Carl’s Jr. Made An In-N-Out Inspired Burger And We Ate Both Side-By-Side

Carl’s Jr. announced they’re serving a new burger called the California Classic Double Cheeseburger. When I first heard the news, I thought: “Cool, another avocado-packed California burger.”

When I saw the ingredients listed that I realized I had seen this burger before. The California Classic had two beef patties, cheese, grilled onions, thousand island dressing lettuce and tomato. It’s pretty much a Double Double from In-N-Out. We had to check it out for ourselves.

I grabbed fellow Foodbeast writer Evan, an avid fan of In-N-Out, and we cruised to our nearest Carl’s Jr. to pick up the California Classic. The burger cost about $2.70.

Then, we swung by the In-N-Out down the road to grab a Double Double. OK, before you scroll down any further, take a second to picture two burgers made with the exact same ingredients and assembled almost the same way as one another.

They’d have to look pretty identical, right?

Guess not.

Since Evan pretty much crushes In-N-Out every week, I thought he’d be the perfect candidate to try the California Classic and compare it to the Double Double.

On the first bite here’s what he thought of the new Carl’s Burger:

Tastes like fresh beef, nice cool tomato, not really getting onion. [Finds some onion] Grilled onions, OK. Thousand island is really similar to In-N-Out. Not as much cheese as a Double Double, but it’s still pretty good. Cheese is not as melted as a Double Double.

Now, it was time bite into In-N-Out’s iconic double-patty cheeseburger.

Noticeably way more cheese and layers of onions on the Double Double and it’s also stacked a little differently. Lettuce and tomato, balanced perfectly. The flavors of the onion comes out way more in a Double Double. The cheese is overpowering, but in a good way. The onions are the number one thing. I cannot describe how good they taste.

“Nothing beats a Double Double,” Evan concluded.

While the Carl’s California Classic can’t hold a candle to the Double Double, it’s still actually pretty good for a fast food burger. Think Jack in the Box’s recent Buttery Jack burgers. Not something we’d crave, but something that’ll do in a jam.

For about $1 less than the Double Double, the California Classic could be a quick pitstop to satiate your hunger, especially if you need to get through the drive-thru line at In-N-Out.