Secret Menu Items From Dairy Queen You'll Want To Try ASAP
It's no big secret that many restaurants have robust "secret menus" (which often aren't that secret) packed with delectable foodstuffs you can order despite their not being openly on offer. At In-n-Out, you can order your burger "Animal Style" (which comes with all the fixings), at Starbucks, there's the Thin Mint Frappuccino, and at Chipotle, there are secret nachos, to name a few of the secret menu items you'll want to make a part of your regular order.
When it comes to Dairy Queen, the secret menu is particularly sweet. Dairy Queen has always offered soft serve ice cream, burgers, fries, and other staples, but did you know that there's plenty to order that's not on the official menu? In fact, all you need to do to get a "secret" menu item is ask any friendly Dairy Queen employee for an off-menu favorite because Dairy Queen secret menu items are usually not actually a secret. If your given location has the ingredients needed to concoct your special request, the folks who work there will gladly do so for you.
Ready to start shopping off-menu? Here are some Dairy Queen secret menu items that you should order the next time you stop in for some grill and chill.
Dairy Queen's Frozen Hot Chocolate is the perfect summer cool-down drink
It's a contradiction of terms, to be sure. Frozen Hot Chocolate? How can such a thing be? Is it hot chocolate cooled down? Is it a milkshake heated up? Actually, it's neither, but this secret Dairy Queen menu item is well worth your sipping. Or kind of sipping/chewing on, to be more accurate. The "Hot Chocolate" part comes from the fact that this treat has that creamy cocoa flavor you only get from a fine cup of, well, hot cocoa. But in this case, the chocolatey goodness comes from cocoa fudge, not a powder, and the fudge is mixed with ice and then blended into beverage format.
You can get a Frozen Hot Chocolate at many Dairy Queens around the nation (and the world — they are in many countries around the world), while at some DQ locations you can order an upgrade to the secret treat by adding caramel or peanut butter. But be advised, these extra special secret treats also add extra calories to an already hardly healthy item. The DQ Frozen Hot Chocolate packs in just over 1,000 calories if you get a large (22 ounce cup), and it also delivers 45 grams of fat. All that rich hot chocolate taste had to come from somewhere.
Dairy Queen's Macho Meal comes with a massive triple cheeseburger
Back in the day, there was a triple cheeseburger on the regular Dairy Queen menu. That mighty meal is no longer listed, but it can still be had if you're macho enough to order it. And by the way, you'll need to use that word to do so because the Dairy Queen triple cheeseburger is the anchor of the so-called Macho Meal, a Dairy Queen secret menu mainstay that Dairy Queen staffers will be happy to prepare as they will surely have the special ingredients on hand. (Back around the latest turn of the century, some locations apparently sold the mighty burger with fries and a drink for just $6, but pricing may be a good deal higher when you order a Macho Meal off-menu today, as you have to cobble together several different items.)
And not to always add in a downer — let's call it a note of caution, instead — but you shouldn't make the Dairy Queen secret Macho Meal a regular part of your diet. Consuming an entire Macho Meal will deliver more calories than the average adult should consume in a single meal. Props to YouTube food enthusiast Ken Domik for chowing down on one on camera so the rest of us can live vicariously without the calories. And fat.
Dairy Queen's Midnight Truffle Blizzard is no longer listed on the menu, but you can still get it
Today, it's impossible to think of a Dairy Queen without thinking of the Blizzard, their signature treat which sees all sorts of sweets mixed into an ice cream shake. But as it happens, the Blizzard has been around for less than half of Dairy Queen's existence, having been introduced in 1985 — DQ reports selling more than 175 million Blizzards in that first year alone, so clearly they got something right. One of the reasons the Blizzard is so popular is its versatility: you can get Choco Brownie Extreme Blizzard Treat, a Butterfinger Blizzard Treat, a Turtle Pecan Cluster Blizzard Treat, and on it goes. That's the happy part of the story.
The sad part of the tale is that many Blizzards are around for only a limited time, then removed from the menu, leaving behind fond memories in the minds and on the tastebuds of Dairy Queen fans everywhere. Ah, but there's a happy ending: Many Blizzards are actually always available even after they are taken from the menu — you just have to ask. The Midnight Truffle Blizzard was a Blizzard of the Month several years back, and while it's no longer an official menu item, the beloved treat can be ordered off the menu at some Dairy Queens.
Dairy Queen's Jack and Jill Sundae is a classic ice cream sundae with marshmallows added on top
Apparently, back in the day, the Jack and Jill Sundae was a standard menu item at many Dairy Queen locations. But by the 21st Century, this once-beloved Dairy Queen sweet treat had faded fully into obscurity. Fortunately, you don't need the wisdom of a master chef passed down through the generations to grasp how to make a Jack and Jill Sundae, so you can just explain your preferred non-menu order and rest assured the Dairy Queen team will get it right. After all, a Jack and Jill Sundae from Dairy Queen is simply a "hot fudge and marshmallow sundae," according to Dairy Queen's own Facebook account.
In other words, a Jack and Jill sundae is simply a regular sundae with marshmallow topping. It's just a little twist to be sure, but little things can make all the difference. Just picture that cup of hot chocolate without the marshmallows as Exhibit A. If you're intrigued by Dairy Queen's Jack and Jill Sundae, you're not alone. At the time of this writing, on Ranker, the dessert has 266 positive votes for the question "Would you try this?" with much fewer negative votes. That leads to the real question: Why would anyone downvote a hot fudge sundae with marshmallows on top?
Dairy Queen's Chili Cheese Fries are a secret meal in and of themselves
Beyond the fact that it's considered a safe, stable destination for visitors, in case you were looking for another reason to visit Kuwait, then one reason that just might surprise you are the Chili Cheese Fries you can get at Dairy Queen in the small Persian Gulf nation. But you don't have to go all the way to the Middle East just for the Dairy Queen Chili Cheese Fries, not when they're available when you go the secret menu route at home in the U.S. of A.
Dairy Queen should be able to make you an order of Chili Cheese Fries because they are apparently whipped up using ingredients stocked for other regular menu items. A proper preparation of Dairy Queen Chili Cheese Fries will use chili from the Chili Cheese Dog (of course, they put that on all sorts of stuff), and add some of the cheese sauce. Oh, and the fries are the base of the meal, of course. While this dish is not exactly a health food option, it's a treat you should try at least once — and especially prior to or following a night of partying. If you've ever wanted to make fries your whole meal, then this is the dish for you.
Dairy Queen's Hawaiian Blizzard is not on the menu, but some locations will make it
Of all the Blizzards (excuse me, Blizzard Treats) that have come and gone, the Hawaiian Blizzard drew some of the loudest laments from its diehard fans when it left the menu. One review spotted on Tripadvisor even started off with the unequivocal line: "The only reason I was going to DQ was their Hawaiian Blizzard." (Doesn't make a ringing endorsement for the burgers or sundaes, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion.) But good news that will fill Blizzard fans with happiness: The Hawaiian Blizzard is a safe secret menu bet. Why? Because the Pineapple Sundae is a regular menu item staple, as is the Banana Split, while coconut flakes are almost always on hand as a mixin.
The Hawaiian Blizzard, as you have likely guessed by now, is a blend of pineapple, banana, and coconut whirled into that classic Dairy Queen soft serve, the result being a sweet treat with definite island vibes. (Never mind the fact that the pineapple is native to South America, not Hawaii, and the banana is indigenous to India.) But when you mix all these flavors together, you get a taste that will line up with your palate's perception of Hawaii, so just sit back in that imagined hammock and enjoy your refreshing — and surprisingly filling — secret treat.
Dairy Queen employees can make you a grilled cheese sandwich
If you didn't know you could order a grilled cheese sandwich from the secret menu at Dairy Queen, then your world is about to open up. And it makes sense, really: They have the cheese and the grill right there. The big difference with a Dairy Queen grilled cheese sandwich compared to the "secret" sandwiches from most other restaurants is the fact that it's not just cheese cooked on bread — it's a real sandwich.
Why are they so ready to make a grilled cheese sandwich at Dairy Queen? It's all thanks to the Texas Toast that comes as a side with many of their meals, like the Chicken Strip Basket. Dairy Queen locations have real bread on hand that is ready to be packed full of cheese and cooked up to perfection. And while it's hardly a healthy option, what with 14 grams of fat including eight grams of saturated fat and 1,230 mg of sodium, a grilled cheese sandwich from Dairy Queen is moderate on the calories — compared to, say, an Original Double Cheeseburger with a side order of fries — with just 420 calories in total.
Dairy Queen's Peanut Butter and Jelly Shake is made by adding to a standard peanut butter shake
It's peanut butter jelly time! It's peanut butter jelly time! It's ... well, that just sort of keeps going, so let's stop there and get on with things because it's always a good time for a secret Peanut Butter and Jelly Shake from Dairy Queen. The Peanut Butter Shake is a staple menu item at Dairy Queens everywhere, and so is the Strawberry Sundae. See where this is going?
By adding some strawberry syrup to the Peanut Butter Shake before mixing it up, your friendly neighborhood Dairy Queen employee can make you one fine secret menu Peanut Butter and Jelly Shake, a milkshake you'll try once and agree belongs as a standard offer item. And now for our standard downer portion where we comment on the healthiness (or lack thereof) at stake: a large PB milkshake alone has 1,250 calories, and adding the strawberry syrup only adds a few more. So if you're going to sample this delectable frozen treat, go for the small size, which has "only" 640 calories, 310 of which are from fat.
Dairy Queen's Chocolate Chip Blizzard adds some chocolate sweetness to a vanilla Blizzard
Here's a sweet treat you can always count on from the Dairy Queen secret menu because it's made using two of the most basic things they offer: a vanilla Blizzard Treat and chocolate chips. Not just any chocolate chips, though, but chips made from the chocolate they use to dip their ice cream cones that has been hardened and then cracked into bits. In fact, perhaps "Chocolate Chunk Blizzard" would be a more apt name, but those in the know already know this easy Dairy Queen menu hack as the Chocolate Chip Blizzard, so we'll fall in line with that.
And now that you know how that warm gooey chocolate can be quickly made into hard chunks, you can go wild, asking for chocolate chips added to other Blizzards, to sundaes, to a Banana Split, to your Chili Cheese Fries, and ... we've already taken this too far. Let's move on.
Dairy Queen's Samoa Blizzard is like the classic Girl Scout Cookie in a cup
From time to time, Dairy Queen releases special Blizzards that become fan favorites even though they come and go. Such is the case with the Twix Blizzard, which was first released for the summer of 2018 and is likely to come back at some point. The Twix Blizzard was made with ground-up bits of the classic candy bar that mixed perfectly with the ice cream and resulted in a truly mouthwatering fast food masterpiece. Twix bars feature caramel and chocolate, meaning they lack just one ingredient you'd find in a Samoa Girl Scout Cookie: coconut.
The good news here? Dairy Queen restaurants stock coconut flakes, so the next time the Twix Blizzard Treat is on the menu, just ask your Dairy Queen staff member to add in some coconut flakes as they blend your Blizzard, and you will have created a veritable Samoa in a cup. And if you can't wait until the Twix Blizzard comes back, you can create a decent approximation of a Samoa Blizzard right now by asking for coconut mixed into a Snickers Blizzard, which you can find on the Dairy Queen menu at certain points in time. (Or hey, go nuts and bring in your own Samoas, break them up, and mix them into a basic Vanilla Blizzard yourself. You can thank us later.)
You can get a 1950s-style chocolate soda at some Dairy Queen locations
The Chocolate Soda, a highly distinct type of ice cream float, was once a popular option, but there's a good chance that you've never tried it before. It's on the secret menu, though, so you may be able to snag one of these at your local Dairy Queen.
This secret menu item is on the obscure side, so it's not clear how exactly the fast food chain throws them together. What we do know, though, is how others have concocted the nostalgic treat.
Unlike a root beer float, where a scoop of vanilla ice cream is simply placed into a tall glass of root beer, a proper chocolate soda requires a bit more preparation. First, a glass is filled with several scoops of chocolate ice cream. (Some people prefer vanilla ice cream, for the record. We'll let you decide.) Next, some chocolate syrup is added. Then the glass is topped off with soda water, and the ingredients are all lightly stirred. With a final top off of whipped cream, your chocolate soda is ready. And it's pretty amazing too: This drink manages to be at once sweet and refreshing, a perfect summertime treat with classic taste. You can just imagine your grandma or grandpa sidling up to the counter of a Dairy Queen back in the day, ordering a chocolate soda and a burger, and then doing the Lindy Hop late into the night.