Introducing the world’s easiest party starter – Baked Brie! This is how how you transform a good value brie into a spectacular brie. It’s like the best cheese dip you will ever have!! An excellent option for a shared entree or party food that’s super quick and easy to prepare that has wow factor.
Serve with crostini or crackers (try these homemade fruit & nut crackers!).
Baked Brie
Baked Brie is, quite simply, the best melted cheese in the world. When you cut through the rind and the inside comes pouring out like lava, you’ll forget all your troubles. It’s like cheese-aholic heaven!
But cheese addiction aside, here’s the practical reason why Baked Brie needs to be on your radar:
It’s the world’s easiest appetiser / party starter!
Just pop a brie in the oven for 15 minutes, or microwave it for 2 minutes. Plonk on a platter, add a mound of crispy crackers and watch the hands dive in to do THIS:
And keep pulling up and up….. LOOK AT THIS CHEESE PULL!!!
How to make Baked Brie
I wasn’t exaggerating when I said you just plonk a brie in the oven. But here’s a practical visual for how to make it.
What to bake it in – use a round, shallow oven proof dish that’s a bit larger than the brie for baking and serving if you have one. It needs to be shallow, otherwise it’s hard to dip/scoop without touching the hot dish; OR
Place the brie on crumpled paper – this is what I do.This serves 2 purposes:
safest way to transfer – Baked Brie is wobbly and delicate, and it would be a tragedy if that Baked Brie burst open mid transfer……
the crumpled paper helps stop the brie from oozing out all over the table. Melted brie just needs a little bit of coaxing to stop it from running everywhere!
Baked Brie Practical Tips!
Best Brie for Baked Brie – Use an economical brie or camembert! Expensive brie would be wasted on this recipe, in my opinion, though it does work just as well with top end as it does budget brie.
How long it stays gooey – in a ceramic dish, it will stay scoopable for a good 15 minutes or so. On paper, around 10 minutes, then for another 10 minutes or so you can smear it on with a knife.
How to reheat – seconds in the microwave! A whole brie takes 2 minutes in the microwave, so use that as a baseline for leftover brie.
Leftovers – AMAZING! The honey / maple syrup will be mixed through when the cheese hardens and it just makes it all the more delicious. Who cares if you have to scrape up the dregs and pop into a small ramekin? OR pile it onto toast and grill! *She swoons at the thought*
Baked Brie is how you get gourmet flavour using a good value brie!
What goes with Baked Brie
Baked Brie is best served with sturdy crackers for scooping up the molten cheese – avoid chips and those wafer thin crackers for serving with cheese as they aren’t strong enough.
And while brie is rich enough and the cheese itself is flavoured enough so that even a plain Baked Brie is amazing, a simple (generous!) drizzle of honey or maple syrup certainly wouldn’t go astray. Sweet honey and the rich, savoury brie goes brilliantly and adds another dimension that takes it from OMG this is sooooo goooood!
Add a a simple bunch of grapes to the serving platter (fruit + cheese is classic, plus just looks good!), and your impressive easy appetiser is complete and ready to wow your family and friends!
“When you cut through the rind, the inside comes pouring out like lava. It’s like the best cheese fondue you will ever have.”
What did that take? All of 2 minutes effort on your part. Unwrap the brie, bake or microwave it. Open packet of crispy toasted bread (or make your own), plonk a bunch of grapes on the side. And voila! Your party starter is ready to impress your family and friends.
Make this once, then come join me at Cheese-aholics Anonymous! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Baked Brie
Ingredients
- 250 – 500g / 8 – 16 oz round brie or camembert (good value is fine! Note 1)
- 2 tbsp honey or maple syrup (optional)
- 1 thyme sprig (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (all oven types).
- Unwrap brie and place in a small, shallow ovenproof dish slightly larger than the brie (to be used for serving) OR a piece of crumbled baking / parchment paper (for transference). (Note 2)
- Oven: Bake for 15 to 20 minutes (for 250g/80z), or until melted through. For 500g/1lb brie, increase to 25 minutes. To check, gently touch the centre of the brie – it should feel very soft, like it is about to collapse if you press any harder.
- Microwave option: 2 minutes on high (no one will know!) in 30 second increments.
- Carefully transfer to serving plate / board – it's delicate (transfer on paper if you used paper).
- Drizzle with honey, top with sprig of thyme (if using).
- Serve immediately with crostini on the side for scooping. Provide a knife to cut through the rind and a cheese or pate knife (or similar) to scoop cheese up onto crostini or crackers (plain or fruit/nut flavoured).
Recipe Notes:
- very shallow bowl or curved plate – the shape of which will hold the cheese in (ovenproof if baking, microwave proof if microwaving ie most normal dinner plates fine); OR
- bake on crumbled paper per recipe directions – the paper makes it easy to transfer the Brie to a serving platter (Baked Brie is delicate and wobbly like jelly, and if it bursts you will cry). Plus by crumpling it, it actually (mostly) stops the cheese from oozing out onto the table (but really, you won’t be short of willing participants to dash forward and scoop up brie that’s oozing dangerously close to the edge of the serving platter!)
Nutrition Information:
Originally published November 2014, updated with new photos and recipe video in October 2019, refreshed again in 2021. No change to recipe!
Life of Dozer
When the treat jar is so close…yet so far… (and so empty…?)
Yum! I’ve been making Baked Brie for about 40 years. The first recipe I found said to score an x in the top of the Brie and to spread a bit of butter on top and then cover it in slivered almonds then bake. I skip the butter now. Delicious with some hot pepper jelly on warmed to crusty French or sourdough bread stick. There are many online recipes for Baked Brie! Yummy! From another cheese-aholic!
OMG – YES!!!
I love baked Brie, but what do you do with the leftovers? Especially when you’ve added toppings that are sweet?
I just reheat it. Soooo good.
Good Morning Nagi from Connecticut!!! I love, love love every one of your recipes, your website and your Dozer. I have a Golden too! Have a great weekend!
What’s your Goldie’s name?? Give him/her a HUG from me!!! I just adore goldens! N ss
This looks yummy! I want to serve it at a fancy party. How can I transfer the Brie AND the warm, syrupy maple syrup?
Hi Carla! To take it to a party, I would pop the brie in a ovenproof dish and take the syrup separately. Then ask the host/ess to borrow the oven briefly OR you could even microwave it, it only takes a few minutes!
Hello Nagi, I am from Romania and I follow you with so much pleasure.
I love brie and I love maple syrup.
Thank you.
I’m so glad you like the look of this Alina! Thank you for reading all the way from Romania 🙂 N x
What a great recipe Deborah! Can’t wait to try it at our Christmas dinner party next weekend. It is sure to be a big hit!
Hi Nag, thank you so much!! It’s a super easy appetizer to pull together and it’s always a hit! I hope you enjoy! Merry Christmas!
YAY YAY!! I’m SOOOOO GLAD!!!
I came to your website from Pinterest looking for a good stir fry sauce.
Having two diabetics in the family I can’t buy the store bought jars as they have waaaaay too much sugar.
I found your Real Purpose Stir Fry Sauce.
Which was amazing.
And then I went through all your recipes… and found this one.
OMG so tasty.
Saw the image and went out and bought Brie the next day.
Everyone loved it, we just cut down on the maple a little.
Next recipe will the the gluten free brownies for my partner.
Thanks for this.
Hi Megan! I’m so glad you enjoyed this!! I love love LOVE baked brie. And you know, it’s great even without maple syrup!!
Is your partner gluten free? I keep meaning to properly update my Gluten Free recipe index, I have loads, I just keep forgetting to tag them.
SO GLAD everyone enjoyed the stir fry sauce! Thank you so much for coming back to let me know you enjoyed it! 🙂 N x
Oh, this looks and sounds so good, sooo good! What a fantastically delicious idea!
Thanks Nicole!! Simple and delicious….my favourite combination! 🙂
Brie is one of my all-time favorite cheeses! Warm, subtle, oozy-gooey, LOVE IT! The sweet and savory component is so wonderful in this dish! And the thyme is THE perfect herb to pair! Another incredible dish, Nagi!
Thanks Kathleen!! Isn’t melted brie just the BEST??!!
this looks so tasty. i usually add some chopped walnuts or pecans too. so delish.
Hi Sherry! I love adding nuts to this too, I just didn’t have any on hand! 🙂 Chopped walnuts and pecans are a great addition. I must update the recipe to suggest that 🙂 Thank you!
Another wonderful recipe Nagi…..I’m so glad I found your site being an Aussie it’s great to get Aussie recipes!!!! Can you please tell me if your oven is normal……..or like mine fan forced, as this would make a difference to the cooking time.
Thanks xx. P.S. If I came to Sydney would you cook for me???????xxx
Thanks Pauline! It is so nice to hear from a fellow Aussie! Most of my readers are from America 🙂 My oven is fan forced. To be honest, for a recipe like this ordinary vs fan forced won’t make a huge difference because the cheese is enclosed in the rind so the inside actually heats up very quickly, except unlike ordinary cheese you don’t need to worry about it browning because it’s enclosed. With a fan forced I have taken it out at 12 minutes and it was fine, but usually I just leave it for 15 minutes to be safe. Baked brie is pretty forgiving – anywhere between about 12 to 20 minutes, fan forced or not, and it will work just fine! 🙂
Another visitor from Maureen’s, a blogless ‘cuckoo in the nest’ this time:) ! Sometimes it is very hard being both a doctor/nutritionist and a foodie 🙂 ! Happen to love brie and have baked it [sshhh!!] but not with maple syrup and thyme: I think I can taste it now!! Just have to try for Christmas . . .
Lovely hearing from a fellow Maureen fan! Baked brie is a classic and yes, Christmas is a good time to blow your calorie budget on this!! Thank you for visiting 🙂
I love brie any way I can have it – This looks so delicious and utterly addictive- a must make for the holidays.Luck me, I just picked one up for 4 bucks!!
Thanks Imma! The one I used was around $5 – and look how it turns out after baking it!! I love love love this!
Am so glad Maureen introduced us to you. You have a fabulous blog space. Happy to be here 🙂
Thank you!! Popping over to say hi to you on your site! 🙂
I’ve had (and made)! this dish, but it’s been ages. It’s really a good one, and you did it so well. Thanks so much.
Thanks for your kind words John!!
Oh, yes please Nagi – I have been thinking of doing a baked camembert for a while – thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks Rachel!! I’m like you – sometimes I just need to see a recipe to remind me how much I love it!!
Amazing photo, AGAIN!
You know what, your version looks super fancy for me! It reminds me my very first experience with brie. It was when I lived in Japan and the first time I had a “real cheese” (other than processed slice cheese). I think it’s quite smelly (not sure what I was thinking) so I toasted the brie on a slice of bread on stove top. It was THE BEST THING EVER. Now I’m eating cold brie with homemade bread almost every day, but I kept forgetting heating them up. Thanks for this nice reminder and you know what’s on my dinner table tonight! 🙂
Thanks so much for your kind message Maggi!! I’m so surprised that your first experience with real brie was in japan! Japan certainly isn’t known for their cheeses 🙂 Grilled brie on bread….YUM!!
Dear Nagi,
This is a fab idea.
I have always liked a meat fondue when I was a kid. This might just be a highlight for our next dinner party but I need to first find a small cast iron pan like yours.
Thank you so much! You know, I have never tried a meat fondue, it is definitely on my list of things to try 🙂 You don’t need a cast iron pan to make this, you can make it using any small oven proof dish. I also recently even found out that there is such a thing as brie baking dishes!!
I’ve poured toffee and sprinkled roasted cashews over baked brie before but this sounds wonderful. Your photos make resistance futile. I must have this.
I’ll have to pop over and check out your takes on brie! I love the idea of cashews on it – nuts are a great addition to add texture!