Ree Drummond's Favorite Thanksgiving Shortcut Is Too Relatable

Sometimes we all need a little help when it comes to preparing our Thanksgiving Day feasts. Whether that's pouring over Thanksgiving Day hacks you'll wish you knew sooner or enlisting the help of friends and family to peel and chop, we all need a little help along the way. After all, they don't call it a feast for nothing.

Research performed by Campbell's to compile its seasonal food trend report State of the Sides found that 90% of Americans plan to offer as many or more sides for Thanksgiving this year as they did last year, despite today's inflation-filled economic circumstances. And each additional side means more peeling, chopping, dicing, mincing, and measuring to go around.

Sometimes there just aren't enough additional hands to help and we have to turn to little side steps to get dinner on the table on time. According to the Campbell's consumer trend report, most Americans are aiming to serve their Thanksgiving meal between 12 and 3 p.m., leaving limited time for day-of prep work. Fortunately, Food Network's Ree Drummond recommends one familiar, convenient sidestep to save you time and elbow grease this Turkey Day.

Food Network host Ree Drummond was good enough to share her favorite Thanksgiving shortcut on the Food Network's Twitter. No, it's not canned cranberry sauce, although that's a great way to save room on the stove, too. Drummond's simple hack is something you've probably walked by in the grocery store a million times before and wondered what anybody ever uses it for. Thanksgiving, of course! Ree's Turkey Day shortcut of choice is canned pumpkin puree.

Canned pumpkin can be used for more than just making a pie in a snap. You can also use it to make a luscious pumpkin rum cake, like Drummond demonstrates in the aforementioned tweet. Pumpkin puree is an essential part of the base for PSL syrup if you're interested in making a copycat Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte at home. And of course, it's an essential part of rich pumpkin bread. You can swap it in seamlessly for fresh pumpkin in any of these pumpkin recipes for fall.

Plus, don't forget pumpkin is packed with nutrients. In addition to not having to saw through a giant gourd, by using canned pumpkin puree, you're helping yourself to Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, B vitamins, copper, iron, potassium, and fiber (per Healthline).