How to Make Canned Cranberry Sauce 10x Better, According to Ina Garten

We know that not everyone will agree with this statement, but we think the Thanksgiving meal just isn’t complete without some cranberry sauce. We love how the tangy, sweet condiment complements savory dishes like turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes. Among cranberry sauce fans there are those who like to whip up a batch from scratch, while others reach for a can. But what if there was a way to have the best of both worlds?

And that’s where Ina Garten comes in. The renowned cook, cookbook author and TV personality shared her genius cranberry sauce on her Instagram page recently and we can’t wait to give it a try. As Ina always says, “storebought is fine,” but this time she’s doing storebought with a twist. Read on for everything you need to know. 

Related: We Tried 10 Different Cranberry Sauces and the Winner Wasn’t the One We Were Expecting

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How to Make Canned Cranberry Sauce Better, According to Ina Garten

We all know that a good cranberry sauce balances tart and sweet flavors, with a fruity tang from the cranberries and subtle hints of citrus or spices like cinnamon. Canned cranberry sauce can taste a little bland and not as fresh as you’d like. 

But Ina has a fix. To add more flavor to canned cranberry sauce, Garten says that all you need is “hot rod” it, aka adding some ingredients to make it wow-worthy. 

Garten starts with a can of whole-berry cranberry sauce (she likes Ocean Spray whole berry cranberry sauce) and puts it in a pot. She adds in some freshly squeezed orange juice, a little orange zest and a half a grated apple. Why the apple? As Ina explains, apple has pectin in it, so it helps the sauce gel, plus it adds a fresh hit of flavor. Ina simmers the sauce for 15 minutes, then refrigerate it until it sets up a bit, which takes about two hours.

Once it’s fully cool, Ina adds raisins and pecans and put it all in a serving dish—no one is going to know it’s not homemade!

As Garten is often heard saying, “How easy is that?”

Other Tips for Elevating Canned Cranberry Sauce

We love the idea of Ina’s cranberry sauce upgrades, but there are lots of other directions you could go with this one. 

Be sure to start with whole berry cranberry sauce, which has a looser texture than the smooth jellied stuff. From there, give the cranberry sauce a taste and see what you think it needs. Fall spices, like cinnamon, nutmeg or ground cloves, are a great addition. On the fruit side, you could stir in grated pear instead of apple and add a few squeezes of lemon or lime juice instead of orange juice. 

We think spiking it with a splash of Grand Marnier, bourbon or red wine would be a fun way to add some depth. For freshness, you could fold in finely chopped fresh herbs like rosemary or thyme or even cilantro. Want a spicier sauce? Add a pinch of cayenne or some minced jalapeño (which would be great with cilantro and lime). These tweaks make store-bought cranberry sauce taste homemade and uniquely delicious!

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