Pass the cranberry sauce, we’re having mashed potatoes. Ooh, the turkey looks great.
Sure, Friends may have some compelling and entertaining Thanksgiving episodes. Can we deny the power of Monica putting her head in a turkey or Rachel’s trifle fail? Certainly not. And what about How I Met Your Mother or Gilmore Girls? They too deserve their flowers but when it comes to the art of the Thanksgiving episode, Bob’s Burgers is the show to beat.
It may have taken the team behind the FOX animated comedy three years to deliver their first turkey day-themed episode, but once they did, they started cooking with gas (or not as Season 10’s holiday episode is literally called “Now We’re Not Cooking with Gas”).
In total, Bob’s Burgers has given fans 11 episodes built around the uniquely American holiday. Sadly, Season 14 did not feature a Thanksgiving or a Halloween episode (what happened here, FOX?!), but we can only hope that Season 15 — which is currently airing — will bring back the tradition. We do know that this season featured a spooky episode, “For Whom the Doll Toes,” so our fingers are crossed.
In honor of Bob Belcher’s favorite holiday, please enjoy our tribute to the utter joy and chaos of the Bob’s Burgers Thanksgiving episodes with this countdown of the Top 5 episodes for your viewing pleasure. And keep reading for a full list of the Thanksgiving episodes.
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“An Indecent Thanksgiving Proposal” (Season 3, Episode 5)
This episode is iconic for so many reasons but we cannot overlook the fact that Linda’s incredible Thanksgiving song first debuts in this episode. We also have to give credit to this being the first of the 11 Thanksgiving episodes.
In this installment, Mr. Fischoeder offers the Belchers five months of their rent for free if they pretend to be his family for a Thanksgiving dinner. Attempting to woo a woman who is a serial homewrecker, Mr. Fischoeder must first pretend to have a home for her to wreck.
At dinner, Bob must pretend to be the chef while his wife and kids act as Fischoeder’s family. Obviously, things go wrong and Bob winds up drunk, stealing a turkey, and nearly shot to death by Fischoeder’s love interest. It’s pure chaos and it will make you feel right at home.
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“Stuck in the Kitchen with You” (Season 12, Episode 8)
When Bob volunteers to cook Thanksgiving dinner at a local retirement community, the kids tag along and assist in the cooking and entertaining of the residents. Louise helps Bob in the kitchen while Gene and Tina work with Zeke on a show in the common room. Seeing that this is Bob’s Burgers, Louise’s “help” is actually a hindrance and the show that Zeke, Tina, and Gene put on is a complete disaster.
Not only does this episode give us Stephanie Beatriz as a retirement community administrator named Dierdre (foreshadowing her role as Didi in A Man on the Inside, much?), it also introduces us to Linda’s “Thankszilla” moniker for Bob. Our girl knows how to call it like she sees it.
As comical as it is, this episode is a special one for those fans who love the more tender moments the show can give. Bob sweetly admits that he wanted to make dinner for the community residents but that he also wanted his kids to help him so they could spend the day together. Oh Bob, you big ole’ sap!
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“Turkey In a Can” (Season 4, Episode 5)
Not only is this episode Thanksgiving to the core, it also becomes a mystery about who keeps putting Bob’s precious turkey in the toilet. Days out, Bob is excited and beginning his Thanksgiving preparations, only to find while leaving the turkey brining overnight that someone is trying to pull off hijinks.
When I first watched this episode in my teen years, I remember thinking that it was annoying, at most. Now, as an adult who knows the cost of groceries and just how much a turkey can cost? Let the record show that if I were Bob, heads would roll.
Watching the entire Belcher family go back and forth over who is to blame is one level of incredible television. Then there’s Bob’s odd but beautiful flirtation with the deli counter guy who thinks Bob is making excuses to see him. In another life, we would ship them.
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“Now We’re Not Cooking with Gas” (Season 10, Episode 8)
In Bob’s long-lasting love affair with Thanksgiving and cooking the perfect turkey, this episode must go down in history as one of the greatest.
The family’s gas goes out just in time for the holiday and just as Bob is preparing to make a rare heritage turkey. Bob is always crazy about his turkey but a bird that he’s been on a five-year waiting list for? That’s golden (unlike his turkey, can I get a high five?).
What will Bob do to cook the perfect turkey? Anything and everything, including breaking the law and starting a fire in the alley. While not the funniest of the Thanksgiving episodes, it is a perfect encapsulation of a man on a mission. Especially this man and this Thanksgiving mission.
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“Gayle Makin’ Bob Sled” (Season 6, Episode 4)
When Linda’s sister Gayle (Megan Mulally) injures herself before the holiday, Linda sends Bob out to pick her up so they can all celebrate Thanksgiving together. In true Bob’s Burgers fashion, however, nothing is as straightforward as it seems.
Bob — having tossed his oh-so-important turkey in the oven at the start of the episode — arrives to find Gayle in a complete state of disarray, requiring so much help that his car ends up completely buried in snow. What follows is a terrible trek through the snow as Linda stresses over the turkey at home. Meanwhile, Tina, Louise, and Gene attempt to make Thanksgiving sides that are truly god-awful.
Meanwhile, the show is at its peak when it delivers equally poignant and hilarious lines like Linda entering the room and declaring, “It’s Thanksgiving for everybody, except the Europeans.” To which the kids reply, “Don’t worry about the Europeans, they’re fine. They’ve got tapas, and Belgium, and Leonardo DiCaprio eight months out of the year.”
Looking to just watch all of the Thanksgiving episodes back to back? Happy to provide you with a complete list:
- “An Indecent Thanksgiving Proposal” – Season 3, Episode 5 (2012)
- “Turkey in a Can” – Season 4, Episode 5 (2013)
- “Dawn of the Peck” – Season 5, Episode 4 (2014)
- “Gayle Makin’ Bob Sled” – Season 6, Episode 4 (2015)
- “The Quirkducers” – Season 7, Episode 6 (2016)
- “Thanks-Hoarding” – Season 8, Episode 5 (2017)
- “I Bob Your Pardon” – Season 9, Episode 7 (2018)
- “Now We’re Not Cooking with Gas” – Season 10, Episode 8 (2019)
- “Diarrhea of a Poopy Kid” – Season 11, Episode 7 (2020)
- “Stuck in the Kitchen with You” – Season 12, Episode 8 (2021)
- “Putts-Giving” — Season 13, Episode 7 (2022)
For a full list of Bob’s Burgers holiday episode collection on Hulu, click here. You can watch all episodes of Bob’s Burgers on Hulu and Disney+.
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