Cookout Menu 2026: Full Prices, Trays, Milkshakes, and What to Order

Cookout Menu is the reason so many people in the South drive past three other fast food spots just to hit the Cook Out drive-thru instead. This isn’t a small menu with a burger and a soda. It’s a huge lineup of char-grilled burgers, North Carolina style BBQ, hot dogs, quesadillas, wraps, chicken, sides, and over 40 milkshake flavors, all built around one thing: the Cookout Tray. If you’ve never been, or you go all the time but still can’t decide what to order, this guide walks through every part of the Cookout menu with real 2026 prices, calories, and the exact combos regulars swear by.

Cook Out started as a single burger trailer in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1989. Morris Reaves built it on one idea: fresh food at a fair price, every single day. That idea grew into more than 350 locations across the Southeast, and it’s still privately owned by the Reaves family today. The menu you see now is basically the same promise scaled up, cheap trays, fresh grilled meat, and a milkshake list long enough to argue about for an hour.

Below is everything on the current Cookout menu, broken down by category, with the prices, calories, and the little details that actually matter when you’re standing at the speaker trying to order.

See the full Cookout nutrition guide.

The Cookout menu covers a lot of ground, but it all fits into a few main groups. Here’s the quick rundown before we get into each one in detail:

Almost everything on this list can go inside a tray, which is why so many people say the menu “isn’t really a menu, it’s a build-your-own-meal kit.” Once you get how the Tray works, the rest of the menu makes a lot more sense.

The Cookout Tray is the single most ordered thing on the entire menu, and for good reason. You pick one main item, two sides, and a large drink, all for one price. A Regular Tray runs $7.39, and the Jr. Tray, a smaller version for lighter appetites, comes in at $6.39. Both sides are included at no extra cost, and swapping your drink for a milkshake only adds $1.00 to $1.60.

Do the math on the entree choices, side choices, and milkshake flavors, and you land on more than 150,000 possible Tray combinations. That’s not an exaggeration, it’s just what happens when a menu gives you this much freedom for under $8.

✅ Prices last checked: October 2026

Prices vary by location (±$0.50–$1.00) plus local tax.

Want the full breakdown of every possible build? See our Cookout tray combinations.

See the best Cookout tray combinations for 2026.

Category	Options	Calories
Main item	Big Double Burger	330 Cal
	Regular ¼ lb Burger	330 Cal
	Regular Barbecue	370 Cal
	2 Hot Dogs	520 Cal
	2 Quesadillas (Chicken or Beef)	440-520 Cal
	Regular Chicken	380 Cal
	Cajun Chicken	380 Cal
	Spicy Chicken	450 Cal
	BBQ Char-Grilled Chicken	380 Cal
	3 Chicken Strips or Chicken Strip Sandwich	660 Cal
Sides (pick 2, or double one)	Bacon Wrap	420 Cal
	White Cheddar Cheese Bites	190 Cal
	Chicken Nuggets	150 Cal
	Chicken Wrap	520 Cal
	Corn Dog	220 Cal
	Fries	350 Cal
	Hushpuppies	300 Cal
	Onion Rings	130 Cal
	Quesadilla	260 Cal
	Slaw or Chili	100-170 Cal
Drink	Large fountain drink	290 Cal
	Huge Tea	390 Cal
	Dasani bottled water	0 Cal
	Cheerwine or Coke float	380 Cal
	Milkshake (upgrade, +$1.00-$1.60)	510-900 Cal

The Jr. Tray uses the same side and drink lists but swaps the main item for something smaller. Choices include a Small Burger (240 Cal), two Chicken Strips (440 Cal), two Corn Dogs (440 Cal), a BLT Sandwich (400 Cal), one Hot Dog (260 Cal), or a single Chicken or Beef Quesadilla (220-260 Cal). A Jr. Tray built around a Small Burger or Hot Dog with slaw and onion rings, paired with water or Diet Coke, comes in under 500 calories total. That makes it one of the lighter fast food meals you can build anywhere in the South.

Ask any Cook Out regular what they order and you’ll get a different answer every time, but a few patterns show up over and over in real orders people share online. A big double burger with cheese, Cajun fries, and a chicken quesadilla on the side is one of the most repeated combos out there. So is a BBQ sandwich tray with hushpuppies and a bacon wrap. And if you’ve never seen someone order four chicken quesadillas as a full tray, plus two more as the sides, you haven’t been paying attention, that combo has a nickname among fans: “the quad.” It’s basically an all-quesadilla meal, and people order it specifically that way.

One thing worth knowing before you go: you can double up on a side instead of picking two different ones, but the portion for doubled loose sides like fries, onion rings, or nuggets doesn’t always feel like double the food. Sticking with one of each, or picking two things you actually want, tends to work out better than doubling something small.

For prices, sizes, and every build option in one place, see our detailed tray menu guide.

If there’s one item that defines the Cookout menu more than any other, it’s the milkshakes. Cook Out runs one of the biggest milkshake lineups in fast food, with more than 45 flavors, and every single one is priced at $3.99. Each shake is hand spun to order and comes out somewhere between 30 and 35 ounces, thick enough that pulling the first sip through a straw takes real effort.

Classic flavors include Vanilla, Strawberry, Chocolate, Pineapple, and Caramel. Then there’s the bigger lineup of candy and dessert style shakes: Oreo, Oreo Mint, Reese’s Cup, M&M, Snickers, Butterfinger, Heath Toffee, Peanut Butter Fudge, Banana Pudding, Cherry Cheesecake, and dozens more. Three flavors only show up at certain times of year, Fresh Watermelon in July and August, and both Fresh Eggnog and Peppermint Chip in December.

Milkshake	Price	Size	Calories
Oreo	$3.99	33 oz	802 Cal
Reese’s Cup	$3.99	33.4 oz	894 Cal
Banana Pudding	$3.99	34.7 oz	781 Cal
Oreo Mint	$3.99	33 oz	853 Cal
Peanut Butter Fudge	$3.99	33.2 oz	765 Cal
Strawberry	$3.99	32.8 oz	610 Cal
Peach Cobbler	$3.99	34.5 oz	790 Cal
M&M	$3.99	32.6 oz	755 Cal
Snickers	$3.99	32.4 oz	720 Cal
Hershey’s Chocolate	$3.99	32.9 oz	620 Cal
Cherry Cheesecake	$3.99	34 oz	925 Cal
Vanilla	$3.99	32.9 oz	555 Cal
Chocolate Malt	$3.99	34.7 oz	671 Cal
Fresh Banana	$3.99	30.9 oz	538 Cal
Fresh Watermelon (July-Aug)	$3.99	35 oz	645 Cal
Fresh Eggnog (December)	$3.99	35 oz	700 Cal

For the complete list of all 40+ flavors with 2026 prices, calories, and seasonal shakes, see our Cookout Milkshake Menu.

See the best Cookout milkshake flavors ranked for 2026.

Here’s the part of the milkshake menu that changes how people order once they find out about it: you can mix flavors together for free. Ask for two, three, or more flavors blended into one shake and there’s no extra charge for it. This isn’t some secret hack, it’s just not written anywhere obvious on the menu board, so a lot of longtime customers only find out from someone else telling them.

Once people learn this, the combos get creative fast. Some of the most talked about pairings from actual customers include Oreo mixed with peanut butter, banana pudding with caramel, strawberry cheesecake blended with Oreo, and a “peanut butter banana” mix that people describe as tasting like a PB&J with ice cold milk. Chocolate with banana shows up a lot too, along with Reese’s Cup mixed into almost anything chocolate. The general rule people follow: keep it to two or three flavors max so it doesn’t get muddy, and if you want something classic, start with banana as a base, it blends well with almost every other flavor on the list.

Cook Out char-grills every burger fresh over an open flame, never frozen. The lineup breaks down into four sizes and seven named styles, which gives you eleven total burger choices before you even add toppings.

Burger Sizes

Burger Size	Price	Calories
Small Burger (⅛ lb)	$2.99	240 Cal
Regular Burger (¼ lb)	$3.49	330 Cal
Huge Burger (½ lb)	$3.49-$3.99	330-520 Cal
Big Double Burger	$3.99	520 Cal

Worth knowing before you order: the Big Double Burger is two smaller patties stacked together, while the Huge Burger is one large single patty. If you like more char and crispy edges on your meat, the Big Double gives you that from two patties instead of one thick one.

Burger Styles

Style	What’s on It	Price	Calories
Cookout Style	Homemade chili, coleslaw, mustard, onions	$3.99	130-390 Cal
Cheddar Style	Cheddar cheese, bacon, grilled onions, mayo	$3.99	240-450 Cal
Out West Style	BBQ sauce, bacon, mayo, pickles, onions	$3.99	210-460 Cal
Steak Style	A1 sauce, grilled onions, lettuce, tomato	$3.99	100-420 Cal
House Style	Quesadilla sauce, lettuce, tomato, onions	$3.99	65-400 Cal
Nacho Chili Style	Chili, nacho cheese sauce	$4.48	100-480 Cal
Simple Style	Ketchup, mustard, basic toppings	$3.99	130-360 Cal

The Cookout Style burger, piled with homemade chili, fresh coleslaw, mustard, and chopped onions, is the closest thing this menu has to a signature item. It’s a North Carolina take on a chili burger and it’s the flavor combo most locals default to when they don’t feel like customizing. Cheddar Style is the other one that comes up constantly in customer feedback, people describe it as one of their favorite fast food burgers period, not just at Cook Out.

You can build your own version too, since there are thirteen sauces and a full list of toppings available a la carte: grilled bacon, homemade chili, cheese slice, homemade slaw, Cajun seasoning, grilled onions, pickles, lettuce, and tomato slices, each priced separately from $0.10 to $0.95.

Explore the Cookout burgers menu.

Chicken comes in four different formats at Cook Out: char-grilled breast, a crispy filet, hand battered strips, and nuggets. That’s more variety than most fast food chains offer at any price point, let alone this one.

Chicken Breast Styles

Style	Description	Price	Calories
Original Style	Grilled chicken, lettuce, tomato, mayo	$4.85	393 Cal
Barbecue Style	Grilled chicken, BBQ sauce	$4.85	376 Cal
Cajun Style	Blackened seasoning, Cajun spice	$4.85	377 Cal
Cheddar Style	Cheddar cheese, bacon, grilled onions	$4.99	534 Cal
Homemade Style	Pickles, slaw, cheese, onions	$4.85	380 Cal
Club Style	Bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo	$4.99	565 Cal

A quick clarification that trips up a lot of first timers: the Cajun chicken breast is a blackened grilled chicken, not fried. If you want something crispy and fried, that’s the Spicy Chicken Sandwich instead. Knowing that difference before you order saves you from getting a sandwich you weren’t expecting.

Chicken Strips, Nuggets, and Sandwiches

Item	Price	Calories
Chicken Strip Snack (3 pc)	$4.99	660 Cal
Chicken Strip Sandwich	$4.99	680 Cal
Chicken Strip Club	$5.99	850 Cal
Chicken Nuggets (5 pc)	$1.99	240 Cal
Spicy Chicken Sandwich	$4.99	480 Cal
Grilled Chicken Sandwich	$4.29	262 Cal
Cheese Style Filet	$5.79	640 Cal

The Grilled Chicken Sandwich is the lightest item on the entire menu at just 262 calories, which makes it a go-to pick for anyone trying to stay lighter while still eating at Cook Out. Chicken Strips clock in at 660 calories with 36 grams of protein for a snack size order, and they’ve earned a strong reputation among customers, several longtime regulars describe them as some of the best quality chicken strips they’ve had from any fast food chain, not just Cook Out.

Cook Out has served North Carolina style pork barbecue since day one back in 1989, and the BBQ section is small but built around doing one thing right. There are exactly two items: the BBQ Sandwich and the BBQ Plate.

Item	Price	Calories
BBQ Sandwich	$4.99	370 Cal
BBQ Plate	$5.99	980 Cal

Both are built on chopped pork in the Eastern Carolina style, served without the thick tomato-heavy sauce you’d find at a lot of other BBQ spots. The sandwich comes in at 368 calories with 29 grams of protein, which makes it one of the leaner, more protein-dense picks on the whole menu. The plate nearly triples that at 976 calories.

If you want to order it the way regulars do, ask for it “all the way.” That gets you hot sauce and coleslaw mixed right in. One tip that comes up a lot: eat it fast. The bun can get soggy if the sandwich sits for more than a few minutes, so it’s not the best pick if you’ve got a long drive home.

Six char-grilled hot dog styles make up this part of the menu, ranging from 146 to 523 calories depending on how loaded you get.

Hot Dog	Price	Calories
Plain Hot Dog	$0.99	260 Cal
Cookout Style Hot Dog	$2.99	390 Cal
Mexi Hot Dog	$1.69	385 Cal
Mustard Relish Hot Dog	$0.99	400 Cal
Cheese Dog	$0.99	146 Cal
Bacon Cheddar Hot Dog	$1.99	523 Cal

The Cookout Style version gets the same signature toppings as the burger, homemade chili, slaw, mustard, and onion, all piled onto a char-grilled dog. It’s the fuller Southern-style build in handheld form. The Cheese Dog is the lightest option on this list if you want something quick and simple.

Three quesadillas make up this category: Cheese, Chicken, and Beef. All three are grilled flat, which gives the tortilla a toasted, slightly crispy shell while the cheese melts all the way through.

Quesadilla	Price	Calories
Cheese Quesadilla	$1.99	180-355 Cal
Chicken Quesadilla	$1.99	220-449 Cal
Beef Quesadilla	$1.99	260-514 Cal

All three land under $2 at most locations, which is a rare price point for a grilled item at any fast food chain in 2026. They come with an optional quesadilla sauce baked in, and this is where a lot of first time visitors get confused: the sauce is often called “queso sauce” at the counter, but it’s not actually a cheese sauce, it’s a creamy, slightly spicy sauce closer to what you’d find drizzled on a Taco Bell item. If you don’t want it, you can ask for it on the side or left off.

Quesadillas show up constantly as a side item inside a Cookout Tray too, and ordering multiple quesadillas as both your main and your sides (the “quad” mentioned earlier) is one of the most repeated go-to orders among longtime fans. See the Cookout quesadillas menu.

Cook Out keeps the wrap menu simple: three options, all built on the same base of seasoned chicken, lettuce, and a soft flour tortilla.

Wrap	Price	Calories
Cajun Wrap	$1.99	501 Cal
Ranch Wrap	$1.99	522 Cal
Honey Mustard Wrap	$1.99	517 Cal

The Cajun Wrap uses a dry spice blend for a peppery kick. The Ranch Wrap goes cooler and milder with creamy ranch dressing. The Honey Mustard Wrap splits the difference with a sweet and tangy bite. Several customers call the Honey Mustard Wrap one of the best individual items on the entire menu, and it shows up constantly as a Tray side pick alongside burgers and BBQ sandwiches.

This is where the Cookout menu gets genuinely deep. Most fast food chains give you fries, maybe onion rings, and call it done. Cook Out runs a full lineup that covers fries, hushpuppies, cheese curds, corn dogs, okra, and more.

Side	Price	Calories
Regular Fries	$2.39	350 Cal
Large Fries	$2.99	700 Cal
Cajun Fries	$2.39	350 Cal
Cheese Fries	$2.89	390 Cal
Chili Cheese Fries	$2.99	460 Cal
Jalapeño Cheese Fries	$3.39	440 Cal
Hushpuppies	$1.99	300-590 Cal
Onion Rings	$2.69	128-260 Cal
White Cheddar Cheese Bites	$3.39	380 Cal
Cheese Curds	$2.39	150 Cal
Corn Dog	$1.99	220 Cal
Okra	$2.39	280 Cal
Walking Taco	$2.39	370 Cal
Side of Chili	$3.98	164 Cal
Side of Slaw	$0.99	405 Cal
Cook Out Rounds	$3.39	149 Cal

Two things worth flagging before you order. First, portion sizes on loose sides like onion rings and hushpuppies run smaller than most people expect, especially compared to how big the fries portion is. Ordering fries plus one other side instead of doubling up on a small item tends to feel like better value. Second, Cajun fries get compared to Five Guys fries constantly, and most people say Cook Out’s Cajun seasoning wins that comparison, it’s closer to an Old Bay style blend than a straight cayenne kick.

The corn dog as a Tray side is genuinely one of the most talked about quirks of this whole menu. It’s rare to get a full corn dog counted as a side item anywhere else, and it’s the reason a lot of people order a “corn dog tray” with two corn dogs on both sides.

Fried okra deserves a mention too, though it’s not available everywhere. It’s a location-specific item, mostly showing up in the North Carolina Triad area (Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point) and a few spots in the Triangle. If your local Cook Out has it, it’s worth trying with Cookout Sauce.

Sweet tea is the single most ordered drink at Cook Out, brewed fresh daily in both sweetened and unsweetened versions. Beyond tea, the lineup covers Coca-Cola products, Sprite, Fanta, lemonade, fruit punch, and bottled water, all in four sizes: small, regular, large, and huge.

Drink	Price	Size	Calories
Fresh Brewed Sweet Tea (Huge)	$2.39	32.9 oz	390 Cal
Fresh Brewed Unsweet Tea	$1.00-$2.39	Small-Huge	0 Cal
Cheerwine (Regular)	$2.19	16 oz	150 Cal
Coca-Cola (Large)	$2.39	32 oz	240 Cal
Diet Coke	$2.59	32 oz	0 Cal
Dasani Bottled Water	$2.39	20 oz	0 Cal

Cheerwine deserves its own explanation for anyone visiting from outside the Carolinas. It’s a highly carbonated black cherry soda, made in Salisbury, North Carolina since 1917. It’s not a cherry cola, and people who describe it that way usually haven’t tried the real thing, it’s its own flavor, sweet and fizzy in a way that’s genuinely different from anything else on a fast food fountain.

Cookout Floats

Float	Price	Calories
Cheerwine Float	$2.39	401 Cal
Coke Float	$2.39	399 Cal
Fanta Float	$2.39	380 Cal
Root Beer Float	$2.39	380 Cal

The floats deserve a callout because they’re one of the best value picks on this whole menu, and a lot of first timers don’t realize a float counts as a regular drink option inside a Tray at no extra charge. That means you can get a Cheerwine Float for the same price as a fountain soda when it’s part of your Tray order. A Cheerwine Float, cherry soda blended with vanilla soft serve, is one of the most recommended drink picks from longtime customers, right up there with the milkshakes.

Building your own combo at Cook Out means picking from thirteen different sauces and a full list of toppings, most priced between $0.10 and $1.00.

Sauce	Price	Calories
Cookout Sauce	$0.50	25 Cal
BBQ Sauce	$0.20	29 Cal
Honey Mustard	$0.20	69 Cal
Ranch	$0.20	73 Cal
Cheese Sauce	$1.00	100 Cal
Quesadilla Sauce	$0.50	35 Cal
Fresh Jalapeño Sauce	$0.50	50 Cal
A1 Sauce	$0.50	25 Cal
Hot Sauce	$0.20	0 Cal

Cookout Sauce itself gets a lot of love from regulars, it’s a house made blend that’s a little sweet, a little tangy, and works on almost anything, fries, burgers, nuggets, you name it. It’s free to add extra on request at most locations.

Toppings run from basic (lettuce, tomato, pickles, grilled onions, all $0.10) to heartier extras like grilled bacon ($0.95), homemade chili ($0.65), cheese slice ($0.50), and homemade slaw ($0.50). Mixing and matching these is really the whole game at Cook Out, since almost nothing on the menu is locked into one fixed build.

If you’re standing at the menu board overwhelmed, here’s what actual longtime customers order on repeat. For the full ranked list, see the best Cookout menu items. These combos come up again and again across real customer conversations, and they’re a solid starting point for figuring out your own go-to.

Cook Out doesn’t have an official secret menu the way some chains do, but a few unofficial combos have built a following among regulars, mostly built from mixing existing menu items in ways that aren’t on the board.

The most talked about one is a chicken parmesan style sandwich, built by asking for a grilled chicken breast topped with marinara-style sauce (often substituted with a mix of available sauces) and cheese, “the ocky way,” a phrase some fans use when ordering it. Since this isn’t an official item, results vary a lot by location and depend entirely on whether the person taking your order is willing and able to make it.

The other “secret menu” trick that’s really just an underused feature: the milkshake flavor mixing mentioned earlier. It’s on the menu in the sense that nothing stops you from doing it, but it’s rarely advertised, so plenty of longtime customers only find out about it from a friend or from reading about it online, same as you’re doing right now.

Treat any secret menu item as unofficial and location dependent. It’s always worth asking, but don’t expect every Cook Out to know what you mean. Unlock the Cookout secret menu.

Cook Out doesn’t run a dedicated vegetarian menu, but eating meat-free here is easier than the menu makes it look at first glance. The Cheese Quesadilla is the most filling meat-free main option at 355 calories. On the side, Regular Fries, Onion Rings, and Okra all work, along with heavier picks like Hushpuppies and Cheese Curds if you want something more filling.

One thing to double check: any item with homemade chili contains meat, so if you’re avoiding meat, skip the chili on burgers, hot dogs, and fries.

For gluten sensitivities, Cook Out doesn’t publish a dedicated gluten-free menu and can’t guarantee a fully gluten-free kitchen because of shared cooking equipment. That said, several items are naturally free of gluten-containing ingredients when ordered without bread:

If you have celiac disease or a serious gluten sensitivity, tell the staff before ordering. Cross-contact in a shared kitchen can’t be fully ruled out at any location.

Here’s a fast reference table pulling together prices across the whole menu, so you can plan a meal before you get to the speaker.

Category	Price Range
Cookout Tray (Regular)	$7.39
Jr. Tray	$6.39
Milkshake (any flavor)	$3.99
Milkshake upgrade on a Tray	+$1.00 to $1.60
Small Burger	$2.99
Regular Burger	$3.49
Big Double Burger	$3.99
Chicken Breast Sandwiches	$4.85-$4.99
BBQ Sandwich	$4.99
BBQ Plate	$5.99
Hot Dogs	$0.99-$2.99
Quesadillas (all types)	$1.99
Wraps (all types)	$1.99
Regular Fries	$2.39
Hushpuppies	$1.99
Onion Rings	$2.69
Cheerwine Float	$2.39
Fountain Drinks	$1.69-$2.59

A Cookout Tray with one main, two sides, and a large drink still starts under $7.50 in 2026, which is genuinely rare. A basic combo meal at most major chains runs $10 to $13 this year, so a Cookout Tray works out to roughly half the price for a comparable or bigger amount of food. See how it stacks up in our Cookout vs McDonald’s comparison.

For the complete tray breakdown with current price ranges, see our full Cookout tray menu.

See complete Cookout prices for 2026.

Paying at the window? Check whether Cookout takes Apple Pay before you go it varies by location.

Most Cook Out locations open at 10:30 AM daily and stay open well past midnight, which is exactly why it’s such a popular late night stop across college towns in the South.

Day	Opening Time	Closing Time
Monday	10:30 AM	3:30 AM
Tuesday	10:30 AM	3:30 AM
Wednesday	10:30 AM	3:30 AM
Thursday	10:30 AM	3:30 AM
Friday	10:30 AM	4:30 AM
Saturday	10:30 AM	4:30 AM
Sunday	10:30 AM	3:30 AM

Cook Out stays open on most major holidays, including New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Halloween, and Christmas Eve, all at regular hours. The only three days most locations close completely are Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Hours can vary a bit by location, so it’s worth a quick call or check before a late night run, especially around holidays. For holiday-specific closings, see our Cookout holiday hours guide.

Check Cookout hours and the late-night schedule.

Cook Out has grown from that single Greensboro trailer in 1989 into more than 350 restaurants spread across the Southeast. North Carolina is still home base, holding roughly 40% of all locations, with South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, West Virginia, Maryland, and Florida rounding out the rest. Florida is the newest market, with the first Pensacola location opening in 2025.

Cook Out has no official mobile app and doesn’t run in-house delivery. If you can’t make it to the drive-thru, delivery is available at participating locations through DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. To find the closest one, use the store locator on the official Cook Out website and search by city, state, or ZIP code.

Cookout Menu adds up to more than a list of burgers and sides, it’s a whole system built around the Tray, the milkshake list, and prices that have stayed genuinely low while everything else in fast food keeps climbing. Whether you’re building a first timer’s order around a Cookout Style burger and an Oreo shake, or you’re a regular who’s already got the quad memorized, the menu rewards anyone willing to spend a few minutes figuring out what they actually like. Start with a tray, pick sides you’re curious about, and don’t skip the milkshake mixing trick, it’s the one thing almost every Cook Out fan wishes they’d learned sooner.

What’s on the menu at Cook Out?
The menu covers Cookout Trays, char-grilled burgers, chicken breast and strips, BBQ sandwiches and plates, hot dogs, quesadillas, wraps, sides, drinks, and over 40 milkshake flavors. Nearly every item can be built into a Tray with one main, two sides, and a drink.

Are Cookout trays still $5?

No, prices have gone up since the $5 to $6 Tray era a few years back. In 2026, a Regular Tray runs $7.39 and a Jr. Tray runs $6.39. Even at that price, it’s still one of the cheaper full meals in fast food.

What are the best menu items at Cook Out?
The Cookout Style Burger, Cheddar Style Burger, Chicken Quesadilla, Hushpuppies, and Cajun Fries come up constantly as customer favorites. For a drink, the milkshakes are the standout, especially Oreo, Peanut Butter Fudge, and Banana Pudding.

Does Cook Out have a secret menu?
Not an official one. A few unofficial combos, like a chicken parm style sandwich, have built a following among regulars, but they’re not guaranteed at every location. The real hidden feature is that you can mix milkshake flavors together for free, which isn’t widely advertised.

Can you mix milkshake flavors at Cook Out?
Yes. You can combine two or more milkshake flavors into one shake at no extra charge. Popular combos include Oreo with peanut butter, strawberry cheesecake with Oreo, and banana pudding with caramel.

What does “Cookout Style” mean on the menu?
Cookout Style refers to a specific topping combo: homemade chili, fresh coleslaw, mustard, and chopped onions. It’s used on burgers and hot dogs and is the signature order most locals default to.

Is the Cook Out BBQ good?
Yes, it’s a genuine North Carolina style chopped pork BBQ, served without heavy tomato-based sauce. Ordering it “all the way” gets you hot sauce and coleslaw mixed in. It’s best eaten quickly since the bun can get soggy if it sits.

Can you get a quesadilla as a Tray side?
Yes, quesadillas are one of the standard side options inside a Cookout Tray, which is why ordering multiple quesadillas as both the main and the sides has become a popular combo among regulars.

More Cookout Guides

• Cookout Secret Menu
• Cookout Quesadillas Menu
• Cookout Hours
• Best Cookout Milkshake Flavors
• Cookout Tray Combinations
• Cookout Nutrition Guide
• Cookout Prices
• Cookout Burgers Menu
• Cookout Hot Dogs Menu
• Cookout Sides Menu
• Cookout Delivery Guide
• Cookout Chicken Menu
• Cookout BBQ Menu
• Cookout Desserts
• Cookout Near Me
• Walking Taco
• Calorie Calculator
• Cookout Careers
• Coupons & Deals
• Drinks Menu
• Catering
• Breakfast
• Kids Menu
• Franchise
• Sauces
• Vegan Options
• Ice Cream Menu
• Allergen Menu
• Cookout Gift Cards
• Cookout holiday hours
• how to order at Cookout
• best Cookout menu items
• does Cookout take Apple Pay
• does Cookout have an app
• Cookout vs McDonald’s