Cranberry Brie Pull Apart Bread
Cranberry Brie Pull Apart Bread is such a FUN holiday appetizer that everyone will be grabbing for! This pull apart bread with brie is made with a big loaf of sourdough or French boule, a wheel of brie cheese, cranberry sauce, pecans, and butter and is simply irresistible.
When it comes to new holiday recipes, I'm all about the appetizers and the desserts/cookies. Yes, I love cooking beef tenderloin and prime rib, but those recipes are tried and true, and we don't tend to stray from the classics. Cranberry Brie Pull Apart Bread is definitely going to become a staple!
I seriously love holiday appetizers and the hardest thing about them is deciding which one to make. Usually I can't decide if it's going to be Rosemary Honey Roasted Nuts or Chipotle Cranberry Meatballs, but now I know it's definitely going to be this Cranberry Brie Pull Apart Bread!
Ingredients in Cranberry Brie Pull Apart Bread
- Loaf of Sourdough or French Bread - it works best if it is a round loaf. This time I used a French Boule from a local bakery.
- Brie Cheese
- Cranberry Sauce - I used leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving in this recipe. I always make this recipe - it's my favorite! If you're making it just for this recipe, you could halve the recipe. You will still probably have some leftover, but I'd just use it to top off some pancakes or yogurt!
- Chopped Pecans
- Butter
- Fresh Thyme - for topping
How to Make Brie Pull Apart Bread
This recipe is really so easy to make. To start, you'll cut the loaf of bread (preferably a round loaf) vertically and then horizontally to create approximately 1-inch cubes of bread.
Next, you'll cut a wheel of brie cheese into small chunks, and then stuff them between the cubes of bread. This is a little time consuming, but very easy. After the brie cheese, apply the cranberry sauce. Take a spoon and shove the sauce between the cubes and on top of the cheese. It's okay if some of the sauce is more or less on top of the bread. After the cranberry sauce, sprinkle the bread with chopped pecans, along with pushing some between the bread cubes. Lastly, brush the entire loaf with butter. Don't be shy!
Bake the loaf in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes to get the entire loaf warmed and the brie cheese melted.
Serve cranberry brie pull apart bread topped with fresh thyme and enjoy!
Cranberry Brie Pull Apart Bread Questions
Can this be made ahead of time?
I don't see why not! You can prep the pull apart bread up until the baking step. This really is best warm, so pop it in the oven 20-25 minutes prior to serving and it will be perfectly gooey and delicious once you're ready to eat.
Can a different type of cheese be used?
Brie is perfect for this recipe, but I think a couple of other types of cheeses could be used. I would use a soft/semi-soft cheese like camembert, cambozola, blue cheese, goat cheese, and gorgonzola cheese in place of the brie cheese, if brie isn't your preference.
Can canned cranberry sauce be used?
I think that would be fine, if you don't mind the canned variety.
What is the best type of bread to use for pull apart bread?
I think a bread with a crusty outside and a soft inside, like sourdough, is perfect for pull apart bread. I've also used a French boule with great results!
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Cranberry Brie Pull Apart Bread
Ingredients
- 1 round loaf sourdough or French boule
- 16 ounce wheel brie cheese
- ½ cup cranberry sauce *my favorite recipe is linked above!
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- 2 tablespoon butter melted
- fresh thyme, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cut the round loaf vertically and horizontally to create 1" cubes. You want to cut fairly far down through the loaf to have room to tuck in the cheese, sauce, and nuts, but don't cut all the way through.
- Cut the wheel of brie cheese into small chunks.
- Tuck the chunks of cheese between the cubes of bread.
- Repeat with the cranberry sauce and pecans.
- Brush the loaf with the melted butter.
- Place on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
- Enjoy!
