Cranberry Sauce Baked Brie
Updated Oct 19, 2021
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Baked brie with cranberry sauce is absolutely delicious and an easy appetizer dip for your next holiday party! It’s the perfect contrast of creamy, earthy melted cheese and sweet-tart cranberries. This warm, savory, gooey baked brie recipe is the best way to use up those Thanksgiving and Christmas leftovers.
Gooey Baked Brie Cheese With Cranberry Sauce
When the dust settles after a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, leftovers become my life in the days afterward. I get creative with leftover turkey and leftover mashed potatoes. And it was our leftover slow cooker cranberry sauce that led me to make this warm, savory, gooey baked brie cheese topped with spiced, sweet-tart cranberries.
This baked brie with cranberry sauce was such a hit that now I make it as a festive appetizer every year. Even if I need to make the cranberry sauce specifically to top a brie wheel! It’s that good.
Why Make This Cranberry Baked Brie Recipe?
- Baked brie is as easy as unwrapping a wheel of brie cheese and popping it in the oven until the cheese is gooey and melted. The rind, which you leave intact, holds everything in place.
- Baked brie is a great way to use up holiday dinner leftovers. Just load up a gooey round of baked cheese with spoonfuls of cranberry sauce and serve.
- Tart, spiced cranberries make a delicious sweet-savory pairing with salty brie cheese (or Camembert).
- Add your favorite toppings. In this case, it’s leftover cranberry sauce. But you can customize your baked brie with sweet and savory toppings, like jams and preserves, crushed nuts, and honey.
What You’ll Need
You only need 3 ingredients to make this festive cranberry baked brie appetizer. See the recipe card for the exact amounts.
- Brie Cheese – Brie is a soft French cheese made from cow’s milk. A large wheel of brie with the rind intact works best when baking. Brie is milder and creamier, while you can also use a round of Camembert, another French cheese, if you prefer a stronger flavor.
- Cranberry Sauce – As mentioned, this recipe is a great way to use up leftover cranberry sauce. I especially love my homemade cranberry sauce with all its citrusy spiced flavors, but any sauce will do.
- Crackers – For serving. My favorite dippers for baked brie are lightly salted water crackers, crostini, or a sliced baguette.
Should I Remove the Rind Before Baking Brie?
The rind is what gives brie cheese its distinctive funky flavor. You want to leave the rind intact when baking brie, as it keeps the wheel of brie together and all the ooey-gooey cheesiness inside while it melts.
Tips and Variations
- Bring the wheel of cheese to room temperature. Letting the brie reach room temperature before putting it in the oven lets it bake evenly.
- Reheat if needed. A quick zap in the microwave or another short stint in the oven can revive a baked brie that’s cooled down and started to harden or become rubbery. Just be sure to place it in a dish with sides when reheating, since the rind won’t be as stable the second time around.
- Baked brie with puff pastry. Also called “en croûte.” This is a fun twist if you want to put in a little more effort. Before baking, wrap the whole brie tightly with refrigerated or homemade puff pastry. Brush it lightly with an egg wash, place it on a baking sheet, and bake as directed. The pastry crisps up while the inside gets gooey!
Toppings and Garnishes
Baked brie with cranberry sauce is delicious served as-is, or I’ll add a few easy toppings that complement the creamy, sweet-tangy flavors:
- Pumpkin seeds
- Crushed pecans or walnuts
- A drizzle of honey or maple syrup
- Fresh rosemary, thyme leaves, basil, or mint
What to Serve With Baked Brie
I like to serve my baked brie with cranberry sauce in the center of a round platter, surrounded by homemade or store-bought crackers and baguette slices. Add a few rosemary or thyme sprigs for garnish. Here are more serving ideas for this easy brie appetizer.
- Fresh fruit: Serve with grapes, fresh pineapple, apple and orange slices, and berries. If it’s a Christmas party, go the extra mile with a fruit tree.
- More appetizers: Serve baked brie alongside asparagus phyllo bundles, crab stuffed mushrooms, and loaded baked potato bites.
- Charcuterie: Add this cranberry baked brie to a holiday charcuterie board with a variety of cheeses, like Blue Mould and Havarti, cured meats like chorizo and Parma ham, and spiced nuts.
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Baked Brie With Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 round of Brie
- 1 cup cranberry sauce
- crackers, for serving
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake. Lightly grease an oven-safe dish with baking spray and place the unpeeled Brie on the plate. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the center of the cheese is very soft.
- Finish and serve. Remove the brie cheese from the oven. Top it with cranberry sauce and serve it with crackers.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make Baked Brie with Cranberry Sauce
The beauty of any baked brie appetizer is how simple it is to prepare in a short amount of time. You can leave this recipe until 20 minutes before your guests arrive. Here are the steps.
- Bake the brie. Bake the wheel whole in a lightly greased, oven-safe dish at 350ºF for about 15 minutes, until the cheese is soft in the center and oozing slightly.
- Add your toppings. Once the brie is out of the oven, top with your cranberry sauce of choice and any other garnishes you’d like.
- Serve. Enjoy immediately while warm from the oven, alongside crackers or bread slices for dipping.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Store any leftover baked brie only once it’s cooled completely, in an airtight container in the fridge. It will usually keep for 2-3 days before the texture and flavor start to deteriorate, so it’s best to reheat it within that window!
- Reheat. Warm the brie cheese in the oven or microwave until heated through, and the cheese begins to bubble.
- Freeze. Brie can be kept frozen for up to 2 months, either baked or unbaked. Wrap the brie wheel in a tight layer of cling film and seal it in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag for storage.
