Cooking and Baking with Prunes: Delicious Ways to Use More Than a Snack

Most of us think of prunes as something to nibble straight from the bag, and they are lovely that way. But this soft, sweet, dark fruit is a genuinely brilliant cooking ingredient, at home in both sweet and savoury dishes. If your prunes only ever get eaten by the handful, you are missing out. Here is how to make the most of them in the kitchen.

Why prunes are so useful in cooking

Prunes have a deep, caramel-like sweetness and a naturally soft, sticky texture, which makes them wonderfully versatile. They add moisture and richness to bakes, a mellow sweetness to sauces, and a fruity depth to savoury dishes that stand up to strong flavours. Because they are already soft and intensely flavoured, a little goes a long way, and they blend into a smooth purée with almost no effort.

Do you need to soak prunes?

It depends on the prunes and the recipe. Many prunes today are sold ready to eat and soft enough to use straight away, so no soaking is needed for snacking or quick bakes. Our French Prunes Large No Soak are a good example, plump and ready to go. That said, a short soak in warm water, tea or fruit juice plumps prunes up beautifully and is worth doing when you want them extra soft, or when you plan to blend them into a smooth purée.

Making prune purée

Prune purée is the secret weapon worth knowing about. Simply blend soaked prunes with a little water until smooth, and you have a thick, sweet paste that keeps in the fridge for several days. It is endlessly useful. Bakers often use prune purée to replace some of the fat or sugar in recipes such as brownies, cakes and flapjacks, because it adds moisture, natural sweetness and a lovely fudgy texture. It is a particularly popular trick in lower-fat and plant-based baking.

Baking with prunes

Prunes shine in the oven. Chop them into flapjacks, energy balls, tea loaves and fruit cakes, where their stickiness helps bind everything together. They pair especially well with warm spices like cinnamon and ginger, with citrus, and with chocolate, where their dark sweetness works brilliantly. Sticky toffee pudding, that great British classic, is traditionally made with dates, but prunes make a wonderful alternative with an even deeper flavour. Our Organic Pitted Prunes are ideal for baking, since the stones are already removed.

Prunes in savoury cooking

This is where prunes really surprise people. Their sweetness is a natural partner for rich, savoury dishes, which is why they appear in so many traditional recipes from around the world. Add them to slow-cooked stews, tagines and casseroles, where they melt into the sauce and balance savoury and spiced flavours. They are classic with lamb, pork and chicken, and a few stirred into a Moroccan-style tagine with chickpeas and spices add a gorgeous depth. Chopped prunes also lift a grain salad or a nutty pilaf.

Quick everyday ideas

You do not need a recipe to enjoy prunes more often. Chop them over your morning porridge or muesli, stir them into yoghurt, or blend them into a smoothie for natural sweetness and a fibre boost. Simmer them gently with a little water and a strip of orange peel to make a simple compote for breakfast or pudding. Or tuck a couple alongside cheese, where their sweetness is a lovely contrast to something sharp and salty.

A note on balance

Prunes are a nutritious, fibre-rich fruit, but as a dried fruit they are naturally high in sugar, so they are best enjoyed as part of a balanced diet rather than in large amounts. Used to sweeten and enrich home cooking, though, they are a brilliant way to cut back on refined sugar while adding flavour and goodness. If you are curious about how they affect your body, our guide to the health benefits of prunes explains the science.

More than a snack

Prunes are far more than a between-meals snack. Blended into a purée, baked into something sweet, or simmered into a rich savoury stew, they bring natural sweetness, moisture and depth to all sorts of dishes. Keep a bag in the cupboard, and you will find yourself reaching for them far more often than you expected.