Calories in Chipotle

Chipotle started with a chef and his dream of creating gourmet burritos. The first Chipotle opened in 1993 and this Mexican grill chain has grown exponentially since then. Their mission is to offer food that tastes great and has great nutritive value at a ‘great’ price. Whenever practical, Chipotle sources organic and local produce and dairy. The calories in Chipotles menu items is available online but, since you can ‘build your own’ meal, whether it be a burrito, burrito bowl, taco or salad, the possibilities are many.

Calories in Chipotle: Build your own Meal

One burrito-sized soft flour tortilla alone provides 290 calories and 9 g fat. Add 4 oz. each chicken (190 calories); brown rice (160 calories); black beans (120 calories); fresh tomato salsa (20 calories); cheese and guacamole (100 and 150 calories); lettuce and tomato salsa (25 calories) and you are at 1,055 calories, 42 g fat, 13 g saturated fat, 145 mg cholesterol and over 2,200 mg sodium. This is the calorie count for the burrito alone, without a beverage or ‘side order’ of chips, which provides 570 calories and 27 g fat.

Instead, ‘hold’ the higher calorie ingredients and keep the ingredients for ‘building your own meal’ basic. For tacos, you can choose to start with a crispy corn, soft flour or corn tortilla. Your best bet calorie-wise is a soft corn tortilla for 180 calories vs. flour for 270 calories. Every meat filling, including carnitas, barbacoa, steak and chicken offers roughly the same amount of calories (170 to 190 calories per portion). Consider swapping the meat filling for either pinto or black beans for 120 calories each. Add fajita-style vegetables (20 calories); roasted chili corn salsa (80 calories) and romaine lettuce (5 calories) for a healthier taco that provides 565 calories, 8.5 g fat, 1,135 mg sodium and a whopping 20 g dietary fiber. If you add barbacoa (shredded meat) as a secondary filling, your taco provides 735 calories, 15.5 g fat, 1,645 mg sodium and 65 mg cholesterol.

Keep in mind that sour cream, cheese and guacamole each add 100 to 150 calories to your burrito or taco. Although guacamole is rich in heart-healthy unsaturated fats, a serving still packs 150 calories and 13 g fat. Another option is to ask for ‘half’ of a high fat addition. To keep calories under control, choose only one ‘fun’ ingredient such as cheese, sour cream or guacamole.

A burrito bowl or salad can be healthy options as you omit the tortilla. The salad starts with a bed of romaine lettuce for 10 calories. Just be sure to ‘build’ it right. Skip the fiber-free white rice for 170 calories and choose brown rice if you select rice at all for a fiber boost and calorie count of 160. A burrito bowl with steak, black beans, fajita veggies, cheese, romaine lettuce and green tomato salsa provides 450 calories, 16.5 g fat, 1,150 mg sodium and 14 g fiber. Use ½ of the salad vinaigrette or skip it. Two fluid oz. offers 260 calories and nearly 25 g fat.