If you're not lucky enough to live near an In-N-Out, then you've probably never experienced the deliciousness that is animal-style french fries. If you don't know, animal-style fries are a special In-N-Out menu item that feature french fries topped with cheese sauce, In-N-Out secret spread, and grilled onions.
The loaded fries are beloved by west coasters, which has prompted many people to take to the internet in hopes of recreating the tasty masterpiece using a copycat recipe. The hashtag "animal style fries" has over 58 million views on TikTok and has been used by many famous internet personalities, including Nick DiGiovanni and Eitan Bernath. Even Chrissy Teigen got in on the action, sharing on Instagram that her husband John Legend found a recipe for animal-style fries, and "all hell has broken loose."
In-N-Out's animal-style fries are not an official menu item, in fact, they're not even found on its Not So Secret Menu. So, if this secret menu item can be created at one fast food restaurant, why couldn't there be a version at other fast food restaurants?
We put the theory to the test by ordering animal-style fries at McDonald's, Chick-fil-A, and Wendy's to see if it's possible to get your fix at different restaurants. Here's how we ordered the fries, and what we discovered:
Best Copycat Animal-Style Fries At a Glance:
Most Authentic Fries: Homemade
Best Flavor: Wendy's
Cheapest Fries: Wendy's
Easiest Fries: Wendy's
Most Polarizing Fries: Chick-fil-A
McDonald's
What to Order:
- Basket of fries
- Side of Big Mac sauce
- 2 slices of American cheese
- Side of grilled onions (if your McDonald's doesn't allow grilled onions, then ask for regular onions)
It's a little tricky to order the fries from McDonald's because there are so many steps. And at least once during your order, the McDonald's employee will probably look or sound confused.
We've seen TikToks where people order grilled onions from McDonald's, but our McDonald's wouldn't grill the onions, so we had to settle for regular sliced onions instead (even though we did ask for diced onions because the flavor is better). However, we went during lunchtime, so the key might be to hit up McDonald's when there's no one in line — because the employee didn't say "we don't do grilled onions" they just said "we can't do grilled onions right now."
The assembly isn't too hard, but, as you'd probably imagine, the cheese doesn't melt very well. Our cheese was already a little melted in the box just from the commute home because the fries were heating the bag. But once we ripped the cheese up and put it on the fries, it didn't melt anymore.
McDonald's version of animal-style fries taste good and are pretty similar to In-N-Out's — mostly because Big Mac sauce is almost identical to In-N-Out's secret spread. However, they are kind of hard to order and might not be worth the hassle.
They cost us $5.29 — we weren't charged for the Big Mac sauce or onions, but we were charged $1 for the two slices of cheese.
Wendy's
What to Order:
- Cheese fries topped with onions
- Ghost Pepper Ranch
Wendy's version of animal-style fries is definitely the easiest because the Wendy's employees did almost everything for us. Wendy's has cheese fries on the menu — and while they don't offer grilled onions — they did top the fries with onions for us. All we had to do was add the sauce.
Of course, Wendy's doesn't have a signature sauce like In-N-Out's secret spread or McDonald's Big Mac sauce, so we went with the Ghost Pepper Ranch. It added a nice tangy, creamy bite to the fries, plus, it had a good kick of heat.
Because Wendy's cheese fries are topped with both a cheese sauce and Cheddar cheese, you don't have to worry about the cheese not being melted. The cheese sauce is ooey and gooey, while the Cheddar on top adds a nice sharp taste.
Overall, while they're not the exact same as In-N-Out's animal-style fries, they'e still a delicious option.
These fries cost us $2.96 — we weren't charged for any extra toppings or sauce.
Chick-fil-A
What to Order:
- Waffle fries
- Cheese sauce (if your location doesn't sell cheese sauce, then ask for two slices of cheese)
- Chick-fil-A sauce
- A salad container
Chick-fil-A's version of animal-style fries strays the furthest from In-N-Out's version. First and foremost, Chick-fil-A famously does not sell onions, so there's no option to top your fries with any kind of onions.
Additionally, Chick-fil-A has a cheese sauce that's only available at select restaurants nationwide. Our Chick-fil-A had it, so we used that, which adds a nice warm, gooey layer of cheese. However, if your location doesn't serve cheese sauce, then it might be a different experience with just cheese slices.
Finally, unlike McDonald's and Wendy's, which sell fries in baskets or bowls, Chick-fil-A only has cardboard containers for its fries. So, we had to ask for a salad container to dump the fries in, but the employees happily obliged.
All in all, the assembly is easy, but without the onions, these are basically just saucy fries. Don't get us wrong, they were delicious — especially if you like Chick-fil-A's signature sauce on their waffle fries — but we're not sure if they're true animal-style fries.
These fries cost us $3.73 — there is a $1.19 upcharge for the cheese sauce.
Homemade
After trying the fast food versions of the animal-style fries, we decided to take a page from the TikTokers' book and make them at home. Homemade animal-style fries are really easy to make — especially if you buy a bag of frozen french fries.
While the fries cook, you just need to make the In-N-Out spread (which is essentially Thousand Island dressing) and sauté the onions. Top the hot fries with slices of cheese, onions, and sauce, and you're ready to serve.
The only problem with using slices of cheese and not a cheese sauce is that the cheese doesn't melt very well. Even though the fries are hot from the oven, they're not hot enough to get the melty cheese we would like. Next time, we'd probably pop the cheese-topped fries back in the oven for a few minutes, until the cheese melts.
The homemade fries were obviously the most authentic to In-N-Out's animal-style fries and, even though you had to make a few things from scratch, they're super simple. Sure, swinging through the drive-thru is easy, but almost all the copycat orders required assembly — and most of them weren't the same as (or even close to) what you'd get at In-N-Out.
In terms of cost, the only things you'd probably have to buy are fries, an onion, and maybe cheese because the rest of the ingredients are kitchen staples. However, for the sake of the experiment, if you bought every ingredient brand new, and name brand, you'd probably be looking at about a $35 grocery bill.
However, with that being said, most of the ingredients — like ketchup, butter, or mayo — could be used again and again. And, if you use the whole bag of fries, you'd have a decent-sized plate of animal-style fries. Our recipe serves four while the animal-style fries that you get at a fast food restaurant really only serve one or two.
The Bottom Line
All four versions of animal-style fries were delicious, but we'd probably only order the Wendy's and Chick-fil-A versions again. Wendy's was great because the employees added everything for us, so the fries were perfectly made. And while you might not call Chick-fil-A's fries authentic, they were still really good — the cheese sauce is definitely what makes it.
McDonald's fries were just a little too complicated for the fact that they were warm fries topped with cold cheese and Big Mac sauce. Maybe just order a side of Big Mac sauce with your fries and call it a day.
The homemade animal-style fries were great if you want an easy, authentic take on In-N-Out's popular fries. We'd make those again any day.
