Ina Garten Admits She Loves Trader Joe's Desserts Just Like the Rest of Us

Ina Garten, icon of the Hamptons, beloved Food Network star, and advocate for living your best life, is here to remind everyone that she really does live by the mantra “store-bought is fine.” 

In a recent segment on TODAY, Garten revealed that she’s a big fan of the Trader Joe’s apple tart. She makes it her own by warming it up in the oven before serving and adding a little dollop of vanilla ice cream on top, with a swirl of caramel sauce she “warmed up from a jar” for good measure. Garten shared she made the delicious treat for herself and a few friends over the holiday season, and it was "absolutely delicious.” 

And really, Garten may be onto something because this tart sounds downright amazing.

“To create this masterpiece of a Tart, our supplier takes a buttery apricot and apple filling (made with sweet Northern Spy apples and tart Granny Smiths), nestles it in a shortbread crust, tops it with a fan of even more sliced apples, and finishes it with a light, apricot glaze. A thing of rustic beauty,” Trader Joe’s explains of the dessert on its website.

“Now, you might raise an eyebrow when you notice that our French Apple Tart is made here in the U.S.A., but before you raise that other eyebrow, consider this: the Master Pastry Chef who developed this recipe once made this exact tart—which is constructed and baked according to French tradition—for the President of France himself. Spoiler alert: he loved it.”

This isn't the only store-bought item Garten advocates for, either. As she shared with Food & Wine, she always has vodka, vanilla ice cream, and bread in her pantry, which is almost always pre-made. Of course, she also keeps a few fancy items stocked in her home too, adding, "Urbani makes a wonderful white truffle butter, so if you need to make a fabulous meal, you can add some pasta and have white truffle pasta."

If you really want to make your own we've got a great recipe here, but in this case, if store-bought is good enough for Ina, it's probably good enough for us too.