Cranberry Honey Baked Brie is the ultimate holiday appetizer! Gooey melty brie topped with fresh cranberry and blackberry, dried apricots, almonds, and honey with hints of fresh rosemary. Your guests will love it and so will the cook, it’s prepped in 10 minutes and bakes all together in one dish!
How to Make Cranberry Honey Baked Brie
Cranberry Honey Baked Brie is truly a stunning appetizer. Loaded with fresh cranberries and sprigs of rosemary, it is perfect for the holiday season. It looks amazing, but it is so easy to make! The entire dish bakes together in just 20 minutes. The oven simultaneously melts the brie, bakes the cranberry and blackberry until juicy, and toasts the baguette. It comes out of the oven ready to serve!
A round pie or quiche pan works well, something oven-safe that can hold the cheese and it’s dipping bread. Place the brie in the center and surround it with baguette slices. Toss everything else in a bowl and pile it on top. Drizzle the entire dish with olive oil, it helps the bread toast up nicely. That’s it! Only 10 minutes to prep, and ready to serve in just 30 minutes!
The fresh rosemary is so important, so definitely go for fresh over dried. Rosemary, in close competition with basil, might just be my favorite herb, especially in the winter. It has that signature savory flavor, and is the perfect balance for the juiciness of the baked berries and the sweet touch of honey.
Tips and Substitutions
This holiday appetizer is just 8 easy ingredients, but does allow for some substitution. I used a 7 ounce round of brie and it worked perfectly. However, if you want to go a bit larger you can. There is an abundance of topping in this recipe, so a little bigger cheese and you don’t need to change the topping amount. If you are going with a much larger wheel of brie, you may need to increase the topping. Do Not, however, use a wedge of brie, it needs the edible coating to hold it together while it bakes. For a wedge of brie, instead try this appetizer.
Definitely use fresh cranberries, they are so juicy and delicious when baked. I like to buy extra bags at Thanksgiving and freeze them for muffins or baked oatmeal cups. Frozen or fresh work great in this recipe, no need to thaw. I used blackberries, but blueberries or raspberries would be fine too. The berries should just total about 1 cup. The nuts are also interchangeable. I used chopped almonds and walnuts, but cashews, pecans, pistachios, or even a nut mix would be fine. The dried apricots give nice color and a chewy bite, but golden raisins, dates, or any dried fruit could be used.
I do not recommend subbing the fresh rosemary, because it is truly the best part! But, fresh thyme or sage would work. If you don’t want to use bread, you could bake the dish without it, and then surround it with crackers or something else to dip. I’m pairing my baked brie with my New Year’s Eve Sweet and Sticky Party Meatballs this year! Add some red and green cheer to your next holiday party, this might just be your new favorite appetizer!
More Easy Appetizers
- Honey Nut Brie
- Goat Cheese Appetizer with Raisins and Pine Nuts
- Roasted Carrot Hummus
- White Bean Bruschetta
Cranberry Honey Baked Brie
Ingredients
- 7 oz brie round (not a wedge)
- 1 baguette won't use all of it
- ⅔ c fresh cranberries (can be frozen)
- ⅓ c blackberries (could sub raspberry or blueberry)
- 6 dried apricots sliced
- ½ c nuts roughly chopped (I used almonds and walnuts but cashews, pecan or pistachios would work too)
- 2 T honey
- 1 t fresh rosemary minced
- ¼ t kosher salt
- 3 grinds fresh black pepper
- 1 T olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° convection bake.
- Place brie round in the center of a 9 inch round oven safe dish. Surround the brie with slices of baguette. A quiche or a pie dish works great.
- In a bowl, combine all other ingredients except the olive oil, mix well.
- Pile the topping on the brie. Drizzle 1 T olive oil over the whole dish, mostly on the bread.
- Baked 20 minutes.
- Garnish with fresh rosemary sprigs and serve with a cheese knife. Wrap a kitchen towel around the base of the dish, it will be hot!
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