Baked brie is a crowd pleaser and a party favorite. Because let’s face it, everyone loves cheese. Especially when it’s warmed to brie wrapped in puff pastry gooey, spreadable goodness. And wrapped in buttery puff pastry.

And accompanied by your favorite garnishes and dipping vehicles. But “baked” doesn’t have to mean in the oven. There are other ways to cook this creamy cheese to perfection, like the ever-popular, ever-so-easy-to-use air fryer. Here’s why you should break yours out the next time you whip up some baked brie. Air fryers notoriously deliver that extra bit of crispiness, crunchiness, or flakiness to your food that makes the end result restaurant-worthy. If there’s anything you want crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, it’s baked brie.

The efficient high heat of an air fryer takes the flakiness of the buttery puff pastry to the next level while melting the wheel of brie cheese inside of it just enough. Not only does the dish cook to a perfect golden brown — it looks beautiful and tastes delicious — but air fryer baked brie is also just plain practical. The air fryer will cook the large hunk of pastry-wrapped cheese in under 20 minutes, while most oven recipes will require 30 minutes to an hour to brown and crisp up enough. The beauty of baked brie is that it’s a sophisticated snack that can be built with many variations.

Since the nutty, buttery, almost-mushroomy notes of brie complement so many other flavors, every iteration is delicious. From fruits to nuts to herbs, the pairing possibilities are endless. You can always keep things simple and leave out the pastry entirely for a classic baked brie that lets the cheese shine. Or you can try swapping out the traditional puff pastry with phyllo for an exterior that’s extra light and flaky. Brie is a soft cow’s milk cheese that originated in France but is now popular worldwide.