Baked Brie Caramelized Onions Pecans (Printable)
Creamy baked brie topped with sweet golden onions and crunchy pecans for an elegant warm cheese appetizer.
# Ingredient List:
→ Cheese & Nuts
01 - 1 wheel (8 oz) brie cheese
02 - 1/2 cup pecan halves
→ Onions
03 - 2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
04 - 2 tbsp unsalted butter
05 - 1 tbsp olive oil
06 - 1 tbsp brown sugar
→ Seasonings
07 - 1/4 tsp sea salt
08 - 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
09 - 1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves (optional)
→ Pastry & Garnish
10 - 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed (optional, for wrapping brie)
11 - 1 egg, beaten (optional, for egg wash)
12 - Crackers or sliced baguette, for serving
# Directions:
01 - Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
02 - Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add sliced onions and sea salt, stirring frequently for 15 to 20 minutes until onions are soft and deeply golden. Stir in brown sugar and continue cooking for another 5 minutes until fully caramelized. Season with black pepper and fresh thyme if desired. Remove from heat and set aside.
03 - While the onions caramelize, toast pecan halves in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until fragrant. Roughly chop and set aside.
04 - Place the brie wheel on the parchment-lined baking sheet. If using puff pastry, wrap the brie completely, sealing the edges, and brush the surface with beaten egg wash.
05 - Spoon the caramelized onions over the brie and sprinkle with half of the toasted pecans. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes if unwrapped, or 20 to 25 minutes if enclosed in pastry, until the cheese is soft and gooey throughout.
06 - Remove from the oven and top with the remaining chopped pecans. Allow the brie to rest for 5 minutes before serving warm with crackers or sliced baguette.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The contrast between gooey cheese, sweet onions, and crunchy pecans will make you close your eyes with every bite.
- It looks wildly impressive but requires almost zero technical skill, which is my favorite kind of recipe.
02 -
- Crank the heat on your onions and they will char on the outside while staying raw inside, so patience on medium low is the only path to true caramelization.
- The brie continues to soften after you pull it from the oven, so take it out when the center is just barely yielding to avoid a total cheese avalanche.
03 -
- If your brie starts to bulge and leak cheese from one side in the oven, do not panic, just scoot the onions over the breach and nobody will notice.
- Slicing the onions paper thin is the single thing that will make caramelization happen faster and more evenly than anything else you can do.