Date Paste

By the Gracious Vegan

Dates are the best whole-food sweeteners for using in a wide range of recipes (as opposed to, say, bananas, which are a great sweetener for some dishes but not as versatile as dates). You can buy date sugar (very tiny dry chunks of dates), but I prefer date paste, which is just dates and water blended into an ultra-smooth paste. If a recipe calls for sugar, honey, or agave, I generally use double or just less than double the amount of date paste. Date paste doesn’t always work as a substitute—you need to test the recipe before, say, using it for a dinner party recipe.

Makes: Amount of date paste made is about the same as the measure of dates you start with

Start with a 3:1.25 dates-to-water ratio (e.g., 3 cups pitted dates to 1.25 cups water). Make sure all pits are removed. Cutting each in half beforehand will help. Do not use commercial chopped dates—the oat flour is not good for date paste.

Note that making a batch smaller than 3 cups of dates may not be successful. The food processor needs a critical mass to make this work.

Use a food processor to make the date paste. (I don’t have great luck with a blender, even a high-speed one, but maybe it will work for you.) You may have to stop and scrape down the sides one or more times. Once it’s smooth, you’re done. It can be frozen and will keep for months in the freezer. 

Timing: Under 10 minutes

Gluten-free