Happy New Year! Whether you have made New Year’s resolutions and wish to get in shape with a keto diet, or if New Year’s resolutions are not (needed!) for you, this unusually mouth-watering Brie with Crumbled Bacon and Cranberries is certainly worth making. Very low in carbs and with only 4 wholesome ingredients, why not start the New Year in a delicious and healthy way anyway?
How to make this Brie with Crumbled Bacon and Cranberries
Making this flavor and texture-bursting dish is super simple: you’ll need only 4 ingredients! First, you’ll fry and crumble some bacon and set it aside. Next, you’ll whip up a thick hot sauce with cranberries and sweetener. Lastly, you’ll need one 8—9-oz (230—250-gram) brie or Camembert cheese wheel that you top with the hot cranberry sauce and crumbled bacon.
For the cranberry sauce, you can use fresh or frozen cranberries. I’ve chosen allulose for the sweetener, as it produces a deliciously sticky result. If you cannot access allulose, be sure to check the Tips for Variations section at the end of this post for sweetener alternatives.
So, without further delay, let’s take a look at how to prepare this special dish — that makes a great combination with keto bread or crackers.
Take 8 slices of bacon and fry them…
…until crispy.
Crumble the bacon and set aside.
Combine 1/2 cup (120 ml) of fresh or frozen cranberries…
…and 1/4 cup (60 ml) allulose.
Cook over high heat, all the time mixing, until thick.
Break the cranberries with the back of a spoon so that they get crushed.
Here we go, thick sauce.
Place an 8—9-oz (230—250-gram) brie or Camembert cheese wheel on a serving plate.
Spoon the hot cranberry sauce on top.
Sprinkle the crumbled bacon on top.
Serve immediately with keto bread or keto crackers. So. Totally. Yum!
How I came up with this easy keto recipe
This simple recipe has been hanging on my to-do list for about a year, maybe even longer. I don’t know where I got the idea of combining bacon with cranberries and brie, but most probably, I was musing over fancy bacon recipes because: bacon makes everything better, as we know.
Combining bacon with sweet flavors is nothing novel. Also, I have various recipes that combine bacon with sweet things, like:
- Bacon-Wrapped Strawberry Volcanoes
- Sugar-Free Maple Bacon Buttercream Frosting
- Bacon and Candied Pecan Dark Chocolate Bark
- Bacon-Wrapped Camembert with Walnuts
As you see, the last recipe in the list combines Camembert and bacon with sweet flavors.
I remember I was planning this flavorful recipe for Thanksgiving or maybe for the holidays, but since I got other recipe ideas and posted those, this particular recipe idea kept hanging on my to-do list.
However, I started thinking that this recipe would be just the ultimate one for the New Year! What would be the best way to start the New Year than a delicious treat that does good for you! This Brie with Crumbled Bacon and Cranberries ticks all the boxes!
I hadn’t written down the measures and the exact recipe. I just knew I wanted to prepare a sweet and tangy sauce with cranberries and sweetener and top a wheel of brie with it. I was also planning to crown the whole thing with fried, crumbled bacon.
To be honest, I didn’t have time to experiment with this recipe, but I wanted to post it anyway this week, so once again, I trusted my gut feeling, and after calculating the measures, I was ready to prepare the recipe and shoot the progress photos at the same time.
Well, at first, I was planning to use only 1/4 cup (60 ml) of cranberries, but I’m happy that I decided to double that, as 1/4 cup (60 ml) would have made far too little sauce.
After shooting my photos and preparing the recipe, it was time to taste my creation. Oh boy, it tasted superb! I was surprised at how full of flavor the cranberry sauce was! It was tart yet subtly sweet. The salty and crunchy bacon complemented the mellow and soft cheese and the tart sauce extremely well. What a fireworks of textures and flavors — with only 4 ingredients! Now, these fireworks I like!
I didn’t even have any keto bread or crackers while preparing and enjoying the dish at my mother’s place. Still, I gulped down many pieces of this tasty treat in one sitting!
Here’s the recipe for you to enjoy:
4-Ingredient Brie with Crumbled Bacon and Cranberries
Happy New Year! Whether you have made New Year’s resolutions and wish to get in shape with a keto diet, or if New Year's resolutions are not (needed!) for you, this unusually mouth-watering Brie with Crumbled Bacon and Cranberries is certainly worth making. Very low in carbs and with only 4 wholesome ingredients, why not start the New Year in a delicious and healthy way anyway?
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon
- 1/2 cup = 120 ml cranberries (fresh or frozen)
- 1/4 cup = 60 ml allulose
- 1 wheel of brie or Camembert cheese (8—9 oz = 230—250 grams)
Instructions
- Fry the bacon until crispy and crumble it. Set aside.
- Place the cranberries and the sweetener in a small saucepan.
- Cook over high heat, all the time mixing, until the mixture forms a thick sauce. This takes about 20 minutes. Break the cranberries with the back of a spoon while cooking.
- Place the cheese wheel on a serving plate.
- Spoon the hot cranberry sauce evenly over the cheese.
- Sprinkle the bacon on top.
- Serve immediately with keto bread or crackers
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| Nutrition information | In total | Per serving if 6 servings in total |
| Protein | 69.2 g | 11.5 g |
| Fat | 107.0 g | 17.8 g |
| Net carbs | 3.7 g | 0.6 g |
| kcal | 1264 kcal | 211 kcal |
Tips for variations
If you cannot get your hands on allulose, powdered erythritol is the next best sweetener. Monk fruit and stevia are other natural sweeteners that sweeten the cranberry sauce sweetly. As cranberries are so tart, make sure to use enough sweetener to tame the tartness. Naturally, a combination of different sweeteners works wonders in that.
You can jazz up this simple yet flavorful dish even more. How about adding herbs? Believe it or not, thyme and rosemary go extremely well with this special dish!
Fancy some fruity flavors? Add freshly grated orange peel (or lemon or lime peel) from organic fruit. Orange and cranberry is really a match made in heaven, as you can see from this Sugar-Free Cranberry Orange Sauce recipe I posted about 10 years ago!
For more decadent flavor (and for an adult-only treat), add 1—3 teaspoons of rum to the ready cranberry sauce.
Instead of cranberries, you can use other berries like raspberries. In any case, choose flavorful and tart berries as they complement best the mild flavors of this dish.
Got surprise guests and don’t have time to cook anything? Do like this: Top the cheese wheel with fresh cranberries. Pour an ample amount of sugar-free syrup on top. Crown with crumbled bacon (you have fried bacon lurking in your fridge, don’t you?) Be sure to use naturally sweetened syrup. Just to make sure: natural keto-friendly sweeteners are stevia, monk fruit, erythritol, and allulose.
General prattling
This week has been very special — not in a positive way, though. My dad passed away a few days ago. Well, that was expected as my dad had been in hospice since last February, suffering from severe dementia and numerous other ailments.
However, no matter how well we tried to prepare for this event, you cannot avoid feeling sad because of losing a loved one.
I was lucky to be able to visit my dad the day before he died. I was also lucky to spend time with him on Christmas Eve.
After my dad passed away, I immediately went to visit my mother to help her with everyday tasks: shopping, cleaning, pushing away snow from the yard, and planning my dad’s funeral.
Even in the last moments of his life, my dad was thinking of my family and me and if we were doing well. When I was feeding him in the hospice, he was concerned if I had got enough food.
My dad was an old-school man who loved the forest, fishing, and traditions. However, I always knew I had a special place in his heart.
Thank you, dad, for teaching me that hard work pays off and good education brings abundant possibilities in life.
Thank you, dad, for taking care of me, always ensuring everything is fine with me and that I have all I need.
Thank you, dad, for showing me an excellent example of a man who keeps his promises, takes care of his family, and always puts the family first.
Thank you for everything, dad. Rest in peace.
Losing a loved one during the Holiday season is especially difficult.
My deepest sympathies on the death of your father.
Thank you, John-Mark, for your touching words!
My warmest condolences for your father.
Your words were really touching.
I am sure he was proud of you.
Thank you for your comment and condolences, Kostas! I really appreciate them.