How to make Baked Brie

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Baked Brie is one of our favourite appetizers. I make a baked Brie for New Year’s, and we always look forward to it! Baked Brie is commonly found on charcuterie boards, cheese boards, as well as served just on it’s own as an appetizer. It is a festive starter that is often enjoyed around the holidays.

I was first introduced to baked Brie when I was young. My friend’s family held a big caroling party every year before Christmas. Brie was always one of the finger foods that made an appearance. I vividly remember Brie, a big crockpot full of mulled wine, and a platter or chocolate truffles. Friends and family raved about it every year! I have been hooked ever since!

Since I make this recipe at New Year’s, I almost always top the cheese with the leftover cranberry sauce from Christmas. The sweet-tart cranberries are a perfect pairing for this buttery creamy cheese.

My other favourite topping for baked Brie is apples in homemade salted caramel sauce. So delicious!

You will have to be the judge, as to which one is the best, or you can make both!

Baked Brie or Camembert

Brie and Camembert both work for this recipe. Both are a soft cheese and both are bloomy rind cheese. These cheeses are ripened by a white, almost puffy looking mould on the outside.

The mould is safe to eat and adds to the flavour of the cheese.

Camembert has a more pungent aroma than Brie. It also has a stronger, full-bodied flavour. Camembert is softer than brie and has an almost gooey quality, on the inside.

Brie is a younger aged cheese. It has very little aroma, compared to Camembert. It has a mellow flavour. Brie is soft but still holds up, on the inside, when sliced.

Both are delicious cheeses, in my opinion, and I would be happy with either to make this recipe. It is really a matter of personal preference.

Can I make Baked Brie ahead of time?

The short answer is yes.

All of the toppings I make ahead of time. You can make them a few days in advance and store them in the fridge until you are ready to top your cheese. Especially if you are using leftover cranberry sauce.

I usually freeze my leftover Christmas cranberry sauce, then remove it the day I want to top my Brie That way it can come back up to room temperature.

Baked Brie does not take long to heat in the oven. Only about 12-15 minutes. If you want to bake the Brie in advance, you will need to pop it back into the oven, for about 5 minutes, to heat back up again before topping and serving.

How long can I leave baked Brie out?

Soft cheeses, like Brie, can be left out safely for 2 hours. After that, they should be refrigerated, to ensure proper food safety.

Can a Baked Brie be frozen?

The short answer is yes. However, the texture of the cheese, after freezing, will be altered.

How to bake a wheel of Brie

There are a few different ways to bake Brie. I am going to go with the simplest, quick and easy way, and the way that I always use. It uses no special equipment. I make it in the oven without a Brie baker or pot.

Cut a piece of parchment paper, slightly bigger than your wheel of Brie. Place the cheese on a baking sheet on top of the parchment paper. Bake the Brie the oven for 12-15 minutes or until you can see the sides starting to bulge.

Remove the cheese to your cheese platter, or serving dish, and place your topping. I have my favourite toppings in this recipe but Brie pairs well with so many different things. Some examples are fig jam, red pepper jelly, nuts and honey, blueberry preserves, apricot jam, pesto, the list goes on and on!

What to serve with a baked Brie

Now that you know how to make it, you need some ideas of what to serve it with!

Some of my favourites are assorted crackers, pretzels, pita bites, apple and pear slices, grapes, crostini, French bread, cured meats, cucumber slices, and nuts.

Do you remove the rind?

The short answer is no. When you bake a wheel of brie the inside of the cheese becomes quite liquid. The outside rind is what holds all that cheesy goodness inside. That being said, some people like to remove the top centre of the wheel of cheese before baking. This is not necessary and is just a personal preference, whether or not you want to eat the rind.

How to eat a baked Brie

After the Brie is out of the oven, place it on your cheese board, or serving plate, and top it with your topping of choice. Then surround the cheese with all of the things you will be serving it with, like crackers, apples, pita etc. Using a knife, cut a small wedge of cheese from the middle to the outside, like you would a slice of pizza. Smear the runny wedge on your cracker (or whatever you are pairing it with) and enjoy!

Baked Brie Recipes

These are my two favourite recipes for baked Brie!

Ingredients for Baked Brie and Cranberry

1 small or large wheel Brie cheese

½ – 1 cup leftover cranberry sauce (You can also used store-bought canned cranberry sauce or make a fresh batch of Homemade Ruby Red Cranberry Sauce.)

Accompaniments of choice (See list above what to serve with baked Brie)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
2. Cut a piece of parchment paper a little bigger than your wheel of cheese.
3. Remove the Brie from it’s package and place the cheese on a baking sheet, on top of the parchment paper.
4. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until the cheese feels soft and squishy when you press down on it gently, and the edges are bulging slightly.
5. Remove from the oven and place on a cheese tray, charcuterie board, or serving tray.
6. Top with leftover, warm or room temperature, cranberry sauce.
7. Serve with accompaniments of choice.

Ingredients for Caramel Apple Baked Brie

1 small or large wheel of Brie

1-2 apples (depending on size)

¼ cup butter

½ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon coarse salt

½ cup 35% cream

Method

1. De-seed and chop 1-2 apples.
2. Place the apples in a small covered sauce pot, on medium low heat.
3. Cook 10 minutes, or until tender. Set aside.
4. In a sauce pot over medium heat, melt the butter.
5. Whisk in the sugar and stir to combine.
6. Bring the mixture to a low boil, whisking occasionally.
7. Once the mixture starts to bubble, continue to cook 3 minutes, whisking occasionally.
8. Remove from heat and add in the salt and vanilla. Stir to incorporate.
9. Add in the heavy cream and whisk to combine.
10. Set aside to cool.
11. Cut a piece of parchment paper a little bigger than your wheel of Brie.
12. Remove the Brie from it’s package and place the cheese on a baking sheet, on top of the parchment paper.
13. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until the cheese feels soft and squishy when you press down on it gently, and the edges are bulging slightly.
14. Remove from the oven and place on a cheese tray, charcuterie board, or serving tray.
15. Top with the warm apple chunks, then pour over top some, or all, of the caramel sauce. (Depending on the size of your wheel of cheese)
16. Serve with accompaniments of choice.

Looking to use up some holiday leftovers try one of these! Christmas Cranberry Cheesecake Squares, Spooky pumpkin streusel muffins, From Scratch Pierogies