diff --git a/internal/controllers/reconciliation/controller.go b/internal/controllers/reconciliation/controller.go
index a0a5abe1..aa90815c 100644
--- a/internal/controllers/reconciliation/controller.go
+++ b/internal/controllers/reconciliation/controller.go
@@ -208,7 +208,7 @@ func (c *Controller) reconcileSnapshot(ctx context.Context, comp *apiv1.Composit
 		reconciliationLatency.Observe(float64(time.Since(start).Milliseconds()))
 	}()
 
-	if res.Deleted() {
+	if res.Deleted() || (res.Recreate && prev != nil && res.CompareManifest(prev) != 0) {
 		if current == nil || current.GetDeletionTimestamp() != nil || res.Orphan || (comp.Labels != nil && comp.Labels["eno.azure.io/symphony-deleting"] == "true") {
 			return false, nil // already deleted - nothing to do
 		}
diff --git a/internal/controllers/reconciliation/edgecase_test.go b/internal/controllers/reconciliation/edgecase_test.go
index b470bed4..26113ca3 100644
--- a/internal/controllers/reconciliation/edgecase_test.go
+++ b/internal/controllers/reconciliation/edgecase_test.go
@@ -730,3 +730,62 @@ func TestFailOpen_WithAnnotationTrue(t *testing.T) {
 		return err == nil && comp.Status.CurrentSynthesis != nil && comp.Status.CurrentSynthesis.Reconciled != nil
 	})
 }
+
+func TestRecreateImmutableConfigmap(t *testing.T) {
+	mgr := testutil.NewManager(t)
+	setupTestSubject(t, mgr)
+	testRecreateImmutableConfigmap(t, mgr)
+}
+
+func TestRecreateImmutableConfigmap_DisableSSA(t *testing.T) {
+	mgr := testutil.NewManager(t)
+	setupTestSubjectForOptions(t, mgr, Options{
+		Manager:                mgr.Manager,
+		Timeout:                time.Minute,
+		ReadinessPollInterval:  time.Hour,
+		DisableServerSideApply: true,
+		FailOpen:               false,
+	})
+	testRecreateImmutableConfigmap(t, mgr)
+}
+
+func testRecreateImmutableConfigmap(t *testing.T, mgr *testutil.Manager) {
+	ctx := testutil.NewContext(t)
+	upstream := mgr.GetClient()
+
+	registerControllers(t, mgr)
+	testutil.WithFakeExecutor(t, mgr, func(ctx context.Context, s *apiv1.Synthesizer, input *krmv1.ResourceList) (*krmv1.ResourceList, error) {
+		output := &krmv1.ResourceList{}
+		output.Items = []*unstructured.Unstructured{{
+			Object: map[string]any{
+				"apiVersion": "v1",
+				"kind":       "ConfigMap",
+				"metadata": map[string]any{
+					"name":      "test-obj",
+					"namespace": "default",
+					"annotations": map[string]any{
+						"eno.azure.io/recreate": "true",
+					},
+				},
+				"immutable": true,
+				"data": map[string]any{
+					"synthImage": s.Spec.Image,
+				},
+			},
+		}}
+		return output, nil
+	})
+
+	mgr.Start(t)
+	synth, comp := writeGenericComposition(t, upstream)
+	waitForReadiness(t, mgr, comp, synth, nil)
+
+	// Updating the configmap should be possible even though it's immutable because Eno will recreate it
+	err := retry.RetryOnConflict(testutil.Backoff, func() error {
+		upstream.Get(ctx, client.ObjectKeyFromObject(synth), synth)
+		synth.Spec.Image = "updated"
+		return upstream.Update(ctx, synth)
+	})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	waitForReadiness(t, mgr, comp, synth, nil)
+}
diff --git a/internal/resource/resource.go b/internal/resource/resource.go
index 80b36260..a3f2fd44 100644
--- a/internal/resource/resource.go
+++ b/internal/resource/resource.go
@@ -231,10 +231,8 @@ func newResource(ctx context.Context, parsed *unstructured.Unstructured, strict
 
 func (r *Resource) State() *apiv1.ResourceState { return r.latestKnownState.Load() }
 
-// Less returns true when r < than.
-// Used to establish determinstic ordering for conflicting resources.
-func (r *Resource) Less(than *Resource) bool {
-	return bytes.Compare(r.manifestHash, than.manifestHash) < 0
+func (r *Resource) CompareManifest(than *Resource) int {
+	return bytes.Compare(r.manifestHash, than.manifestHash)
 }
 
 // group returns the readiness or deletion group index that is relevant to the resource's current deletion state.
@@ -284,6 +282,9 @@ func (r *Resource) SnapshotWithOverrides(ctx context.Context, comp *apiv1.Compos
 	const replaceKey = "eno.azure.io/replace"
 	snap.Replace = cascadeAnnotation(comp, copy, replaceKey) == "true"
 
+	const recreateKey = "eno.azure.io/recreate"
+	snap.Recreate = cascadeAnnotation(comp, copy, recreateKey) == "true"
+
 	const deletionStratKey = "eno.azure.io/deletion-strategy"
 	snap.Orphan = strings.EqualFold(cascadeAnnotation(comp, copy, deletionStratKey), "orphan")
 	snap.Orphan = !r.isPatch && strings.EqualFold(cascadeAnnotation(comp, copy, deletionStratKey), "orphan")
@@ -314,6 +315,7 @@ type Snapshot struct {
 	Disable            bool
 	DisableUpdates     bool
 	Replace            bool
+	Recreate           bool
 	Orphan             bool
 	ForegroundDeletion bool
 
diff --git a/internal/resource/resource_test.go b/internal/resource/resource_test.go
index 3c8d8f8f..f3335e82 100644
--- a/internal/resource/resource_test.go
+++ b/internal/resource/resource_test.go
@@ -501,7 +501,7 @@ func TestResourceOrdering(t *testing.T) {
 		{manifestHash: []byte("c")},
 	}
 	sort.Slice(resources, func(i, j int) bool {
-		return resources[i].Less(resources[j])
+		return resources[i].CompareManifest(resources[j]) < 0
 	})
 
 	assert.Equal(t, []*Resource{
diff --git a/internal/resource/tree.go b/internal/resource/tree.go
index bf4e77a4..f0853c81 100644
--- a/internal/resource/tree.go
+++ b/internal/resource/tree.go
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ func (b *treeBuilder) Add(resource *Resource) {
 	b.init()
 
 	// Handle conflicting refs deterministically
-	if existing, ok := b.byRef[resource.Ref]; ok && resource.Less(existing.Resource) {
+	if existing, ok := b.byRef[resource.Ref]; ok && resource.CompareManifest(existing.Resource) < 0 {
 		return
 	}