8 Arby's Secret Menu Items You Should Try At Least Once

The Arby's menu is loaded with options, so it lends itself to secret menu items and hacks. Meats offered on the regular menu include roast beef, smoked brisket, corned beef, fried chicken cutlets, roasted turkey, and bacon. The Arby's R.B. doesn't stand for roast beef, though. It's for the Raffel Brothers who founded the concept in 1964. In 2014, the chain further established itself with a popular series of "we have the meats" commercials, but everything started with that iconic roast beef (which is actually cooked in a plastic bag). 

As for secret menu best practices, while many chains allow customization through apps, ordering Arby's online or on its app doesn't give much opportunity for that. The chain's secret menu items aren't officially sanctioned — wink wink — and that's part of the fun. The best way to get this mission accomplished is to go inside and talk to Arby's employees. The secret menu items are mostly specials the chain has run in the past, so they're usually programmed into the ordering system. Speak the cashier's lingo and ask for these secret menu items by name.

But also, be flexible. If your request for that Arby's Melt is met with a blank stare, describe what you want. If they have the ingredients, the Arby's sandwich maestros will usually make it happen. And of course, be advised, ordering secret items will incur extra charges. Justifiable, though, for something special — based on Reddit reviews and overall popularity, here's eight Arby's secret menu items worth trying. 

This behemoth is by far the most famous of Arby's secret menu items. Introduced in 2014, the Meat Mountain started out as part of a joke in an ad campaign showcasing the wide variety of meats the chain offered beyond its signature roast beef. But when customers saw the poster showing all eight meats stacked atop each other, layered with two kinds of cheese, some took it literally and asked for the sandwich shown in the picture.

While never officially on the menu, Meat Mountain has run as a special and the company capitalized on viral notoriety generated at the time. 

The build you end up getting can vary depending on what meats are currently in house, but the original Meat Mountain included three strips of bacon, two chicken tenders, and 1.5 ounces each of roast beef, sliced steak, corned beef, smoked brisket, shaved ham, and roast turkey, as well as slices of cheddar and Swiss cheese. Arby's staff know about this one, so  ask for it by name. At the time of this writing, this beast is currently going for $15 in Chicagoland (a comparative steal). Especially since, as one reviewer on Reddit pointed out, "It's really enough food for at least two full-size entrees, so when you think of it as the price of two or more regular sandwiches, it's not as obscenely priced."

Italian beef sandwiches may be enjoying a viral moment, but the French Dip has been an American classic for well over 100 years since its creation in Los Angeles in 1908. Arby's debuted its French Dip (pictured) in 2003 as the French Dip'n Swiss. 

The secret menu French Dip Max version simply piles on an extra portion of Arby's famous roast beef for those times when you've got a super hearty appetite. The chain's standard French Dip & Swiss portion is 3.5 ounces of roast beef, but the Max version doubles the portion of meat, piling on 7 ounces and then goes ahead and melts an additional slice of Swiss over the whole delicious meal to maintain the correct meat-to-cheese ratio.

This gives you two sandwiches' worth of the savory gooey goods all on one long soft French roll to sop into that beefy au jus cup.  One enterprising commenter on Reddit even explained how to further customize this one by adding crispy onions, then brags about how he got "$5 off in the app so it was only $1.59." Creatively indulgent, yet still frugal.

After seeing tweets about an Iowa State University student's crudely improvised cheese-filled pop tart sandwich go viral in 2017, Arby's marketing folks flew the guy down to their corporate headquarters in Atlanta to design a special Arby's sandwich paying homage to Iowa State Fair food. The mash-up that came out of this culinary jam session was only officially sold for a single day at one Ames, Iowa location –but mythical lore around this sort of sandwich-stacking indulgence spreads like wildfire and inspires legend. This one helped to solidify the Arby's reputation for having one of the best secret menus offered by a chain restaurant. 

They called it The Big Iowa. And it consisted of smoked brisket, roast turkey, shaved ham, cheddar cheese, red onions, pepper bacon, three deep fried mozzarella sticks, and a parmesan peppercorn ranch sauce all layered onto a toasted onion roll. 

Employees may laugh when you ask about Big Iowa, but if they have the meats (and you know that they do), they'll make it. The cashiers won't recognize this one by name, but explaining what you're after, requesting something close, then ordering the fried cheese sticks as a side and doing a little manual assembly will get you there. Apply yourself, this is sandwich bucket list material.

The Reuben is an iconic American sandwich. Invented in the early 1900's, conflicting origin stories exist, with some even claiming the famed sandwich is named after a real person. In every case, though, a Reuben consists of warm, tender, thin-sliced corned beef, melty Swiss cheese, Thousand Island dressing, and sauerkraut all melded together between marble rye slices toasted on a griddle. Arby's version of the classic (pictured) has been a fan favorite since it was introduced as part of the chain's Market Fresh sandwiches line in 2005.

Previously featured as a limited-time special, the secret menu Double Stacked Reuben features twice the corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island dressing on toasted marble rye bread. Arby's standard portion is 3.5 ounces but the Double Stacked boasts a full 7 ounces of savory corned beef for those sandwich moments when you feel like you need double satisfaction.

Commenters online have been happy with the flavor and have also consistently praised the Double Stacked Reuben's generous portion size. This review on Facebook exclaimed, "I tell you what! This thing is not just gorgeous but it's sooo good and sooo thick!"

The classic Arby's roast beef (pictured) is very basic — signature roast beef served on a sesame seed bun. Arby's or Horsey Sauce from packets can be applied by the diner. The famous roast beef-n-cheddar sandwich features the same portion of meat, but it's on an onion roll and gets the chain's red ranch sauce underneath and the cheddar cheese sauce on top.

In the past, Arby's also offered a variation they called a Deluxe Roast Beef sandwich which was served on the sesame seed bun along with lettuce, tomato, and red ranch.  A lot of folks still prefer this "deluxe" version as a somewhat fresher, healthier option and it's still on some international menus as well, so the chain does make it available upon request.

The "deluxe" moniker is gone, though. This roast beef variation is known to cashiers as a Super Arby's sandwich now. But the staying power of these simple versions of classic sandwiches is a testament to the chain's best-selling signature menu item — that namesake tender, thinly-sliced warm roast beef.

This one's actually a former secret menu item that graduated to the big leagues. Thanks to the TV show "The Bear," Chicago style Italian beef sandwiches are having a viral moment. Arby's is taking full advantage of the higher profile the show's popularity has brought to this iconic sandwich. The chain is running a limited time special in early 2026 called the Italian Beef Melt. This variation is identical to the chain's French Dip Melt, but with the addition of giardiniera, a bright, spicy, crunchy, vinegary oil-pickled vegetable relish that's everywhere in Chicago.  

Older secret menu and menu hack articles referencing this one say to order a Classic French Dip & Swiss, then ask to add banana peppers, fire roasted red and yellow peppers, and Italian seasoning. Not a bad facsimile, but Arby's employees have reported that those ingredients are no longer stocked. Other than the peppers, however, the two secret menu offerings are pretty identical. 

There are some pretty major differences between Italian Beef vs. French Dip sandwiches. So the limited time non-secret Italian Beef Melt menu option may be your only opportunity to try this taste of iconic Chicago street food outside of the Windy City. 

The original Arby's BLT debuted in 2002 as part of Arby's Market Fresh sandwiches line and it came with five strips of bacon. The chain has also run a BLT special featuring brown sugar bacon, but the secret menu Ultimate BLT comes with eight strips of crisp smoky bacon for an even meatier, crispier sandwich experience.

The Ultimate BLT is served on honey wheat bread with lettuce, tomato, and mayo. Pretty basic as secret menu offerings go, but anytime you're getting eight slices of bacon involved it's bound to attract some attention.

Not only do they "have the meats" at Arby's, but apparently they're not afraid to use them.  Considering the heft of Arby's version, it's ironic to note that the BLT was first served as part of an elegant, dainty Victorian afternoon tea service in England, as this article tracing the sandwich's mysterious origins explains. These days, it's an always-reliable choice for a delicious lunch.

A lot of secret menu and Arby's menu hack articles give a shout out to the "Arby's Melt." It's a Beef-N-Cheddar without sauce on a different bun (sesame instead of onion). The same thing as adding cheddar cheese sauce to the chain's regular roast beef. 

Beware, though — no actual melting is involved in the production of this melt. This one gets a lot of mentions from folks because it used to be on the regular menu. People grew fond of it and now many still ask for it by name, so the chain accommodates the requests.

Definitely a tasty option. In general, any sandwich called a "melt" features bread that's toasted on the outside, like a grilled cheese sandwich. The Arby's Melt is served on a bun that's toasted only minimally on the inside of the bread. Other chains work this conundrum out by flipping the bun inside-out to get that toasted, crispy exterior, so it's kind of disappointing that the Arby's Melt falls short in that regard. There are at least 10 different ways of making a melt, but adding cheese sauce to a regular sandwich doesn't quite qualify.