Just saying the words - Chipotle Mexican Grill is enough to bring on salivation. The smells, the colors, the tastes, the textures - what’s not to love, right? But now that you’re on the keto diet are you left to press your face against the glass and watch while other people enjoy your once favorite meals? No way! You can take your keto-lovin’ self right in there and savor some new favorites and maybe a twist on some ‘oldies, but goodies.’
Chipotle is keto-friendly if you know what to order and what to avoid.
Keto Food Choices At Chipotle
A look at the menu at Chipotle reveals that they are wonderfully customizable. You can swap in or out anything you want, making your order suitable for your diet.
1. Meat. You have your choice of protein-rich meats that make the meal satisfying and delicious but add no carbs.- Chicken 0g carbs, 7g fat
- Steak 0g carbs, 6g fat
- Carnitas (pork) 0g carbs, 12g fat
- Barbacoa (beef) 0g carbs, 7g fat
2. Vegetables. You can skip the beans, but don’t skimp on the fajita veggies (4g net carbs) and romaine lettuce (1g net carbs). This amounts to about 5g of carbs per serving.
3. Salsas & guacamole. Three of their four salsas are good options for keto dieters: Fresh tomato salsa (3g net carbs), tomatillo red-chili salsa (3g net carbs), and tomatillo green-chili salsa (4g net carbs). The fourth salsa is the roast chili-corn, which packs in 16g net carbs per serving.
The guacamole is not to be missed because it’s high in healthy fats (22g), low in net carbs (2g), and is so tasty!
4. Dairy. Enjoy the cheeses and creams to your heart’s content. Queso has 3.5g net carbs and 8g fat, cheese has 1g of net carbs and 8g fat, and sour cream has 2g net carbs and 9g fat.
Related: What are Net Carbs? (And How to Track Them on Keto)
When you want to bake at home and browse a variety of keto baking mixes from Keto and Co.
What To Put In Your Keto Chipotle Order
It’s probably best to stick to a protein with the romaine lettuce and add some fat in the form of sour cream, cheese, or guacamole. You can customize it however you'd like.
- Ultimate Keto Fat Bomb Bowl - Order carnitas on romaine lettuce, topped with guacamole, sour cream, and cheese. This bowl will give you plenty of fats and protein to fill you up and keep you full for hours. This bowl has a total of 6g net carbs.
You can also order a salad bowl instead of the burrito bowl, which gives you more romaine lettuce. This adds another 1g net carbs to the meal, but the fiber and nutrition make it well worth it.
- Chipotle Keto Vegetarian order - If you’re a vegetarian and following the keto diet, try this option! Order romaine lettuce, veggies, sour cream, cheese, and guacamole. If you can work in the 6g net carbs from the sofritas (marinated tofu), you can add those in as well.
This vegetarian bowl contains 6g net carbs, 39g fat, and 10g protein without the tofu.
With the sofritas and without the sour cream and guacamole, the bowl contains 8g net carbs, 18g fat, and 14g protein.
Lifestyle Bowls - Chipotle wants to meet the lifestyle needs of their customers, so last year they introduced the following bowls:
- Whole30® Salad Bowl: Romaine lettuce blend, chicken, fajita veggies, fresh tomato salsa, and guacamole.
- Keto Salad Bowl: Supergreens lettuce blend, steak, hot red salsa, cheese, and guacamole.
- Paleo Salad Bowl: Supergreens lettuce blend, chicken, fajita veggies, medium green salsa, and guacamole.
- High Protein Bowl: White rice, black beans, chicken (full portion), steak (full portion), red salsa, romaine lettuce, and sour cream. Skip the rice and beans on keto.
Related: How to Eat Chinese Food on a Keto Diet
What Not To Order At Chipotle For Keto
With all of those great keto-friendly choices, you may be wondering what NOT to order. A few things are exceptionally high in carbs, so they should be avoided when possible.
- Tortillas. While these versatile Mexican food staples are hard to pass up, they are also made with corn and flour. Tortilla chips have 65g net carbs per serving, and tortilla tacos have 40g net carbs per serving. And this is before anything is added to them!
- Rice. The Cilantro-lime brown rice has 36g net carbs, and the cilantro-lime white rice has 40g net carbs.
- Beans. Though full of protein, a serving of black beans has 22g net carbs and only 1.5g of fat. Their pinto beans have 29g net carbs and the same 1.5g fat per serving.
- Chipotle honey vinaigrette. This salad topper has a sneaky 18g of net carbs - 12g of which is sugar. The vinaigrette also has 16g of fat.
- Roast Corn Salsa/Sofritas. The roast corn salsa has 16g of net carbs, and the sofritas, which are vegan braised tofu chunks, have 6g net carbs per 4 oz. serving.
Related: The Best Keto Products You Can Find At Whole Foods
Final Words
So now you know that you don’t have to quicken your step as you pass Chipotle. You can go right in. While it couldn’t be labeled a keto restaurant, there are plenty of keto options that are healthy, filling, and delicious.
Keto and Co has quick and tasty mixes to make your life that much easier on keto. Check them out here.
