This baked camembert recipe is an easy appetizer with melty cheese, honey, thyme, walnuts, and finished with flaky salt – a delicious pairing of flavors for the perfect bite.
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Ingredients
Just 5 simple ingredients and you have a great party ready appetizer.
- Camembert cheese: a soft cow’s milk cheese from France (the Normandy region) that’s mild, earthy, nutty. When warmed it melts to become gooey and silky.
- Honey: A little drizzle of honey to bring out the sweet notes in the cheese.
- Fresh thyme sprigs: compliments the earthy flavors in the camembert cheese.
- Walnuts: nuts pair deliciously with the nutty camembert cheese.
- Flaky salt: camembert cheese is very mild, so adding some salt helps bring all the flavors to life. I like to use Maldon Sea Salt Flakes.
Ingredient substitutions
There are a few ingredient substitutions you can make that will still yield a delicious and very similar result! Sub any or all of these as you wish/need.
- Cheese: you can substitute brie cheese instead of camembert
- Honey: you can substitute maple syrup instead of honey. If you want a milder flavor, you can use a drizzle of olive oil instead as well
- Herb: you can sub other fresh herbs such as sage or rosemary instead of thyme
- Nut: you can sub pecans instead of walnuts
Step by step instructions
This recipe is incredibly simple to put together making it perfect for a holiday table or appetizer spread. You just need about 20 minutes total!
1. Score the cheese. Unwrap your wheel of camembert (250g) from its plastic wrapping or paper wrapping, and place it back in the wood box. Using a sharp knife score the top of the cheese about ⅓ of the way down in a cross-hatch.
2. Add the toppings. Top the scored cheese with the honey, thyme, and walnuts.
3. Bake. Place it on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake uncovered for 15 minutes at 350. Sprinkle with flaky salt and serve immediately with toasted bread.
Tips and tricks
- Bake it in the wood casing it comes in, or transfer it to a small baking dish. If the latter, try to choose a dish as close in size to the cheese as possible because once baked, the cheese will ooze quite a bit.
- Something like a small cast iron skillet would work great.
- Bake the cheese on a sheet pan. If you bake the cheese in the wood casing, the casing may break apart (which is fine!). If it does, you want there to be something to catch the cheese. No cheese left behind.
- Do not bake the cheese for more than 15 minutes. Past the 15-minute mark the cheese actually will coagulate and harden.
- Add more salt or honey to your liking. Cooking is all about tasting as you go. If you want more salt or honey after taking a bite, go for it.
- Bake it right before you serve it. The cheese will quickly firm back up when it’s out of the oven so if you want that silky melted cheese, bake it then serve it right away.
- Use an oven thermometer to make sure your oven is at the right temperature (important for all recipes, not just this one).
- Cut the top of the rind off entirely if you prefer as opposed to just scoring it.
How to serve
There are so many delicious accompaniments you can serve with baked camembert cheese, some including:
- Crusty bread / crostini
- Garlic bread
- Crackers
- Crudites
- Charcuterie (salami, prosciutto, etc.)
- Fruit (apple slices, pear slices, grapes, etc.)
- Jam (cranberry, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry would all be fantastic)
- Wine pairing: Since camembert is a mild soft cheese, a crisp white wine would be ideal such as Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc.
Additional topping ideas
Beyond the honey, nuts, and herbs, there are some delicious toppings you can swap in or add on!
- Jam - Cranberry jam or fig jam would be delicious in the holiday time, and a berry like raspberry jam would be delicious in the summer.
- Red pepper flakes or chopped calabrian chili peppers
- Truffle oil
- Sliced garlic
- Smoked salt
- Pesto
Storage and reheating
Leftovers can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container.
You can reheat the cheese at 350F for 12-15 minutes until it softens back up.
FAQ
The main difference is brie has cream added to it which makes it a bit smoother and creamier and slightly less earthy. More on camembert here.
Yes, the rind is edible.
You can prepare all the ingredients individually in advance (e.g., chop the nuts if needed) but I would recommend waiting to assemble until right before you bake. If you score the cheese too soon it can dry out.
Yes, same temperature and time, just bake it in an air fryer safe dish and not the wood casing.
No, you can bake it right from the fridge. And actually, with soft cheeses when they sit at room temperature bacteria can grow and bring more funk. So straight from the fridge is actually great.
More cheesy appetizers
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Recipe
Baked Camembert
INGREDIENTS
- 250g camembert cheese
- 2 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoon chopped walnuts
- 1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 350F.
- Unwrap your wheel of camembert from its plastic wrapping or paper wrapping, and place it back in the wood box. Using a sharp knife score the top of the cheese about ⅓ of the way down in a cross-hatch.
- Top the scored cheese with the honey, thyme, and walnuts.
- Place it on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake uncovered for 15 minutes at 350. Sprinkle with flaky salt and serve immediately with toasted bread.
NOTES
- Bake it in the wood casing it comes in, or transfer it to a small baking dish. If the latter, try to choose a dish as close in size to the cheese as possible because once baked, the cheese will ooze quite a bit.
- Something like a small cast iron skillet would work great.
- Bake the cheese on a sheet pan. If you bake the cheese in the wood casing, the casing may break apart (which is fine!). If it does, you want there to be something to catch the cheese. No cheese left behind.
- Do not bake the cheese for more than 15 minutes. Past the 15-minute mark the cheese actually will coagulate and harden.
- Add more salt or honey to your liking. Cooking is all about tasting as you go. If you want more salt or honey after taking a bite, go for it.
- Bake it right before you serve it. The cheese will quickly firm back up when it’s out of the oven so if you want that silky melted cheese, bake it then serve it right away.
- Use an oven thermometer to make sure your oven is at the right temperature (important for all recipes, not just this one).
- Cut the top of the rind off entirely if you prefer as opposed to just scoring it.
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