Warm Baked Brie with Honey and Pecans – A Cozy, Crowd-Pleasing Christmas Appetizer

Okay, so baked brie with honey and pecans is one of those recipes I thought was fancy restaurant territory until I actually tried making it. Spoiler: it’s embarrassingly easy. Like, so easy I felt kind of dumb for being intimidated by it for years.

My first attempt was last December when I panic-invited neighbors over and had nothing impressive to serve. I’d seen those gorgeous photos of melty brie with toppings all over Pinterest—you know, the stylish sanctuary ones that look like they belong in a magazine. Figured I’d give it a shot. Worst case? Order pizza.

Why Baked Brie with Honey and Pecans Works Every Single Time

Here’s the thing about baked brie: it’s basically foolproof. You stick cheese in the oven. Cheese melts. Everyone’s happy. But when you add honey and pecans? Game changer. The sweetness cuts through that rich, creamy brie, and the pecans give it this toasty crunch that makes people think you actually know what you’re doing in the kitchen.

I’ve tried baked brie with honey and walnuts too (when I ran out of pecans mid-recipe because someone in my house ate them all—cough my husband cough). Also good! But pecans have this buttery thing going on that just hits different. Trust me on this one.

And look, I’ve seen people do baked brie in puff pastry with honey, which is gorgeous and tastes amazing, but also requires defrosting pastry and remembering to buy it in the first place. This version? No pastry required. Just throw it in the oven. Done.

What You’ll Actually Need (No Fancy Ingredients)

Shopping for this is stupid simple. You probably have half of it already:

• 1 wheel of brie cheese (8–10 oz, whatever looks good at the store)
• 3 tablespoons honey (I use the bear-shaped bottle, don’t judge me)
• 1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped (or walnuts if that’s what you’ve got)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar (adds this caramel-y thing that’s chef’s kiss)
• Fresh rosemary (optional, makes it look fancy)
• Crackers or sliced baguette for serving

Now, about that brie. Some recipes get all specific about rind on or off. I leave it on. It’s edible, and honestly, scooping out the middle while leaving the rind behind is just extra work nobody needs. But you do you.

The pecans—toast them first if you’re feeling ambitious. I forget about 60% of the time and it’s still delicious, so don’t stress if you skip it.

How to Make Baked Brie with Honey and Pecans (The Real Way)

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350°F. I know, I know. Everyone says this. But I once forgot and stuck brie in a cold oven and it took forever and got weird. Learn from my mistakes.

Step 2: Put your brie wheel on a piece of parchment paper or in a small oven-safe dish. I use this little cast iron skillet that makes me feel like a real chef. You can also wrap it in crescent rolls if you want to get all fancy (baked brie with honey and pecans and crescent rolls is a whole vibe), but I’m keeping this simple.

Step 3: Score the top of the brie in a crosshatch pattern. Just take a knife and make some shallow cuts. This lets the honey seep in. Honestly, I’ve skipped this before when I was lazy and it was fine, but it does help.

Step 4: Drizzle half the honey over the top. Be generous. This is not the time to be stingy with honey.

Step 5: Stick it in the oven for 12–15 minutes. You want it soft and melty in the middle but not completely liquified. It’ll look kinda jiggly when you take it out—that’s perfect.

Step 6: While that’s baking, toast your pecans in a small pan with the butter and brown sugar. Medium heat, stir constantly, takes like 3–4 minutes. They’ll smell AMAZING and get all caramelized. If you’re adding cranberries (baked brie with honey pecans and cranberries is gorgeous for holidays), toss those in too.

Watch them carefully. I burned a batch once because my neighbor knocked on the door to return a package and I got distracted. Ended up scraping off the burnt bits and pretending it was “extra toasted.” Nobody noticed.

Step 7: Take the brie out, top it with your pecans, drizzle the rest of the honey, and if you’re fancy, stick a sprig of rosemary on top.

Serve immediately with crackers or bread. Like, immediately. This is best when it’s still warm and gooey.

Baked Brie Toppings You Can Try Instead

So here’s where it gets fun. Once you nail the basic baked brie with honey and pecans in the oven, you can go wild with toppings:

• Baked brie with jam – Fig jam is unreal with this. Apricot works too.
• Baked brie with dates and pecans – Chop up some dates, mix them in. Tastes like dessert.
• Baked brie with pecans and brown sugar – Skip the honey, double the brown sugar. More caramel vibes.

I’ve also done a savory version with garlic and herbs when I got bored of sweet stuff. Different crowd-pleaser entirely.

My Random Tips That Actually Matter

Temperature check: Room temp brie bakes more evenly. But do I remember to take it out of the fridge ahead of time? Almost never. It’s fine either way.

Oven timing: Every oven is different. My old apartment oven ran hot and this took 10 minutes. Current oven takes closer to 15. Just watch it. When the middle looks soft and jiggly, it’s ready.

Leftovers: Ha. There are never leftovers. But if there are, this is amazing reheated for like 30 seconds in the microwave. Loses the crispy pecans but still tastes good.

Don’t skip the salt: I know brie is already kinda salty, but a tiny pinch of flaky sea salt on top before serving? Perfection. Learned this from someone at a party who made it better than mine and I was like “what’s your secret” and she just whispered “salt.”

Why This Beats Restaurant Baked Brie

Honestly? Because you made it. And because it costs like $8 instead of $18. And because you can control the honey-to-cheese ratio, which restaurants always mess up (not enough honey = sad times).

Plus, when people show up and see melty brie on your table, they automatically think you’re a better cook than you probably are. Which is a win.

I’ve made this for Christmas parties, random Tuesdays when I needed comfort food, and once for breakfast because I woke up craving it and rules are fake. Every single time, people ask for the recipe. So here you go. Now you can be the person everyone bugs for the recipe.

Let me know how yours turns out! And if you burn the pecans, just scrape them off and keep going. Nobody needs to know. 🙂