The Best And Worst Of In-N-Out's Secret Menu

The West Coast-based burger chain In-N-Out started in 1948 and since then it has always had a very simple menu. Its loyal customers know that ordering at In-N-Out is all about the secret menu or "hacks," though. The secret menu is actually primarily modifications on existing orders. After all, they can only modify your order based on ingredients they already carry on hand.

The chain's willingness to do these modifications (as long as they don't get out of hand) helps its customers stay loyal. Even Anthony Bourdain said that he liked In-N-Out Burger. The chain is not without its critics, some people like Andrew Zimmern says that the chain is overrated, but I think it's unfair to compare In-N-Out to chains like Shake Shack when Shake Shacks' burgers cost twice as much. 

At first glance, the menu at In-N-Out is just hamburgers, cheeseburgers, double-double (a double cheeseburger), fries, sodas and milkshakes. There are some hacks that are so well known they're listed on the company's website under "Not So Secret Menu." These include orders like protein-style, where the burger comes in a lettuce wrap instead of buns, 4x4 where the burger comes with four meat patties and four slices of cheese, and animal-style with mustard-grilled burger, grilled onions and extra spread.

Beyond these popular orders, though, there are other hacks or secret menu orders you can get at In-N-Out. Based on my personal experience, I've ranked these secret menu orders from best to worst. Note that I'm not including the popular ones I mentioned above in the ranking below. 

This particular In-N-Out's secret menu hack involves cooking the burger patty on one side, then squirting some mustard on the other side before flipping it. The mustard becomes caramelized on the grill and it seeps into the meat patty itself. This hack adds a tangy kick to the burger and the caramelization adds more savory notes. In fact, the animal-style burger order actually also comes with mustard-fried burger patty and it's part of the reason the animal-style burger is so good.

The mustard-grilled order is an easy hack that I would recommend trying, as it doesn't change too much of the classic burger but just adds an extra kick to any burger. To order this, just say you want your burger mustard-grilled or mustard-fried. Either order will get you the same thing. You can add this hack to any of the burgers on the menu or even off-the-menu. Mustard-grilled protein-style? Go for it. You might like it so much you start doing this at home, like food writer J. Kenji López-Alt does when he makes his burgers now. 

This secret menu order or hack involves a topping that is not usually on the menu and it's a good one for all the spicy lovers out there: chopped chilis. Just as the name says, with this order the In-N-Out staff will add chopped chilis to the burger to spice things up. There's only one type of chili pepper that is being added as that's the one In-N-Out is carrying, and no, it's not jalapeno. 

The chopped chilis are actually pickled cascabella peppers. The cascabella peppers are yellow peppers that look similar to banana peppers, which are generally sweet, but these are much spicier. These peppers' spice level is just below that of jalapeno, but with a fruitier flavor that is reminiscent of sweeter peppers. Although, according to Reddit, apparently In-N-Out had used banana peppers when there was a cascabella pepper shortage. The issue seemed to have been resolved at the time, and the chain is now well aware that their customers will notice, but who knows if it may happen again in the future? So, if you find that your chopped chilis are no longer spicy, they may be actually be banana peppers deployed as a substitute. 

If the chopped chilis alone are not spicy enough for you, you can also order extra whole chilis on the side eat them with the burger. Sources say the pickled cascabella peppers the chain uses is from the brand El Pato. 

When you order a cheeseburger at In-N-Out, the associate taking the order always asks you whether you want onions or not. I get it — not everyone likes onion as much as other people do — but another option if you still want onions without the sharp flavor of raw onions is to order grilled onions instead. The whole grilled onions will give you something in between, ensuring that all of the flavor is still there without packing too much of a crunch.

If you order grilled onions at In-N-Out, the burger will come with cooked, chopped up onions. On the other hand, the whole grilled onion order means it comes with a grilled cross-section cut of the onion so you get intact rings instead of chopped pieces. The whole grilled onion is actually not as cooked down as the chopped onions, but you still get the sweetness and the char and caramelization of the grilled onion while retaining some of the sharpness of raw onions. I think it's the best of both worlds for onion lovers, and it packs a lot of flavor, making the burger more robust.

The standard drink menu at In-N-Out consists of sodas, milkshakes, lemonade, tea, coffee and hot cocoa. Because the soda offerings include root beer, it makes sense that one secret menu order you can have at In-N-Out is a root beer float. Now, this isn't the standard root beer float as it's not exactly made with ice cream. In-N-Out's root beer float is a combination of root beer and their vanilla milkshake, but you can also opt for a different milkshake flavor if you prefer. In-N-Out's staff will fill a milkshake cup halfway with the milkshake and then top it off with some root beer. 

Since it's made with milkshake and not ice cream, it's not as thick as a normal root beer float, but it's still pretty good. As a root beer fan, I am personally a fan of this order. It's a nice treat that is not as filling as a full milkshake. 

Going low carb? A not-so-secret menu item at In-N-Out is the protein style, which means the burger comes in a lettuce wrap instead of the old-fashioned buns. However, another low-carb option that's not as well known is to get the whole grilled onion wrap. We've talked about the whole grilled onion before as a topping you can add to any burger. With the whole grilled onion order you get a slice of onion with intact rings that have been caramelized on the grill. 

For the onion wrap, two whole grilled onion slices sandwich the meat patties and cheese slices instead of the regular buns. In my opinion, this is hard to eat as a proper burger that you can eat with your hands as the onion slices are rather messy to grab onto. Still, this is a low-carb option that has a lot of flavor, just be ready to eat it with a fork and knife. Make sure to specify you want onion wrap for this order — not just a whole grilled onion — or you may not get the right thing for the experience you desire.

In-N-Out's milkshakes are creamy and they're only $2.30 a cup. That price is hard to resist and I almost always order one when I go (though sometimes I would order a root beer float). In-N-Out always has three milkshake flavors and they are the classics: vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. Given the three flavors, this secret menu hack is a no-brainer: why not mix it all together and make it a Neapolitan shake? This can give you a drink packed full of flavor and sweetness all in one.

If you are someone who can never decide which flavor ice cream or milkshake they want, this order may be the way to go. Just ask for a Neapolitan shake and In-N-Out's associates will mix in all three flavors of their milkshakes. It's as easy as that and it's still the same price. I also like that they mix it together so you can see all three flavors from the top, instead of just filling up the cup with one flavor on top of the other. A modification you can make to this secret menu order would be to order half and half of any two milkshake flavors, and the associates will be happy to make that for you. It's an option that many don't always consider, but it can satisfy your sweet tooth if you're feeling a bit indecisive.

To say that In-N-Out doesn't have a lot of vegetarian options is an understatement. In fact, they don't even stock any vegetarian patties, which may be a downer for those who don't eat meat. However, one thing you can order at any location of this burger chain (other than fries) is the grilled cheese. The grilled cheese basically has everything a cheeseburger has minus the patty. It also comes an extra slice of cheese than the standard one that comes on its normal cheeseburger, which may make up for the lack of heartiness that comes with beef. The grilled cheese comes with tomato, lettuce and onions (if you want them; the onions are always optional). 

You can also order the grilled cheese "animal style" for some extra spread and pickles, which I think makes it that much better. In-N-Out's spread is a secret recipe, but it very much resembles Thousand Island dressing. As a non-vegetarian, I much prefer having the cheeseburger, of course, but I think the grilled cheese — especially the animal-style version — is not a bad order. In fact, it just might save the day if you are a vegetarian who somehow finds yourself at In-N-Out and want something more satisfying than just fries and a milkshake. 

Even In-N-Out fans like myself would concede that In-N-Out's fries are its main weakness and are just not that good. In-N-Out's fries are only fried once, and people think the fries are not blanched before frying, either. In the end, they wind up simple and not that crispy. A lot of people also say they're undersalted. In-N-Out has salt packets you can use to sprinkle more salt on your fries, but we all know that's just not the same. 

One hack you can use is to order animal fries, which means the fries are topped with the chain's secret spread: cheese and caramelized onions. After all, since the fries aren't crispy, might as well cover them in sauce, right? Another hack you can try is to ask for them to make the fries well done. 

When you order the fries well done, they will cook them for longer so they are crunchier. I think cooking them longer means they can be a little dry, though. After all, crunchy fries are not the same as crispy fries, so they're still not that great compared to other fast food fries, but it is at least an improvement. You can also order them "light well" for a little extra crunch, but not all the way to well done. On the other extreme, you can ask for them fried extra light, which means they cook it less than normal. Personally I'm not sure why you would order fries even soggier than In-N-Out's normal fries, but it's an option. 

Another rather famous (or is it infamous?) In-N-Out's secret menu item is called the Flying Dutchman, which is basically a double double (which is a double cheeseburger) without the bun, lettuce, tomato, or onions. Yep, it's just two beef patties and two slices on cheese and nothing else. Because there's no bun to hold them, this order also doesn't even come with any spread. It also still costs the same as a double double, so to me that already makes it a losing proposition.

This secret menu order is actually not-so-secret and has ties to the chain's founding family. The item was created by Guy Snyder, former president of In-N-Out and the eldest son of the company's founders. Snyder was also a drag racer and his nickname was the Flying Dutchman. Still, even with a connection to the founders' family, unless you're on a low-carb diet and also absolutely hate vegetables, I would not personally recommend ordering this. 

I think it's rather boring to just eat a patty of meat and cheese (or even two patties and cheese). For me, it needed something more in terms of texture or flavor. My preferred low-carb order would be the protein-style or even the whole grilled onion wrap. With the protein-style you can still get the spread, tomato and onions inside the lettuce wrap. 

If you go on TikTok or read articles on the internet, they will tell you that there is a secret menu order called Roadkill Fries. According to these sources, Roadkill Fries are animal-style fries topped with a Flying Dutchman. I recommend avoiding this order for one main reason: it doesn't exist. 

That is, this is not a real In-N-Out secret menu item and if you try to order it, the associates will tell you they don't do this. Redditors also confirm that this order doesn't exist. This is something you can assemble on your own by ordering animal-style fries and Flying Dutchman separately, but for all intents and purposes, it doesn't actually count as a secret menu order. Even if it did, I feel like this would be rather difficult to eat. I did attempt to assemble this using the two separate orders, but I didn't think adding the burger patty really made the fries any better. 

Another "secret menu" order that isn't actually real is one called Doggy Style. Online sources will tell you that this is a protein-style cheeseburger that also comes with fries inside the burger. While you can assemble this burger yourself by order the burger and fries separately, this isn't something that In-N-Out will actually make for you. 

I've been an In-N-Out fan for years. For this ranking, I went back to the drive thru and ordered all the secret menu items. I stayed away from ordering most of the chain's Not-So-Secret Menu (so not secret it's listed on the website) like protein-style (which is usually my go-to order), animal fries, or the 4x4 for this list. Instead, I focused on the orders that are not as well-known that I think everyone should know more about. 

There were some secret menu orders I had read about or saw on TikTok but never tried before. However, after trying to order them, I found out that a couple of them were not real secret menu orders. I still mentioned them on this list (as the worst order) so readers can know that they are not actually real secret menu orders and you should not be ordering them — it will be a waste of time. 

For the other items I did manage to order, I tasted through each one with a friend and we ranked the items based on how they taste. One thing I wanted to note is that some of these secret menu hacks can be added on top of one another. I separated each hack here for ranking purposes, but just know that, if iyou want to order a mustard-grilled cheeseburger with chopped chilis and whole grilled onion in the future, you can — and absolutely should.