Got 15 minutes? Learn how to make this show-stopping baked brie recipe! Serve this warm, gooey baked brie, topped with fig jam, walnuts, and pistachios at your next event and watch it disappear. It’s one of the easiest appetizers you'll make.
One of my secret weapons during the holidays is to present my guests with beautiful, sophisticated appetizers that look difficult, but in reality take only a few minutes to assemble.
This is especially true for cheese, which is always a crowd-pleaser and easy to dress up for any occasion, like my phyllo-wrapped Greek baked feta, fried halloumi, goat cheese stuffed dates, or today’s baked brie recipe.
The holidays are busy, which means simple-to-prepare appetizers make my life (and soon to be yours) a lot easier!
Table of Contents
What is brie cheese?
Brie cheese hails from Seine-et-Marne, France, and is usually made with cow’s milk but goat’s milk is sometimes used as well. It is a soft, creamy cheese with an edible rind and a mild, somewhat fruity flavor.
Brie is often confused with camembert cheese — they both come from northern France, and look quite similar as well. In fact, you could use a wheel of camembert in this recipe, but note that camembert has a slightly stronger earthier flavor profile than brie cheese.
Should you remove the rind from brie?
Brie rind is edible, and it actually adds nuance and complexity of flavor. In this baked brie recipe, I do not remove the rind because I need the surface to spread my jam and to add my beautiful nuts and toppings.
The rind keeps the wheel of cheese together, and once you take it out of the oven and slice into it, all the gooey deliciousness oozes out like a nice surprise!
But, if you were doing a baked brie wrapped in puff pastry, then removing the top rind will help the crust stick to the melted cheese and stay together for a better presentation.
Baked brie toppings
I love to play with texture and flavor in my baked brie, and I often change things up. For my toppings this time, I used fig jam, shelled pistachios, walnuts, and sliced dry figs.
Pro tip: Mix the nuts and dried fruit with a bit of the jam (or honey) to coat them before baking. This prevents them from drying out in the oven.
Here are some other topping ideas you could try for this cheese dip:
- Use honey or orange jam instead of fig jam.
- Try different nuts like chopped pecans or hazelnuts.
- Change up the dried fruit by using raisins, dates, or apricots. If the dried fruit is big, chop it up into smaller chunks.
How to bake brie
This is literally one of the easiest appetizers you'll make — no exaggeration! Here’s how you do it:
- Place the wheel of brie into a small cast-iron skillet or other oven-safe dish.
- Use a knife or the back of a spoon to coat the brie with honey or jam. Don’t be scared to smear some along the sides as well.
- Mix more jam or honey with your prepared toppings of choice, then pile the toppings onto the brie wheel.
- Bake the cheese in an oven heated to 350°F for about 10 minutes.
Tips for the best baked brie
While I consider this baked brie with jam pretty much foolproof, there are a couple things you can do so it turns out perfect every time:
- Use a wheel of brie, not a wedge. While a wedge of brie will work here, I think a wheel (or round) gives you more of a grand presentation and allows you to load on more toppings. You don't need to buy a brie wheel from an expensive cheese shop, either. Use what you find at your local grocery store; I often buy mine at places like Whole Foods or Costco.
- Don't overcook brie. Overcooking brie can cause it to re-harden quickly, so I watch my brie wheel carefully as it bakes. Once I see the edges collapsing just enough, perhaps with a little melty cheese starting to peek through, I know it’s done.
- Let the baked brie sit for 5 minutes before serving. This allows the cheese to settle and cool just enough so the cheese is still gooey but not scorching hot.
What to serve with baked brie
Baked brie is best served warm right out of the oven. Transfer the cheese wheel to a board and surround it with crackers or a sliced baguette brushed with a little olive oil and toasted. I like to use our Arbequina California olive oil because it has a mild and fruity flavor.
If you want to take things up to the next level, make this baked brie the centerpiece of a larger cheese board and add sliced pears, grapes, and other healthy finger foods. Really a cheeseboard, something a little sweet like baklava or some small cookies, and a crudité platter is plenty of finger food for a small gathering. Add this super easy to make mulled wine to round out the party. There is no need to overcomplicate things.
How to store and reheat leftovers
Brie will harden as it cools. Once it returns to room temperature, transfer the cheese to an airtight container and refrigerate for a day or two.
To reheat brie: Place it in an oven-safe dish and pop it in a 350°F oven until it is gooey again.
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Baked Brie with Fig Jam
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon fig jam, or honey, divided
- ¼ cup to ⅓ cup dried mission figs sliced
- ¼ cup to ⅓ cup shelled pistachios roughly chopped
- ¼ cup to ⅓ cup walnut hearts roughly chopped
- 13- oz round French brie
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Place the fig jam in a microwave-safe dish. Microwave for 30 seconds to soften.
- In a small bowl, combine the sliced dried figs with the nuts. Add half of the fig jam and mix well to coat the nut mixture.
- Place the round of brie in a small cast iron skillet or oven-safe dish. Using a small knife, coat the brie with the remainder of the jam or honey.
- Top the brie with the fig and nut mixture.
- Place the dish or skillet on top of a baking sheet (this will make it easier to handle and will also catch any melted cheese). Bake on the middle rack of your heated oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until the brie softens.
- Remove from the oven and let the brie sit for 3 to 5 minutes or so. Serve warm with your favorite crackers!
Video
Notes
- Pro-Tip: It's best to keep the brie rind (skin) on for this recipe, brie rind is perfectly edible and it holds everything well together. And you do not need an expensive brie wheel from a specialty cheese store. This recipe works just as well as what you'd buy from your local grocery store.
- Change up the toppings to your liking. If fig jam is not available to you, you can use honey, apricot jam, or orange marmalade. I like walnut hearts and pistachios here, but you can also change those up using pecans, almonds, or other nuts you like. Same with the dried figs, other dry fruit like apricots, cranberries or raisins will work.
- Pro-Tip for Safe Handling: Always place the dish holding the brie on top of a sheet pan or baking sheet. This will help you easily remove the baked brie from the warm oven, and it will also catch any falling toppings/nuts or oozing cheese.
- Important: let baked brie sit for 5 minutes or so, do not serve scorching hot brie.
- To serve: you can add this baked brie as the centerpiece of a larger cheese board like this one. to settle before slicing or pocking at it.
Nutrition
*This post has been recently been updated with new information for readers' benefit.
Amazing all my friends now have it. Thank you
Awesome, Kay! Thanks for sharing it.
Such a beautiful appetizer! The ingredients are stunning!
Thank you! So glad you like it
I made this recipe for my daughts naby shower and everyone loved it. I was wondering what exactly are walnut hearts. The picture looks like your walnuts have a red skin! I made it with walnuts and it was fantastic but it wasn't as colorful as your. Thanks
Awesome, Jackie. Walnut hearts are basically just the inside of a walnut (without the shell). Mine were red walnuts, but this works with any walnuts. Glad you enjoyed it!
love your recipes ...being diabetic 2 have to watch it
Thank you, Mary!! So appreciate your comment.
This was a hit! Made two of these for a wedding anniversary gathering and was gone in no time. I wonder where you go the walnuts with red-colored skins which gives the appetizer a pop of color? And did you use roasted/salted pistachios? I did and gave it a nice sweet & salty twist. Very nice recipe. Thank you!! Fernando
Wonderful! So glad everyone enjoyed it! You can get red walnuts online...here is the link--> http://amzn.to/2cIHARX
This looks lovely! I've made several versions of baked brie (current favorite being homemade pear preserves and praline pecans with a grind of fresh pepper), but recently ran across a baked brie recipe with a different technique that changed everything for me: They cut off the top rind (left about 1/4" all around so that a little pool was created. Then they topped the brie with goodies and baked. Makes a HUGE difference!
Hi Donna. Thanks for sharing your great ideas! Yes, baked brie without the top rind is another great option!!!
A quick crowd pleaser for sure!
Well this surely looks too amazing not to try to make. A wonderful wine pairing to this dish would be an Unoaked Chardonnay as this dish seems to already have oak infused ingredients. Can't wait to try it out
Hi! I have not tried your particular wine, but it sounds great! Thanks for stopping by.
Thank you Suzy for this great recipe.Greatings from Split,Croatia.
Hello Deni! Welcome to The Mediterranean Dish. Glad you liked this recipe! Hope you find more to try.
Suzy, this is the best! I hadn't made it before and took it to a cocktail party a couple weeks ago and it was the gone in 10 minutes. This will become my new recipe when I need to take a dish to someone's house!
Karen, I am so so glad you liked this baked brie! It's a go-to for me as well. So special, yet simple to put together. Happy 2016! Can't wait to hear what more you'll be cookin!
i just read through some more comments and found the answer to my questio. honey and dried cranberries are fine to use. can't wait to make this.
The prettiest baked Brie EVER! I am making it (except I already have the toasted almond slivers!) and hope it looks as gorgeous as yours! Bravo, a real scene stealer!
Lauren
question, do you think it would do as well if I cut off the top? I usually do that with all my baked bries. Yours is simply the loveliest to look at
and I can't wait to make it!!!
I have always kept the top (rind) on. But some do remove it. In that case, I think you might need to place it in a deeper dish or ramekin, and it won't need as much time in the oven. If you keep the top on, you can make a small cut through it after it bakes, that allows people to dig in...people will avoid the rind if they don't usually like it. It's really personal preference.
Thank you, Lauren! It's one of my favorites, I just made it for my uncle and his wife when they visited the other night. They loved it!
If this sits out and starts to harden can you just throw it back in the oven to soften again or put it in the microwave for a few seconds?
Hey Courtney, from my experience, this Brie will not harden. It will cool off but will still be soft on the inside. I have not re-heated it in the past, but I would imagine you could reheat it ever so briefly, you don't want the figs and nuts to get burned.
just made this bakes Brie recipe for a French themed dinner party. What a perfect appetizer!
It was a hit with everyone. We used almonds instead of walnuts, and exchanged the dry figs for chopped dates. The fruit and nut mixture is so good by itself; it would make a great ice cream topper.
The next we go to the big warehouse store a giant wheel of Brie is coming home with us to make this dish again.
Great! I am glad you enjoyed this baked brie. Love that you made the recipe your own and used dates and other nuts! Well done!
Looks very tasty
Thank you, Kristin!
wow