Chipotle Mexican Grill is a chain of quick-service restaurants serving tacos and burritos. The restaurant prides itself on its fresh ingredients and preparation done by hand. Despite the freshness of the ingredients, eating at Chipotle can add significant calories to your diet because of the huge portion sizes.
Basic Burrito
A standard burrito made with chicken, cilantro rice, black beans, salsa, guacamole, sour cream and cheese contains 1,120 calories and 51g of fat, 20g of which are saturated. It provides 2,310mg of sodium, 19g of fiber, 105g of carbohydrates and 61g of protein. The Institute of Medicine recommends keeping sodium intake to 1,500 mg per day, and a single Chipotle burrito will put you over this target.
Components
The burrito-sized tortilla contains 290 calories and 9g of fat, while the extra crispy taco shells each contains 60 calories and 2g of fat. The cilantro rice adds 130 calories, 3g of fat and 23g of carbohydrates. You can choose to have black or pinto beans on your burrito and each offers 120 calories, 7g of protein and 10 to 11g of fiber. The beans contain about 2 percent of the RDA for vitamin A, C and 4 percent for calcium, along with 10 percent for iron.
Protein Options
Adding meat to your burrito increases the calorie and fat content. If you choose fajita vegetables, they contain 20 calories and 0.5 g of fat. They also provide 30 percent of the recommended dietary allowance for vitamin C. The chicken, carnitas and steak all provide 190 calories with 6.5 to 8g of fat. The barbacoa beef offers 170 calories and 7g of fat. Choosing either of the beef options provides you with 15 percent of the RDA for iron, while the chicken or carnitas offers 8 percent.
Nutritional Bonuses
Adding salsas to the burritos or tacos makes them more nutritious, while piling on only 5 to 20 extra calories. The red tomatillo salsa provides 40 percent of the RDA for vitamin A and 10 percent for vitamin C. The red tomato salsa provides 12 percent for vitamin A and 6 percent for vitamin C. The tomatillo salsa provides 15 percent for vitamin C. While the guacamole adds 150 calories to the burrito, it does contain 13g of fat. Most of this fat is of the healthy, unsaturated variety and with 6g of fiber and 10 percent of the RDA for vitamin C, it makes a nutritious topping.
Lower Calorie Options
Although the individual components of the burrito ingredients are not extreme in calories, fat or sodium, when you add them all up into a ½-lb. burrito, it becomes a high-calorie, high-fat and high-sodium meal. Choose a burrito bowl with rice, black beans, rice and chicken, which is essentially a deconstructed burrito on a romaine salad for 460 calories and 11g of fat. The lettuce also gives you 80 percent of the RDA for vitamin A and 30 percent for vitamin C for just 10 calories. Choose crispy tacos with chicken, salsa and lettuce for just 395 calories. These options still contain significant amounts of sodium.
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