These cranberry brie bites feature golden brown phyllo cups filled with melty brie cheese, tart cranberry sauce, & fresh cranberries. It’s the perfect dessert!
If you know me, you know I love to host. Like many people, the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season involves a lot of hosting (and baking), which means easy but tasty is on the menu. That’s where these brie and cranberry bites are perfect! Their tart cranberry flavor, creamy cheese filling, and crunchy phyllo shell makes them the perfect holiday appetizer.
Brie and cranberry bites are crazy easy and use only four ingredients. It’s a super simple recipe that takes only 10 minutes to prep, which is a huge win when hosting. They are also easily prepped ahead of time, which means I can get a good head start on all the other hosting preparations.
Hot tip: When I make these for a gathering, I wait to bake them until right before serving. I think they taste the best warm (with a melty cheese), but room temperature is good as well.
Making these Delish Cranberry Brie Phyllo Cups
These cranberry brie bites require only four simple ingredients and a quick bake in the oven.
- Slice the cheese: Slice the brie into small pieces/cubes.
- Assemble the cups: Place a cube of brie and the cranberry sauce into the phyllo cup, followed by the cranberry halves.
- Broil the cups: Broil the cups on a baking sheet in the oven until the cheese is melted. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Hot tip: Store the bites in the refrigerator for up to a week in an airtight container, or on the counter for 2-3 days.
Cranberry Brie Bite Tips
Here are a few handy tips and tricks to help you make the best cranberry brie bites this season.
- Keep the rind on the brie: Brie is one of those awesome cheeses that has a tasty and edible rind. In the oven, it bakes down and adds such a nice depth of flavor to the bites. Keep it on!
- Avoid overfilling the cups: If you overfill the cups, the cheese will bake over the sides. Just a small piece of cheese, a dollop of cranberry sauce, and a couple cranberry halves do the trick.
- Broil the cups on the bottom rack of the oven. To prevent the cups from burning in the oven, bake them on the lowest rack on a high broil. Give them a check after a couple of minutes to ensure they aren’t cooking too quickly. If they are, take the broil down to low.
- Slice the phyllo sheets (as needed): If you can’t find premade phyllo cups in the freezer section at the store, slice the sheets down into small squares and place them into a mini muffin pan. Fill with toppings and bake as directed!
Hot tip: Serve these cranberry brie bites with a handful of other favorite small bites for the perfect appetizer tray. Easy tea sandwiches, pigs in a blanket, air fryer potato skins, and chicken crepe pockets are a few of my favorites.
Quick Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Go the extra mile and make a quick cranberry sauce by boiling three cups of cranberries with one cup of sugar and one cup of orange juice. Cook it on a low simmer for 15 minutes and allow it to fully cool to room temperature before using. Store it for up to two weeks in an airtight container!
Recipe Variations
If you want to tweak this recipe to better suite your tastebuds, check out these options.
- Swap in a different jelly: Swap the cranberry sauce with strawberry jam, raspberry jam, apricot preserves, pepper jelly, or orange marmalade. Go crazy!
- Add in fresh herbs: If you’re feeling extra fancy, garnish the cups with fresh rosemary sprigs or thyme.
- Substitute the phyllo dough: If you want a doughier cranberry brie bite, swap the phyllo dough with puff pastry dough or crescent roll dough.
- Sprinkle on some nuts: To add a bite more texture, add roughly chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds, or pistachios on top of the cranberry brie bites.
- Top with honey: If you are a huge honey-lover, feel free to drizzle fresh honey on top!
- Change the cheese: If you can’t find brie, try using goat cheese or feta cheese instead.
More Easy Desserts
- Baked Brie – Topped with fig jam and wrapped in puff pastry
- Peach Turnovers – Another four-ingredient easy dessert!
- Blueberry Galette – The rustic pie of your dreams
- Puff Pastry Christmas Tree – Sure to get you in the holiday spirit!
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup cranberry sauce see recipe above
- 8 oz brie cheese
- 1/4 cup cranberries
- 12 mini phyllo shells
Instructions
- Cut the brie into small pieces that fit just perfectly into the phyllo cups.
- Place the brie in the cup first, followed by the cranberry sauce and cranberry halves.
- Broil the brie and cranberry bites on the lower rack of the oven for about 7 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Serve them warm or at room temperature!
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