Build your order the way you order it at the counter, then see the calories, protein, carbs, fat and sodium add up. Based on Chipotle's published values, which may vary by location and preparation.
Estimates based on published Chipotle values. Portions vary by location and preparation.
A Chipotle order is really five or six decisions stacked together: the base, the protein, the rice, the beans, and whatever you spoon on top. Each one carries its own calories, and the same bowl can swing from a lean 500 to well past 1,300 depending on the tortilla, the guac and the double scoop of cheese. The calculator above adds each choice as you make it, so you can see exactly where the calories come from.
The tortilla is the single biggest swing. A flour burrito wrap adds about 320 calories and 50 grams of carbs before any filling goes in. Switch to a bowl and that disappears. Rice is next: a normal scoop of cilantro-lime rice runs about 210 calories, and a second scoop quietly doubles it. Cheese, sour cream and guacamole are the toppings most people underestimate, with guacamole alone adding roughly 230 calories.
Protein choice matters less for calories than people expect. Chicken, steak and barbacoa are all close, around 180 to 250 calories per portion, while carnitas runs a little higher in fat and sofritas (the tofu-based option) sits lowest. Where protein really differs is in sodium, since the marinated meats carry a fair amount of salt.
Check a Starbucks drink, a McDonald's meal or a Subway sub the same way.
A typical chicken burrito with rice, beans, cheese and salsa lands around 1,000 to 1,200 calories. Add guacamole and you are closer to 1,400. The tortilla alone is about 320 of those calories. Build your own order above to see your exact total.
A bowl with chicken or sofritas, brown rice or no rice, black beans, fajita veggies, salsa and lettuce keeps calories moderate while staying high in protein. Skipping the tortilla, cheese and sour cream trims the most calories, and salsa adds flavor for almost nothing.
Chicken adds about 32 grams, steak about 32, barbacoa about 24, carnitas about 27 and sofritas about 16. Add black beans for another 8 grams and cheese for 6, and a typical bowl reaches 40 to 55 grams of protein.
They are estimates based on Chipotle's published nutrition values. Real portions vary by location and how heavy a hand the server has on a given day, so treat the totals as a close guide rather than a lab measurement.
Jessica Martinez writes about food, menus and the gap between what a meal looks like and what it actually adds up to. She reads nutrition labels for fun and orders the same Chipotle bowl every week.