Get your hands on fresh and low-cost homemade food recipes to try everyday!
Posted December 16, 2022 by Areena
If you are searching for a substitute for date paste, this is the right place. Today, we will discuss and help you find the best alternatives for date paste.
Date paste works great in recipes that call for sweetness. If you can not find it, there are some good replacements like raisin paste, prune paste, jaggery, fig paste, honey, date syrup, maple syrup, dried cranberries, or jujube.
So, when you are making a recipe that calls for date paste, and it is unavailable at the moment, you might wonder, “what can I substitute for date paste?”
In this article, we will discuss nine substitutes for date paste to help you finish your cooking and find a suitable replacement for your recipe which will align with your liking.
Let’s get started!
If the date paste is unavailable, there is no need to worry because you can still make a delicious and elegant dish with the natural sweetness that dates bring in.
Scroll down and find out what these surprising substitutions are!
Raisin paste is a great substitute for date paste. You might have heard of it before. It is very common and contains a natural taste of sugar which will fulfill your sweet dish.
If you have never tried raisin paste before, then no worries, let me guide you!
Just soak the raisins in hot water for a longer period and blend them until the mixture turns into a creamy texture. The paste will also look similar to peanut butter after 10 minutes.
Raisins contain a significant amount of natural sugar. Respectively, raisin paste is a great way to add sweetness to delightful dishes without calories.
You can use it in carrot pudding, scones, muffins, cinnamon, and many more to replace date paste. You can also try a spoonful of this paste on a vanilla scoop or any of your favorite bread.
Moreover, raisins are cheaper than dates, making them an easy substitute for strapped people.
Prunes can be another good substitute for date paste. It has a plum-like flavor, creating an excellent sweet taste in your dish.
Prunes have a chewy and steamy texture; the only difference between them is that they are derived from plums, whereas dates are their own fruit.
If you compare prune paste with date paste, then you can easily use it as a replacement. The flavor and texture will surprise you!
An interesting fact about prune paste is that it contains sorbitol, which makes it sweeter than other pastes while containing less sugar.
Tip: Mix it with other paste (half each) and make an advanced sweet-flavored paste to create a luscious dessert.
Jaggery is a sweetener in baking goods like blueberry muffins, cakes, cinnamon, and many more. It is also a good replacement for date paste in terms of sweetness.
It comes in powdered, liquid, and solid forms. Jaggery is a refined type of sugar that benefits naturally from vitamins and minerals extracted from sugarcane which is beneficial for your health.
So, it is safe to say that jaggery is a healthy substitute because it is becoming popular compared to white sugar. Replacing it with date paste will be your great decision!
Dried figs, cooked with hot water until softened, resulting in a dense liquid paste. It is mostly used in pastries, pancakes, sweets, and hot drinks.
Figs have an enormous quantity of sweetness which makes them a great substitute for date paste.
It is also easier to store the fig paste than figs as it takes a lot of space and the paste mixture is easier to keep.
You can easily add the chunky fig paste to sweet recipes like waffles and even use it as a topping on ice creams. It will provide a sweet and delightful flavor to your dish.
Honey is a common yet healthy alternative to dates in baking or other sweet stuff. It helps in reducing sugar intake and calories.
Sometimes you must realize that honey comes in different varieties, so make sure you use the one that suits you according to your liking.
Light and mild honey are ideal if you want a basic sweetness in your dish and a good supporting flavor. While on the other hand, if you wish the honey flavor to mainly lead your plate, then all you need is dark and rich flavored honey.
The best use of honey occurs in cakes, cookies, biscuits, and muffins because it creates a soft and moist texture that is very pleasing.
Date syrup is undoubtedly the closest date paste substitute, and its taste is similar to honey. You can add date syrup to any recipe that calls for dates or date paste. The sweet and sugary flavor it delivers is mouthwatering.
You can also consider it a substitute for dates in sticky toffee pudding. It will work for sure!
Maple syrup is also a good replacement for date paste, providing a sweet and delightful flavor to your dish.
You can add maple syrup to both desserts and salty dishes. It is very useful for recipes that call for sugar or need sweeteners.
Dried cranberries are not as sugary as other alternatives are, so they might not be a great substitute. But if you are looking for something less sweet than date paste, dried cranberries are your way to go!
When using dried cranberries in deserts, you should increase the amount of sugar required overall.
The best use of dried cranberries is in oatmeal, salads, muffins, or other baking goods.
Lastly, jujube is a fruit also known as Chinese or red date. It is similar in shape and size to dates but different in color.
The flavor and texture are quite the same as dates, so if you use these in sweet recipes that call for date paste, jujube is the best choice.
We mentioned this best substitute in the end because it is not a dried fruit and also not easily found, like raisins, dates, figs, apricots, or prunes. However, if you want the same taste as date paste, jujube should be your first thought.
Many options are available when you think of replacing date paste in the desserts. All the substitutes are easily available when you need one. Raisins, figs, honey, and prunes all make a great alternative to fulfill your recipe.