In-N-Out Secret Menu Guide 2026

In-N-Out keeps its regular menu famously simple, but burgers, fries, shakes and drinks can be customized in dozens of ways. This guide covers In-N-Out’s officially published Not-So-Secret Menu along with popular custom orders, DIY hacks and internet-created names that employees may not recognize.

This guide comes from my lifelong love of eating In-N-Out, trying different customizations and speaking with other longtime customers, insiders and employees. In-N-Out rarely changes its core menu, but there are always new combinations and ordering tips to discover.

Check out our In-N-Out Frequently Asked Questions page to learn more.

Official In-N-Out Not-So-Secret Menu & Popular Hacks

In-N-Out officially publishes several Not-So-Secret Menu choices, including Double-Meat, 3×3, 4×4, Grilled Cheese, Protein Style and Animal Style. The rest of this guide includes popular customizations, DIY combinations and internet nicknames; some names may not be recognized at every restaurant.

In-N-Out Burgers, Customizations & Hacks

Grilled Cheese

Two slices of melted American cheese, hand-leafed lettuce, tomato, spread, with or without onions on a freshly baked bun.

Double Meat

Two 100% American beef patties, hand-leafed lettuce, tomato, spread, with or without onions, and stacked between a sliced baked bun.

3×3 aka Triple Triple

Pronounced as ‘three by three’ this burger includes three 100% American beef patties, hand-leafed lettuce, tomato, spread, three slices of American cheese, with or without onions, stacked high on a freshly baked bun.

4×4 aka Quad Quad

Pronounced as ‘four by four’ this burger includes four 100% American beef patties, hand-leafed lettuce, tomato, spread, four slices of American cheese, with or without onions, stacked high on a freshly baked bun. If you’re hoping for a 6×6 or even 100×100 you’re out of luck. In-N-Out put a max of 4×4 on their burgers after receiving (agreeing to) a few requests for 100x100s.

Protein Style aka Lettuce Wrap or Tomato Wrap

Your favorite burger wrapped in hand-leafed lettuce instead of a bun or get a tomato-wrapped burger instead of using lettuce or a bun.

Animal Style Burger

Burger of your choice with hand-leafed lettuce, tomato, a mustard cooked beef patty (a squirt of mustard is added to the patty and cooked); add pickle, extra spread, with grilled onions. Did you know? The name “Animal Style” originates from a group of rowdy teenagers, known as animals to the employees, who first began ordering the burger after watching a manager prepare it for himself.

Monkey Style Burger aka Gorilla Style

Internet myth / DIY hack: This burger is a myth that originated from an internet hoax. However, you can make the combination yourself by ordering a burger and Animal Style fries (see below) and adding the fries to the middle of the burger.

Mustard Grilled Patty

This is a slimmed-down version of Animal Style with your favorite burger with a squirt of mustard added to the patty and cooked on the grill.

Flying Dutchman

At In-N-Out, a Flying Dutchman is two beef patties with two slices of American cheese and no bun. You can customize it further with available toppings or onion options.

Onion Wrapped Flying Dutchman

The onion-wrapped Flying Dutchman burger adds to this sandwich by taking the top and bottom of the burger and covering it in crispy grilled onions. This is a custom order so it may take extra time to make or you can simply order a Flying Dutchman with two sides of whole grilled onions and wrap it yourself.

Scooby Snack

Scooby-Doo! loved Scooby Snacks and many items have been named after these dog treats since. Including graham crackers, cocktails and even an In-N-Out menu item. This secret menu item is just one beef burger patty, that’s it.

Pup Patty

Think of this as a Scooby Snack without salt which as the name implies is a salt-free beef patty for your dog. Humans can eat it too.

Veggie Burger aka Wish Burger

This “burger” is a misnomer as it doesn’t contain a burger. Instead it consists of a toasted bun with In-N-Out spread, lettuce, tomato, and fresh onion. To make it vegan, remove the spread and add ketchup and mustard. To make it spicy add whole or chopped yellow chilis (hint: not listed on the menu). A grilled cheeseburger (see below) is another vegetarian option. Wish Burger is an older term that In-N-Out no longer uses. Vegetarians and vegans can request that their food is grilled on the onion grilling side of the grill, separate from the meat grill side.

Medium Rare & Well-Done

In-N-Out burgers can be customized for doneness, including well-done. Availability of other doneness requests can depend on food-safety requirements and restaurant policy.

Extra Salt or No Salt

This super simple menu hack just adds extra salt to the burger patty and alternatively you can request no salt burgers.

Fly-Away Burger

In-N-Out will wrap your burger (and condiments) in separate packages so you can reheat and assemble when you reach your destination.

Onions

Onions for any burger can be ordered as fresh sliced (default), raw chopped, grilled chopped, and whole grilled onions.

Pickles

Only animal style offers pickles on your burger but they’ll gladly add pickles to your burger upon request.

Double Toasted or Non-Toasted Bun

Ask for your buns to be double toasted for more crisp, lightly toasted or no toast for a spongy texture.

Cold Cheese

Everybody has different tastes and if you don’t want melted cheese in your burger, you can order cold cheese.

Extra Everything

For no extra charge you can ask for extra tomatoes, extra lettuce, extra onion, extra spread (comes in packs!), extra pickles, extra onions, extra chilis. This can be on the hamburger or on the side.

Burger Condiments

These condiments are NOT standard on In-N-Out’s burger but customers can customize their orders by adding these condiments. The condiments can also be ordered as Very light, Light, Regular, Extra, or 2x Extra.

• Ketchup
• Mustard
• Fried Mustard
• Pickles
• Chilies

Contrary to what some may expect, a classic In-N-Out burger does not contain ketchup and mustard by default. However, you can personalize your order by requesting a hamburger with onions, mustard, and ketchup, with or without the special spread.

Uneven Quantity of Meat & Cheese

Order any combination of meat and cheese up to four of each.

Cut In Half & Cut in Quarters

Whether for two kids or just looking to cut down on calories In-N-Out will cut any burger in half. If you would like even smaller portions In-N-Out will cut it in quarters as well.

Reheating In-N-Out Burger

Here are some of the best ways to reheat an In-N-Out burger and fries, including a hack for ordering your burger if you plan to reheat it later.

In-N-Out Fries & Fry Hacks

Animal Style Fries

If an animal style burger sounds good you’ll love animal style fries. Animal style includes the normal fries except they are covered in cheese, their special spread, and grilled onions. You can also ask for a second paper dish, flip them upside down for “Upside Down” Animal Style Fries.

Roadkill Fries

Internet nickname / DIY order: Not surprisingly, with a name like Roadkill Fries, not all In-N-Out locations recognize the term. These fries are Animal Style fries plus hamburger crumbled on top. If the location is unfamiliar with the name, simply order Animal Style fries and a separate hamburger patty and crumble the meat on top yourself.

Well-Done Fries (or Fries Light)

Fries well-done are extra crispy fries and fries light are a little more done than regular fries, but not as crispy or greasy as the well-done fries. There are seven ways to order In-N-Out fries: Regular, Slightly Light, Regular Light, Very Light, Light Well Done, Well Done and Extra Well Done.

Cheesy Fries

You can also order melted American cheese on your fries. Up to 6 slices.

Well-Done Cheesy Fries

The next obvious menu modification here is to order your fries well done (or light) and cheesy.

Lemon Pepper

This is a DIY hack: simply ask for lemon and pepper on the side if you’re at the drive-thru, or grab the condiments yourself while inside and add them to your fries.

French Fry Condiments

Customers can customize their fries with any of these condiments. The condiments can also be ordered as Very light, Light, Regular, Extra, or 2x Extra.

• In-N-Out Spread
• Ketchup
• Mustard
• Pickles
• Chilies
• Cheese Slices (up to 6 slices)
• Grilled Onion
• Whole Grilled Onion
• Raw Onion
• Raw Chopped Onion

Shakes, Drinks & Other In-N-Out Hacks

Side Salad

The “side salad” is a Double-Double wrapper full of lettuce and a tomato, along with their special spread as dressing.

Chilies

You can add a side, whole or chopped yellow Cascabella chili peppers to anything including on top of or grilled into your burger, or on your fries.

Whole Grilled Onion

 An entire slice of raw onion grilled on both sides as your burger cooks. The whole grilled onion will be the last ingredient added to the burger, as it comes off the grill. This takes about 9 minutes or about double the time for a regular burger to cook.

Neapolitan Shake

At In-N-Out you can order a traditional chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry shake. Can’t decide? You don’t have to, alternatively you can order a Neapolitan shake which swirls all three flavors together.

Black & White Shake

This is a vanilla and chocolate shake.

Large or Extra Large Shake or Split Shake

You can order a large shake in a medium cup or ask for a split shake for two kids to share. There is no smaller size than a regular shake.

Root Beer Float or Any Soda Float

If you ask for a Root Beer float you’ll get a vanilla shake mixed with root beer. They’ll also happily add any soda to your float.

Monkey Style Milkshake

DIY hack: Simply order fries and a vanilla shake, then dip your fries in the shake for a combination of saltiness and sweetness.

Arnold Palmer aka Tea Ade

This is DIY menu hack but combine In-N-Out’s famous pink lemonade (60%) and homemade iced tea (40%) to create an Arnold Palmer.

Lemon UP

Another DIY menu modification, a Lemon Up is a mix of their homemade pink lemonade (80%) and 7 Up (20%) to add carbonation to it.

Mocha Cafe au Lait

Ask for half coffee and half hot cocoa for a Mocha Cafe au Lait.

In-N-Out Spread

Ask for extra In-N-Out Spread packets to dip in your fries, add to your burger or eat plain if you dare.

Homemade In-N-Out Spread

Whether you’re aiming to recreate In-N-Out Double Cheeseburgers or Animal Style Fries, or you’re simply looking to elevate your burger and sandwich game, try making your own copycat In-N-Out sauce at home.

What’s Not on the In-N-Out Menu?

In-N-Out also does not have many of these commonly requested items on either the menu or secretly.

Rare & Medium-Rare Burgers: Doneness options can be limited by food-safety requirements and restaurant policy. If you have a specific request, ask the restaurant which doneness options are currently available.

The Four Essentials of In-N-Out Burger: There are four essentials for cooking medium In-N-Out burgers. Cook times vary for burgers with cheese, well done, etc.

• The buns are placed on a Teflon sheet to the left of the grill for at least one minute before the burger is grilled
• Once grilling, the cook salts the burger as evenly as possible.
• The burger is turned at one minute fifteen seconds
• The burger is pulled from the grill at four minutes and 30 seconds.

Foods Not Available: In-N-Out keeps its food menu focused on burgers, fries and a limited set of ingredients. Items such as chicken or fish sandwiches, hot dogs, onion rings, tacos, breakfast foods and other typical fast-food menu categories are not part of the standard menu.

Condiments and Toppings Not Available: Many common burger add-ons are not stocked, so custom orders are limited to the ingredients available at In-N-Out.

Drinks Not Available: The beverage selection is limited compared with larger fast-food menus, so many specialty drinks, juices, energy drinks and alcoholic beverages are not offered.

Other (not available): Kids menu, kids burger (burgers can be ordered plain). Plain or dry means all toppings (except cheese, meat, and bun) are removed from the burger.

Sweet Tea is available in some Texas locations but not available in most other locations. Sugar, Splenda or Sweet and Low can be added to any unsweetened tea.

The only add-ons that cost more are extra meat and extra cheese. That also means an animal fry or cheese fry will be more expensive than a regular fry.

In-N-Out calls it “spread”, not Thousand Island, sauce, special sauce, homestyle sauce, secret sauce, In-N-Out sauce, burger sauce, fry sauce, mayonnaise, etc.

In-N-Out calls it “animal style”, not buffalo style, American style, jungle style, extra style, animalized, etc.

In-N-Out calls them “chilies,” not jalapeños, banana peppers, yellow peppers, sport peppers, pepperoncinis, habanero peppers, etc. They can also be called Cascabella peppers since that is what they are.

There is only one size of fries.

More About In-N-Out

In-N-Out’s Special Sauce

In-N-Out doesn’t list the ingredients for its spread but many internet sleuths and food aficionados believe it’s a combination of Thousand Island-style sauce made from ketchup, mayonnaise, and sweet pickle relish.

In-N-Out Burger Cook Times

Medium In-N-Out burgers with cheese are cooked for 1:15 on one side and 4:30 on the other side. A Medium burger without cheese is cooked for 3:30 instead of 4:30 on the second side. A mustard fried burger, which includes Animal style, can take longer to cook.

Bible References on Cups and Wrappers

The soda cups cite John 3:16, the milkshake cups bear mention to Proverbs 3:5, and the water cups were stamped with John 14:6 but that has been discontinued. Even the burger wrappers and the French fry trays reference a verse in an inconspicuous spot.

To Go, For Here or Eating In Your Car?

To go comes in a bag and for here or in your car comes in a box with an optional lid.

In-N-Out Owner

In-N-Out Burger has remained a privately owned family business since its founding. Lynsi Snyder, the granddaughter of founders Harry and Esther Snyder, is the company’s owner.

In-N-Out Franchise Opportunities

None of the units are franchised! In-N-Out has never announced plans to pursue franchises or a public offering.

Burger Trailers aka Cookout Trucks & Catering

In-N-Out Cookout Trucks can be reserved for eligible events. Southern California’s fleet includes standard Cookout Trucks as well as a fry truck, which can serve fries. In-N-Out currently accepts Cookout Truck reservations up to one year in advance. Check the official Cookout page for current availability, service areas and minimum requirements.

The Esther Snyder Cookout Truck is also available for rent which is the only way to order mini Double-Doubles, mini burgers, and even mini fries.

In-N-Out Hours

Most In-N-Out locations are open 10:30 AM to 1 AM Sunday through Thursday and open until 1:30 AM on Friday and Saturday. However, In-N-Out strives to open thirty minutes early each day. This is not guaranteed and In-N-Out has this buffer in place in case something goes wrong like the grill does not work. Always check with specific locations on store hours.

In-N-Out Menu Changes

In-N-Out is known for making relatively few changes to its core menu, while occasionally adding or changing beverages and other offerings. Check the official menu for the current selection.

Check out our In-N-Out Frequently Asked Questions page to learn more.

Find full list of In-N-Out Locations here. Locations are located throughout California, Arizona, Nevada, Texas and Utah.