In-N-Out Cheeseburger Sloppy Joes

by Sabrina Snyder

Last Update:

22 Comments

5 from 5 votes
4 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Jump to Recipe
Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

In-n-Out Cheeseburger Sloppy Joes have the classic flavor of the California favorite without the drive-thru lines. This will be a family fav!

Some of Dinner, Then Dessert’s most popular Copycat Recipes are for favorite burgers and drive-thru dinners, like my Big Mac Sloppy Joes, which you have to check out next! For another tasty Sloppy Joes favorite, try my Shake Shake Sloppy Joes too!

Bun filled with meat with toppings on a wooden plate
collage of ground beef and other ingredients being added and sandwich on right

Sabrina’s In-N-Out Cheeseburger Sloppy Joe Recipe

In-N-Out Burger wasn’t lying when they coined the catchphrase, “That’s what a hamburger’s all about”. Their beefy, cheesy burgers with layers of fresh ingredients are the California Gold Standard of a quality drive-thru burger. Have you ever been to an In-N-Out where the lines aren’t to the door? And forget about the drive-thru unless you have a great podcast or book to listen to (and possibly a snack). It’s not that they are slow, they have perfected fast food efficiency. They are just that good (and their following is that strong)! This tasty Sloppy Joes recipe is based off the classic burger so that you can achieve the great taste in the convenience of your own home.

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

In-N-Out Cheeseburger Sloppy Joes Recipe

In-n-Out Cheeseburger Sloppy Joes have the classic flavor of the California favorite without the drive-thru lines. This will be a family fav!
Yield 4 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
sloppy joes with all the toppings on a wooden plate
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

In-N-Out Cheeseburger Sloppy Joes

  • 1 pounds ground beef , 85/15
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 yellow onion , finely chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

Secret Spread Sauce Recipe

  • 2/3 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 3 tablespoons sweet relish
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar

Instructions

  • Brown your ground beef halfway in your large skillet with the butter, then add in the chopped onions, salt and pepper.
  • Mix the secret spread ingredients in a medium bowl and stir well.
  • Add ¾ cup of the secret sauce to the pan and stir well to combine (reserve the rest for your buns).
  • Cook 1 additional minute then serve on sesame hamburger bun (stacking order in notes below).

Notes

Add the reserved sauce to each half of the bun. Stacking order from the bottom up:
  • Bottom Bun
  • Sauce
  • 4 pickle chips
  • Tomato
  • Lettuce
  • Meat
  • Cheese Slice
  • Lettuce
  • Sauce
  • Top Bun

Nutrition

Calories: 570kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 48g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 17g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 100mg | Sodium: 831mg | Potassium: 430mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 327IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 3mg

Want to save this recipe? Create a free account to easily save your favorite recipes

Pin this recipe now to remember it later

Pin Recipe

Sabrina’s Tips

The proper way to layer this Sloppy Joe is as follows: Bottom Bun, Sauce, 4 pickle chips, Tomato, Lettuce, Meat, Cheese Slice, Lettuce, Sauce, Top Bun. But, if you just can’t get enough of these Sloppy Joes, serve them as a Double-Double and insert a bottom bun half midway and give yourself an extra scoop of filling. Add the reserved sauce to each half of the bun.

Table of contents

Back to Table of Contents

About this Recipe

It doesn’t matter what time you go to In-N-Out or what location, when you finally get through that line and your order is called, you are greeted with a consistently delicious and fresh burger. And if you go, make sure to try a burger Animal Style so you are getting your burger smothered in caramelized onions, cheese, and that amazing Special Sauce. You can make their Special Sauce at home to have on hand at home for whenever a craving hits. This recipe uses the Special Sauce to add that special flavor in Sloppy Joes, one of the most popular categories of recipes on the site.

Can this be made ahead of time?

Yes and no! You can make the components ahead of time but you are going to want to avoid making the sandwiches ahead of time as they will get soggy. You can certainly make the Sloppy Joes mixture ahead of time and store it in the fridge. It does tend to firm up a bit, so if you want it a little more sloppy when you go to re-heat it just add a splash of water. You can also prep your Secret Sauce spread ahead of time too. Chop your lettuce and tomatoes and store them in airtight containers. With everything prepped assembly will be extra quick when you need to get the family fed.

Pairing Suggestions

These In-N-Out Cheeseburger Sloppy Joes are so mouthwateringly good, and so messy in all the best ways. You’ll want to serve some French Fries on the side to sop up all the meat and cheese and sauce so you don’t miss a single bite of this delicious recipe!

How to Store

  • Serve: These can be kept at room temperature for up to 2 hours.
  • Store: Transfer your cooled Sloppy Joe mix to an air tight container and store for up to 3 days in the fridge.
  • Freeze: Leftovers can be frozen for up to 3 months. Cool completely before storing in a sealed container.

Ideas to Serve

Want to be the favorite mom at a summer pool party? Make a big batch of the tasty Sloppy Joes mixture and put it in your Slow Cooker on Low or Warm. Set out the buns, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, cheese and some extra sauce on the side. Make sure you have a way to keep these items cool. You can always put a bigger bowl of ice underneath your serving platter that it is able to nestle on top of. This way every one can come serve themselves when ever they are ready and they will think it’s so fun to build their own sandwich!

Variations

  • Casserole: Make this into an In-N-Out Cheeseburger Casserole by following out instructions in Cheeseburger Casserole, substituting the meat mixture and sauce for the ones in the recipe below.
  • Protein Style: If you are going low carb, or just want to take a break from buns, serve your Sloppy Joe mix over some iceberg lettuce and use some extra sauce as dressing.
  • Monkey Style: Are you ready to go happily into a food coma? Turn these into a secret menu favorite – Monkey Style. Top your In-N-Out Sloppy Joes with Animal Style Fries and consider yourself inducted into the In-N-Out Expert Club.

Animal Style Caramelized Onions

Ingredients: 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ cup water.

  • Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-low heat.
  • Add onion and ½ teaspoon salt and cover.
  • Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and soft, about 30 minutes. (If onions are browning too quickly, lower heat)
  • Uncover and increase the heat to medium-high.
  • Cook, stirring often, until caramelized, about 8 minutes.
  • Deglaze by adding ¼ cup water to skillet and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
  • Simmer, stirring, until the water evaporates, about 2 minutes.
  • Store up to 3 days in an airtight container.

More Delicious Sloppy Joe Recipes

sloppy joes pin image

Photos used in previous posts:

cheeseburger Sloppy Joes collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

Categories

Leave a comment & rating

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Maximum file size: 10 MB.
Allowed formats: JPG, JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF. Drop images here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. Can you use anything in replace of mayonnaise? I do not like mayonnaise at all and usually just scroll past things that have it in but this looks so good.

    Reply

    1. You could substitute mayo for full fat greek yogurt plus 1 tablespoon of neutral oil. Vegan mayo like Vegenaise would also work too. Let me know if you try this out.

      Reply

  5. Can I make this into meatballs or a meatloaf ? If so, are there any changes? For example, adding breadcrumbs, adding sauce into mixture before molding, etc. If so, how much?

    Thanks! Love it as is, but want to experiment with no buns

    Reply

    1. Oooh, that’s a great idea! I’ll add it to my list of dishes to test. I do have a bacon cheeseburger meatloaf recipe on the site that might be a good start when experimenting. Thanks for the suggestion!

      Reply

  6. I use to live in Southern California and In N Out was a weekly visit for us. Since moving back to the East Coast I forgot how much I missed In N Out until tonight, it tasted just like I remembered! I’m so happy we can have this anytime we want , I’ll definitely be making this again!

    Reply

  12. I don’t see the slice of cheese or the pickle slices in the ingredients. Are these going to change the nutritional Information?

    Reply