How to Make the Best Baked Brie
Chili Crisp & Strawberry Baked Brie
Every party should have a cheese appetizer. We enjoy cheeseboards and cheese balls, but maybe most of all, we love baked brie. Hot, gooey, dippable, and delicious, it's reason enough to throw a party. While you could just dump some honey or jam on top of a wheel of brie and bake it, Lindsey Baruch, the Lindsey Eats food blogger, photographer, and newly minted author of the cookbook Something Delicious (September 30, 2025, Ten Speed Press), came up with an ingenious recipe, Chili Crisp & Strawberry Baked Brie. She shares, "I knew that I wanted to have a baked brie in my cookbook, and I tried a few different variations, with hot sauce, with a different fruit preserve, and with salsa macha. I landed on chili crisp because it had the heat I wanted and had a hint of crunch from the crisp."
When considering a fruit preserve, she went with strawberry preserves because it was strawberry season when she was recipe testing. She adds, "I wanted to balance out the sweetness from the strawberry with the chili crisp, and then altogether with the melted brie, I knew it was a perfect pairing."
How to Make Baked Brie
Something Delicious by Lindsey Baruch
Baked brie is exactly what it sounds like, a wheel of brie, with a topping, popped in the oven and baked until the cheese is gooey and just right for scooping up with toasted baguette slices, or crackers. For her recipe, you'll need brie, chili crisp and strawberry preserves, plus a baguette and olive oil for making the accompanying crostini. It's a scalable recipe, and Baruch shares that you can make her recipe with a larger or smaller wheel of cheese; just be sure to adjust your baking time. Add a few minutes to ensure it isn't cold in the middle if you use a larger wheel of cheese or subtract a few minutes baking time if you use a smaller wheel to make sure it doesn't overcook.
Tips
The right cheese
Scoring the cheese
Baking dish
Parchment paper
No oven, no problem!
Lindsey Baruch, Simply Delicious cookbook author
While baking a brie is one of the easiest cheese appetizers to make, some techniques will take it from good to great. First of all, even though brie is right there in the name, Baruch shares that you can swap out the brie with camembert if you like. Regardless of which cheese you use, she recommends scoring the top rind, "Not too deep, though, so the toppings can go into those crevices as they bake."
While some recipes call for baking brie on a baking sheet, Baruch bakes hers in a baking dish, which doubles as a serving dish which makes it even easier to get from the oven to the table. She put the baking dish on a sheet of parchment paper, which will catch any spills.
She also says you can make this dish in the microwave, microwaving it for 1 to 2 minutes, and then adding time in 20 to 30-second increments until it's done. Whichever way you end up cooking it, she cautions, "Don't overbake, otherwise it gets waxy and hard, and we want it gooey and melty!"
Chili Crisp & Strawberry Baked Brie
Serves 4
30 Minutes
Who says entertaining needs to be time-consuming? With only three ingredients, this sweet baked Brie with strawberry preserves is a low-effort, high-reward combo. The chili crisp adds the perfect kick of heat. Bake until melted for a soft gooey texture, then spread on a toasted baguette slice. Dip and repeat.
One 8-ounce wheel Brie
2 tablespoons strawberry preserves
1 tablespoon chili crisp or Sumac & Saffron Chili Crisp
Crusty baguette
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1. Position racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper to catch any potential spillage from the cheese.
2. Score your Brie by making parallel cuts 1⁄2 inch apart across the top of the rind, not cutting too deep into the cheese. Turn the cheese 90 degrees and do the same thing to make perpendicular cuts.
3. Place the Brie in a baking dish, preferably a round one just large enough to fit the Brie (a 6-inch skillet or dish would work) and place it on the lined baking sheet. Spoon the preserves and chili crisp on top.
4. Bake the Brie on the top rack until loose and not hard to the touch when pressed with a spoon, 15 to 20 minutes. Any longer than 20 minutes, it may get hard, tough, and stringy, and won’t be melty.
5. Halfway through the Brie baking, slice your baguette into 1⁄2-inch thick rounds. Arrange the baguette slices on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper and drizzle with the olive oil. Bake on the bottom rack until toasted, 8 to 10 minutes.
6. Let the Brie cool for 2 to 3 minutes, then serve alongside your toasted crostini.
Reprinted with permission from Something Delicious: 100 Recipes for Everyday Cooking by Lindsey Baruch © 2025 by Photographs copyright © 2025 by Eva Kolenko. Illustrations copyright © 2025 by Debs Lim. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.