• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Laura Fuentes
  • Healthy Eating
  • Cookbooks
  • Recipes
  • About
  • #MOMLIFE
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Cookbooks
  • Eat Healthy
  • Fasting
  • Meet Laura
  • Contact
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Cookbooks
  • Eat Healthy
  • Fasting
  • Meet Laura
  • Contact
×

Raisin Paste: an Awesome Substitute for Dates

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

Looking for an easy and natural substitute for dates for many of the recipes you see online? Look no further than this simple recipe for raisin paste!

 small white bowl of raisin paste on a wooden counter with golden and purple raisins off to the side

Cheaper Substitute for Dates

Lately, I’ve noticed that a lot of real food recipes call for dates to sweeten them. From smoothies to granola bars, they seem to be in everything.

Dates, while easy to find at most grocery stores, are not cheap. Pitted dates are usually a dollar or so more expensive and in some recipes, it can bring up the cost of the recipe by a lot! They can cost as much as $9 per pound!

Enter my friend, the raisin. A couple of years ago, I began to use raisins instead of dates in my smoothies, grain-free Morning Glory Muffins, overnight oats, and preserves. They are sweet, delicious, and a lot cheaper than dates.

White bowl of raisins on a wooden counter

It is true that dates have many health benefits but so do grapes! They are both quite similar in nutritional benefits and in texture.

When I look at how dates are being used in many recipes they are used as a filler (like in homemade bars) and as a sweetener. Regardless of how you use them, I’ll show you my two methods of using raisins as a substitute for dates.

Making healthy swaps is just one simple way that you can eat healthier, cleaner food as a family. And it doesn’t have to be expensive! See how your family can eat clean on a budget here.

Tips to help Substitute Raisins for Dates

If you are going to substitute raw dates for raisins in baking recipes, like in muffins, brownies, and Lara bars, you’ll want to soak the raisins for about 2-3 minutes in hot water. Soaking the raisins for about 3 minutes will reconstitute some of the moisture and give them a similar texture to dates. Then, all you have to do is drain and pat dry with a a paper towel.

raisins soaking in water to make them plumper

For smoothies and everything else I make raisin paste and keep a small jar in the fridge at all times. To substitute for 1 large date you will need about 1-2 teaspoons of raisin paste.

raisin paste in the food processor

It might not be the prettiest of all things, but raisin paste is an inexpensive an easy substitute for things like green smoothies. I drink a green smoothie daily, so one teaspoon of raisin paste is all I need to make the “greenness” tolerable.

Print

Raisin Paste – Date Paste Substitute

Print Recipe
Pin Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 9 reviews

Need a substitute for dates in your smoothies, baking, granola bars, and more? Look no further. Here is how I use raisins to substitute dates.

  • Author: Laura Fuentes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 1 ½ cups paste
  • Category: Dips/Spreads

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups dried raisins
  • water

Instructions

  1. Place raisins in a glass bowl. Pour boiling water over them, just enough to cover raisins. Wait 10 minutes or so to reconstruct the raisins into plump fruit. Reserve ¼ cup raisin water and drain. Transfer into a food processor.
  2. Turn food processor on and let it go until you have a thick paste. Begin adding water, one tablespoon at a time, until you have a smooth peanut butter like consistency.
  3. Store in the refrigerator up to 3 weeks. You can also freeze raisin paste into cubes and be kept in the freezer for months.
  4. Use 2 teaspoons of raisin paste for every date in most recipes.

Equipment

Best Grain-Free Meals on the Planet

Buy Now →

Food Processor

Buy Now →

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 tablespoon
  • Calories: 31
  • Sugar: 6.1g
  • Sodium: 1.2mg
  • Fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 8.2g
  • Fiber: 0.4g
  • Protein: 0.3g
  • Cholesterol: 0mg

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @MOMables on Instagram and hashtag it #momables

More Sweet Things

  • large square gingerbread cake topped with powdered sugar and craberries
    Classic Gingerbread Cake Recipe
  • Gluten-Free Apple Crisp
  • Oatmeal Breakfast Brownies
  • small glass jar of roasted strawberries
    Roasted Strawberries

Reader Interactions

Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

  1. Thena

    October 05, 2022 at 10:01 am

    I much prefer raisins to dates, and this was so good!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  2. Luane

    September 24, 2022 at 4:03 am

    This was great. I served it on toast

    ★★★★★

    Reply
« Older Comments

Primary Sidebar

Hi! I'm Laura.
I inspire moms to live a healthy lifestyle while juggling their family and work with fresh recipes and practical advice.

More about me →

Let's Be Social!

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Instagram YouTube
Download The Busy Mom's Guide to a Healthier Life

Fresh Favorites

  • Best-Ever Bacon Deviled Eggs
  • stack of chocolate chip pancakes with bananas on a plate cut
    Fluffy Chocolate Chip Pancakes
  • low carb lunches in glass lunch containers
    20+ Low Carb Lunch Ideas
  • large baking dish of pesto chicken thighs
    Baked Pesto Chicken Thighs

Trending Now

  • two pieces of fried catfish with lemon slices
    New Orleans Fried Catfish Recipe
  • 35 Healthy Dessert Recipes
  • a collage with three smoothies and three blenders
    Best Cheap Blenders for Smoothies
  • list of real foods for intermittent fasting
    Intermittent Fasting Food List

Footer

^ back to top

Browse

  • Recipe Index
  • Weekly Meal Plan
  • Clean Eating Program

Download the Busy Mom's Guide to a Healthy Life

laura holding meal plan guide in front of prepped food

Useful Links

  • Contact
  • Permissions
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

COPYRIGHT © 2023 LAURA FUENTES · DESIGN BY FUENTES MEDIA