Baked Brie in Puff Pastry
Learn how to wrap brie in puff pastry with the toppings of your choice for an easy app to serve all holiday season.
Serves10 to 12
Baked brie in puff pastry takes “rich and luxurious” to a whole new level — I can think of few things better. Add a few friends and some good tunes playing in the background, and you’ve got yourself a bonafide party situation. Here is everything you need to know to make this low-effort, high-payoff appetizer.
Ingredients You’ll Need for Baked Brie
- Puff pastry. This recipe calls for 1 sheet of thawed puff pastry — check out our guide to thawing and working with store-bought frozen puff pastry.
- Brie cheese. You’ll also need a wheel of brie cheese in the 8- to 12-ounce range.
- Extras. Add extras like cranberry sauce, roasted nuts and honey, or even jalapeño jelly before baking — you’ll need just a 1/4 cup or so. You can even top the baked brie with caramelized onions or baked apples.
How to Wrap a Wheel of Brie in Puff Pastry Dough
Like all of the best appetizers I can think of, this one rates low on the difficulty scale and high on the delivery scale. All you do is wrap a wheel of brie
Don’t spend too much time or mental energy searching for the exactly right wheel of brie or measuring your puff pastry with a ruler — these things are all flexible. Buy a wheel that fits in your hand and looks about right for wrapping in pastry. Then, roll out your pastry until it easily wraps around your wheel.
If you ended up with a rather large wheel that’s too large for the pastry to totally wrap the wheel, just bunch the pastry inwards as well as you can; it’s perfectly okay to leave the middle exposed.
How to Make Mini Baked Brie
This technique — wrapping brie in puff pastry and baking until golden — can be used on brie wheels big and small. While the recipe below is written for a large wheel, mini brie wheels also deliver warm, cheesy goodness in a two-bite appetizer. The less-than-1-ounce mini brie wheels that you can buy at Trader Joe’s work well.
Cut the puff pastry in six 3×3-inch squares using a sharp knife or pastry wheel and then wrap each brie as below. Bake at 400°F for 25 to 30 minutes, cool before serving.
How to Serve Baked Brie
The only real advice I’d give you when making this otherwise straightforward appetizer is to let it cool for a good five or 10 minutes before serving it. This gives the melted cheese just a little time to firm up — it will still be gooey and scoop-able, but no longer molten lava oozing across your plate and burning mouths.
When I make this appetizer as part of a big buffet or for a cocktail party with lots of other nibbles, I often bake it in a pie plate instead of on a baking sheet. You can serve it directly from the pie plate, which frees up a platter for another use, and the pie plate neatly contains the cheesy goo. It makes for easier scooping without as much need for utensils, too.
How to Make Ahead Baked Brie
You can wrap the wheel of brie in pastry and keep it refrigerated for up to a day before baking and serving. The prep for this appetizer is so minimal that this “make-ahead” tip might sound silly, but when I’m planning a whole party, it’s always nice to be able to check small steps off my list and know that all I have to do before the party is put the brie to the oven to bake.
Can You Freeze Baked Brie?
Yes! If you really want to get ahead, you can wrap the brie in pastry (hold off on the egg wash), wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze. When you’re ready to bake, unwrap it, brush with egg wash, and bake directly from frozen. You may need to bake for a few extra minutes for the cheese to fully soften.
Can You Reheat Baked Brie?
Baked brie tastes and looks best right after it’s been baked, but you can reheat it in a 200°F oven until the cheese is warm.
Baked Brie in Puff Pastry Recipe
Learn how to wrap brie in puff pastry with the toppings of your choice for an easy app to serve all holiday season.
Serves 10 to 12
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- 1 sheet
puff pastry, thawed but still cold
All-purpose flour, for rolling
- 1 (8 to 12-ounce) round
brie cheese (5- to 7-inches in diameter)
- 1
large egg, beaten
Optional extras: See Variations
Baguette slices or crackers, for serving
Equipment
Baking sheet or pie plate
Parchment paper
Brush
Rolling pin
Instructions
Heat the oven to 400°F. Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside, or bake your brie in a pie plate.
Roll out the puff pastry. Dust a work surface with a small amount of flour. Unwrap 1 sheet puff pastry and place it on the flour. Coat a rolling pin with a little flour and roll out the puff pastry into a rough 11-inch square. No need to get out a ruler; it's fine to estimate.
Wrap the brie in the pastry. Place 1 round of brie in the middle of the pastry. Top with any optional extra toppings, if using. Fold the corners over the brie, forming a neat package. Use your hand to gently press the edges against the brie and neaten up the sides.
Transfer the wrapped brie to the baking sheet or pie plate. Place the wrapped brie to the baking sheet or pie plate. If the pastry has warmed and is no longer cool to the touch at this point, place refrigerate for 10 minutes, or until you're ready to bake and serve.
Brush with egg. Brush the pastry all over with 1 beaten egg. Be sure to get the sides and around the folds. Try not to let the egg puddle under the brie.
Bake until golden-brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Bake until the pastry is deep golden-brown, 35 to 40 minutes.
Allow to cool 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool for 5 to 10 minutes. This gives the hot cheese time to firm up a little. Cut into the brie early and most of it will gush right out — which is still delicious, but less tidy.
Transfer to a serving platter. Use the parchment paper to transfer the brie to a serving plate. If you baked it in a pie plate, serve straight from the plate, but double check that the plate has cooled enough to handle.
Serve warm. Arrange sliced baguette or crackers around the brie and serve while warm.
Recipe Notes
Using pie dough: Pie dough is an excellent alternative to puff pastry with this recipe.
Make ahead: The brie can be wrapped in pastry and kept refrigerated for up to a day before baking and serving. Brush with egg wash just before baking.
Baked Brie Variations
- Jam & Brie: Top with a few spoonfuls jam or preserves, like raspberry jam, apricot jam, or jalapeño jelly.
- Honey & Nuts: Top with a few spoonfuls of honey and toasted, chopped nuts especially walnuts or pecans.
- Cranberry Sauce: Top with a few spoonfuls of store-bought or homemade cranberry sauce.
- Baked Apples: Slice or chop any tart baking apple and cook with butter over low heat until soft and warmed through. Scoop on top of the brie.
- Caramelized Onions: Slowly caramelize one onion over low heat until very brown, soft, and sweet-tasting. You can stir in a few teaspoons of brown sugar or balsamic vinegar if you like. Scoop over the brie.
- Onions & Mushrooms: Caramelize one onion and add chopped or sliced mushrooms in the last half of cooking.