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Quick and Easy Baked Brie En Croute

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Baked brie en croute is the perfect easy yet fancy appetizer for serving at holiday parties, cheese nights, and dinner parties that comes together in just 30 minutes. Make it the centerpiece to your perfect charcuterie board.

A wedge of baked brie en croute being lifted from the wheel on a cheese spreader.

With the holiday season right around the corner, all we can think about is the delicious food we’ll be eating between Thanksgiving and the new year. There really is no better way to celebrate with friends and family than with good food! In honor of this special time of year, we wanted to share with you our baked brie en croute recipe that is one of our go-to “looks fancy but is actually really easy” recipes.

Whether you’re serving baked brie en croute for the holidays or treating your friends to an extra-special cheese night, your guests are sure to love this decadent baked brie encased in crescent roll dough. And be sure to check out some of our other great holiday appetizers like our whipped brie with calabrian chiles or our Christmas charcuterie board.

What To Expect

  • Great for: Holiday appetizers, especially with a cheese board.
  • Ready in: 30 minutes
  • Serves: 4 to 6 people
  • Flavor profile: Sweet, buttery, and creamy.
  • How to make it: Cut off the rind, wrap in crescent roll dough, brush with butter, bake, and enjoy.

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Why We Love This Recipe

It feels like such a special treat, but it’s so easy to make. I just love the melt-in-your-mouth texture combined with the sweet, buttery, and decadent flavor.

– Alex

Ingredients

  • Pillsbury crescent roll dough – Crescent roll dough is our cheat code to a quick, easy, and foolproof baked brie en croute. It’s perfectly buttery and flaky, and super easy to work with.
  • Brie cheese – An 8 oz wheel of Président brie is our go to for this recipe because it’s the perfect size to fit the crescent roll dough and the right creaminess. We’ve also made this recipe with a wheel of brie from Murray’s cheese (which is divine by the way) and it turned out to be too creamy (for this recipe, at least)! It tasted amazing, but it leaked everywhere. So we recommend a regular brie as opposed to a super creamy one. 
  • Toppings/flavorings – We like to keep things simple by brushing the top of the pastry with melted butter and a sprinkle of dried parsley. However there are so many different add-ons you can use for a more complex or unique flavor.

Recipe Variations

We often like to use roasted garlic inside the pastry dough for a savory baked brie en croute, but there are many flavor combinations that are all incredible! Here are a few variations you could try:

  • We actually originally made this recipe with the addition of roasted garlic spread inside the pastry and still love that variation. Check out the expert tips below for directions to roast garlic if you wanna add it into your baked brie en croute. 
  • Opt for a sweet baked brie en croute by using fig jam or berry preserves.
  • Use a tart jam like cranberry or raspberry for a more unique flavor profile.
  • Drizzle balsamic glaze over the pastry dough for a balsamic-infused baked brie.

As you can see, the options for flavored baked brie en croute are endless. Dream up whatever flavors you love with brie and chances are, you can spread it on the pastry dough before wrapping the whole thing up and it will taste delicious.

Brie en croute made with crescent roll dough topped with dried parsley on a wooden serving board.

How To Make Our Quick And Easy Baked Brie En Croute

  1. Preheat: Preheat the oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Prep the pastry: Lay two rectangular half sheets (2 triangles each) of Pillsbury crescent roll dough flat on the parchment. Gently squeeze the perforated lines together to form a rectangular sheet of dough (this will help make sure no cheese leaks out during baking!), then gently press across the whole thing with your fingertips to flatten slightly.
  3. Scrape the rind off of the brie: We find this works best using a sharp paring knife and a gentle scraping motion (see image 1 below).
  4. Wrap the brie: Start by placing the brie in the middle of one of the sheets of dough. Fold the exposed ends up and over the sides of the brie, gently pressing it down to help it stick to the cheese (see images 2 through 4 below). Then, flip the brie over and rotate it 90 degrees, then place it on the second sheet of dough, positioned so that the exposed sides of the brie are facing the extra edges of dough that you’ll fold over (image 5). Again, fold the extra dough up and over the sides of the brie, pressing it in to help it seal (images 6 and 7). Finally, make sure to pinch the dough together in any areas that might be exposed, making sure that the brie is fully encased in the dough (image 8). This will prevent any brie from leaking out during baking.
  5. Brush with butter and bake: Brush the top of the dough with melted butter and sprinkle with parsley. Bake until the dough is golden and lightly crisped.
  6. Let cool: It’s hard to be patient for this step, but let it cool for at least 5 minutes before serving – the cheese and pastry are both very hot!
Scraping the rind off a wheel of brie with a knife.
A wheel of brie on pastry dough before wrapping.
Folding pastry dough over a wheel of brie.
Brie with pastry dough folded over the bottom half.
Flipping the brie over to encase the other side in pastry dough.
Folding pastry dough over baked brie en croute.
Folding pastry dough to encase brie before baking.
A fully encased baked brie en croute before baking.

This baked brie en croute is perfect for wine and cheese nights with friends or holiday appetizer spreads (especially on Thanksgiving or Christmas). One 8-ounce wheel of brie is plenty for serving 4 to 6 people, especially if you pair it with the perfect charcuterie board or other appetizers. Try the recipe below this holiday season and don’t forget to rate, comment, and share if you love it

Expert Tips

  • Removing the rind – You can easily remove the rind from a wheel of brie by gently scraping it off with a paring knife – no slicing required and no wasted cheese!
  • Wrapping the brie – Check out the post above for detailed images going through each step of preparing the brie and wrapping it in pastry!
  • Flavoring – You don’t need the roasted garlic for baked brie en croute to still be amazing. And if you wanna mix it up, jams, preserves, or other spreads can replace the roasted garlic for different fun and unique combinations. 
  • Serving suggestions – We prefer eating baked brie en croute with just a fork – we simply serve it on a cheese board with a knife for slicing wedges out. This is also how we put it out for parties. But you can also serve it with crackers and scoop it up just like you would a classic baked brie. 
  • Adding roasted garlic – Our original recipe called for spreading roasted garlic on the inside of the pastry. If you wanna make it that way, simply roast garlic in the oven at 400 F for 30 minutes. To roast the garlic, first cut off the top of the head to reveal the cloves, drizzle it with olive oil, sprinkle it with sea salt, and wrap it tightly in foil before baking. Then let it cool for about 10 minutes, squeeze it out into a small bowl, and mash it.

FAQs

Baked brie en croute is really just a wheel of brie wrapped in pastry dough and then baked in the oven. The pastry puffs up and crisps, encasing the cheese as it melts for a sweet and savory self-contained appetizer. 

Typically, baked brie en croute is made with puff pastry, but we prefer to make it in crescent roll dough for two reasons: it’s much easier to work with, and it provides extra buttery sweetness that melts in your mouth.

Yes, you can bake brie in crescent roll dough! We actually prefer it this way because it’s easy to work with and makes for a super buttery baked brie. We use crescent roll dough in this recipe.

Yes, we like to take the rind off our brie before turning it into baked brie en croute. We find this gives it a better taste and texture and makes it melt in your mouth on every bite. However if you really like the brie rind, you can leave it on.

Baked brie en croute on a wooden serving tray with a small wedge cut out revealing the melted cheese inside.

Related Appetizer Recipes

Love this recipe? You may enjoy these other fancy appetizer recipes, too:

Tell us what you think!

We hope you enjoy this recipe! When you try it out, please leave a review and a star rating in the comments below. Happy cooking! – Nicole and Alex

A wedge of baked brie en croute.

Quick and Easy Baked Brie En Croute Recipe

Nicole & Alex Langdon
Baked brie en croute is the perfect easy yet fancy appetizer for serving at holiday parties, cheese nights, and dinner parties that comes together in just 30 minutes.
5 from 2 votes
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine American, French
Servings 4 servings
Calories 202 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • ½ sheet Pillsbury crescent roll dough 4 triangles
  • 8 ounces brie cheese
  • ½ tablespoon butter melted
  • ¼ teaspoon dried parsley

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Lay two rectangular half sheets (2 triangles each) of Pillsbury crescent roll dough flat on the parchment. Gently squeeze the perforated lines together to form a rectangular sheet of dough, then gently press across the whole thing with your fingertips to flatten slightly.
  • Gently scrape the rind off the brie with a sharp paring knife. Then, wrap the brie:
    Start by placing the brie in the middle of one of the sheets of dough. Fold the exposed ends up and over the sides of the brie, gently pressing it down to help it stick to the cheese.
    Flip the brie over and rotate it 90 degrees, then place it on the second sheet of dough, positioned so that the exposed sides of the brie are facing the extra edges of dough that you'll fold over. Again, fold the extra dough up and over the sides of the brie, pressing it in to help it seal.
    Finally, make sure to pinch the dough together in any areas that might be exposed, making sure that the brie is fully encased in the dough. This will prevent any brie from leaking out during baking.
    See Notes for additional details.
  • Brush the top with melted butter, then sprinkle with parsley.
  • Bake until the dough is golden and lightly crisped, about 18 to 22 minutes. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.
One last step:Please consider leaving a review to let us know how it was!

Notes

Removing the rind: You can easily remove the rind from a wheel of brie by gently scraping it off with a paring knife – no slicing required and no wasted cheese!
Wrapping the brie: If the directions are confusing at all, check out our blog post above for photos that help explain what to do.
Serving suggestions: You can eat baked brie en croute with a fork – simply serve on a cheese board with a knife for slicing wedges and forks for your guests to dig in with. Or, serve with crackers and scoop the baked brie out from inside the pastry. Then enjoy the leftover pastry “shell” once the cheese is gone!

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 202kcalCarbohydrates: 0.3gProtein: 12gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 60mgSodium: 369mgPotassium: 87mgFiber: 0.003gSugar: 0.3gVitamin A: 380IUVitamin C: 0.01mgCalcium: 105mgIron: 0.3mg
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If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.

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90% of Nicole’s thoughts are about food. She’s had a passion for cooking (and eating) for as long as she can remember! Growing up, she started cooking with her mom at a young age, learned family recipes from her Italian grandmother, took every opportunity to make cookies (so many bake sales), and always loved going out to restaurants to try new foods.

Nicole currently works part-time as a marketing professional for OmieLife while also working nonstop on The Candid Cooks. As a former mechanical engineer, Nicole has consistently found herself at the intersection of creativity and logical reasoning. She credits not only her passion for photography, design, and writing, but also her problem-solving nature and desire to learn, as the foundation on which The Candid Cooks was built.

Nicole’s hobbies include anything that gets her moving - mainly hiking, skiing, ice skating, and dancing - as well as reading fantasy novels and scrapbooking. Her favorite food is a big plate of nachos, as long as they’re cheesy enough!

5 from 2 votes (1 rating without comment)

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2 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Simple and delicious! Maybe next time I’ll try “dipping” the slices into sweet jam (Fig? Homemade cranberry sauce??) Thank you!

    Reply

    1. So glad you enjoyed it! Dipping into jam sounds delicious – I bet it would go great with fig or cranberry sauce. You could also top the whole wheel with a spoonful of jam before serving.

      Reply