Festive Cranberry Brie Bites: Easy 5-Ingredient Appetizer
These festive cranberry Brie bites are impossibly easy, ridiculously delicious, and make you look like you spent hours in the kitchen when really you just opened a few packages and let the oven do the work. Perfect for holiday parties, they combine flaky puff pastry, creamy melted Brie, and sweet-tart cranberry sauce in under 30 minutes.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 package frozen puff pastry shells (10 shells)
- 1 wheel Brie cheese (8 ounces / 225 g)
- 1/2 cup cranberry sauce (120 ml)
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans (30 g)
- Fresh rosemary sprigs for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Let puff pastry shells sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes until slightly pliable but still cold.
- Cut the Brie wheel into 10 equal pieces, about 1 ounce (28 g) each. Keep the rind on.
- Place the puff pastry shells on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Gently press down the center of each shell to create a well.
- Place one piece of Brie into the center of each puff pastry shell.
- Spoon about 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of cranberry sauce over each piece of Brie, spreading gently to cover the cheese without spilling over the edges.
- Divide the chopped pecans evenly among the 10 bites, pressing them lightly into the cranberry sauce.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and puffed, and the Brie is melted and bubbly. Start checking at 12 minutes.
- Let them rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before serving.
- Garnish with fresh rosemary sprigs if desired. Serve warm.
Notes
Don’t overfill the pastry shells; each should hold about 1 ounce of filling. Watch the bake time carefully—the difference between perfect and overdone is about 90 seconds. Let them cool for 5 minutes before serving to avoid burning tongues. Make extra if serving a crowd; one batch of 10 bites feeds about 4 people as an appetizer. You can assemble the bites up to 4 hours ahead and keep them covered in the refrigerator; add pecans right before baking and add 2-3 minutes to the bake time.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bite
- Calories: 185
- Sugar: 6
- Sodium: 210
- Fat: 12
- Saturated Fat: 6
- Carbohydrates: 15
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 6
Keywords: cranberry brie bites, holiday appetizer, easy appetizer, puff pastry appetizer, 5-ingredient recipe, Christmas appetizer, party food