Fast food can often be delicious, especially if you’ve figured out the perfect order at all your favorite restaurants. But eating the same food over and over again can get dull real fast. If you’re biting into a big juicy decadent cheeseburger and it’s not firing off all the pleasure centers in your brain, it’s probably because your tastebuds aren’t being surprised at all.
You have two routes here:
- Take a break from fast food and start cooking at home.
- Mix it up by ordering from the secret menu.
We know it is hard to stray from the favorites but sometimes ordering something unexpected is all you need to excite the palate and get the most bang for your buck. And when you’re looking for something different there is no better place to look than a secret menu. And most fast food restaurants have a secret menu or, at the very least, some food you can remix and hack into something new.
To help guide you to these hidden gems, we’ve put together a list of the secret menu fast food items from all the big chains. For the most part, these will be foods that you can order hassle-free, though a few will unfortunately require some self-assembly. Let’s dive in.
Burger King — Rodeo Burger
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How To Order It:
Unfortunately, because Burger King routinely brings back the Rodeo Burger as a limited-time option, you can’t just ask for a Rodeo Burger off-season. Instead what you’ll need to do is order a Double Whopper and add BBQ sauce, bacon, and onion rings.
They will be able to add all of these ingredients themselves, so you won’t get any pushback if you try and order this.
The Bottom Line:
This burger is crunchy, smokey, sweet, and decadent. You can’t go wrong.
Burger King — Frings
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How To Order It:
I’m still scratching my head over why this isn’t something BK advertises. Frings are an ingenious idea, you get an equal share of french fries and onion rings — what’s not to love here? Order Frings and your favorite sandwich of choice, put the frings inside the sandwich, and experience the absolute best of Burger King.
BK isn’t doing so hot, the restaurant is closing stores nationwide — I kind of think it’s because they keep orders like the Rodeo Burger and Frings a secret.
The Bottom Line:
You get the best of both worlds here, and it’s something you can ask for by name.
Chick-fil-A — Fried Chicken Club Sandwich/Bacon on Everything
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How To Order It:
If you can’t tell already, it truly baffles me why these fast food chains keep some of their best food a secret. If you’re a casual Chick-fil-A eater you may not know that you can put bacon on everything here, and bacon is the best way to elevate a chicken sandwich.
Ask for the Chicken Club, and you should receive a grilled chicken patty with bacon, lettuce, tomato, and cheese on a multigrain brioche bun — but here is the trick, ask for a fried patty (spicy or regular) instead and you’ve got yourself quite possibly the best sandwich on the entire menu.
The multigrain bun adds some nice sweetness to counterbalance the smokey flavor of the bacon and the chicken and pairs nicely with the juicy tomatoes and green leaf lettuce. If you’re not feeling that build, feel free to order your usual favorite sandwich and just ask to add bacon.
The Bottom Line:
Everything tastes better with bacon
Chick-fil-A — Spicy Char
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How To Order It:
This one is a bit of a toss-up as some Chick-fil-A’s will know what you’re talking about, and some won’t. The Spicy Char swaps Chick-fil-A’s charbroiled chicken patty (which is delicious by the way) for a spicy version of the same patty, tossed in the same spices as the fried version, without the breading.
The results are delicious, it’s juicy with a lemon undertone and a sharp cayenne kick at the backend.
The Bottom Line:
Chick-fil-A’s most delicious secret. If you’re in the mood for a grilled chicken sandwich that doesn’t sacrifice flavor for better caloric stats, order this.
Chipotle — Nachos
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How To Order It:
This one is going to require self-assembly, but we guarantee you it’s worth it! Here is what you do: order a burrito bowl with any meat or beans of your choosing (we recommend barbacoa and pinto) with grilled fajitas, salsa of your choice, corn, cheese, and guacamole, and ask for all your ingredients on the side. Then order a side of chips, pour them into the bowl, and build this delicious dish.
If enough of us order these nachos and post them on TikTok, maybe it’ll get an official release. Chipotle did it with the fajita quesadilla so anything is possible!
The Bottom Line:
We know Chipotle is keeping this one close to the chest in case sales ever drop.
Five Guys — The Patty Melt
How To Order It:
This is Five Guys’ best-tasting secret and, in our opinion, is even superior to the regular burger. Simply order a grilled cheese and add as many patties and other ingredients you’d like. Five Guys doesn’t use special buns for this sandwich instead it inverts its regular hamburger buns and grills them with butter, giving the bread a crunchy savory exterior.
To capture that classic diner patty melt vibe, be sure and add grilled mushrooms and grilled onions.
The Bottom Line:
Better than Five Guys’ stock cheeseburger.
In-N-Out — Animal Style Burger with Chopped Chiles
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How To Order It:
In-N-Out posts its secret menu online, which is great, but what they don’t tell you is that you can add chopped chiles to any burger. This build is a favorite of burger master Alvin Cailan, it features mustard grilled patties, a double dose of cheese, extra special sauce, tomatoes, grilled onions, lettuce, pickles, and chopped chiles. The chiles provide a nice subtle heat that builds on the aftertaste and adds a lot of complexity to this already flavor-packed burger.
The Bottom Line:
The easiest way to elevate your In-N-Out experience.
In-N-Out — Animal Style Fries
How To Order It:
For whatever reason In-N-Out also doesn’t advertise these fries on its official secret menu website, but they’re a staple amongst In-N-Out regulars, so expect to order this hassle-free.
The Animal Style Fries include a bed of fries topped with special sauce, melted American cheese, and grilled onions. If you’re wondering, yes, you can add chopped chilies to this as well and it makes each forkful significantly better.
The Bottom Line:
If you still think In-N-Out fries are the worst, give these and try and come back to us.
In-N-Out — Tomato Wrap
How To Order It:
I’m not going to list In-N-Out’s entire secret menu because some of the dishes just aren’t worth ordering (looking at you grilled cheese), but one that doesn’t get enough mention is the Tomato Wrap. This burger is superior to the lettuce wrap because it doesn’t fall apart as you’re eating it and instead of flavorless iceberg lettuce you get layers of umami-rich tomato.
The Bottom Line:
Savory, satisfying, and completely keto-friendly.
In-N-Out — Neapolitan Shake/Rootbeer Float
How To Order It:
I’m going to go ahead and combine these because I think they are equally good. If you can’t decide between a chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry shake, just order a Neapolitan Shake to experience all three flavors combined.
To get a Rootbeer Float, simply ask for one (it’s not on the menu) and the employees will expertly mix rootbeer with any shake flavor of your choice.
The Bottom Line:
Both options are improvements over the stock milkshakes.
McDonald’s — The Egg McMuffin Hack From The Killer
How To Order It:
We were introduced to this hack late last year by the David Fincher movie The Killer. It’s an Egg McMuffin without the bread. In the movie, Michael Fassbender scarfs down a ham version of this sandwich, which in our opinion isn’t as good as opting for sausage instead.
To order ask for a Sausage, Egg, and Cheese McMuffin with an extra patty and toss the bread to nearby birds.
I like this hack and it fits into the keto lifestyle, but I’m going to be real with you, the original with the bun tastes better.
The Bottom Line:
A keto-friendly version of one of McDonald’s greatest sandwiches.
McDonald’s — Hashbrown McMuffin
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How To Order It:
Order a McMuffin and a hashbrown, open up the sandwich, and slide that hashbrown in. Yes it’s a bummer they won’t do this for you but it’s so low effort and so delicious that the self-assembly is worth it. The hashbrown adds more crunch and salt to the sandwich and makes it a way more satisfying experience.
The Bottom Line:
A hack so good and so low effort that McDonald’s should just include it on the menu. Until then, you’ll have to build it yourself.
McDonald’s — The Land, Sea, and Air Burger
How To Order It:
I didn’t really want to include this one but what’s a secret menu fast food list without this legendary sandwich? Two years ago McDonald’s let you order this sandwich by name but still required you to self-assemble it. It wasn’t worth the effort (we covered it here)
The sandwich combines a Big Mac with a fried Filet-O-Fish and a McChicken into one giant ball of ultra-processed protein. It is disturbing, overwhelming, and as close to State Fair food as McDonald’s will ever get.
The Bottom Line:
A disturbing mix of McDonald’s proteins. Order it for the story, not the flavor.
Raising Cane’s — Sandwich on Texas Toast
How To Order It:
Ask for your Raising Cane’s sandwich to be served on Texas toast rather than the Kaiser roll that comes with the stock sandwich, and boom, you’ve instantly got a significantly better chicken sandwich. Yes, it’s still going to fall all over the place and be a struggle to keep intact (what else would you expect from a sandwich that includes three chicken tenders) but each bite will begin with a garlic butter blast of flavor before you reach that tender juicy chicken.
The Bottom Line:
Raising Cane’s should ditch the roll completely and just serve its sandwiches on this delicious Texas Toast. Once you try it, you’ll never eat the Kaiser roll again.
Raising Cane’s — BOBS
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How To Order It:
Ask for BOBS and you’ll receive Raising Cane’s delicious Texas Toast grilled and buttered on both sides, rather than just one side. BOBS stands for, if you haven’t caught on already, “buttered on both sides,’ and is an instant way to turn an already delicious side into something out of this world.
The Bottom Line:
If you love Raising Cane’s Texas Toast, you need to try the BOBS.
Taco Bell — Quesarito
How To Order It:
Taco Bell keeps putting this legendary dish back on the menu only to take it off. You don’t have to deal with Taco Bell’s nonsense though, because you can still order a Quesarito, it just takes some hacking. Ordering a Beefy 5-Layer Burrito, substitute the beans for rice, and add chipotle sauce, then get it grilled, and bam! You’ve got yourself a Quesarito.
The Bottom Line:
Taco Bell loves to take fan favorites off the menu, this is the easiest one to recreate.
Wendy’s — The Meat Cube
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How To Order It:
Wendy’s offers single, double, and triple cheeseburgers but nothing is stopping you from adding as many additional patties to the burger as you’d like. Once you get to four, you’re eating what the Wendy’s secret menu community affectionally refers to as the “Meat Cube.”
“Meat Cube” doesn’t sound appetizing to me, but hey, it’s a pretty apt name for a bomb of beef.
The Bottom Line:
If you’ve got a craving for beef, no other burger is going to satisfy like the Meat Cube.
Wendy’s — The Barnyard Burger
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How To Order It:
Just as you can add as many patties to a burger as you desire, you can do the same with chicken patties, which brings us to the Barnyard Burger. Order a Dave’s single and add a fried chicken filet and bacon and you have a whole barn’s worth of flavor. It’s beefy, crunchy, spicy (assuming you get the spicy chicken filet), and smokey. A real showcase for how good Wendy’s is at everything they make.
The Bottom Line:
One of Wendy’s wildest burgers and everything McDonald’s Land, Sea, and Air Burger wishes it could be.
