This is a must-know appetizer, Easy Baked Brie with jam. Make for an  elegant cocktail party or a  quiet party of a family few. Always festive, fun, delectable. And easy!

We love to have an evening of cocktails and “heavy apps.” This means the food will be so sumptuous, so inviting and satisfying that no dinner is necessary. It’s a cocktail party writ small, for the family or for just a couple of us. In any case we’re dressed for it!

Our favorite for those times and for holiday parties especially is the perfect appetizer: a gorgeous baked brie, or brie en croûte, which is actually a fairly easy appetizer. Baked brie is wonderful “nude,” without the puff pastry wrap, drizzled with honey, nuts, and dried fruit, but it is over-the-top special to wrap the wheel of cheese in puff pastry dough and bake. My method here is an easy baked brie recipe that makes this process simple, and the results one of the all time great classic appetizers to share, a real crowd pleaser and one of the best holiday appetizers.

What is baked brie?

Baked brie often refers to a wheel of brie cheese wrapped in puff pastry and baked until golden brown. Enjoy the warm, cheesy pastry right out of the oven so the brie is still oozing and spreadable. The baked brie may include a dollop of jam on top (under the pastry and on top of the cheese). This sweetness provides a perfect balance with the rich cheese. A sharp knife does the work of slicing a wedge of cheese and pastry together, eaten with crackers, apple slices, and other fruit such as sliced pears.

The easiest part of this recipe is that it’s more about assembly than anything else. You have pieces and parts: 

A wheel of brie

A box of frozen puff pastry

One egg

A jar of jam (fig is my favorite here)

Crackers, fruit, and other cheese board finger food

Watch my how-to video tutorial

How to make baked brie

Step 1: Thaw the box of frozen puff pastry for 30 minutes at room temperature. Heat the oven to 375°F. Line a sheet pan with a sheet of parchment paper.

Step 2. Remove the brie from the plastic wrap and/or wooden box. Do not cut off the rind; keep the brie rind intact.

Step 3. Unwrap and unfold the thawed puff pastry. Use a rolling pin to roll the pastry to 1/4-inch thickness and transfer it to the parchment-lined baking sheet. Cut away a strip of the pastry dough and cut a decoration, such as a star, from that piece for the top of the pastry (optional).

Step 4. Spoon a dollop of jam in the center of the pastry. Lay the brie over the top and spread more jam on top of the brie.

Step 5. Take one corner of the dough and pull it up and over the brie. Repeat with the remaining three corners. Press the dough down to seal it on top. Flip the pastry with brie in it over, so the seams are underneath. Lay the pastry cut-out on top of the pastry, if using.

Step 6. Brush the entire top and sides of the assembled brie pastry with egg wash (not the bottom), and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately.

The egg wash brushed on the pastry imparts a gorgeous golden sheen over all. You can leave it at that and be happy! If you have another quick minute and a cookie cutter somewhere in the vicinity, take a scrap of the puff pastry and cut out a shape to lay on top. Pro!

Do you have to remove the rind?

The rind on a wheel or wedge of brie cheese is not only edible, it is necessary to hold this soft, melty brie cheese together! Especially when baking wrapped brie.

How to store

The baked brie should be served immediately. Can you bake then reheat and serve later? Certainly. Will the pastry be just as perfect as when it first comes out of the oven? Not exactly, but we do what fits our schedule, don’t we?!

If assembling the brie with puff pastry to bake later, do not add the egg wash until just before baking. Chill the “package” immediately and bake as directed within a day.

What goes with Baked Brie

Preserves or jam are a natural companion to brie. They add the perfect sweetness to every creamy, salty, cheesy bite. I like to spread fig jam both on the pastry, then also on top of the brie, and serve a small bowl of the jam alongside. Jam flavors that go well with brie are apricot preserves, fig jam, raspberry jam, orange marmalade or hot pepper jelly. 

​Sweet heat is excellent with brie. Drizzle hot honey when serving the baked brie warm.

Serve baked brie with crackers, baguette slices, thick potato chips, fruit slices such as apple or pear, grapes. Fresh produce such as carrot and cucumber slices are nice too.

Dress up the baked brie cheese platter with fresh herbs such as a sprig of fresh thyme or fresh rosemary. Either of these herbs are nice chopped and added inside the brie assembly in a small amount (1/2 teaspoon).

Expert Tips and Variations

There are generally two types of frozen puff pastry readily available: Darfour, fabulous all-butter puff pastry that I find at Whole Foods or specialty markets. Or Pepperidge Farm, made with oil and found in the “frozen novelties” section of pretty much every grocery store. The Darfour is great because, well, butter. The Pepperidge Farm is great for this recipe because it does not release so much oil as it bakes as the Darfour does. It’s cleaner.

Take care not to leave the puff pastry out longer than required or it will get too soft to work with.

Try many sweet variations to compliment the creamy brie: maple syrup, honey, brown sugar, or cranberry sauce during the holiday season–any of these can replace the jam inside the puff pastry brie  assembly.

An alternative to store-bought puff pastry is crescent roll dough, which you can find in the refrigerator case at the grocery store. Simply skip the thawing step and roll the crescent dough out as a sheet rather than separating into crescent triangles.

FAQs

More Easy Holiday Appetizer Recipes

​Lebanese Spinach Pies (Fatyaer) make great finger food for appetizers.

​One of the simplest yet most sophisticated appetizers I make is Warm Almond-Stuffed Dates with Lime Zest.

Make the Ultimate Mediterranean Mezze Platter, following my simple guide.