There are hardly any shows on television better suited to doing amazing Thanksgiving episodes than “Bob’s Burgers.” Fox’s animated comedy about burger chef Bob (H. Jon Benjamin), his extrovert wife Linda (John Roberts) and lovable weirdo kids (Kristen Schaal, Eugene Mirman, Dan Mintz) is very funny, offbeat and warm, and always at its best whenever everyone in the family has to come together to celebrate some occasion without completely losing their minds. And given the fact that much of the show takes place in and around Bob’s restaurant, this holds especially true for any event centered on the sharing of food. Thanksgiving — with its endless side dishes, wild family drama and high risk of shenanigans — is the platonic ideal of a “Bob’s Burgers” holiday.  

Over the course of its 11 seasons, “Bob’s Burgers” has done nine Thanksgiving episodes. So in the spirit of the day, we’re going to give thanks for them all — and then rank them, because that’s what probably made you click this article in the first place. Anyway, if you disagree with the order, do keep in mind that every “Bob’s Burgers” Thanksgiving episode is a great Thanksgiving episode, so really, it’s all gravy. 

Here are the nine Thanksgiving episodes of “Bob’s Burgers,” ranked. 

  • “Diarrhea of a Poopy Kid” (Season 11, Episode 7)

    The newest entry to this Thanksgiving list, “Diarrhea of a Poopy Kid” (which aired November 22) sidelines poor Gene after he contracts a vicious stomach flu and can’t take part in the food-centric holiday. To make him feel better, the family sits outside the bathroom where he’s camped out and tell him stories in which he’s a hero and food’s the enemy, hoping to put him off food until he can eat it again. The parodies are slight but cute (“Pear Force One”! “Parm-ageddon”!) and, not for nothing, a family talking to a sick relative through a door ends up feeling surprisingly prescient to 2020’s particularly strange Thanksgiving reality. 

  • “The Quirk-ducers” (Season 7, Episode 6)

    The rare “Bob’s Burgers” Thanksgiving episode that doesn’t revolve around the meal itself, “The Quirk-ducers” sends Louise on a laser-focused mission to trick the school into giving them a half-day before the holiday break. (Linda, meanwhile, spends the entire episode tending to a potato that looks like her grandpa.) Louise’s plan? Drive everyone out of the school by making  Tina’s wholesome turkey play end with an explosion of blood and meat guts. It ends on a more upbeat note than that description would have you believe, and it gets extra points for being a musical, but “The Quirk-ducers” ultimately misses out on a higher spot for not getting to the day of Thanksgiving itself. 

  • “Thanks-hoarding” (Season 8, Episode 5)

    Let’s get one thing straight: Teddy (Larry Murphy) is one of the best and most underrated characters on “Bob’s Burgers.” His friendship with Bob is a constant delight, and even when he’s having a tough time, he manages to be so charming that his sometimes depressing life never fully comes into focus. This is not exactly the case in “Thanks-hoarding,” when the Belchers try to help Teddy prepare his home to host his family for dinner and discover that he’s a hoarder. It’s funny and sweet, but also unavoidably sad. 

  • “I Bob Your Pardon” (Season 9, Episode 7)

    Despite having cooked countless turkeys over the course of his life, Bob finds himself helpless to resist the wide eyes of a live one trying to escape the slaughterhouse, prompting the entire family pitching in to save the turkey’s life, to predictably catastrophic effect. (Though not to that catastrophic effect; don’t worry, “Bob’s Burgers” wouldn’t do that to us.) There’s plenty of competition on this list, but “I Bob Your Pardon” makes for some of the show’s most quintessentially madcap Belcher madness.

  • “An Indecent Thanksgiving Proposal” (Season 3, Episode 5)

    The show’s first ever Thanksgiving episode set the tone for the antics to come. When Bob’s landlord Mr. Fischoeder (Kevin Kline) convinces the Belchers to pose as his own family (and Linda as his wife) in order to make his ex-girlfriend jealous, everyone seizes the chance to play out their wildest rich people fantasies. Well, everyone but Bob, who gets stuck playing Mr. Fischoeder’s chef and ends up getting wasted alone on absinthe. With Kline giving his all and Bob’s absinthe-soaked brain hallucinating a “My Neighbor Totoro” turkey, “An Indecent Thanksgiving Proposal” made it clear exactly what “Bob’s Burgers” could bring to this holiday. 

  • “Now We’re Not Cooking with Gas” (Season 10, Episode 8)

    One of the funniest, most reliable storylines of any “Bob’s Burgers” episode, period, is one that sees Bob at his most frustrated. Given the pressures of basically cooking every Thanksgiving dinner solo, Thanksgiving tends to bring out the best and worst of Bob as he scrambles to make this dinner perfect. (It is, bless him, never perfect.) “Now We’re Not Cooking With Gas” challenges Bob like no other year when their entire building loses gas, forcing him to improvise with a series of ramshackle alleyway smokers. (It is, bless him, and of course, a complete disaster.) 

  • “Dawn of the Peck” (Season 5, Episode 4)

    “Bob’s Burgers” is no stranger to high concept tribute episodes, but “Dawn of the Peck” is a unique example of one in the show’s Thanksgiving lineup. When the town’s annual Turkey Trot — a marathon in which residents literally trot alongside turkeys — goes horribly awry, Linda and the kids end up stuck at the pier in a pseudo-zombie movie while Bob, trying to swear off Thanksgiving, gets drunk at home to the tune of Donna Summer. “Dawn of the Peck” is hysterical and beautifully bizarre, with the added bonus of giving Linda a chance to shine on what is usually Bob’s day.  

  • “Turkey in a Can” (Season 4, Episode 5)

    This is the moment when this list may lose some people, because “Turkey in a Can” is a stone cold “Bob’s Burgers” classic that’s a popular choice for the best of the show’s Thanksgiving offerings. To them, let me just say: you are correct. “Turkey in a Can,” which sees Bob slowly but surely losing his mind as his turkey somehow keeps ending up in the toilet, is excellent. Even if only for Bob’s interactions with the increasingly intrigued butcher, who ends up suggesting they run away together (to Bob’s unconvincing protests otherwise), “Turkey in a Can” belongs in the top tier of “Bob’s Burgers” episodes, period.

  • “Gayle Makin’ Bob Sled” (Season 6, Episode 4)

    This may be a controversial choice for the number one “Bob’s Burgers” Thanksgiving episode. For one, it’s not “Turkey in a Can.” For another, tolerance levels for Linda’s whiny sister Gayle (Megan Mullally) may understandably vary. But when “Gayle Makin’ Bob Sled” forces Bob and Gayle to try and get through a snowstorm together, Bob’s deadpan frustration finds its match in Gayle’s melodrama. While Linda and the kids unconvincingly take on the task of assembling what ends up being a truly inedible dinner, Bob trudges through the snow with Gayle and her ornery cat, Mr. Jim Business. The combination is as disastrous as it is hilarious, and by the time they finally make it back to the Belcher home, everyone’s more thankful than ever for the gift of being together. 

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