Every Bob's Burgers Thanksgiving Episode Ranked

The animated Fox comedy "Bob's Burgers" follows Bob Belcher and his family as they struggle to run their modest burger restaurant. With its sweet but wacky family dynamics, the show has a wide range of lovable elements: the endearing musical moments, the mile-a-minute puns, the camaraderie between the kids, and so much more. However, the cartoon is also known for its highly memorable annual Thanksgiving episodes. 

While Bob normally expresses his love for food through his beloved Burgers of the Day, Thanksgiving brings out another side of the chef as he works to make the perfect holiday meal every year. Of course, the Belchers being the Belchers, Bob doesn't usually succeed, but each Thanksgiving episode offers a unique twist on the holiday that makes for a fun way to celebrate Turkey Day. As such, we've compiled a complete list of "Bob's Burgers" Thanksgiving episodes and ranked them from worst to best. Read on, and see how your favorite stacks up.

While it's well established that Bob adores Thanksgiving, few "Bob's Burgers" episodes emphasize the rest of the Belchers' love for the holiday. This Season 9 episode sees Bob taking the family out to buy ingredients to make cranberry sauce for dinner, only to be led astray by the rest of his family's desire to go see the mayor's annual turkey pardon. After overhearing a phone call revealing that the pardon is staged and that the turkey is still headed to the slaughterhouse, Linda and the kids are determined to uphold the town's traditions and save the bird. 

With the mayor's staff desperate to keep the scandal quiet, the Belchers find an ally in a journalist who wants to expose the story and help free the turkey. After a high-speed chase, Bob actually manages to pull off his perfect Thanksgiving dinner while the kids gain a new appreciation for where their food comes from, a message that's always useful around the holidays.

This Season 10 episode sees Bob closer than ever to realizing his perfect Thanksgiving dinner when he scores a highly coveted heritage turkey. Of course, Bob's ideal meal continues to elude him as the gas goes out while he's cooking the prized turkey. A frantic Bob decides to roast the turkey on a spit in the alley, refusing to let go of the dream so close within reach. While Bob spins out and sends the kids to search for kindling, Tina is focused on finding meaning in the holiday with a gratitude tree. 

Though most of the "Bob's Burgers" Thanksgiving episodes position Bob as the Thanksgiving hero who falls victim to his family's antics, "Now We're Not Cooking with Gas" highlights Bob's mania around the holiday and the lengths he'll go to cook the perfect dinner, even at the cost of his family's happiness. While Bob's struggles to make the perfect meal are relatable, his realization about what makes the holiday truly special is even more so.

"Bob's Burgers" is at its best when an outside force interferes with the family, leaving them each to react differently to the chaos. This Season 8 episode once again finds Bob trying to prepare the perfect Thanksgiving dinner when the Belchers are roped into helping their good friend and loyal customer, Teddy, prepare for his own Thanksgiving and the imminent arrival of his family. When the Belchers head to Teddy's to help, they discover a bigger issue than last minute Thanksgiving prep: Teddy's secret hoarding problem. 

While Bob stays focused in the kitchen, still determined to cook his own meal after finishing Teddy's, Linda leads the kids in a forced purge of Teddy's belongings. Of course, the sudden clean-up and the fact that his family will show up at any moment causes Teddy's anxiety to reach a fever pitch. "Thanks-hoarding" ultimately provides a thoughtful and heartwarming lesson that anyone with friends and family on the holidays can relate to.

While most "Bob's Burgers" Thanksgiving episodes focus on Bob's love of the holiday, he's not the only Belcher who enjoys it. This Season 11 episode sees Gene quarantined in the bathroom with a case of stomach flu. For once, Bob's dinner goes off without a hitch, except for the fact that Gene is too sick to enjoy dinner, breaking the format of previous Thanksgiving episodes. 

Instead, "Diarrhea of a Poopy Kid" follows the style of other "Bob's Burgers" episodes in which the family regales each other with stories that take the viewer out of the immediate storyline, mimicking and paying homage to other pop culture moments with a loose narrative thread. In this case, while Bob cooks, Tina and Louise regale Gene with stories from the other side of the door to make him hate food so that he doesn't feel sad for missing Thanksgiving dinner. As the real cause of Gene's tummy troubles are revealed, the episode concludes with a tender reexamination of Bob and Gene's relationship that should warm anyone's heart.

If there's a running theme in "Bob's Burgers" at large, and the Thanksgiving episodes in particular, it's that poor Bob rarely gets his way. This Season 6 episode follows a thwarted Bob once again, this time thanks to Linda's goofy sister, Gayle, who needs a ride to dinner due to a broken leg. When a blizzard hits, Bob volunteers to pick her up, leaving Linda and the kids in charge of the meal. 

While Bob is hoping for a straightforward visit to Gayle's so that he can return home to the turkey, Gayle prolongs the trip with a series of ridiculous complications. To make matters worse, the storm buries Bob's car in snow, forcing him to drag a hobbled Gayle and her cat back to the restaurant on an inflatable kiddie pool. While Bob tries to keep his cool, Gayle becomes increasingly needy, culminating in a frustrating but ultimately heartwarming reveal that hits the core of what it feels like to deal with family on the holidays.

This Season 3 episode finds Bob excited to make his annual turkey dinner, only to be thwarted by his eccentric landlord, Mr. Fischoeder. The struggling Belchers are always behind on the rent, and Mr. Fischoeder presents them with an opportunity they can't refuse: help him woo a former flame who's into married men by pretending to pose as his family. With Bob relegated to playing chef in the kitchen and preparing a Thanksgiving meal for everyone else to eat, he gets progressively drunker and watches on as his wife, Linda, pretends to be married to his landlord, and his kids vie for Mr. Fiscoheder's attention as they compete for a cash prize on top of the rent they're all promised. 

As "An Indecent Thanksgiving Proposal" progresses, Bob becomes more unhinged, with only his turkey to keep him company, and everything reaches a climax when Mr. Fischoeder's former flame chases Bob through the house, mistaking him for prey in a "Most Dangerous Game"-style trap. Ultimately, though, the episode culminates in a sweet message that reinforces traditional holiday themes.

The show's 2021 Thanksgiving episode takes the Belchers out of their normal environment for the holiday when they volunteer at the local nursing home, the Elegant Doily. While Linda is excited to give back, Bob is creeped out by the elderly until he's pulled in to help in the kitchen, putting his years of holiday cooking to the test. Linda tells Bob to rein it in and ask one of the kids to help, but the rest of the family dreads assisting him, as he's a known Thanks-zilla in the kitchen every year. 

After drawing the short straw, Louise is drafted as Bob's assistant, but soon becomes discouraged by her father's micromanaging, opting instead to rejoin Tina and Gene's recreation of the Thanksgiving Day Parade. When Bob pulls Louise back into the kitchen with a warning from Linda, she tells him the truth about his behavior on Thanksgiving. Bob's apology for his behavior brings him and Louise closer together, making for a heartwarming holiday episode.

This Season 7 episode is a departure from previous Thanksgiving episodes, as the focus is on the kids rather than on Bob and his meal. "The Quirkducers" follows Tina, Gene, and Louise's competing efforts to produce the Thanksgiving school play. While Gene and Louise are upset that school is in session for a full day and hope to tank the play to get out early, Tina has recently been the victim of some modest bullying during which she was called "quirky," and channels her experience into a genuine, if peculiar, artistic effort. 

Tina's play follows a "quirky turkey" who is mocked by a group of pigs that plan to eat her for Thanksgiving dinner, but takes a dark turn when Louise convinces Tina to write in a surprise act of vengeance and kill the pigs. While the episode is darker and more violent than the typical "Bob's Burgers" fare, the ending is surprisingly sweet and moving, providing for a surprising twist on the classic Thanksgiving episode that only "Bob's Burgers" could accomplish.

In this Season 4 episode, Bob wants to try a new brine on his beloved turkey but is distracted by Tina's proclamation that she's old enough to sit at the adults' table, wearing lipstick and pantyhose to boot. To make things worse, Linda's sister Gayle comes to stay along with her numerous cats, triggering Bob's allergies and forcing him to take medication that makes him a bit out of it. 

Things take a turn for the zanier when Bob discovers that someone has dumped his turkey in the toilet, setting off a mystery in which almost every member of the cast is a suspect. While Bob treats the investigation and his dinner with the utmost importance, buying more turkeys and refusing to give up on his meal, Gene and Linda try to write a hit Thanksgiving song, with Gayle singing back up. "Turkey in a Can" reveals who has been sabotaging the turkeys in a surprising and heartfelt moment that's true to the family-centric heart of "Bob's Burgers."

For Bob Belcher, the ultimate betrayal on Thanksgiving is his family not partaking in the traditional holiday festivities at all. This Season 5 episode sees Bob in that exact scenario, as Linda and the kids decide to go to a turkey run at the local amusement park, Wonder Wharf, instead of eating Bob's laboriously prepared meal. While Bob stays home, getting drunk and listening to Donna Summer in protest, Linda, Tina, Gene, and Louise find themselves in a scenario straight out of a horror movie when the turkeys go wild and try to attack everyone at the carnival. 

In typical zombie movie style, they find more survivors, including "Bob's Burgers" favorites Teddy, Andy, Ollie, and Mickey, as Linda leads everyone out of the Wharf and back to the completely unaware Bob, who decides he wants to make a Thanksgiving meal after all. "Dawn of the Peck" features fantastic music and hilarious action sequences that make for a delightful spin on the traditional holiday fare.