Weight Loss
What Should You Order at Chipotle to Lose Weight?
For weight loss at Chipotle, order a Supergreens salad with chicken, black beans, veggies and salsa: about 385 calories and 42 g protein. More swaps.
Published
The short answer
To lose weight at Chipotle, order a salad with Supergreens, chicken, black beans, fajita veggies, fresh tomato salsa and tomatillo-green chili salsa, and skip the vinaigrette. Based on Chipotle's published nutrition, that's about 385 calories and 42 grams of protein. Adding brown rice instead of greens still keeps a chicken bowl around 570 calories with 45 grams of protein.
Chipotle can be a great place to eat when you're trying to lose weight, or it can quietly wreck your day. A chicken burrito with rice, beans, cheese, sour cream and guacamole comes to about 1,290 calories. The same chicken and beans in a salad with salsa is under 400.
Because Chipotle publishes nutrition for every ingredient, you can build an order that fits a calorie deficit almost exactly. Here's how, using Chipotle's own numbers.
Is Chipotle good for weight loss?#
Yes. Chipotle is good for weight loss because you choose every ingredient, and the core ingredients are lean: chicken has 32 grams of protein for 180 calories, and the salsas and fajita veggies are 15 to 80 calories each. The calories come from a handful of add-ons, mainly the tortilla, chips, guacamole, cheese, sour cream, queso and vinaigrette.
Protein matters when you're in a deficit. Higher-protein diets help preserve lean muscle and keep you fuller during weight loss, according to a review in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Chipotle makes high protein easy.
What is the lowest calorie meal at Chipotle?#
The lowest calorie filling meal at Chipotle is a salad or bowl built on Supergreens or lettuce with a lean protein, beans or fajita veggies, and salsa. These builds are added up from Chipotle's nutrition facts:
| Order | Calories | Protein |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken Salad: Supergreens, chicken, black beans, fajita veggies, fresh tomato salsa, tomatillo-green chili salsa | 385 | 42 g |
| Double Chicken Salad: Supergreens, double chicken, fajita veggies, fresh tomato salsa, tomatillo-green chili salsa | 435 | 66 g |
| Steak Salad: Supergreens, steak, black beans, fajita veggies, tomatillo-red chili salsa | 345 | 31 g |
| Chicken Bowl: brown rice, chicken, black beans, fajita veggies, fresh tomato salsa, romaine | 570 | 45 g |
Values are sums of Chipotle's published per-ingredient nutrition. Portions are scooped by hand, so your meal may be a little higher or lower.
The Double Chicken Salad is the standout: 66 grams of protein for about 435 calories. Chipotle's official High Protein Menu also has a High Protein-Low Calorie Bowl, which Chipotle lists at 36 grams of protein.
Which Chipotle toppings have the most calories?#
The flour tortilla, chips, guacamole and vinaigrette add the most calories at Chipotle. Here's what each extra adds, from Chipotle's nutrition facts:
| Add-on | Calories | Protein |
|---|---|---|
| Chips (regular) | 540 | 7 g |
| Flour tortilla (burrito) | 320 | 8 g |
| Guacamole (4 oz) | 230 | 2 g |
| Chipotle-Honey Vinaigrette (2 oz) | 220 | 1 g |
| White or brown rice (4 oz) | 210 | 4 g |
| Queso Blanco (2 oz) | 120 | 5 g |
| Cheese (1 oz) | 110 | 6 g |
| Sour cream (2 oz) | 110 | 2 g |
The vinaigrette is the sneaky one. It comes with salads by default, and at 220 calories it can more than double the calories of a lean salad. Use salsa as your dressing instead, or ask for the vinaigrette on the side and use a little.
Burrito, bowl or salad: which is best for weight loss?#
A salad is best for weight loss at Chipotle, followed by a bowl. A burrito adds a 320-calorie flour tortilla that a bowl or salad doesn't have, and it encourages you to add rice, cheese and sour cream to fill it.
The difference between a salad and a bowl is mostly the rice. Supergreens are 15 calories, while a scoop of rice is 210 calories. If you want rice, a bowl with rice and no cheese or sour cream still lands around 570 calories with chicken, which fits many weight-loss days.
Which Chipotle protein is best for weight loss?#
Chicken is the best protein at Chipotle for weight loss, with 32 grams of protein for 180 calories per 4 oz serving. Steak is close behind on calories (150) with 21 grams of protein. Barbacoa has 24 grams for 170 calories. Carnitas (210 calories, 23 grams) and sofritas (150 calories, 8 grams) give you less protein per calorie.
Ordering double chicken adds 180 calories and 32 grams of protein, which is one of the best trades on the menu when you're trying to stay full in a deficit.
How do you keep sodium down at Chipotle?#
Choose your salsa carefully and skip the tortilla. The Chicken Salad above has about 1,500 mg of sodium, much of it from the fresh tomato salsa (550 mg). The FDA recommends staying under 2,300 mg a day.
- Tomatillo-green chili salsa has 260 mg per serving.
- Fresh tomato salsa has 550 mg.
- The flour tortilla has 600 mg.
- Brown rice has 190 mg, versus 350 mg for white rice.
Our guide to low-sodium restaurant orders has more ideas.
How does a Chipotle meal fit into a calorie deficit?#
A 385 to 570 calorie Chipotle meal fits most weight-loss plans. If your target is 1,800 calories a day, a Chicken Salad uses about a fifth of it while delivering over 40 grams of protein. Our guide to eating out on a calorie deficit explains how to plan the rest of your day around restaurant meals, and if you're trying to gain instead, here's what to order at Chipotle to bulk up.
At a local Mexican restaurant without posted nutrition, Menu Scan AI can help. Snap the menu with your iPhone and it estimates calories, protein, carbs and fat for each dish from the menu descriptions, then labels the best matches for a weight-loss goal. Treat the results as estimates, not lab values.
Frequently asked questions#
What is the healthiest thing to order at Chipotle?#
A salad with Supergreens, chicken, black beans, fajita veggies and salsa, without the vinaigrette. It comes to about 385 calories and 42 grams of protein based on Chipotle's ingredient nutrition, with plenty of fiber from the beans and vegetables.
How many calories are in a Chipotle chicken bowl?#
It depends on your toppings. A chicken bowl with brown rice, black beans, fajita veggies, fresh tomato salsa and romaine is about 570 calories. Adding cheese, sour cream and guacamole brings it to about 1,020 calories.
Is Chipotle guacamole bad for weight loss?#
Not bad, but calorie-dense. A 4 oz serving of guacamole is 230 calories, mostly from healthy fats. If you're in a tight deficit, skip it or pick it instead of cheese and sour cream, not in addition to them.
Is the Chipotle vinaigrette high in calories?#
Yes. The Chipotle-Honey Vinaigrette is 220 calories per 2 oz serving, plus 850 mg of sodium. Using salsa as your dressing saves those calories.
Can you lose weight eating Chipotle every day?#
You can, as long as your total daily calories stay in a deficit. A 400 to 600 calorie bowl or salad with 40+ grams of protein fits most weight-loss plans; the toppings, not Chipotle itself, are what usually push the calories up.
Sources#
- Chipotle: US Nutrition Facts (PDF), calories, protein and sodium for every ingredient
- Chipotle: High Protein Menu, High Protein-Low Calorie Bowl protein and other high-protein options
- Leidy et al., American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2015), the role of protein in weight loss and maintenance
- FDA: Sodium in Your Diet, the 2,300 mg daily sodium limit