These Cranberry Baked Brie Bites are a quick and easy bite-size appetizer to serve at your next holiday get together. Each brie and phyllo dough cup is full of melted Brie cheese, cranberry sauce, toasted pecans, and topped with a tiny sprig of fresh rosemary.
And if you love the combo of cranberries and brie cheese, you’ll love this Baked Brie with Cranberries. Or, you can also try it in these Brie Bites with Puff Pastry.
Baked Brie Bites With Cranberry
Cranberry brie bites are one of those perfect appetizers that are equally delicious, stunning, and super low-maintenance. They are made by pressing frozen phyllo dough squares into mini muffin tins, then stuffing with Brie cheese, cranberry sauce, and chopped pecans before baking until golden brown and melted. Top with a tiny sprig of fresh rosemary and you’ve got a fancy appetizer that takes less than 30 minutes to prepare.
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You can feel free to mix and match different preserves, bacon jam, fig jam, nuts, and even pastry shells. Sometimes I like to serve a couple of different flavors for guests to choose from. No matter what, expect them to disappear very quickly.
Ingredients You Will Need
- Phyllo Dough – you should be able to find frozen phyllo dough at your local grocery store. If not, you can substitute 2 cans of Crescent Roll Dough or 2 sheets of frozen puff pastry.
- Brie Cheese – you’ll need an 8 ounce wheel of your favorite Brie cheese to make this recipe. If baked Brie somehow isn’t your thing, Chevre goat cheese is a good substitute.
- Cranberry Sauce – you can use store bought cranberry sauce, Homemade Cranberry Sauce, or substitute any other kind of preserves. Bacon jam, fig jam, orange marmalade, raspberry jam, apricot jam, or even pepper jelly would all taste amazing. In fact, you could make a few different flavors.
- Rosemary – fresh rosemary makes a pretty garnish that tastes amazing with the brie, cranberry, and pecans. Make sure to use just the leaves removed from the thick stem.
- Pecans – chopped pecans taste amazing, as would toasted walnuts or pistachios.
How to Make Cranberry Baked Brie Bites
- Cut the phyllo dough into squares. On a lightly floured surface, un-fold the semi-thawed phyllo dough sheets. Gently roll out the phyllo dough to soften the creases so you can cut uniform pieces. Use a pizza cutter to cut each sheet into 9 squares.
- Assemble the Brie phyllo dough bites. To assemble the brie bites, place each phyllo square into a lightly sprayed mini muffin pan. Add a piece of Brie and about 1 tablespoon of cranberry sauce. Top with a sprinkle of chopped pecans. Place the muffin pan onto a baking sheet.
- Bake. Bake in the preheated oven for about 10-15 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.
- Garnish and serve. Once baked, take the pan out of the oven and remove the Brie Bites from the muffin tins while still warm. Garnish each bite with small pieces of rosemary if desired, then serve immediately. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
The rind from Brie cheese is completely edible and does not need to be removed before using or eating. It even has a nice earthy flavor. Of course, if you don’t like the taste you can remove it but you may find that you are throwing away quite a bit of cheese. Especially once it has baked, you really shouldn’t even notice it.
Yes! This is a perfect make-ahead appetizer because you can bake them ahead of time, freeze them, or even prep them and store them for up to 2 days before baking. So many options! If you plan to freeze, make sure they are completely cooled before transferring to an airtight container or freezer safe bags where they can be stored for up to 2 months.
Instead of phyllo dough, you can also make Brie Bites using 2 cans of Crescent Roll dough. Just roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface and cut into 18 even pastry squares. Another option is to use frozen puff pastry, which you’ll want to partially thaw before rolling out and cutting in the same way. If you use anything other than phyllo time, keep in mind that the bake time may need to be adjusted so keep an eye on them.
Recipe Variations
- Fig and Almond: Top each brie bite with a dollop of fig preserves and a sprinkle of chopped almonds.
- Prosciutto and Arugula: Wrap each brie bite with a thin slice of prosciutto and top with a few arugula leaves.
- Raspberry: swap out the cranberry for raspberry preserves.
- Honey and Walnut: Drizzle each brie bite with honey and top with a few chopped walnuts.
- Bacon and Jalapeno: Sprinkle each brie bite with crumbled bacon (or bacon jam) and candied jalapenos.
- Apple and Cinnamon: Top each brie bite with a thin slice of apple and a sprinkle of cinnamon for a sweet and cozy fall flavor.
- Tomato and Basil: Top each brie bite with a slice of fresh tomato and a few chopped basil leaves.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
- Refrigerator: store baked Brie Cheese Bites in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freezer: to freeze, place phyllo Brie Bites on a baking sheet and freeze for about 30 minutes before storing frozen in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
- To reheat: place back into muffin tins and reheat in a preheated 350 degree oven until warm.
- Make-ahead: you can prepare this recipe up to 2 days in advance, then cover and store in the fridge. When you are ready to bake, pull the pan from the fridge while you preheat the oven and bake as directed.
Baked Brie Bites Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 sheets phyllo dough, slightly thawed
- 8 ounces Brie cheese, cut into 1" bite-sized pieces
- 1 cup cranberry sauce
- 5 sprigs rosemary
- 1/4 cup pecans, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Spray a mini muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- On a lightly floured surface, unfold the semi-thawed phyllo dough sheets. Gently roll out the phyllo dough to soften the creases so you can cut uniform pieces. Use a pizza cutter to cut each sheet into 9 squares.
- To assemble the brie bites, place each phyllo square in the greased mini muffin tins. Add a piece of Brie and about 1 tablespoon of cranberry sauce. Top with a sprinkle of chopped pecans, then place the entire muffin pan onto a baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 10-15 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.
- Once baked, take the pan out of the oven and remove the Brie Bites from the muffin tins while still warm. Garnish each piece with a small sprig of rosemary if desired, then serve immediately. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Storing leftovers: store baked Brie bites in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freezing: freeze flat on a sheet tray for about 30 minutes before storing frozen in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
- To reheat: place back into muffin tins and reheat in a preheated 350 degree oven until warm.
- Make-ahead: you can prepare this recipe up to 2 days in advance, then cover and store in the fridge. When you are ready to bake, pull the pan from the fridge while you preheat the oven and bake as directed.
- Substitutions: You can also use 2 Crescent Roll cans or 2 sheets of puff pastry in place of the phyllo dough.
Nutrition
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More Easy Appetizer Recipes to Try
- Cranberry Salsa
- Baked Brie
- Jalapeno Poppers with Bacon
- Easy Chicken Alfredo Dip
- Candied Kielbasa
- Parmesan Roasted Tomatoes
- Spicy Italian Meatballs
- Brazilian Cheese Bread
- Garlic Knots
- Chicken Alfredo Dip
- Fall Party Mix
- Baked Buffalo Chicken Bites
- Zucchini Fries
- Pesto Pinwheels
- Bacon Wrapped Smokies
- More Holiday Recipes
- More Best Appetizers
These Cranberry Baked Brie Bites are the perfect appetizer to serve for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any other holiday get together. They’re made with phyllo dough stuffed with Brie cheese, cranberry sauce, and toasted pecans.
Categories:
Appetizers, Christmas, Fall Recipes, Holiday Favorites, Thanksgiving, Vegetarian, Winter Recipes,
I used Philo pastry, but you should stipulate Phyllo “puff pastry”. It’s very different from Philo plain pastry, which makes spanakopitas so my squares didn’t look great, but I just put a little bit of melted butter on them and they seem to be a bit better- they certainly weren’t puffy. Next time I’ll use the Pillsberry dough instead.
Thx