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Baked Brie with Bacon Balsamic Blueberries is the kind of ooey gooey, sweet-and-savory appetizer that will set hearts aflutter! This swoon-worthy party snack is topped with a delicious bacon blueberry jam and is amazing to serve with crackers, apple slices, or crostini for easy dipping. Guests adore this easy gluten free appetizer recipe that’s perfect for the holidays!
Baked Brie with Homemade Bacon Blueberry Jam
I’ll admit it: parties have never been my strong suit (show of hands for those who can relate?). That being said, cooking for parties is another story altogether! Whatever I may lack in hostess skills, I believe I make up for in other ways, especially when it comes to providing deliciously melty Baked Brie recipes.
I’ve gone classic with Caramelized Apple Baked Brie. Given things a bit of tropical flair with Pineapple Pecan Baked Brie. And then there’s perhaps my piece de resistance: Baked Brie with Bacon Balsamic Blueberries!
A simple mixture of blueberries and balsamic vinegar is simmered together while a wheel of baked Brie cheese is baked to melty perfection in the oven. Add just a bit of crispy bacon for the perfect amount of smoky/salty flavor, serve next to crackers for dipping, and you have a cheesy holiday appetizer worthy of any special occasion.
This baked Brie recipe has a delectable combination of rich and savory flavors, with the perfect amount of tangy sweetness from the homemade blueberry balsamic reduction. Easy, cheesy, and outrageously delicious – just the way a baked brie recipe should be.
What You’ll Need
The list is small but the flavors are larger than life! You only need a handful of ingredients for this simple recipe for baked brie with balsamic blueberries.
- Brie Cheese: A large wheel of Brie is best. I go big or go home with the larger 17oz wheels of Brie that you often find at Costco. This recipe makes enough topping to cover a Brie of that size perfectly!
- Bacon: Diced bacon or pancetta for the blueberry topping. Bacon is optional if you want to make this baked Brie recipe vegetarian-friendly.
- Blueberries: Frozen blueberries are easy to cook down for the topping. Fresh blueberries also work however, if you have them available.
- Balsamic Vinegar: Brings a special tanginess to the bacon blueberry jam that really takes the flavors up a level.
- Maple Syrup: The real and natural kind, and not pancake syrup!
- Cinnamon
- Shallot
- Crackers, Apple Slices, Crostini: For Serving
Do You Take the Rind Off Brie Before Baking?
The rind will help keep the cheese together as it melts, and is best left on! Score the top of the Brie wheel for easy removal after baking, and leave the rest of the rind intact.
How to Make Baked Brie with Bacon Blueberry Jam
Bake the Brie: Have your Brie wheel ready to bake in an oven-safe tray or dish. Score around the top of the Brie using a small knife, and then bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for about 15 minutes. You’ll remove the top of the rind after the Brie is finished baking.
Cook the Bacon: While the Brie is in the oven, prepare the ingredients for the topping. In a skillet, first cook the diced bacon until crispy, and keep it aside.
Make the Balsamic Blueberry Topping: In the same skillet, saute the shallot in a bit of the leftover bacon grease. Add the blueberries and balsamic vinegar into the pan, followed by the maple syrup and cinnamon, and simmer everything on low until you have a jammy texture. Lastly, you’ll remove the skillet from the stove and stir in the bacon.
Pour the bacon blueberry topping over top of the prepared Brie, and serve immediately with your choice of crackers, bread, or fruit slices for dipping!
Tips for Success
- Adapt to Different Sized Brie Wheels: If you can’t find a large wheel of brie, you can add more berries to one of the smaller rounds from the grocery store. Alternatively, use half of the topping and save the rest for another time or recipe. It’s delicious on top of grilled chicken marinated in Balsamic Blueberry Dressing.
- Serve Right Away: Baked Brie is best served immediately after baking. While it can be rewarmed, cheese that has melted and cooled completely won’t really achieve the same melty consistency as before. Still delicious, but different in texture.
- Make it Vegetarian: As mentioned, you can make this recipe vegetarian by skipping the bacon and cooking the shallot in a tablespoon of olive oil instead.
Variation Ideas
A simple wheel of Brie cheese is the best blank canvas for all kinds of delicious ingredients – give these other variations a try at your next holiday party.
- Give your dish a seasonal twist with a fall-inspired Caramelized Apple Baked Brie.
- For an unconventional yet delicious tropical combination, Pineapple Pecan Baked Brie is one of my favorites.
- A simple and sweet Honey and Nut Baked Brie goes a long way!
Other easy topping ideas include:
- Honey & Fresh Thyme
- Caramelized Onions
- Fruit Preserves
- Chili or Bacon Jam
What Goes with Baked Brie?
I love to serve this easy baked Brie appetizer whenever I entertain throughout Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and beyond. It goes amazingly well with dishes like Honey Mustard Chicken Bites, Honey Glazed Walnuts, this Pineapple Ham Cheese Ball, and so many other easy Gluten Free Appetizers.
If served as part of a larger cheese board, the flavors of this Blueberry Balsamic Baked Brie also pair nicely next to blue cheese, gryuère, and sharp cheddar.
How to Store and Reheat Extras
Leftover Baked Brie can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 2-3 days before the texture and flavor will go downhill. Make sure the cheese is completely cool before storing!
To reheat baked Brie in the Oven, place the Brie cheese in an oven-safe dish and bake at 300°F until heated through.
If you’re reheating using a Microwave, heat the Brie for a minute or so, or until it begins to bubble slightly.
Can I Freeze Baked Brie?
You can freeze both unbaked and baked Brie in a pinch – since freezing fresh Brie cheese will alter the texture and flavor a bit, it’s recommended to only freeze Brie that will eventually be melted or cooked. Lucky for us, that’s exactly what a baked Brie calls for!
To freeze Brie (baked or unbaked) for a later time, wrap the wheel tightly in double layers of plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and seal it in an airtight ziplock freezer bag before placing it in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Baked Brie with Bacon Balsamic Blueberries
Ingredients
- 17 oz brie cheese*
- 4 slices bacon (see note)
- 1 shallot minced (2 Tablespoons)
- 1 cup frozen blueberries (I used Mountain Peak Organic Blueberries from Cascadian Farm)
- 3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- Crackers, toasted baguette, apples, etc., for serving.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Place brie round on baking sheet. With a sharp knife, cut into the rind on the top of the brie about a quarter inch from the edge. Do not remove the rind.
- Bake 15 minutes, or until cheese is soft and melted.
- While the Brie is baking, in a skillet, cook the bacon until crispy. Remove bacon from the pan and place on paper towels. Leave about 1 Tablespoon of the bacon grease in the pan.
- Reduce heat to medium low, add shallot and sauté for 1-2 minutes or until they become translucent.
- Add the frozen blueberries, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, and cinnamon to the pan, stir and bring to a simmer.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 8-10 minutes until the liquid is reduced and the mixture is thickened.
- Remove from heat and stir in the bacon.
- Move the hot brie to a serving plate. Carefully remove the top rind using a sharp knife to separate it, if needed.
- Top brie with blueberry mixture and serve with crackers, baguette, apple, etc.
Notes
- Recipe adapted from the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council and RecipeGirl.
- If you can’t find a large wheel of brie (I bought mine at Costco), you could just have more berries on one of the smaller rounds from the grocery store, or use half and save the rest of the berry mixture for another use.
- If you want to make this vegetarian, omit the bacon and use 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in the pan for making the topping.
Did you make this?
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Made it and everyone loved it. It you buy a small wheel of brie it is good for 2-3 people. If 4 + people use the 17 oz creamy Brie wheel. Because this stuff is amazing and very addictive!!!! This will be my new go to.
Oh! I used 4 slices of bacon for the 8 oz wheel for all those bacon lovers!!
So happy you enjoyed it! I love getting creative with baked brie toppings. And yes to more bacon!
Haven’t tried this yet but plan to. Do you think Fresh Blackberries would work with this?
I haven’t tried it, but it sounds good to me!
I made this today with a 200gram/7oz brie. So I cut the recipe in half and baked it for 10 minutes. It was perfect. Thank you for sharing it!
So happy you enjoyed it!
Hey Brianne, I’m Brianna!
I loved your recipe, thank you a million! I had never tried anything like this, and it turned out so good! I’m trying to see if I can omit the bacon and use a different grease ..
Hi Brianna! Definitely an unexpected flavor combo, but it works. You can probably just use butter or a neutral oil. I’d just check the salt since the bacon adds some saltiness to enhance the sweet blueberries.
Hi, I hope you still read comments on these posts 🙂 I’m just curious, as I have 3 huge blueberry bushes that will be pumping out berries over the next couple of weeks. To use fresh berries for this recipe, do I need to smash them, do I need to add liquid (to compensate for the liquid that would defrost off frozen berries), is the cook time less?
This looks fabulous and I can’t wait to try it
Yes, I got a bit behind on comments because summer is crazy with the kiddos. I don’t think you need to smash them, but you might need a little extra liquid. However, with the balsamic and a bit of coking, even the fresh berries will give off some liquid, so I wouldn’t add much or hold off rill you let it cook a bit.
Looks lovely. Think I could prep the blueberry topping mixture a day or two ahead and just warm it prior to adding it to the cheese?
Hi Simone,
I’ve never tried, but I think that would work just fine! I hope you enjoy the baked brie!
Looks amazing ! Were you saying you did cut the top of the Brie off , or you only made a circle around the top of the rind and left it on?
Thank you, Emily. You cut a circle around the top before it goes into the oven so that it’s easier to remove after the cheese has melted. You can leave it on during baking if you’d like.
This looks amazing. I’ll be making this very soon. Question, please. I assume that the cooked bacon is very finely chopped? I would think that blackberries would be good if you wanted to try a different fruit. Thanks.
Hi Linda!
Blackberries sounds like a fantastic fruit option for the baked brie! As for the size of the bacon, I chop mine just a little bit bigger than the bacon pieces you can buy at the grocery store. If you watch the video in my post, you can see the size of mine. Good luck and I hope you enjoy the recipe!
I never thought of combining blueberry and bacon. Hmmm. Sounds delicious. I’m making this for date night with the hubby. Thanks for a great idea!
You’re very welcome, Rhonda. I hope that you and your hubby enjoy the brie!
Can you describe how to cut the rind in the brie? 1 cut or several cuts…..not sure what you mean. Picture of that stage of recipe!
Our apologies for the delay in responding, Nan.
I typically turn the wheel on it’s side, or lay it flat (whichever is most comfortable for you), then carefully with a sharp knife cut a thin layer off of the top. This usually gets most of the rind off, and it’s OK if you leave a little. Some people actually enjoy eating the rind!
This looks incredible! I am confused as to the cutting of the top of the rind though. In your instructions in step2 you say to cut into the rind on the top of the brie about a quarter inch from the edge. Do not remove the rind. Is this one cut or all the way around?
Then in step 9 you say to Carefully remove the top rind using a sharp knife to separate it, if needed.
Could you please update to add more detailed instructions? Thanks so much! I may have to make this for Christmas Eve or earlier for just me if I can’t wait!!
Cheryl, make one cut all the way around the top before baking to kind of score a circle into the top. This helps keep it together while baking. Then you remove that circular piece after it bakes. It should peel right off, but you can use the knife to help scrape off any cheese that sticks to the rind. Does that make sense? Enjoy! I want to make this again myself!
I love me some brie! I will definitely have to try this! Looks ooey gooey delicious! Found you over at Wine’d Down Wednesday!
Thanks for stopping by!
Oh. My. Goodness. My mouth is watering so much right now! Brie is not a cheese I have very often, but this recipe warrants a change in that habit. Thanks so much for sharing! Merry Christmas!
You definitely have to give it a try!
oh em geeee that looks amazing.
Thanks so much! It was incredible!
Giiiirl, I am the queen of awkward small talk. I just don’t have it in me. I wanna know your life story the second I meet you, I don’t want to chitchat about the weather.
This brie! I was planning brie for Christmas Eve and I’m thinking this is going to be it!
Brie is one of my favorite cheeses to enjoy around the holidays. Great combo!
Me too! We often have it at holiday gatherings!
Baked brie is the best appetizer, hands down. The addition of blueberries is such a fun departure from the typical cranberries this time of year (and I like them better any way!) Also, you could totally stand there and be a blubbering fool in a conversation, but I wouldn’t notice if I was stuffing my face with this 🙂
Yes, it’s nice to have a break from the cranberries, which is why these Cascadian Farm berries are so great. Fresh taste in the winter!
Who needs small talk when there’s snacks?! That’s the trick! And this looks like the perfect snack to keep everyone busy 🙂
Where has this been all my life? Brie and blueberries are two of my favorite things – I’ve never thought to combine them!
Haha, you totally need to try it!
This looks amazing!! And I’m all about shoving this in my face instead of making small talk 🙂
That sounds like a good plan!
I love brie and who doesn’t right? The topping looks amazing and a perfect app for the holidays!
Anyone who doesn’t has no idea what they are missing!
I could LIVE on brie. And then you add that topping????? Yes please!!
I could too!
Small talk is not my thing either – unless I’m talking about food and then you can’t shut me up. 🙂 This gorgeous baked Brie is something I could babble about all day long.
I totally hear you! I can talk food forever!
I am at a loss for words over how delicious this combination sounds…I wouldn’t be doing much talking because I’d be too busy diving into this !!
Oh my gosh, that is totally true!
I love brie and adding fruit is the perfect way to serve it up. I will have to pick up some Mountain Peak Blueberries when I am at whole foods this week.
Fruit and cheese is a winning combo!
I was just thinking last night how great balsamic is with fruit (after reading some rage-inducing posts where people think balsamic does not belong with fruits!) This looks so yummy!! And do not worry, I feel I am awkward, too! I always think before I speak and worry what people will say. However, I do love hiding behind my computer and chatting with other food bloggers with no issues, surprisingly!
What?!?! I love fruit and balsamic!