In and Out Secret Menu: Full Guide to Items and Orders

Ask anyone who’s spent time on the West Coast about In-N-Out’s cult following, and they’ll probably lean in closer, drop their voice, and mention “the secret menu.” What they mean: a whole lexicon of custom orders the chain quietly allows. The thing is, In-N-Out doesn’t really keep secrets — they just list the most popular ones right on their website. The rest are customer-born hacks that caught on hard enough that staff now recognize them by name.

Official Menu Page: Not So Secret Menu · Reported Items Tested: 33 · Top Source: in-n-out.com · Fan Favorites: Flying Dutchman, Animal Style Fries · Custom Orders Allowed: Yes

What’s here: 33 customer-born modifications that staff now recognize by name, plus the official list In-N-Out publishes themselves.

What are In-N-Out secret menu items?

Technically, In-N-Out doesn’t have a secret menu — they have a “Not So Secret Menu” listed right on their official website. The company states it plainly: “We don’t have any secrets at all. It’s just the way some of our customers like their burgers prepared, and we’re all about making our customers happy.” The items on that page (like Double-Meat: two 100% American beef patties with hand-leafed lettuce, tomato, and spread) are popular enough that In-N-Out acknowledges them openly.

The rest of the secret menu comes from customers who pushed the boundaries of what was possible with the limited core menu. Over decades, these customizations accumulated — some born from dietary needs, some from pure creativity. Cozymeal tested 33 secret menu items first-hand and found that most locations handle them without hesitation.

Official Not-So-Secret Menu Items

• Double-Meat: two beef patties instead of one
• 3×3: three patties, three cheese slices
• Any burger can be ordered as Double-Double style (two patties, two cheese)

Popular Fan Customizations

• Animal Style: mustard-glazed patty, extra grilled onions, special sauce, pickles
• Flying Dutchman: two patties, two cheese, no bun
• Protein Style: lettuce wrap instead of bun

The pattern is clear: customers discovered that small changes to preparation (how long the patty grills, what goes on it, whether there’s a bun at all) created entirely new eating experiences. In-N-Out’s kitchen flexibility made it possible, and word spread.

How do you order In-N-Out secret menu items?

Ordering off-menu at In-N-Out is less like deciphering a code and more like learning a vocabulary. Most staff recognize the popular terms, and the chain’s policy of accommodating customer preferences makes the process smooth.

The Key Ordering Rules

• Know the lingo — say “Animal Style burger” and they’ll know exactly what you mean
• Be ready to describe it if staff don’t recognize an obscure term — “mustard-glazed patty, grilled onions, special sauce, pickles” works as a backup
• Not all locations may fulfill extreme orders like 16 patties stacked together
• Patience helps — some items are technically off-menu even if staff know them

The implication: these aren’t truly secret. They’re just custom orders that caught on hard enough that In-N-Out now expects to hear them. If you’re clear and polite, your order goes through.

What is the Flying Dutchman at In-N-Out?

The Flying Dutchman is one of the cleanest hacks on the secret menu: two beef patties, two cheese slices, absolutely no bun. It’s protein in its most stripped-back form — ideal for anyone doing low-carb or just wanting maximum meat with minimum carbs.

How to Order Flying Dutchman

Simply say “Flying Dutchman” at the counter. That’s it. Staff at most locations know exactly what this means. If they don’t, spell it out: “Two beef patties with two slices of cheese, no bun.”

Why It Works

In-N-Out’s menu is simple by design — burgers, fries, drinks. The Flying Dutchman works because the kitchen can prepare patties and cheese independently of buns. There’s no special sauce required, no hidden prep work. It’s essentially a deconstructed burger minus the bread.

The catch: without the bun, there’s nothing to hold the patties together in conventional burger form. You’re essentially eating two hamburger patties with cheese melted between them. It’s satisfying in a primal way, but it’s not quite a sandwich.

What is animal style at In-N-Out?

Animal Style is the most famous item on In-N-Out’s unofficial secret menu — so famous that Cozymeal notes it “isn’t much of a secret anymore.” The combination: a mustard-glazed beef patty, grilled onions cooked until they’re sweet and slightly charred, special sauce (In-N-Out’s signature spread), and pickles on a standard bun.

How to Order Animal Style

Say “Animal Style” when ordering any burger — Double-Double, regular burger, or even a cheeseburger. Staff will know. If you’re at a location where the term doesn’t register, describe it: “Mustard-glazed patty, extra grilled onions, special sauce, pickles.”

What Makes It Different

The defining element is the mustard cooked onto the patty during grilling. Most burgers at In-N-Out are standard charbroiled. Animal Style flips that with a thin mustard coating that caramelizes as the patty cooks, adding a tangy sharpness that cuts through the richness. The grilled onions bring sweetness, the sauce brings creaminess, the pickles bring acid. It’s a full-flavor assault.

The trade-off: Animal Style is significantly more involved than a standard burger. More ingredients, more prep work, more flavor — and for some, the mustard tang is an acquired taste.

Does In-N-Out have a secret recipe?

In-N-Out’s stance is refreshingly direct: no secrets. Their official statement reads: “We don’t have any secrets at all.” What they do have is a standard base recipe for patties, buns, and spread that’s been consistent since the chain opened in 1948. The “secret menu” isn’t hidden recipes — it’s the flexibility to modify that base.

Official Stance on Recipes

The In-N-Out Burger official site lists their Not So Secret Menu as a collection of popular customer preparations. Double-Meat, for instance, is simply “two 100% American beef patties, hand-leafed lettuce, tomato, spread” — no special sauce, no altered recipe, just more of the same.

The Spread and Patty Secrets

In-N-Out’s spread (used in place of mayo or mustard on most burgers) is the one element that feels genuinely proprietary. The chain uses fresh ingredients throughout, and the spread has a tangy, slightly sweet profile that customers associate with the brand. But here’s the thing: you can’t order the spread on its own, and the base recipe for it isn’t on the official menu.

What this means: the secret isn’t in one hidden recipe. It’s in what you can build on top of the standard menu. Animal Style modifies the patty. Protein Style modifies the bun. Flying Dutchman removes it entirely. The secret menu is really about what In-N-Out allows you to do with their limited base.

How to Order In-N-Out Secret Menu: Step by Step

Here’s exactly how to get any secret menu item without confusion.

The implication: there is no trick to this. In-N-Out wants you to get what you want. Their secret menu exists because the chain says yes to modifications — not because they’re hiding anything.

Vegetarian and Low-Carb Options

Beyond the meat-heavy modifications, In-N-Out’s secret menu has genuine options for non-beef diets.

Vegetarian Hacks

• Grilled Cheese: Bun with two cheese slices, optionally lettuce, tomato, sauce, onions. No patty. Ask for it by name.
• Wish Burger: A regular burger ordered without the beef patty — just bun, cheese, lettuce, tomato, sauce, onions. Can be customized further (Animal Style works here too).
• Plain Cheese: Two cheese slices on a bun. The simplest possible non-meat option.

Low-Carb Alternatives

• Protein Style: Lettuce wrap instead of bun. The patty and all fixings sit inside loose leaf lettuce. Low-carb, high-protein.
• Tomato Wrap: Patty and cheese wrapped in tomato slices instead of a bun.
• Onion Wrap: Patty and cheese wrapped in grilled onions.

What this means for readers: In-N-Out isn’t just a beef burger chain. With a little creativity, you can eat here without meat or without carbs — it just takes knowing what to ask for.

Beyond Burgers: Secret Fries and Extras

The secret menu extends past burgers into fries and additional toppings.

Secret Fries

• Animal Style Fries: Fries topped with grilled onions, melted cheese, and special sauce. Not available everywhere, but many locations will make it if you ask.
• Protein Style Fries: Fries with cheese and no buns (the standard fries are already bunless, so this mainly applies to any fry-based combinations).
• Extra Toasted Bun on the side: Order a plain bun toasted longer for extra char. Some people eat it as a side.

Extra Toppings and Modifications

• Chopped Chilis: Add chopped green chiles to burgers or fries for heat.
• Extra Toasted Bun: Buns grilled longer for extra char and a slightly crispier exterior.
• Mustard Grilled: Mustard coated on the patty before grilling — works on any burger.
• Doggy-Style: Lettuce wrap and fries instead of buns — essentially Protein Style with a fry side.

The pattern: nearly any standard menu item can be modified. The kitchen’s flexibility is the real secret. In-N-Out keeps their core menu tiny, but the combinations are nearly infinite.

Confirmed vs. Unconfirmed Items

What this balance shows: In-N-Out’s secret menu is well-documented for the major items, but the long tail of customizations (specific regional variations, extreme combinations, items that haven’t made it into mainstream food writing) remains less clear. Stick to the confirmed items for a reliable ordering experience.

“We don’t have any secrets at all. It’s just the way some of our customers like their burgers prepared, and we’re all about making our customers happy.”

— In-N-Out Burger (Official Statement, In-N-Out Burger)

“This is probably the most famous thing on the secret menu from In-N-Out, so it’s not much of a ‘secret’ anymore.

— Caylie Herrmann, Cozymeal

What comes through in both sources: In-N-Out’s secret menu isn’t a curated program — it’s a customer-driven phenomenon the chain chose to acknowledge rather than suppress. The result is a culture where ordering Animal Style or asking for Protein Style is completely normal.

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Beyond Animal Style and Protein Style, enthusiasts often delve into In-N-Out menu and secret items alongside the chain’s locations and history.

Frequently asked questions