How about you? In context of clean eating, for the longest time I was replacing refined sugars with maple syrup, later also date syrup or coconut sugar. But frankly, there is not much difference regarding nutritional value to white sugar, except for some trace nutrients and maybe a lower glycemic load.

Fiber-rich, full of minerals and vitamins

Date paste however, is different. Unlike store-bought date syrup, here you have the whole fruits with all their beneficial properties and healthy ingredients and not just extracted fructose. On top of it you mostly don’t taste it in the recipe.

Since last year it is by far my favorite sweetener, that not only tastes good, but it is also, rich in fiber, full of minerals and vitamins. Of course, you can also use fresh dates, known as the “bread of the desert”, but for most recipes the consistency of date paste fits better. 

Recipe Features

  • quick and easy – all you need is a few minutes, 4 ingredients and a high speed blender or food processor
  • all natural – fiber-rich and nutrient-dense
  • freezer-friendly – keep frozen date paste pellets in your freezer for any time you need it

That’s what you’ll need

  • Pitted Dates
  • Lemon
  • Lemon juice
  • pinch of salt or some miso

Ingredient notes

  • I recommend organic lemons
  • Soft, moist dates are important. No need to use the more expensive moist Medjool dates…of course you can. I always use Aldi’s Deglet dates for this paste.

If they are too hard, I soak the fruits in water the night before. For quicker results let them simmer in hot boiling water for 10 minutes.

Optional ingredients include miso or salt to enhance the flavor.

Ingredient swaps

If you don’t have all ingredients at hand, here are some variations you can try:

  • Try substituting dates with soft, dried apricots. They are not as neutral in taste but still wonderful.
  • Instead of lemon you can use a slice of a small organic orange.
  • I love to enhance flavor with miso, but a pinch of salt works too.

Step by step photos

This is such an easy recipe, but it comes with a little caveat. The paste keeps fresh in your fridge for maximal 2 weeks, sometimes even less. But wait… I will show you an easy trick how you can easily freeze this all-natural sweetener and keep it at hand for several months.

Step 1: Place dates, lemon slice, lemon juice, miso (or salt) in a blender or food processor together with 10 fl. oz./300 ml of water.

Step 2: Blend until smooth. 

Step 3: Spoon it in a clean jar with a lid and keep it in your fridge for up to 2 weeks. Or…

Put it in an ice cube tray and freeze it for an hour. Then “knock” the cubes from the tray and transfer them to freezer bags.

I defrost a cube for whatever is cooking or baking. You can keep those wholesome cubes for up to 6 months in your freezer.

Watch how to make it

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Date Paste Recipe – The ultimate all natural sweetener

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the ultimate all natural sweetener

  • Author: Gabi Rupp
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 500 grams (11 oz.) date paste 1x
  • Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

Scale

200 grams (7 oz.) pitted, soft dates
1 thick slice of organic lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon miso (or some salt)
300 ml (10 fl. oz) of water

Instructions

  1. Place dates, lemon slice, lemon juice, miso (or salt) in a food processor together with 10 fl. oz./300 ml of water.
  2. Puree to a smooth cream.
  3. Spoon it in a clean jar with a lid and keep it in your fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Notes

Tipp: Put it in an ice cube tray and freeze it for an hour. Then “knock” cubes from the tray and transfer them to freezer bags. You can keep those date paste cubes for up to 3 months in your freezer.

Did you make this recipe?

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How do you use it?

This 100% all natural paste is wonderful to sweeten baked goods like cakes, cookies, homemade granola, but also desserts, energy balls, yoghurts and drinks. I love it to refine Asian sauces or homemade chutneys. Many hearty meals improve with a bit of sweetness. I add it even to my salad sauce.

Also, you can adjust the consistency to your liking, so make it more of a syrup if you like it thinner by just using more water. You can add spices like cinnamon, vanilla, tonka bean or whatever you like.

Keep this recipe handy

One of my goals for this year is to check my published recipes and update them with my new gained knowledge from my plant-based cooking classes. In this context I will try to replace maple syrup, coconut sugar etc. whenever possible with date paste. So if you love to experiment with my recipes especially for sweet tooth, I recommend to have always some date paste at hand.

Special tip: I highly recommend to note this recipe and other of your favorite recipes in a blank recipe book.

What do you think?

Have you already tried this simple recipe? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.

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10 thoughts on “Date Paste Recipe – The ultimate all natural sweetener”

    • Good point, thank you! I recommend a 1:1 ratio when substituting date paste for granulated sugar, like table or coconut sugar.
      However use double the amount of date paste when subbing it for maple syrup.

      Reply

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