This puff pastry recipe for Cranberry Brie Tarts with Bacon & Red Onion brings savory and sweet together in the most delectable way! 
There’s an amazing sandwich shop where I live that does hot and cold sandwiches. Two of my favorites are Bacon Cranberry & Brie and Bacon Brie and Red Onions. One is grilled cheese and the other is a hot panini. It’s those two sandwiches that gave me the inspiration for this appetizer.
I’ve seen similar recipes made with just cranberry and brie, but to change it up a bit, I combined some of my very favorite flavors to make one outstanding recipe!
I honestly can’t stress enough how delicious these tarts are! They are the kind of thing that when you taste it, your eyes go wide and you wonder where it’s been all your life. Yep, that good! Serve alongside Easy Crab Stuffed Mushrooms and Chicken Salad with Bacon and Green Onions for the perfect party spread. Or check out my Feta and Sweet Pepper Party Swirls for a vegetarian alternative.
Why This Recipe Works
- The sweet, tart flavor of the Cranberry works beautifully alongside the salty bacon, sweet red onions, and creamy Brie.
- The Crispy Puff Pastry is the perfect vessel to hold it all together.
For the Cranberries
For the cranberry aspect of this recipe, used a good quality, English Cranberry sauce. English Cranberry Sauce is not at all like the Jelly can shaped stuff that’s so often used in America (pictured above). It’s more of a jam without being super sweet. If you’re in America, you just use the Whole Cranberry Sauce that comes in a jar.
How to make Cranberry Brie Tarts with Bacon & Red Onion
Start with chopping and cooking the bacon.
Next, saute the sliced red onions until soft.
Add brown sugar.
Saute to coat with until the sugar dissolves. 
Roll out the puff pastry and cut the rounds, place them into the sections of the pan and doc with a fork.
Add the onions (a tablespoon at a time).
Next, add the cranberry sauce (a half tablespoon at a time).
Add the Brie.
Top with the cooked bacon.
Bake until golden.
Serve warm. Don’t be like my husband and try to eat them straight out of the oven – you will burn your mouth!
Cook’s Tips
- When using frozen puff pastry, allow thawing overnight before using. This will make the pastry pliable without becoming too soft.
- Flour your worktop before rolling the pastry. This helps to roll out smooth and prevent sticking or pulling.
- Roll Gently – Puff pastry is delicate if use too much force, you’ll lose some of the flakiness.
- Don’t Skip the Docking of the pastry. Docking the pastry before filling will make the edges puff up and the center will stay down.
- Don’t overcook the bacon. The bacon will cook more during baking so cook just until crisp.
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Let's Make Cranberry Brie Tarts with Bacon & Red Onion
Ingredients
- 16 oz Puff Pastry thawed
- 1⁄2 pound Brie cheese
- 1 cup good quality cranberry sauce or cranberry jam
- 1⁄2 pound bacon chopped
- 2 red onions sliced, sauteed and seasoned
- ¼ cup light brown sugar packed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Using a cookie cutter a little larger than your tartlet pan sections, cut 12 rounds out of the pastry.
- Press each round into a tartlet section set aside.
- If you haven't done so already, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove from the pan and set aside on a paper towel.
- Remove excess grease from the pan leaving about a tablespoon to cook the onions in. Cook the onions until soft. Add the brown sugar, and cook on medium-low heat another 4 or 5 minutes to caramelize (being careful not to burn them).
- Place 2 teaspoons of cranberry jelly into each section, followed by a teaspoon of the sautéed onions.
- Remove the crust from the top of the cheese. Use a teaspoon to scoop the cheese out, place two teaspoons of cheese into each section.
- Top with the bacon.
- Bake about 15-20 minutes or until puff pastry is browned
- Let cool 5 minutes before serving.
Tips + Notes
- When using frozen puff pastry, allow thawing overnight before using. This will make the pastry pliable without becoming too soft.
- Flour your worktop before rolling the pastry. This helps to roll out smooth and prevent sticking or pulling.
- Roll Gently - Puff pastry is delicate if use too much force, you'll lose some of the flakiness.
- Don't Skip the Docking of the pastry. Docking the pastry before filling will make the edges puff up and the center will stay down.
- Don't overcook the bacon. The bacon will cook more during bacon so cook just until crisp.
Nutrition Information:
Update Notes: This recipe was originally posted in 2014 but published again in 2018 to include step by step directions, nutritional information, new photos, and a video.
Cathy says
Love the tarts but there is no mention of the sugar being added to the red onions in the recipe. I printed out the recipe and if I hadn’t known to add sugar to caramelise the onions I don’t think they would have taste SO good.
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi Cathy, I think this is because the instructions are in the post and video and the recipe isn’t quite as specific, as it just says to “sautee the onions in a separate pan”. I’m so glad you enjoyed them anyway 🙂