Have you ever gone grocery shopping at In-N-Out? What’s that, you say? Ever since I became vegan, and discovered that their sponge bread is vegan (oh happy day), that’s what my boyfriend and I have been doing when we treat ourselves to a meal there. We laugh about how we're just basically buying the ingredients from In-N-Out to make our own vegan burgers.

To veganize their veggie burgers (buns, lettuce, tomatoes and onions) and maximize the level of yum, just order it without cheese, swap out the sauce for ketchup and mustard, and get fries to go. Then bring it home and add your favorite veggie patty (like Field Roast Hand-Formed Vegan Burger), vegan cheese (my favorite: Field Roast Chao Slices), and create your own special sauce using Follow Your Heart Vegenaise® and ketchup.

So why bother doing all of this? Why not just buy the ingredients at a regular grocery store? Well, it goes without saying that In-N-Out fries are simply supreme. And since their fries go hand-in-hand with their veggie burgers, the question is more like … why wouldn’t you do this?

Being vegan doesn’t mean giving up your favorite foods. It just requires making adjustments and modifying your favorite non-vegan meals. Plus, these home-tweaked In-N-Out vegan burgers ended up being a lot more filling (without making you feel sick) and tastier than their original versions. 

Instructions:

1. Remove the wrapper from the veggie burger. Hold the burger upside down and remove the bottom bun (that’s where you’re going to place the veggie patty and vegan cheese).
2. Put a tablespoon of cooking oil (I used olive oil) in a pan over medium heat. Place the veggie patty and heat it up for about 3 minutes on one side. Flip it, place the vegan cheese on top, and heat the other side for another 3 minutes or so. Cover with a lid so that the cheese melts faster.
3. Once the patty is done. Place it on top of the bottom bun, with the cheese side facing up. Put the two buns and the contents together.
4. Mix 3 tablespoons of Vegenaise® with about 1 ½ tablespoons of ketchup. Keep tasting it until you’re satisfied with the Vegenaise®-ketchup ratio.
5. Take the top bun and spread the homemade special sauce onto it. Save some of the sauce for the fries. You may have to create another batch of sauce if you like a lot of it with fries.

NOTE: If you want vegan animal style fries, add some relish to your homemade special sauce. Dice some onions (about 1/4 onion depending on how much sauce you want and how much you love onions). Sautee them in a pan for a few minutes until golden to dark brown, and then add them to the sauce. Reheat the fries in a large pan over medium heat for about 3-4 minutes. About 2 minutes in, add a couple slices of vegan cheese over the fries, and cover the pan with a lid for the remaining couple of minutes. For super melted cheese, microwave it in a bowl first before pouring it over the fries along with the special sauce.

Bon apetit!