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Nothing beans a Double Double Animal Style Burger from In-N-Out and this copycat recipe nails it! You’ll start with two thin beef patties, caramelized onions, and their famous burger spread. These burgers are what dreams are made of.
Burgers are a whole big thing in my house and we make them at least once a week.
They’re a universal favorite with our kids, our friends, and our family so we always know that it’ll be a hit when we serve them up!
Of course, sometimes you crave a big, juicy, grease dripping down your arm style of burger and where better to go than In-N-Out? Well…sadly, I live in the Midwest and there are no In-N-Outs around these parts.
So, we’re making their Double Double Animal Style Burger at home. Strange name, but just stick with me…this burger is legit.
This recipe is based off of a copycat version of the Double Double Animal Style Burger from In-N-Out. I figured why bother reinventing the wheel when Serious Eats did such a good job already. 😉
👩🍳 Ingredient List:
Ground Beef – Use the 73% lean ground chuck. You want a fatty beef for tasty burgers.
American cheese – Preferably the deli style rather than the plastic wrapped kind, but both work!
Yellow mustard – We’re squirting this on the burger as it cooks!
Onions – A must, if you’re making an animal style burger. We’re going to caramelize them.
Hamburger buns – The cheap store brand buns, please. We’ll butter them and toast them.
Burger Spread – Ketchup, mayo, vinegar, and relish.
Toppings – Pickles, lettuce, and tomatoes are a must, in my opinion.
🧀 What does ‘double double’ mean?
A double double burger from In-N-Out just means 2 hamburger patties and 2 slices of cheese.
🐮 What does ‘animal style’ mean?
Animal Style means that In-N-Out griddles the burgers with mustard and tops them off with pickles, grilled onions, and their delicious burger spread.
🍔 How to make this animal style burger:
Onion topping- First of all, these caramelized onions are sweet, salty, and soft. So even if onions aren’t your thing, you are likely to love these. Try them! To make them, dice your onions and cook them in a skillet with two tablespoons of melted butter for 15 minutes. Then add your water and continue cooking until the water evaporates and add another 1/4 cup of water. Cook until water evaporates then sprinkle with salt and set aside.
The secret sauce- You can start this while the onions are cooking. Stir together your ketchup, mayo, vinegar, and relish.
The buns – Start with cheapo store brand burger buns. Heat up a large skillet and melt butter on the skillet. Place the buns with the sliced portion down onto the butter and cook until golden brown. Add your sauce to your hot grilled bun and set aside.
The burgers- Take your same skillet you cooked the buns with and add 8 small balls of ground beef to it – 2 ounces each. Sprinkle them with salt and cook for one minute. Flip them over and then squish the meat flat into a thin patty about the size of your bun. Squirt some mustard on each patty and cook for a couple more minutes and flip again. Put your cheese on top of each patty then put your cooked onions on top of half of them. Cook until the cheese melts.
Serving- Place a patty without onions on top of a patty with onions. Then take that stack and place it on top of the bottom half of your prepared bun. Top with your favorite toppings and then add the top half of the bun.
Serve with our air fried french fries, potato wedges, or maybe our mac and cheese casserole. Can’t beat burgers & mac!
❔ FAQs:
In-N-Out is located in the west of the USA. You can find In-N-Out is seven states, including California, Nevada, Texas, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, and Arizona.
Nope – they only use fresh beef pattied in their facilities located in California and Texas. The fresh patties are then delivered to their stores.
⭐More Favorite Copycat Recipes:
- How to make Chick-Fil-A Sauce
- Monterey Chicken
- Cajun Fried Corn
- Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos
- Peanut Butter Stuffed Cookies
- Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup Recipe
- Chicken Chimichanga
Double Double Animal Style In-N-Out Copy Cat Burger
Ingredients
For the onions:
- 2 onions diced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the burgers:
- 1 pound ground beef 75/25 if possible
- 8 slices American cheese from the deli (not the plastic wrapped kind)
- 4 teaspoons prepared yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 hamburger buns store brand
- 4 tablespoons butter
- Pickles, lettuce, tomatoes for topping
For the secret sauce:
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dill pickle relish
Instructions
To make the onions:
- Heat a medium skillet over medium heat.
- Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the skillet and add the diced onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes.
- When the onions are soft and beginning to brown, add 1/4 cup of water and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the water has evaporated. Repeat with the remaining 1/4 cup of water.
- After about 30 minutes of cooking the onions should be golden brown, soft, melty, and pure perfection.
- Sprinkle with salt. Set aside.
To make the sauce:
- While the onions are cooking prepare the secret sauce. Stir together the ketchup, mayo, vinegar, and relish. Set aside.
To make the burgers:
- Heat a griddle or large cast iron skillet to medium.
- Melt the remaining butter on the hot griddle and place the buns, cut side down, on the griddle. Cook until golden brown.
- Spread around 1 tablespoon of the sauce on the bottom of each bun. Set aside.
- Turn the heat to high. While the griddle is heating, form the meat into 8 small balls of meat, loosely compacted.
- Place the balls of meat a few inches apart on the griddle and sprinkle the tops with salt. Let cook one minute.
- Flip the balls over and immediately take a small plate (or flat spatula that doesn’t have holes for the meat to squish through) and press the meat flat, forming a thin patty the same diameter as your bun.
- Squirt about 1/2 teaspoon of mustard on each patty. Cook for 1-2 minutes and flip again.
- Immediately place the cheese on each patty and top half of the patties with a heaping spoonful of the onions.
- Cook 1 minute or until patties are cooked through and cheese is beginning to melt.
- Use a spatula to pick up one of the patties without the onions and place it on top of a patty with the onions.
- Let cook for 30 more seconds to meld everything together.
- Remove from griddle to the grilled buns. Top with lettuce, tomato, and pickles, if desired.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Information:
This recipe was originally published March 2013. It was updated in August 2022 with new photos. Original photos below.
Maggie Martin says
Son in law devours 4 or 5 of these EVERYtime! Thanks for this one Karly. Really really great
Maggie
Karly says
My husband devours quite a few too! Glad they’re a hit! ๐
Susan says
This has become our one and only beef burger recipe! I follow it exactly and it’s perfect every time. When the kids visit for supper, “Pretty please Mom, make those In-N-Out burgers!” They are so, soooo good. Thanks so much for sharing this one!
Karly says
So glad they’re a hit with your family! ๐
Jen says
This was so delicious! We dont have INandOUT here in Georgia. We did everything it said but we made bacon first and then used grease to do mushrooms and then the buns! The rest as directions and was FAB-U-LOUS! We decided as a family from now on, this was our burger recipe!!
Thanks for sharing!
Karly says
So glad you guys enjoyed them!
elayne says
in n out French fries are fresh with the skin them. they are the best in my opinion. I go when my husband that does not like them takes me. what is it that looks burned on it.ย
Andy says
Is there a video on this one somewhere???
NinabNice says
This was a great adaption of the In-N-Out Burger – It’s really delicious and it really taste like a Double-Double. Thank you for this recipe. I posted a picture of creation on Instagram and tagged you in it, if you would like to see how it turned out (ninanobueno).
Karly says
Glad you enjoyed it! ๐
Vanessa says
I made these the other night, and while I’ve never had In-N-Out burgers, I don’t even feel the need to anymore. This was perfection and as orgasmic as food can get. It’s only been 2 days and I’m craving them again. It was even good as leftovers the next day (yes I made a double batch since we had kids and company). Thank you for this amazing recipe! You saved me a cross country trip to In-N-Out!
Karly says
@Vanessa,
Yay! So glad you love them as much as we do!
vadeem @vadeem says
Not the most healthy alternative but this looks enticing.
Allie says
I never want to make a plain-old cheeseburger ever again. I was never a HUGE fan, but now that I have this to compare it to it just seems like an insult to my tastebuds.
Karly says
@Allie,
Yay! I feel the same way about this one!
Jennifer says
Made these tonight. (My husband and) I totally ate TWO!
They. Are. Fab.
We live overseas and so I can’t compare them to In-N-Out, but if theirs are even 1/2 as good as these turned out, I’d be sold.
Wondering if I can make them again this week…..
Thanks!!
Shannon says
Thanks! I ended up making these before your reply, so I omitted the relish, but I will try it next time. These burgers were absolutely fabulous!! I crave them now!