Staying Keto at Chipotle

Although Mexican food isn’t keto-friendly in general, Chipotle is actually one of the best places you can visit on this diet. Can you guess why? 

Because it’s super flexible. 

Chipotle often brags it offers its visitors over 65,000 meal combinations, but Business Insider did the math and… It seems there are over 76,800 ways to enjoy Chipotle. 

Not all of these ways are keto-friendly, though. 

Here’s what you should know before going to Chipotle on the ketogenic diet. 

As you may have guessed, there are quite a few ingredients you shouldn’t order at Chipotle EVER. Not if you want to stay in nutritional ketosis, at least. Here’s a quick list for you to keep at hand! 

Never order this: 

Large Chips - 110 g of carbs per serving 

Tortilla Chips - 73 g 

Flour Tortilla (Burrito) - 50 g 

Flour Tortilla (Taco) - 40 g 

Cilantro Lime White Rice - 40 g 

Cilantro Lime Brown Rice - 36 g 

Crispy Corn Tortilla (Taco) - 29 g 

Probably also stay away from this: 

Black Beans - 22 g 

Pinto Beans - 21 g of carbs per serving 

Chipotle Honey Vinaigrette - 18 g 

Large Queso (Side) - 17 g 

Large Guacamole (Side) - 16 g 

Roasted Chili Corn Salsa - 16 g 

Everything else? Pretty much safe to eat and enjoy. Let’s take a closer look at your options!

Everything starts with the right type of meal. Since tortillas have an absolutely ridiculous amount of carbohydrates in them (40 to 50 grams!), ordering tacos or burritos at Chipotle is out of the question. You’re left with either a Burrito Bowl or a Salad. What’s the difference? 

Chipotle Salads have a bit of extra Romaine Lettuce in them (which isn’t much of a surprise, since we’re talking about salads). And that’s basically the only difference between the two meals. 

You can order any combination of ingredients both in your burrito bowl and salad.You can even order a burrito bowl with romaine lettuce, making it a… Burrito bowl salad? 

In any case, here’s a list of the keto-friendly ingredients you can pick for your meal: 

Fillings 

Sofritas - 9 g of carbs per serving 

Veggie with guac - 8 g
Barbacoa - 2 g 

Steak - 1 g 

Carnitas, Chicken - 0 g 

Toppings 

Guacamole - 8 g of carbs per serving 

Fajita Vegetables - 5 g 

Fresh Tomato Salsa - 4 g 

Tomatillo Green Chili Salsa - 4 g 

Tomatillo Red Chili Salsa - 4 g 

Queso - 4 g 

Sour Cream - 2 g 

Romaine Lettuce - 1 g 

Monterey Jack Cheese - 1 g 

Sides 

Queso - 9 g of carbs per serving 

Guacamole - 8 g 

All other sides include tortilla chips and thus aren’t keto-friendly. 

Drinks 

None of the drinks listed on the official Chipotle Nutrition Calculator is keto-friendly. 

Examples of keto-friendlyChipotle meal combinations 

Burrito Bowl: Steak (1 g) + Sour Cream (2 g) + Monterey Jack Cheese (1 g) + Guacamole (8 g) = 12 g total carbs 

Salad: Romaine Lettuce (1 g) + Chicken (0 g) + Monterey Jack Cheese (1 g) + Tomatillo Red Chili Salsa (4 g) + Guacamole (8 g) = 14 g total carbs 

Burrito Bowl: Double Carnitas (0 g) + Double Monterey Jack Cheese (2 g) + Queso (4 g) + Sour Cream (2 g) = 8 g total carbs

Not sure how to count your carbs and stay in the safe zone while going out for some fast food? 

Check the infographic below!

We hope this post will help you order a mouth-watering meal at Chipotle without risking your ketosis for the sake of some fast-food. 

One last idea before you go, though: did you know there’s a special Keto Salad Bowl on the Chipotle menu? 

Here’s a quick look at the ingredients and the nutritional value of the meal: 

- Carnitas 

- Guacamole 

- Monterey Jack Cheese 

- Romaine Lettuce 

- Tomatillo Red Chili Salsa 

Carbs - 15 g, protein - 32 g, fat - 42 g 

So, it’s now just low-carb, but also a real fat bomb - perfect for the keto diet! 

Also, just in case you’ve been looking for some useful tips on visiting other fast-food restaurants on the keto diet, here’s what we’ve been writing about lately: 

- KFC 

- Subway 

- Starbucks 

- Taco Bell 

- Wendy’s 

- Burger King 

- McDonald’s