Recreate the In-N-Out experience at home with these Lighter Animal-Style Burgers. Incredible burgers lightened up just enough!
Southern California is known for many things: beautiful beaches, pristine weather, Hollywood, Disneyland. But nearly every time I meet someone who isn’t from here, the first thing they ask me about is In-N-Out. The fast food burger chain is almost mythical to those who aren’t on the West Coast.
If you’ve read my post about Skinny Special Sauce, then you know that I spent a lot of my teenage years at In-N-Out. It was the local high school hang out, mainly because a lot of our friends worked there, but also because it was (and still is) affordable.
Now, if I’m being honest, I do think In-N-Out burgers are a little overrated. The fries are pretty awful, and the burger patties themselves are a little anemic.
What makes their burgers stand out from the rest is the fresh ingredients, the unique way they cook their burgers, and the toppings. All of this can be recreated at home, but with a heftier burger patty, less grease, and plenty of leftovers.
Not to mention that a regular Animal-Style cheeseburger will cost you 19 SP. My version is only 8 SP! Dare I say that homemade Lighter Animal-Style Burgers are even better than the original??
What is “Animal-Style”?
Let’s talk about what “Animal-Style” means. Here is how In-N-Out differentiates:
- Extra Spread: all burgers come with special sauce, but they add more to the animal-style orders.
- Fried Mustard: when you ask for animal style or “mustard down,” they will cook your burger on the flat top with a thin layer of mustard cooked into one side. This adds a ton of flavor and juiciness to the meat.
- Pickles: a standard burger at In-N-Out doesn’t have pickles.
- Grilled Onions: they add sweet and melty onions instead of the raw onion that is served on their regular burgers.
MY ORDER: People swear by animal style. And while it’s pretty iconic, there are some things that I’m picky about. First, get the extra spread on the side. That way you can add more sauce if you want instead of risking a soggy burger. I’m also not a huge fan of their grilled onions. I like the crunchy bite of the raw onion. And there really is no need for pickles when you’re already getting some subtle pickle flavor from the spread. So, I order:
Cheeseburger, mustard down, no tomato. Extra spread on the side.
I personally don’t like tomato on my burgers no matter where I get it from, so that’s just standard for me.
Oh, and if you’re going to get their fries, ask for them well done. With cheese and grilled onion, extra spread on the side. Same concept about sogginess–you can add as much spread as you want to your fries this way.
How do you Make Lighter Animal-Style burgers?
The real secret to a fabulous Animal-Style burger is the Skinny Special Sauce. You can read my rant about how special sauce > thousand island in that blog post.
We will most definitely use the “fried” mustard technique, but we’ll use 94/6 ground beef to keep it lean. The mustard locks in moisture, so the burger still ends up tender even though it’s leaner.
In-N-Out patties are also pretty thin, so we’ll form our patties as thin as we can before seasoning the outside. They’ll shrink up as they cook, so try to get them as thin as possible without falling apart.
Even though I don’t prefer the grilled onions, I’ll show you a way to make caramelized onions without any oil or extra fat. 0 SmartPoints and minimal calories.
Actually, we’re just going to use Kenji’s technique of adding water a little at a time, minus the oil. It’s perfect that way and takes just about 10 minutes to get perfectly browned and soft onions.
Now were ready to get make your In-N-Out dreams come true at home!
I’d love to hear from you if you make this recipe! It makes my day when you share your pics on Instagram and tag me (@litecravings). Don’t forget to use #litecravingsrecipes to make sure I see it. If I don’t get a chance to scroll through my tags quickly enough, I won’t see your post. I always make a point to look through the hashtags, though, so I’ll see it there!
Lighter Animal-Style Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 pound 94/6 ground beef
- 1 tsp kosher salt, divided
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2-3 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 1 large onion, diced
- 4 slices light American cheese (I use Velveeta Singles)
- 1/2 cup Skinny Special Sauce (make at least 2 hours ahead of time)
- toppings: iceberg lettuce, sliced tomatoes, dill pickles (no sugar added)
- hamburger buns of choice
Instructions
CARAMELIZE THE ONIONS
- Spritz a medium skillet with cooking spray. Add onions to the skillet over medium-high heat and sauté until starting to brown. Season with about 1/4 tsp kosher salt.
- Add in 3 tablespoons of water and continue to cook until the water completely absorbs into the onions. Add another 3 tablespoons and repeat the process until the onions are brown and soft, about 2 more times (about 10 minutes total).
COOK THE BURGERS WHILE THE ONIONS CARAMELIZE
- Divide meat into 4 equal portions. Form each portion into a ball and press down on a plate to form a patty. Continue pressing out until as thin as possible while still maintaining a burger shape (see pics in blog post).
- Season one side with salt and pepper (a little less than 1/4 a tsp of kosher salt per patty; pepper to taste).
- Preheat a large, nonstick skillet over high heat. Spritz seasoned side of burgers with cooking spray and place them in the skillet, seasoned side down, so that the burgers aren't touching. Let cook for about 3-4 minutes before flipping.
- While the first side of the burgers cook, spread mustard on the raw side of the burgers, about 1 1/2 teaspoons for each burger (see pics in blog post). Spritz mustard side with cooking spray.
- Flip burgers and top cooked side with cheese. Cook mustard side of the burgers for another 2-3 minutes, or until beef is done to your liking. Let rest for a few minutes.
ASSEMBLE BURGERS
- Slightly toast the buns. Add Skinny Special Sauce to both sides of the bun. I like to use 2 tablespoons total for each burger, but check that recipe for points breakdown if you want to add more/less.
- Top bottom bun with lettuce, tomato, and pickles. Add burger on top of that. Spread caramelized onions on top of beef patty, then finish with sauced top bun. Enjoy!
Another great recipe. I made them exactly as you did in recipe and everyone ate and enjoyed them. This will be in rotation for sure.
Thank you!!
Omg. We made these for dinner tonight. So damn delicious. Tastes just like In N Out! We love all of your recipes and are thankful for all the work you put into provide healthier versions of our favorite foods!
You are the sweetest! Thank you for all of your support. ❤️❤️
These were so good! My husband did a happy dance. We live in Indy, so no In N Out nearby. This definitely satisfied our craving! Thank you for sharing!
These are incredible!! I’ve never had an In-and-Out burger because I live in Canada but I’ve heard of them and always wanted to try. The sauce is amazing and super easy to mix together.. absolutely perfect. Will definitely be making these over and over again as they satisfy a fast food craving without all the calories and fat!
This totally made my day, Jade! Thank you for the glowing review.
Made these today…so DELICIOUS! I did make mine into a wrap because that is what I had on hand but I really enjoyed dinner….thank you! The sauce is especially good.
These are absolutely fantastic. The whole family loves them, even the lucky ones. One of our favorite Saturday night dinners!
I made these last night for two friends and we were all blown away by how delicious they were. My friends didn’t even know that it was a “lighter” recipe. That mustard really makes a huge difference in flavor! Such a great recipe and can’t wait to make it again soon. I have some leftover fries and plan to make them animal style for lunch later 🙂 Thank you, Geri!!
Love this!! So happy you and your friends loved the recipe. 🙂
I grew up on In-N-Out and I must say, YOU NAILED IT. I left CA in ’73, and have missed these for decades. Every vacation trip back, it’s the first and last place we go. Fortunately, there’s one right near the airport. lol
This makes me so happy, Bill! Glad I could take you back with the recipe.
This is a great burger! I have been craving a good burger and this hit the spot! Thanks for the recipe.
These burgers were delicious! The whole family loved them. Never had In-N-Out being on the East coast, but loved the special sauce and caramelized onions.
Delicious! Highly recommend. Made as directed!
Let me tell you, putting the mustard on the one side is a game changer! The burger was so juicy and didn’t change the taste at all (I’m not a fan of mustard). Also, I don’t know why I never thought of spraying the burgers with cooking spray. I can’t use non-stick pans because I own birds, and spraying just the pan helps a little, but not enough. Spraying the burger left hardly anything sticking to the pan! I’ll definitely be making my burgers like this all the time now!
(I didn’t make the spread because I just wanted to change up my basic burger recipe for now. I’ll try the spread in the future because it sounds delicious!)
So glad you liked it, Kim!
Wow. This burger is amazing. It was declared to be the best burger ever by the whole family. Thank you for a great recipe!
That’s great to hear, Sandra!
Wow! What a fabulous burger!!!
Another winner! Your recipes are THE BEST. Thank you for sharing them!