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Double-Double®
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2026 Burger Catering Guide
In-N-Out Catering Guide (2026): Cookout Truck Menu, Prices & Is It Right for Your Event?
In-N-Out's catering is the Cookout Truck — a full mobile kitchen that books out a year in advance, starts at a $3,250 minimum for 177 meals, and only serves four states. Here's everything you need to plan around it.
In-N-Out is one of the most-asked-about chains for catering, and it's also one of the most misunderstood. There are no foil trays, no boxed lunch packages, no $15 sandwich combos delivered by a driver in a sedan. What In-N-Out runs is the Cookout Truck — an actual mobile kitchen that rolls onto your site, sets up, and cooks burgers to order in front of your guests. It's a real catering program with published per-burger prices, named truck variants, and a stated minimum, but it's also the most logistically demanding option in chain catering.
This guide covers the full 2026 Cookout Truck program: every menu price, the three truck variants (Standard, Fry Truck, Esther Snyder), the four-state service area, the $3,250 minimum and what it actually buys you, how to size an order, and a direct comparison against Cracker Barrel and Raising Cane's for groups that need a more flexible option.
In-N-Out at a Glance
Starting Price
$3,250 + tax minimum (~$18.36 / meal)
Lead Time
Up to 1 year in advance; first-come, first-served
Minimum Order
150 meals (standard truck) / 150 meals (fry truck)
Format
On-site Cookout Truck.
Dietary Clarity Score
3 / 10
In-N-Out Catering Menu (2026 Update)
The Cookout Truck menu is intentionally short. You pick a meal type (Full Meal, Burgers & Chips, Burgers & Drinks, or Burgers Only), a burger lineup (Hamburgers, Cheeseburgers, and/or Double-Doubles — choosing Cheeseburger or Double-Double automatically includes Hamburger), and the truck does the rest. Orders go through the Cookout Coordinators at 888-700-7774 or by emailing the cookout department through the catering portal.
Standard Cookout Truck — Best for Most Events
Cooks hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and Double-Doubles, with fountain drinks and chips on the side. Available across all four states. The 2026 minimum is $3,250 + tax, which buys 177 meals of hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and Double-Doubles. Truck arrives 30 minutes to 1 hour before service and produces up to 200 burgers per hour.
Fry Cookout Truck — Best for SoCal Events That Want Fries
Available in Southern California only. Same burger lineup (Double-Double, Cheeseburger, Hamburger) plus fries and drinks. The 2026 minimum is $3,750 + tax for 150 meals. The chain notes the fry truck is "limited" in some capabilities versus the fully equipped standard truck.
Esther Snyder Truck — Best for Charity-Forward Events
The miniature variant: mini Double-Doubles, mini cheeseburgers, mini hamburgers, mini fries, and drinks. Adds 15% to your total, with that surcharge donated to the In-N-Out Burger Foundation (which supports children who have been victims of abuse). Pricing on this truck is by phone — not on the published rate sheet.
Prices are per item, plus tax. Final cost is the higher of: (a) actual food consumed plus tax, mileage, and overtime, or (b) the $3,250 / $3,750 minimum.
Cheeseburger
$6.80
Single patty with cheese. Automatically includes Hamburger as an option.
Best Value
Hamburger
$6.20
Single patty, no cheese. The default base burger on every truck.
Insider Pick
Grilled Cheese
$5.95
The only vegetarian entrée on the cookout menu. Order separately at booking — not auto-included.
Fountain Drinks (20 oz.)
$2.75
Standard 20 oz. fountain cup. Included in Full Meal and Burgers & Drinks meal types.
Chips
$2.25
Individual bag. Included in Full Meal and Burgers & Chips meal types.
Other In-N-Out Catering Costs
In-N-Out provides the trailer, products, staff, two tables, two trash cans, and a service table — and that's it. Everything below is either your responsibility or a non-published add-on.
| Item | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit | Required at booking | Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or American Express. Holds the date. |
| Mileage / overtime charges | Variable | Added to final invoice if the event runs long or is outside the core service area. |
| San Diego / Ventura County surcharge | Additional fee (not published) | Available for limited parts of those counties only. |
| Esther Truck Foundation surcharge | +15% of total | Donated to the In-N-Out Burger Foundation. |
| Tables, chairs, trash cans (beyond truck setup) | Customer responsibility | Truck includes 2 tables and 2 trash cans; everything else is on you. |
| Cookout location permits | Customer responsibility | The chain will not pull permits on your behalf. |
In-N-Out Catering Prices (2026)
The honest per-person range on In-N-Out catering depends entirely on your headcount. At the $3,250 minimum with the standard truck, a 100-guest event costs ~$32.50/person and a 177-guest event (exactly at the included-meal count) costs ~$18.36/person. Above the minimum, a Full Meal with a Double-Double, fountain drink, and chips runs $13.85/person in pure food cost — though mileage, overtime, and tax push real-world per-head closer to $15–$17/person at scale.
For comparison, a 500-guest Full Meal event lands at roughly $13.85–$15/person plus tax and trip charges, which is competitive against any drop-off catering at that scale — and the spectacle of an actual In-N-Out truck pulling onto your venue is something no foil-tray program can match. The math just doesn't work below ~150 guests, which is why most office lunches and smaller corporate events end up calling a different chain.
Portion Calculator
The minimum is the dominant variable below ~175 guests. If you can flex headcount upward, do it — the per-person cost drops sharply once you clear the minimum.
100 guests
Below the 177-meal minimum — you still pay $3,250 + tax. Order Full Meal Double-Doubles for the best perceived value.
200 guests
200 Full Meal Double-Doubles ($8.85 + $2.75 drink + $2.25 chips) = $2,770 food + min floor. Minimum still rules.
500 guests
500 Full Meal Double-Doubles = $6,925 in food. Above the minimum, so true per-person economics finally kick in.
How Much In-N-Out Catering to Order
Plan one burger per guest as the baseline, plus a 5–10% buffer for repeat-orderers (Double-Doubles in particular pull a lot of seconds at events that run past one hour). The truck produces 200 burgers per hour, so for a 300-guest event you should plan ~90 minutes of active service time, plus a 30–60 minute setup window before service starts.
If your guest count is between 150 and 177, you're in the awkward zone — the standard-truck minimum still applies, so add the extra burgers to your order anyway and let them be takeaway or seconds. Cancellation policy is strict: dropping a date inside two weeks of the event forfeits the deposit, and weather is not an accepted reason (the truck operates rain or shine).
In-N-Out Catering Hacks
Lock in early — really early
The Cookout Truck books on a first-come, first-served basis up to a year in advance, per the chain's own scheduling page. With limited fleet sizes outside SoCal (2 trucks each in Texas, Colorado, and Las Vegas), peak weekends in those markets clear out fast. Book the maximum lead time the chain allows and you'll have the date locked.
Use the Esther Truck for charity-aligned events
The 15% surcharge on the Esther Snyder Truck goes to the In-N-Out Burger Foundation, which supports children who have been victims of abuse. For nonprofit galas, corporate philanthropy events, or any audience that cares about cause alignment, that line item is the easiest "feel-good upsell" in chain catering — and the mini-format is photogenic.
Ordering Double-Doubles auto-unlocks variety
Per the truck's order rules, choosing Cheeseburger or Double-Double automatically includes Hamburger as an option for guests. You don't need to negotiate three separate orders — pick the Double-Double tier and your guests get all three burger types at the window for free.
Book the truck, sell the meal tickets yourself
The chain explicitly does not accept money at the trailer — they want you to pre-sell tickets or staff a check-in person. For ticketed events (school fundraisers, neighborhood block parties, alumni mixers) this is a built-in revenue mechanism: charge $20/ticket and the difference is yours.
Common Mistakes
- Booking for an event under ~130 guests — you'll pay the full $3,250 minimum and effectively land at $25–$35/person, which is not the In-N-Out value the brand is known for.
- Assuming the cookout truck covers vegetarians — the only meatless entrée is Grilled Cheese, and there is no gluten-free or vegan option at all.
- Skipping the permit step — In-N-Out will not pull cookout permits, secure the location, or arrange parking for the trailer. That's all on the event organizer.
- Trying to substitute unused product — leftover burgers cannot be swapped for unused-meal credits to hit the minimum. Once your event ends, what you ordered is what you paid for.
- Booking outside the four served states — there's no out-of-territory exception. The truck does not travel to the SF Bay Area, Sacramento, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, or any market outside the published service zones in CA, TX, CO, and NV.
In-N-Out vs. Cracker Barrel vs. Raising Cane's: Catering Comparison (2026)
For events of 200+ in the served states, In-N-Out's truck is the clear spectacle play and the per-person economics finally work. For everyone else — smaller offices, distributed teams, events outside the four states — Cracker Barrel's foil trays and Raising Cane's tailgates are vastly more flexible and cheaper.
| In-N-Out | Cracker Barrel | Raising Cane's | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price Per Person | $13.85–$32.50 (minimum-dependent) | $9.50–$18 | $5–$12 (fingers only base) |
| Best Format | On-site Cookout Truck | Buffet Style + Individually Plated trays | Tailgates™ (bulk fingers) + Combos |
| Quality Perception | Iconic — built-in brand spectacle | Comfort-food classic | Cult-favorite chicken fingers |
| Customization | Low — 3 burgers, 1 grilled cheese | Medium — sides + entrée swaps | Low — chicken fingers, sauce, sides |
| Vegetarian Options | Grilled Cheese only | Multiple sides + meatless plates | Sides only (no veg entrée) |
| Gluten-Free Options | None published | None published | None published |
| Minimum Order | 177 meals / $3,250 + tax | Serves 10 (every item) | No formal minimum; per-combo pricing |
| Delivery | Truck arrives on-site; customer pulls permits | In-store pickup or local delivery | In-store pickup; third-party delivery services for off-site |
| Lead Time | Up to 1 year; 7 days for changes | 24 hours (1–2 weeks for fried chicken/turkey) | Same-day to 24 hours |
| Best For | 175+ guest events in CA/TX/CO/NV | Office lunches and offsites of 10–100 | Casual large groups, game days, fast turnarounds |
Is In-N-Out Catering Good for Office Lunches?
For a typical office lunch — 25 to 75 people, ordered Wednesday for Friday delivery — In-N-Out catering is the wrong tool. The $3,250 minimum and one-year booking horizon make it impossible to deploy for normal Monday-meeting catering, and the menu's lack of dietary options will leave a portion of any team without a real entrée.
Where In-N-Out wins is the big-event spectacle: company all-hands of 200+, summer picnics, milestone celebrations, weddings, and large-format launches where guests will talk about the food for years. In those scenarios the truck is the experience, not just the meal, and the per-head math at scale is genuinely competitive.
Bottom line: book the Cookout Truck when the event itself is the point. For the lunch you need next Tuesday for 40 people, look elsewhere.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much does In-N-Out catering cost per person?
The Cookout Truck has a 2026 minimum of $3,250 + tax for 177 meals, which works out to ~$18.36/meal at the minimum. Above the minimum, a Full Meal Double-Double (burger + 20 oz. drink + chips) runs $13.85/person in pure food cost, before mileage, overtime, and tax. Events of roughly 95–130 guests effectively pay $25–$35/person because the minimum still applies.
Does In-N-Out deliver catering?
Not in the traditional sense — there are no foil trays or sandwich boxes. In-N-Out catering is the Cookout Truck, a mobile kitchen that drives to your site and cooks burgers in front of your guests. The truck only serves four states (CA, TX, CO, NV) and arrives 30 minutes to 1 hour before service.
How far in advance should I order In-N-Out catering?
Reservations open up to a year in advance and are first-come, first-served. For SoCal weekends between May and October, plan to book 9–12 months ahead. Any changes to the burger count must be made at least 7 days before the event, and date changes inside 2 weeks of the event forfeit the deposit.
What is the minimum order for In-N-Out catering?
The 2026 standard truck minimum is $3,250 + tax, which includes 177 meals (hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and Double-Doubles). The SoCal-only Fry Truck minimum is $3,750 + tax for 150 meals. There is no smaller option — the truck does not service events below the minimum.
Is In-N-Out catering good for vegetarians?
Barely. The only vegetarian entrée on the Cookout Truck is a Grilled Cheese, and it has to be ordered specifically at booking — it's not auto-included with the burger lineup. There are no published gluten-free or vegan options at all. For groups with significant dietary needs, a different chain will serve guests better.
How does In-N-Out catering compare to Cracker Barrel or Raising Cane's?
In-N-Out wins on spectacle and brand cachet for large events (200+ guests). Cracker Barrel wins on flexibility and price for office lunches (10–100 guests at $9.50–$18/person). Raising Cane's wins on speed and per-head cost for casual large groups, with no formal minimum. If your event isn't in CA, TX, CO, or NV, In-N-Out is not an option regardless of how much you want it.
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