Animal Style Fries In N Out Secret Menu Copycat

My husband grew up in California just minutes away from an In-N-Out. If you ask him what he misses most about California, he will tell you it’s 3 things: the beach, Disneyland, and In-N-Out Burger. Thankfully, he’s married to someone who loves re-creating copycat recipes! I have made these fries for him many, many times and he agrees, this copycat recipe tastes like the real deal. In-N-Out Animal style fries are a cult favorite amongst fast food lovers. Though they are found on the “secret” menu, they are hardly a secret. Animal style fries are In-N-Out’s hand-cut fries topped with melted cheese slices, “secret sauce”, and grilled onions. They are SO good! And the best part? You can be enjoying these animal fries in less than 30 minutes!

Ingredients for Animal Style Fries

Frozen fries – Traditional, crispy, or shoestring fries all work great for this recipe. Follow package directions for cooking. If you are feeling ambitious you can make your own fries from scratch. American cheese slices – we like to use Kraft Singles or Velveeta brand In-N-Out Sauce (see recipe below) Onion (white or yellow onion works great)

In-N-Out Secret Sauce

In-N-Out’s special sauce is super easy to make and only take a few ingredients that you probably have in your fridge right now. Here’s what you need:

Mayonnaise (Best Foods / Hellmann’s mayo tastes the best) Ketchup Mustard Sweet pickle relish

What Cheese is Best For Animal Style Fries?

In-N-Out uses American cheese for their animal style fries. Of course you can use another type of cheese but then it wouldn’t be In-N-Out style. For these fries we like to use Kraft American cheese or the Velveeta cheese slices. The Velveeta slices melt a little better than the Kraft brand and (in my opinion) taste better, but the Kraft is usually easier to find.

Making the Caramelized Onions

The caramelized (or grilled) onion is really the cherry (well, onion) on top for animal style fries. They are sautéed in butter until perfectly browned and almost crispy. First, finely dice the onion. Next, heat some butter in a large skillet until melted. Add the onion and sprinkle a bit on salt over the top. The salt will help dehydrate the onion and make it more crispy. Sauté the onion until it turns a deep golden brown with dark edges. Watch it closely because it can burn quickly.