Flaky, ultra-crispy phyllo cups filled with bacon, caramelized onions, and melty Gruyère? Yes, please! These gorgeous little bites are everything you want in an appetizer. Easy to prep ahead and bake straight from the fridge, they’re perfect for holiday entertaining.
If you’re looking for a twist on the typical brie and cranberry style holiday appetizer, these gorgeous little cups will be right up your alley. Most bite-sized cups like these use puff pastry, but I prefer the ultra-light, extreme crispiness that phyllo (or filo) delivers.
Sweet caramelized onions, salty bacon, creamy cheese, plus ultra crispy pastry? Things don’t get much better than that.
While caramelizing onions does take time, I’m sharing a fabulous shortcut for making them in under 10 minutes in an Instant Pot (or any electric pressure cooker) in the recipe below! Or make it even easier and use caramelized onion relish.
Want to play around with different flavors? Try these to start with:
- Sun-dried tomato and feta phyllo cups.
- Blue cheese, sweet chili, and prosciutto phyllo cups.
- Or the classic, brie, cranberry and prosciutto phyllo cups.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Caramelized onions. I’m breaking down how to make them from scratch in the recipe below (and a fabulous time-saving hack if you have an Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker), but you can also use caramelized onion relish to save time.
- Phyllo (filo) pastry. This super light pastry is gorgeously flaky and crispy, and makes a wonderful cup here. Use puff pastry or wonton wrappers if you can’t find any.
- Bacon. Skip the bacon, or use sun-dried tomatoes or olives to make these vegetarian, or use spicy chorizo, a dollop of ‘nduja, sausage meat, or prosciutto.
- Gruyère cheese. This strong, creamy cheese pairs perfectly with the bacon and caramelized onion, so I highly recommend using it if you can. Otherwise, cheddar or smoked cheddar is great, as is brie or camembert.
How to Make the Phyllo Bites
This is a step-by-step photo overview of how to make the cups – the full instructions with ingredient quantities are at the bottom of the page for you.
- Brush three sheets of phyllo pastry with olive oil or butter, then lay them on top of each other, and slice them into small squares. Press the squares into your greased mini muffin pan.
- Add a dollop of caramelized onion, bacon, and a cube of the Gruyère. Pop into the oven.
- Bake until the pastry is golden and crispy around the edges, the bacon is cooked, and the cheese has melted.
- Remove from the oven, let cool slightly, then transfer the cups to a serving platter, and scatter with rosemary or thyme to serve.
Caramelized Onion Cups FAQs
Yes! You can assemble the cups up to a day in advance, then store them covered in the fridge until you’re ready to bake them. It’s important to cover them tightly, as the phyllo dough will dry out when exposed to air.
The easiest swap here is to use caramelized onion relish instead! It’s a great shortcut, and you’ll still get that lovely, deep flavor.
You can – either skip the bacon and add more cheese and caramelized onions, or add chopped sun-dried tomatoes or olives for a similar, salty vibe.
Like this recipe? Try these one-bite appetizers next
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave a recipe rating and a comment below. And remember to tag @DishedByKate on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok if you’ve made one of my recipes. Seeing your recreations really makes my day 😊.
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Caramelized Onion, Bacon and Gruyère Phyllo Cups
- Total Time: 32 minutes
- Yield: 24 cups 1x
Description
Flaky, ultra-crispy phyllo cups filled with bacon, caramelized onions, and melty Gruyère? Yes, please! These gorgeous little bites are everything you want in an appetizer. Easy to prep ahead and bake straight from the fridge, they’re perfect for holiday entertaining.
I’ve popped my favorite shortcut for making caramelized onions in an Instant Pot in less than 10 minutes in the notes of the recipe, if you want to try it out.
Ingredients
For the caramelized onions (or use 4 tablespoons of caramelized onion relish) –
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 large onions, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
For the cups –
- 3 sheets of phyllo (filo) pastry
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 slices bacon, chopped
- 3 1/2 oz (100g) Gruyère cheese, cut into small cubes
- Fresh rosemary, to serve
Instructions
- Caramelize the onions (skip this step if you’re using caramelized onion relish). Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced onions, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar, then cook, stirring often, until they’re soft and deeply golden. This will take at least 25 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Heat your oven and prepare your muffin pan. Set your oven to 375°F (180°C fan) and grease a 24 cup mini muffin pan with butter or oil (oil spray makes this easy).
- Prepare the phyllo (filo). Lay one sheet of pastry on a wooden board or flat surface. Brush all over with olive oil, then lay another sheet of pastry on top. Brush with olive oil again, then lay the third sheet of filo on top. Keep your pastry covered with a damp kitchen towel while you’re working to prevent it from drying out. Slice the pastry into small squares. I like to slice a test square first before cutting them all, just to make sure they are the right size for the muffin pan.
- Assemble the bites. Gently press the pastry squares into your muffin pan to form little cups; they should easily fold in. Spoon a little of the caramelized onions (or relish) into each cup. Add a few pieces of chopped bacon, then top with a cube of Gruyère.
- Bake the cups. Transfer the muffin pan to the oven, and bake for about 10 to 12 minutes, until the pastry looks golden and glorious, the bacon is cooked through and crispy, and the cheese is bubbling.
- Garnish and serve. Remove the pan from the oven, and let the cups cool slightly in the pan before gently removing them (they should pop out easily). Arrange them on a serving platter, then sprinkle with the fresh rosemary. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
HOW TO MAKE CARAMELIZED ONIONS IN AN INSTANT POT: This is my go-to hack; it’s so incredibly quick and easy. Just add your sliced onions, salt, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar to your Instant Pot, mix, then seal and cook at high pressure for five minutes. Use the quick release, then cook, stirring, on ‘saute’ mode for a couple of minutes, until the onions look golden and sticky.
MAKE AHEAD: You can assemble the bites up to a day ahead of time, and keep them covered in the fridge until you’re ready to bake them. Make sure you cover them well, as the phyllo dough will dry out very quickly when it’s exposed to air.
INGREDIENT NOTES: Swap the Gruyère for Comte, Emmental, a sharp cheddar, mozzarella, creamy blue cheese, or brie. Really, any will work, so go for your favorite. Swap the bacon for crumbled sausage meat, or chorizo, or use chopped sun-dried tomatoes or olives for a vegetarian version.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 12
- Category: appetizers
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: american
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 cups
- Calories: 196
- Sugar: 2.3g
- Sodium: 144mg
- Fat: 14.3g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6.9g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 10.2g
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Protein: 7g
- Cholesterol: 35mg
