Cranberry Brie Tart with Pancetta & Thyme
This Cranberry Brie Tart with Pancetta & Thyme is a delicious, easy appetizer that’s perfect for the holiday season! It’s a tasty twist on a traditional baked brie. It’s easy to make, too!
Phew, 2 more days until Christmas, and I’m squeezing in one last recipe for you guys! But this one isn’t a dessert – today I’m sharing a recipe for a delicious appetizer to serve at your holiday gatherings, or to enjoy any time.
One of my favorite Christmas Day appetizers is the baked brie that my mom makes every year. Each year, it gets completely devoured, usually way too much of it from my doing. This Cranberry Brie Tart has that same melty brie and puff pastry that I love so much, but this version comes with unique flavors and a delicious, buttery crust.
Is this Cranberry Brie Tart hard to make?
No! This tart is deceptively easy, thanks in part to the use of frozen puff pastry as the tart crust. The puff pastry is the perfect, flaky vehicle for the tart cranberry sauce and melty, earthy brie. The pancetta adds a little bit of smokiness, and the thyme adds some herby freshness.
The tart comes together super quickly, despite making a super quick cranberry sauce in the process. If you want to skip that step, you can use a cranberry sauce you may already have and add some thyme to it. This makes things even easier. And who doesn’t love that during the holidays?
I originally made this cranberry brie tart pre-Thanksgiving, but just couldn’t fit it in on time. I did share in on Instagram though, and a few of you requested the recipe to serve at your Thanksgiving feasts. Good news: all positive responses! Tried, tested and true for your holiday gatherings!
I hope you all have a wonderful, delicious, and family-filled holiday! Enjoy :)
Need more holiday appetizers? You’ll like these…
- Easy Brie Bites, made with just FOUR ingredients
- Sesame Pecan Snack Mix is perfect for snacking
- Cheesy Turkey Pesto Rolls are a crowd-favorite with four simple ingredients
Cranberry Brie Tart with Pancetta & Thyme
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 23 minutes
- Total Time: 38 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
This Cranberry Brie Tart with Pancetta & Thyme is a delicious appetizer that’s perfect for the holidays! It’s a tasty twist on a traditional baked brie. It’s easy to make, too!
Ingredients
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed in the fridge
- 1 egg white
- 1½ cups fresh cranberries
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 2 oz. diced pancetta
- 6 oz. brie cheese, sliced
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine the cranberries, water, brown sugar, and the leaves from 2 sprigs of thyme. Bring ingredients to a boil, boil for 2 minutes on medium heat or until cranberries have started to break down. Place in the refrigerator to cool.
- In a saute pan, cook pancetta over medium heat until browned. Remove from saucepan and place on a paper towel. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Fit your puff pastry sheet into an ungreased 14”x5″ tart pan; you may need to cut pieces to fit. Prick the puff pastry all over with a fork, and then brush with egg white. Bake for 8 minutes or until shiny and just starting to puff up. Remove from the oven.
- Spread prepared cranberry sauce evenly over the puff pastry. Top with sliced brie and pancetta bits. Return to the oven for 15 minutes or until the puff pastry is golden brown. Sprinkle with remaining thyme leaves. Serve warm.
I absolutely love this tart, Rachel! It’s gorgeous and sounds incredibly delicious.
This tart looks beautiful, Rachel! I love the combination of cranberries and brie. Such a delicious dessert for the holidays. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!
Making this for Christmas Eve you evil genius! :P
Hope you love it Christina!! Merry Christmas :)
I knew when i signed up for your newsletter that my kitchen and my family would never be the same since you always bring to my emails these insanely great recipes i’ve never ate before! From my family to yours, thank-you for sharing your knowledge and keeping our tummy ever so satisfied. A very happy holiday to you :)
Thank you so much, Sylvieme! This comment made my day. Thank you for subscribing, I’m so glad that you enjoy my recipes. Happy holidays to you and your family!
This tart looks absolutely delicious! This would be so perfect for a Christmas appetizer. Pinning this! Hope you have a Merry Christmas :)
This sounds and looks so amazing, I just might have to brave the crowds tomorrow morning at the store to get the ingredients to make this. PINNED.
Wishing you every happiness this Christmas and throughout the year. Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas, Rachel!! This tart looks delicious! :)
This is a beautiful tart! Merry Christmas
This tart is stunning! I love the combination of flavors, textures and flavors.
Wow this looks amazing. I have some leftover brie and I was looking for a way to use it up and this looks perfect!
Mmmm – This looks like such a delicious spin on baked brie. I’m a cheese-a-holic and I’m swooning for this. Maybe for a NYE party now? :)
I hope you had a Merry Christmas!
This tart looks delicious; brie and fruits go surprising well together!
I am going to have to test this out for New Years! It looks and sounds amazing and I already have all the ingredients!
This is my kind of appetizer! I love me some brie! And with the cranberries and pancetta! So good!
This sounds so good! I seriously need to buy some cranberries around now!
What a cool appetizer idea! I have a rectangular tart pan and I only use it for sweet things so I love this!
Whoa, I am kind of bummed that I didn’t see this until now and missed making it for Christmas! Well, that’s ok. It will be great for my next dinner party. It looks like a huge crowd pleaser!
Thanks so much, Nora! It’s definitely a crowd pleaser :) happy holidays!
This tart is gorgeous times infinity! Love the combo of flavors you’ve got going on. :)
I added raspberries to the cranberry sauce to not make it so tart. Very delicious!
So glad you enjoyed it, Heidi! Thanks for the feedback :)
Our first try was awesome! Wasn’t perfect in looks but the flavor was more than we expected. Will make it again….. and again. Maybe share with family if they are lucky.
So glad it was a hit, thanks Mark!
I don’t have a pan that size, would a loaf pan work or do you have any other suggestions!
Looks delicious and I would love to make it.
Hi Babs! A loaf pan would probably be too small for this. Any similarly sized pan should work (round or a different shape work too), or honestly, you could probably use aluminum foil to hold up the sides in the shape you want and do it on a baking sheet! I hope this helps :)
It was good but unless you really really LOVE cranberry sauce I would maybe half the cranberry mixture. It was too overpowering over the other flavors. I’m going to try this again for Christmas with less cranberry and see if it goes better!
Hi Allie, you can totally use less to suit your tastes!! Thanks so much for the feedback.
Rachel, this looks amazing. I’m planning on making your cranberry Brie tart for a Christmas party. Could I pause after it’s baked for the first 8 min until I’m ready to finish and serve?
Hi Susan, yes absolutely! You could even just assemble and then refrigerate until you’re ready to bake.
I tried it for a dinner party! Nice and easy to prepare and went down a storm with everyone
So glad it was a hit!
Made this at Christmas delicious
Glad you enjoyed it, Jo!