SoCal has given the world plenty of fast-food icons, but few are as deeply woven into the local culture as In-N-Out Burger. The beloved burger joint has become a must-stop for locals, tourists, and even Hollywood celebrities, with its simple menu and famously fresh ingredients inspiring a cult following far beyond California.
Now, the restaurant chain is making some surprisingly significant changes to what goes into those burgers, shakes, drinks, and more.
In-N-Out is changing its ingredients
The chain recently revealed that it has made several “meaningful changes” to its ingredients, continuing a broader effort to update its recipes while sticking to its long-standing focus on quality, KTLA5 reports.
One of the newest changes affects the chain’s burger buns. Sesame flour is no longer an ingredient in the buns across all 10 states where In-N-Out operates, a notable update for customers with sesame allergies. The chain has also switched the salt in its salt packets from iodized salt to sea salt.
Those changes follow several recipe updates announced over the past year. In-N-Out has replaced artificial coloring in its Strawberry Shakes and Signature Pink Lemonade, using beta carotene and vegetable juice instead. It also began transitioning its ketchup from high-fructose corn syrup to real sugar.
The company has made other ingredient swaps, too, including replacing Yellow 5 with turmeric in its pickles, chilies, and spread, artificial vanilla with natural vanilla in its shake mix, and artificial flavors with natural flavors in its chocolate syrup and hot cocoa. It has also removed cottonseed oil from its buns and replaced calcium propionate with natural enzymes.
But despite all these changes, one In-N-Out staple remains firmly intact: the beef patties are still made from 100% American beef, ground by the company’s own butchers, delivered fresh, and never frozen.
In-N-Out’s new massive Irvine location
Meanwhile, the chain just opened its newest Southern California location at Great Park, Irvine, right inside The Canopy, a new 12-acre shopping and dining destination.
The 3,860-square-foot restaurant has 84 indoor seats, another 36 on its outdoor patio, and a drive-thru capable of accommodating 33 vehicles. It’s the chain’s 443rd location and one of its more unusual sites, sitting directly alongside Great Park’s sports fields and public spaces.
