This tear apart Baked Cranberry Brie Bread Bowl is a beautiful holiday party appetizer. Melty brie and sweet tart cranberry sauce are a match made in heaven!
Helllloooooo! Do you see that gooey, melty brie??? 😍😍😍 You guys are going to LOVE this fancy but easy holiday appetizer – Baked Cranberry Brie Bread Bowl! OMG you guys! And get this – the bread bowl PULLS APART and you dip the bread in the bowl!
This Baked Cranberry Brie Bread Bowl is my favorite kind of appetizer – fancy, impressive, delicious – and super easy. You can serve this and look like Martha Stewart without stressing yourself out. The best of both worlds.
Cranberry Sauce and Brie go so well together – and I know you love it because my Cranberry Brie Mini Tarts are a hit this time of year! I added some fresh thyme, and that is it.
The key to this is to get a high quality, crusty bread boule ( A round loaf of bread). Slice the top off, then use a wheel of brie to measure a circle in the middle. Cut a circle around the brie, then hollow out the circle. Cut slices around the edge of the bread about 1.5 inches apart – cut about 3/4 of the way, but not all the way through the bottom. This will create pull apart pieces for people to pull and dip after the bread is done.
A quick bake in the oven will make the cheese all melty and gooey. Serve right away – your guests will love this! I toasted the extra bread that I tore out of the middle to serve along side the bread bowl as well.
Pull Apart Baked Cranberry Brie Bread Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 bread boule round loaf of rustic bread
- 1 wheel of brie about 12 ounces, top of rind removed (use triple cream if you can)
- 1/2 cup whole berry cranberry sauce
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- kosher salt
- fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Slice the top quarter off of the bread. Use the brie wheel to measure a circle in the middle of the bread. Use a knife to trace a cirlce around it, then scoop out the middle of the bread.
- Cut slices around the edge of the bread about 1.5 inches apart - cut about 3/4 of the way, but not all the way through the bottom. This will create pull apart pieces for people to pull and dip after the bread is done.
- Brush the inside of the bread with the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with half of the thyme. Place the brie wheel in the hollowed out center. Sprinkle the rest of the thyme over the top. Spoon the cranberry sauce over the brie.
- Replace the top of the bread and bake for about 20 minutes. Be sure to line the baking sheet with foil or parchment paper as some of the brie might ooze out of the bread. If desired, toast the extra bread that you scooped out of the middle for serving. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Red Wine Braised Short Ribs
Parsnip Mashed Potatoes
Make Ahead Turkey Gravy
Hazel says
Tried this tonight for a quick dinner but I was disappointed. I had bought a good Brie for Christmas and wanted it used up. I followed the instructions but even though the bread was warm and crispy the Brie didn’t melt so it didn’t live up to my expectations
Meghan says
Hi Hazel – I have found that it really only gets nice and melty if it is triple cream brie, double cream doesn’t melt as well. Do you know which kind you had?
Kim says
My favorite toppings for brie are fig jam, cherry preserves or orange marmalade. Sometimes I put 1/2 of one flavor and 1/2 of another. YUM
Meghan says
Yes! Love fig jam too!
Ann McKenna says
I have made this a few times and everyone loves it!!! It is easy and so delicious!
Meghan says
So glad to hear that!
Rachael Flett says
Wasn’t any kind of round bread so made my own.
It’s was amazing and looked good. Sorry can’t seem to upload the photo.
Thank you
Meghan says
That sounds great!
Elizabeth H says
Hi, I could only find 6 oz triple creme. I was thinking of stacking them, the bakery boule is large?
Help, please!
Meghan says
I would cut them up so they are in one larger layer, rather than stacking them.
Elizabeth says
Thank you so much. Looking forward to it tomorrow. Merry Christmas!
Johnna says
I can’t find 12 ounces of brie anywhere. Any suggestions
Meghan says
Hi – you can use another size, just try to find a bread boule that is an appropriate size for it.
M says
We used a very expensive triple creme brie and cut it in half. My brain was screaming “cut the brie into pieces!” the whole time I was readying it. 20 minutes at 350 and it was absolutely solid in the center. I would recommend to anyone doing this to either do it at 325 for 45 minutes or cut the brie up to aide in the melting process.
Meghan says
Hi, I’m sorry that happened! I’ve made this multiple times and never had that issue. I have also heard back from multiple readers that made this and it turned out as it was supposed to. I’m really not sure what could have gone wrong for you.
Sue says
Mine did the same thing burnt my bread and Brie didn’t melt. 🙁
Greta says
Do you cut the rind off the cheese before placing it in the bread?
Meghan says
Hi Greta – I only removed the top of the rind.
Laurie Watt says
Looks good but can you do it with something other than cranberry sauce? Not a fan.
Meghan says
Hi Laurie – I think it would work with any type of jam.
Melinda Oye says
I would suggest apricot jam. If you can find apricot ginger, that would be perfect. I have used this with brie before and really enjoyed it.
Amy says
I ended up using Bonne Maman’s Four Fruits Preserve. YUM!
Chris says
Amazing! I have made this twice and it tastes as wonderful as it looks. I let the Brie warm up to room temperature for a few hours the second time I made it and it melted much better in the oven. Thank you for sharing this!
Meghan says
Yay, so happy you loved it!
Jenny says
It took over twice as long to get melty 😖
Meghan says
Hi Jenny – do you know what kind of brie you used? Double cream is usually more readily available but it doesn’t melt as well as triple cream. Other than that, I’m not sure why it would have taken so long.
Claudia says
What temperature did you use ?
Meghan says
Hi Claudia – I used 350 degrees F. I hope you enjoy it!
JCcheney says
What is the green “herb” I see sprinkled on top?
Meghan says
Hi JC – It is the thyme that is listed in the recipe.
karen says
Tried this for a girls lunch with a salad. It was a hit. It was requested for an upcoming anniversary party share a dish! The only issue I had was that my bread was multi-grain and very crusty. I should have cut through it more, it was difficult to pull apart.
Meghan says
Yay! So happy it was a hit!
Anna Covington says
Well…. we didn’t get the triple cream note, until it was too late. 😢
Meghan says
Hi Anna, I’m sorry you missed those notes! Hopefully it was till tasty if not as melty. And next time you try it with the triple cream it will be even better!
Molly says
I was unable to find triple cream at either of the major grocery stores where I live lol. Gonna try it with double
Meghan says
Hi Molly – it should be OK, it just doesn’t get quite as melty. But it should still taste good!
Erin Clarkson says
YUm this looks amazing!
Richa Gupta says
Wow this is simply amazing and delicious!
Tiny knight says
You have given me some new recipes to try we love cheese dips can’t wait to try these
Meghan says
So happy to hear that! I hope you enjoy it!
Traci the kitchen girl says
Omgosh meghan…this. looks. divine! What a brilliant idea and I’m sure there’s never any leftover at the holiday party. Just wow! Sharing and bookmarking 🙂
Meghan says
Thanks so much Traci!!
Ingrid says
I’d like to try this with red pepper jelly!
Meghan says
That sounds delicious! Thanks Ingrid!