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These cranberry brie bites are the best ever! Melty brie topped with sweet-tart cranberry sauce baked in buttery crescent dough or puff pastry, all topped with a drizzle of honey and optional toasted pecans. This appetizer is a favorite at every holiday get-together, and they’re always gone in minutes!
What Makes This Recipe So Good
- Cranberry brie bites are the perfect holiday appetizer. Buttery pastry dough. Rich, tangy brie. Tart cranberry sauce. Sweet honey. Crunchy toasted pecans. Can you imagine anything more amazing?!
- The texture on these little finger-food showstoppers is unbelievable. Flaky, crisp shells envelope a warm, melty cheese and a gooey cranberry sauce, and THEN you top them with crunchy toasted pecans and a drizzle of honey? Whoa, mama. This is one of those danger foods where, if you’re not careful, suddenly you’ll look down and realize you ate a whole plate of cranberry brie bites in minutes.
- This is one of those handy recipes that you can prep a day or so in advance and pop in the oven at the last minute. You are WELCOME.
Key Ingredients
Pastry Dough – You can use a tube of crescent roll dough or a sheet of puff pastry! You’ll want roughly 8 ounces of dough so you can get 18 brie bites out of it.
Brie – If you’ve ever had baked brie or my cranberry brie dip then you already know how incredible and decadent this amazing cheese is. If you’re not a fan, you can use camembert, or even a basic cream cheese. For a dairy-free version, try making this with cashew cream cheese.
Cranberry Sauce –Any homemade cranberry sauce will work here! For a super easy recipe, check out my Whole30 Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce. Just keep in mind that these cranberry brie bites won’t be Whole30-compliant! Another mind-blowingly delicious option would be bacon jam instead of cranberry sauce, and pepper jelly or orange marmalade would work well, too.
Chef’s Tips
- You can prepare the cranberry brie bites in advance, so then all you have to do day-of is add the sauce and bake! Follow the instructions below, up to the point where you place the brie and cranberry sauce in the dough cups. Fill all the cups with cheese but don’t add the cranberry sauce yet. Cover the muffin tin with plastic wrap and refrigerate it up to 24 hours. When you’re ready to serve them, just uncover them, add the cranberry sauce, and pop the muffin tin into the preheated oven! You may need to increase the bake time a little since they’re cold. Just keep an eye on them and don’t let them burn!
- Brie is pretty creamy so it’s not always the easiest to slice. If you have trouble cutting the brie into cubes, chill it or freeze it for 10 minutes or so. You don’t need to worry about removing the rind, either. You won’t notice it after you’ve baked the brie bites, and it’s completely safe to eat!
- Cranberry brie bites are best served warm. Try to time it so they can be eaten almost as soon as they come out of the oven and get their honey drizzle. If you’re snacking on leftovers, I recommend reheating them in the oven for a few minutes first.
More Holiday Recipes I Know You’ll Love
- Sweet Potato Pancakes
- Addictive Hot Crab Dip (Low Carb, Keto, Gluten Free)
- Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms
- Cranberry Salsa
- Bacon Wrapped Dates Recipe
- Glazed Pecans
Best Ever Cranberry Brie Bites
Ingredients
For the Cranberry Brie Bites
- 1 roll crescent roll dough or 1 sheet puff pastry, about 8 ounces
- salt to taste
- 4 ounces brie or camembert cheese, 1 small wheel
- ½ cup homemade cranberry sauce see Notes
Optional Toppings
- ¼ cup honey
- sprigs fresh rosemary for garnish
- ¼ cup chopped toasted pecans for garnish, optional
Equipment
- Oven
- Mini-muffin tin(s) – 18 mini-muffin cups needed
- Rolling Pin
- Sharp knife
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit. Unroll crescent roll dough from tube and lay flat, gently pressing seams together to create one large sheet of crescent roll dough. Cut dough sheet into 18 equally-sized rectangles.If using puff pastry, roll dough out into one 10×12 rectangle, then cut dough into 18 equally-sized rectangles.
- Place one dough rectangle into one mini-muffin cup. Gently press center of dough toward bottom of muffin cup. It's ok if dough is shorter than sides of cup. Repeat until all dough rectangles have been placed in cups, then lightly sprinkle salt over dough.
- Cut brie wheel into 18 small pieces (no need to remove white rind). Place one piece of brie into one dough cup, then top with 1 teaspoon cranberry sauce. Repeat until all dough cups have been filled with brie and cranberry sauce.
- Place muffin tin in preheated oven. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until dough is golden brown. Cheese and cranberry sauce should be bubbly.
- Carefully remove muffin tin from oven and immediately transfer brie bites to serving platter. Drizzle honey over bites and garnish with chopped toasted pecans and rosemary (optional). Serve warm.
Notes
- Cranberry Sauce: For a sugar-free cranberry sauce, check out my Whole30 Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce recipe. Please note, though, that these brie bites are not Whole30-compliant or paleo-friendly.
- To Make This in Advance: Prepare everything up to step 3. Fill each dough cup with brie, then cover the muffin tin with plastic wrap and place the covered tin in the refrigerator up to 24 hours. When you’re ready to bake the brie bites, remove the plastic wrap, top each dough cup with cranberry sauce, then bake at 375°F. Note that, if baking cold, you may need to add 1-2 minutes to the bake time.
- Make it Dairy Free: Try a dairy-free cashew cream cheese in place of the brie.
Nutrition Information
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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