The In-N-Out Secret Menu Hack That Delivers A Spicy Kick

Upon first glance, In-N-Out's menu might look pretty barren — these days, you rarely roll up to a drive-thru and see only three burger options, fries, and a collection of drinks. To the untrained eye, you might not understand what all the fuss surrounding this Southern California burger chain is all about. But locals and die-hard fans know that the In-N-Out menu has tons of secret offerings, as long as you know how to ask.

The classic burger comes on a soft bun with your choice of one or two patties, topped with slices of American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and the special secret In-N-Out sauce. But this classic burger order is just the tip of the iceberg. From mustard grilled patties to the breadless "Flying Dutchman" style burger, In-N-Out is known for its secret menu hacks that take your meal to the next level. If you're looking to add an extra layer of spice to your cheeseburger, consider adding spicy yellow chilies. While you won't find this ingredient anywhere on In-N-Out's written menu, chilies are often a complimentary offering located near the condiments of the burger joint's dine-in locations. Or, you can ask the chef to add a few of the hot chili peppers right onto the bottom bun of your burger. For this menu hack, ask for "chopped chilies" as a customization, and prepare for some extra heat.

The bite-size yellow chilies that In-N-Out carries may look like the common pepperoncini, but they are actually cascabella peppers. Cascabellas have a similar flavor profile to a Jalapeño, although some would say the Cascabella's heat level is more subtle. Fans of the hack enjoy including these small, yellow peppers on their burger because of the additional texture and slight kick of heat that it brings to each bite, without the need to drink a gallon of milk afterward. If you're looking to optimize the spice, consider adding chopped chilies to the top of your order of fries.

Unlike the burger hack, where chilies are sandwiched between layers of meat, cheese, and burger toppings, adding chopped chilies to your fries puts them front and center. When prepping this hack, the chilies appear to be sliced slightly larger, bringing more heat to each bite. According to one TikToker, topping your animal-style fries with chopped chilies adds a much-needed "crunch" and "acidity" to them.

You can also combine menu hacks to create a truly custom meal. It's not unusual for someone to ask for a "double-double cheeseburger, protein style, mustard grilled, with extra pickles and chopped chilies." However, not every menu hack can stand the test of time – some customers used to ask for their patties medium rare, but the ordering trick was quickly banned from In-N-Out due to food safety concerns. As always, make sure that you are kind and patient with employees, especially when asking for a ton of customizations to your meal.

These secret menu items make it an exciting time to be an In-N-Out customer, but the other side of the counter might feel differently. We were curious to know if all the slight changes to menu items made the lives of In-N-Out employees more difficult or if they are happy to make those changes, no questions asked. In a Reddit thread on r/innout, one user asked employees how they feel about the influx of customizations, thanks to people on social media sharing the various ways to up your burger game. Overall, workers seem to be used to the requests and are trained to accommodate pretty much any variation to their burgers (as long as they carry those ingredients, of course). Many users did express their frustrations about having to "cut in half" a large order of burgers. Apparently, protein-style burgers, 4X4 stacked burgers, and other complex customizations make the burgers challenging to cut and wrap, hence why the chain does not divide their burger in half unless specifically asked.

Other users shared that "fake hacks" that ask for customizations the restaurant doesn't carry are frustrating because they have to tell customers no. Viral hacks like "Cali style" burgers with bacon and avocado and "monkey style" with fries stuffed inside the burger just can't be accommodated. Overall, employees are happy to customize your meal exactly the way you'd like it, with very few exceptions.