This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
The holidays make you really appreciate easy recipes. That’s why I make this Cranberry Baked Brie nearly every year during cranberry season! It’s such a simple, perfect appetizer. It has just 4 ingredients, and the melty, gooey brie is topped with tart cranberry sauce and served in a pull-apart bread bowl for dipping!
Table of Contents
If you like my regular baked brie recipe, you’re going to really love this cranberry baked brie! It starts with making a bread bowl, which is basically just hollowing out a round hunk of bread (like sourdough!) enough to fit a wheel of brie! Then, you’ll slice partially through the bread to make pieces you’ll eventually pull off and dunk in the melted cheese. That right there is one of the best parts about this recipe: Guests will love pulling apart the bread bowl and dipping it right into the brie and cranberry!
Recipe At a Glance
Cuisine Inspiration: American
Primary Cooking Method: Oven
Dietary Info: Vegetarian
Key Flavor: Creamy, tart, and cheesy
Skill Level: Easy
Why This Is So Good
- A quick appetizer: This baked brie with cranberries takes about 30 minutes to make, but most of that is hands-off time while the brie bakes!
- Feeds a crowd: This cranberry brie recipe easily serves 8, which makes it perfect for holiday gatherings.
- A great recipe for using up leftover cranberry sauce: After big holiday dinners, there is usually an overabundance of leftover cranberry sauce!
Ingredients to Make Cranberry Baked Brie
- Bread boule: This is a round loaf of rustic bread! You can use whatever type of bread you like. Sourdough is my go-to.
- Cooking spray: I prefer to use cooking spray because it dispenses just a little oil at a time.
- Brie: This recipe requires one whole wheel of brie! It’s a creamy cheese that gets super gooey when melted.
- Cranberry sauce: You can use homemade or store-bought. I prefer the cranberry sauce with whole cranberries in it for this recipe.
- Thyme: Fresh thyme adds flavor! However, you can leave it off.
Popular Additions
- Top it with nuts. Sprinkle chopped, toasted walnuts or pecans on top of the cranberry baked brie.
- Drizzle with honey or maple syrup. There’s a reason you see honey on cheeseboards: it compliments cheese really well! Try drizzling the brie with a bit of it or maple syrup.
- Make it savory. Instead of the cranberry sauce, use pesto and a drizzle of olive oil.
How to Make Cranberry Baked Brie
Getting a bread boule bigger than a standard brie wheel is important for this recipe! You can usually find this in the bakery section of most grocery stores. You want one that’s both wide and deep enough to fit the cheese!
Tips for Making the Best Baked Brie in Bread Bowl
- Buy a high-quality crusty bread boule. This is basically a round loaf of bread! It’s important because the crusty bread can hold up the heavy wheel of cheese and cranberry sauce without breaking apart. You can use freshly baked bread or day-old bread; either one works fine!
- Use good quality triple cream brie. Because this recipe has so few ingredients, every one matters. You’ll really taste the cheese, so buy a good one!
- Cut the rind off the cheese all around. Just enough to see the cheese without cutting off any of it. This is important to ensure that the cheese oozes out after baking in the oven.
- Don’t throw away the bread you remove. You can toast it and serve it on the side or save it for later to use with soup.
- Serve immediately! The beauty of this tear-apart bread is the melty cheese. If you’re taking this to a friend’s house, I recommend baking it for 15 minutes. Then, when you arrive at the party, finish off the final 10 minutes of baking time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store any leftovers in an airtight container. They will last about 3-4 days in the fridge. When ready to eat, just microwave or toast the portion you want to eat!
When it comes to the cranberry sauce, you can do homemade or canned. I love my cranberry orange sauce, but this recipe also works really well with cranberry relish, which is baked in the oven and gets pretty thick.
I recommend that you bake this appetizer just before serving so that the cheese is wonderfully melty and the bread is slightly crispy.
If you have baked the brie and cranberry, but aren’t quite ready to serve it, you can wrap it in foil to keep it warm. If needed, place it back in the oven before serving to gently reheat it.
For More Easy Holiday Appetizers:
- Cheese Board
- Skinny Spinach Dip
- Cranberry Salsa
- Focaccia Charcuterie Board
- Christmas Wreath Salad
- Crudite Platter
- Shrimp Cocktail in Avocado Bowls
- Brie Stuffed Meatballs with Cranberry Sauce
- Whipped Goat Cheese Stuffed Tomatoes
If you try this feel good Cranberry Baked Brie in Bread Bowl recipe or any other recipe on Feel Good Foodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. We would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots, share it on Instagram so we can repost on Stories!
Cranberry Baked Brie
Video
Ingredients
- 1 bread boule round loaf
- Cooking spray
- 1 (8-ounce) wheel brie cheese
- ½ cup cranberry sauce
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Slice off the top quarter of the bread. Slice off the rind of the brie wheel. Place the brie on top of the bread and use a knife to trace a circle around it. Scoop out the inner circle of the bread. Reserve the bread for another use or toast for extra servings.
- Place the bread on the baking sheet. Then, add the brie wheel in the emptied out bread crevice. Spray the cooking spray on the outside of the bread. Cut slices all around the edges of the bread, about 1-2 inches apart. Be careful not to cut all the way down. This will create the removable slices for eating after it’s baked.
- Add the cranberry sauce, sprinkle with thyme, and bake in the oven until the bread is toasted, about 25 minutes.
- Serve immediately while the cheese is melty.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
I made my entire Thanksgiving menu using your recipes for this year and it turned out amazing! This, in particular was a show stopper. Thank you!
Love it!! That’s amazing, so happy this recipe was a hit! Thanks, Maria!!
Big hit @ Thanksgiving, thanks!
Aww, I’m so glad!! Thank you, Laura!
I accidentally bought an 18″ wheel. I need to make two of these dips for thanksgiving. Could I cut in half horizontally and place one side each on each bread bowl? Or should I try cutting into wedges and spacing out? Thanks!
I would probably cut it into wedges and arrange however it makes sense within the bread bowls. Hope that helps!!
This looks amazing! Can this be made a couple of hours before serving it? Can I reheat it in microwave?
If you’re making this ahead or taking this to a friend’s house, I would recommend baking it for 15 minutes at home (or in advance of serving). Then finishing off the final 10 minutes when you arrive to the party, or right before you want to serve it.