Ina Garten Just Revealed How She Transforms Store-Bought Cranberry Sauce Into a Restaurant-Quality Thanksgiving Side

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When it comes to holiday cooking, there’s no one whose recipes we rely on more than Ina Garten. From her tastiest Thanksgiving side dishes to her best pumpkin recipes and unique Thanksgiving dessert recipes, we always want to hear what the Barefoot Contessa has planned for the biggest food holiday of the year. And we’re not alone — Jennifer Garner recently commented on one of Garten’s Instagram posts, “Ina, you are the Mariah Carey of Thanksgiving!,” and we’d have to agree. So when the cooking star recently shared how she transforms store-bought cranberry sauce into something you can actually get excited about, you know we paid close attention.

Cranberry sauce is one of those hotly contested Thanksgiving food items that always seem to stir up drama around the table. There’s the jellied, store-bought cranberry sauce camp, which prefers round slices of cranberry sauce that look a little like dog food on the side of their plate. Then there’s the classic homemade crew, who aren’t afraid of some whole cranberries. But Ina Garten’s upgraded store-bought cranberry sauce, which she calls her Cranberry Fruit Conserve, is the best of both worlds.

Here’s how she “hot rods” her easy cranberry sauce. She uses canned whole berry cranberry sauce, then adds it to a pot with freshly squeezed orange juice and zest, and grated apple, simmering everything for about 15 minutes until the flavors have melded and the sauce has thickened. Once the cranberry sauce is chilled, she adds in raisins and toasted pecans (diced dried apricots or dried cherries could be delicious here, too).

You still might need a can of sliceable jellied cranberry sauce on the table for the die-hard fans, but the rest of your guests will be impressed at how you turned a can of cranberry sauce from the store into something that tastes like it could be served at a restaurant. And you just might be surprised at how delicious the leftovers (if there are any!) are the next morning stirred into hot oatmeal or spread over toasted muffins.

Before you go, check out these Ina Garten-Approved holiday gift ideas: