Dainty little Apple Cranberry Brie Bites made with Instant Pot Apple Cranberry Sauce are the perfect appetizer for any party. Creamy, tangy, and crunchy, these bites will be gone before you know it!
If you firmly believe that the appetizers/finger food should be just as tasty as the main course, then we understand each other — I've got your back.
If you arrive at a party and go straight to the hors d'oeuvres, then again — you are my people and you're in the right place.
If you have to spend 60 seconds on Google every time you want to correctly spell the word “hors d'oeuvre”, then high five — let's be friends.
Oh, how I love a good before-dinner dish!
Actually, I like them so much, I'm usually 50-90% full before the main course and still loading up my plate with so many finger foods I can't fit much else.
These brie bites are one of my all-time favorites because I just adore the mini, crunchy Phyllo Shells. I think they are one of the greatest appetizer inventions of all time and I shamelessly load up on them every holiday season.
This is a one-bite, pop-it-in-your-mouth situation that you will blissfully enjoy on repeat while you help execute the rest of the grand meal.
WHY YOU WILL LOVE APPLE CRANBERRY BRIE BITES
- EASY AS CAN BE: Once you have your cranberry sauce ready and waiting in the fridge, these bites come together in a snap. In fact, you could hand over this job to any eager child who would like to help. If you have a family-favorite cranberry sauce or just want to open a can, you can use that too!
- TASTY LIL' BITES: Crunchy bowl + creamy brie + bright, tangy cranberry sauce = this just might be your favorite hors d'oeuvre of all time!
- PHYLLO SHELLS: So easy to pull out of the freezer and pop on a tray. Look for them in the freezer aisle.
- BRIE CHEESE: The BEST melty, creamy cheese around. If you've never tried it, you are in for a treat!
- APPLE CRANBERRY SAUCE: This is my go-to Apple Cranberry Sauce that I've shared over the years and is THE ONLY cranberry sauce I make anymore. It's a perfect mix of tangy/sweet and uses only orange juice and maple syrup as the sweetener.
HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT APPLE CRANBERRY SAUCE
- Add the sauce ingredients to the pot
- Pressure cook for 5 minutes
- Let cool a minute to thicken
Once you have your sauce ready, it's time to assemble the bites.
HOW TO MAKE APPLE CRANBERRY BRIE BITES
- Place shells on a baking sheet and add a cube of brie to each
- Top with sauce
- Bake until the shells are golden brown, serve
CLICK HERE FOR RECIPE CARD BELOW WITH DETAILED COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
TIPS FOR SUCCESS
- USE THE RIGHT PHYLLO: There are a few different phyllo products in the freezer aisle. I use Athens Mini Phyllo Shells. Each box contains 15 shells, so grab extra boxes if you're serving a crowd.
- BRIE TIPS: Look for brie cheese in the specialty cheese sections of the grocery store. I buy the 8-ounce rounds. You will use about a third of the round for one batch of these bites. The white exterior of brie is edible so you do not need to cut it away. Saying that, some people prefer brie without the rind, so trimming it away is definitely an option if you like. My opinion is that it adds a delicious texture variety so I leave it on.
- CRANBERRY SAUCE OPTIONS: You will have a lot more sauce than you need for one batch of these bites. You can multiply the number of bites or serve it at the table with the turkey. As I mentioned above, if you have a family-favorite option or enjoy the canned version, you can definitely use that for the sauce. This sauce is naturally sweetened with maple syrup and is on the tart side. If you prefer a sweet sauce, add more syrup.
HOW TO STORE, REHEAT, AND FREEZE
- Store: Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container for up to 3 days. The shells will soften a bit, but they're still tasty.
- Reheat: Eat them cold or warm them in a 350°F oven for 5 minutes or so.
- Freeze: I've never tried freezing them, but until I experiment, I would assume that they don't freeze very well. (I could be wrong!)
MAKE AHEAD TIPS
Apple Cranberry Sauce can be prepared up to 4 days in advance.
Chop brie cheese into bites a few days in advance if needed as well.
VARIATIONS
- APPLE FIG COMPOTE AND BRIE BITES: Use my Apple Fig Compote recipe in place of the cranberry sauce. SO GOOD!
- JAM AND BRIE BITES: Swap the sauce for your favorite jam, jelly or preserves.
- JALAPENO JELLY CREAM CHEESE BITES: Swap the filling for cubed cream cheese and a scoop of jalapeno jelly. These are just ridiculously yummy.
I'm feeling so much joy just knowing that my favorite little appetizer is now on the blog!
I hope to one day chat with you all at the hors d'oeuvres tables where we can fill up on all the yummy tiny bites and feel very good about that decision until we realize we don't have room for stuffing.
I'd love to hear what your favorite holiday appetizers are! Let me know in the comments below.
Enjoy!
MORE INSTANT POT APPETIZER RECIPES
- Mama's Famous Bean Dip
- Turkey Meatballs with Cranberry Jalapeno Sauce
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Dough Dip
- Creamy Fruit Dip
TOOLS/INGREDIENTS USED TO MAKE APPLE CRANBERRY BRIE BITES
PrintApple Cranberry Brie Bites
Apple Cranberry Brie Bites are a crowd-pleasing one-bite appetizer. Easy to make and serve!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the Apple Cranberry Sauce
- 12 oz fresh or frozen cranberries, rinsed
- zest and juice of 1 large orange
- 1 Honeycrisp apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
- ½ cup apple cider
- 1/3 pure maple syrup (increase to ½ cup if you prefer a sweeter sauce)
For the Brie Bites
- Apple Cranberry Sauce – will need about 1/3 cup of sauce depending on how full you fill them
- Brie cheese, cut into 15 cubes (see notes)
- 15 Mini Phyllo Shells (see notes)
Optional garnish: roasted, chopped pecans
Instructions
To make the Apple Cranberry Sauce:
- Add all of the Apple Cranberry Sauce ingredients to the pressure cooker pot and stir well.
- Secure the lid and turn pressure release knob to a sealed position. Cook at high pressure for 5 minutes.
- When cooking is complete, use a natural release for 5 minutes and then release any remaining pressure. If liquid sprays while releasing the pressure, quickly turn the valve to the sealed position and wait 5 more minutes.
- Stir well. The sauce will thicken further as it cools.
- At this point you can proceed with making the Brie Bites or refrigerate the sauce until you’re ready to make them.
To make the Brie Bites:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove phyllo shells from their packaging and place them on a sheet pan.
- Place a cube of Brie in each shell followed by about a teaspoon of Apple Cranberry Sauce.
- Bake for 10 minutes until the filling is hot, the phyllo shells are golden brown on the edges, and the brie is soft and melty.
- Can be served hot or at room temperature, but hot is best because the brie is so creamy.
Notes
- You will have more sauce than needed to make 15 brie bites so feel free to double or triple the number of brie bites you’re preparing.
- Leftover sauce is great on turkey, yogurt, pancakes, etc. It also freezes well.
- The addition of an apple, apple cider, and orange juice helps tame the bitterness of the cranberries without needing to add a lot of sweetener. Use between 1/3 – 1/2 cup of maple syrup, depending on your ideal sweet/tart level.
- For the Brie cheese, I like to buy the 8 oz round in the specialty cheese section and use about ⅓ of it per box of shells.
- For the phyllo shells, I use Athens Mini Phyllo Shells from the freezer section. Each box contains 15 shells so grab extra boxes if you are feeding a crowd.
Keywords: Brie Bites, Apple Cranberry Sauce, Healthy Appetizer
Welcome! I’m Marci, wife to my motorcycle dream man and mother of 3. I have a passion for creating and cooking delicious masterpieces in my kitchen and am ecstatic to share my discoveries on TIDBITS! I like my food tasty, wholesome, memorable, and always, ALWAYS followed by dark, salty chocolate.
Can you assemble these and freeze them before or after baking?
Christy, hmm…interesting idea, and now I want to try it. I bet you could freeze them before baking and then throw them on a baking sheet until the cheese is melty. I might have to try this for Christmas!
Mmmm. Those sound amazing! I feel the same way about appetizers, so this year’s Christmas Eve, we are forgoing the usual fare and simply eating hors d’oeuvres and dips for supper! We’re a very small group, so adding these to the spread would be too much, but I’ll keep it in my recipe book for next time.
Oh, and I love red pepper jelly poured onto a block of softened cream cheese and served with rice crackers! It hits all of the notes that I love about crab Rangoon, but it’s much simpler, which means I can have it more often.
Nicole, that is my kind of feast! You should totally do these bites! You can make as many or as little as you want and they would be such a fun addition to this kind of spread. I’m totally going to throw this out to my siblings, I love this idea! The jelly with cream cheese makes me so happy!
Can I use apple vinegar instead apple cider?
Laimis, No, vinegar would not taste good here. I would use apple cider or apple juice.
Thank you
What about Apple Cider Vinegar?
That would be a bit abrasive too. Definitely stick with Apple Cider!
Can I use the soft brie? That is all my grocery store had.
Stephanie, definitely, that will be delicious!