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If you want to find fast food that’s made without ingredients that contain gluten, Chipotle’s is a good place to turn. I’ve found this fast casual chain is very transparent about which ingredients contain wheat. Plus, few elements in Chipotle’s dishes list wheat or gluten as an allergen—in fact, only the flour tortilla contains gluten. Because you have full control over which other elements go into your bowl, salad, or tacos, it’s also relatively easy to avoid other allergens like dairy.
Chipotle can be a great choice when eating out if you’re looking to avoid gluten. However, like all chain fast food restaurants, accidental gluten contamination from shared work areas and utensils is a risk at Chipotle. If you avoid gluten due to a health condition like Celiacs, it’s always a good idea to speak with your health care provider about the level of precautions that are right for you. If you need to avoid any risk of eating something potentially contaminated with gluten, you may not want to eat at Chipotle.
Read our full Chipotle gluten free guide to find out what to order on your next trip to this popular fast food chain.
Top Gluten Free Menu Items At Chipotle
Every dish at Chipotle is made-to-order with your requested elements, and the only items on the menu that contain gluten are the flour tortillas, so everything else is on the table. This includes:
- Burrito bowls
- Salads
- Tacos with corn tortillas
- Guacamole and chips
Additionally, the fountain drinks at Chipotle are gluten free. That includes sodas, lemonades and aqua fresca drinks. As I write this, I’m enjoying the organic hibiscus lemonade. This might go without saying, but some Chipotle locations do have beer, so you will want to avoid that if you’re gluten intolerant.
Gluten Free Protein Options At Chipotle
While I was researching the menu, I found that all of the meat and protein options at Chipotle are gluten-free. This includes:
- Barbacoa
- Black beans
- Carnitas
- Chicken
- Chicken al pastor (limited time menu item)
- Pinto beans
- Sofritas
- Steak
Gluten Free Toppings At Chipotle
All of the toppings at Chipotle are also gluten free, including:
- Brown rice
- Chipotle honey vinaigrette
- Fajita vegetables
- Fresh tomato salsa
- Guacamole
- Monterey jack cheese
- Queso blanco
- Roasted chili-corn salsa
- Romaine lettuce
- Sour cream
- Supergreens lettuce blend
- Tomatillo green-chili salsa
- Tomatillo red-chili salsa
- Tortilla chips
- White rice
Chipotle Gluten Intolerance Official Statement
I appreciate that Chipotle publishes a handy and user-friendly allergen chart on its website, which you can see here and notes that the wheat and gluten “categories are combined since all Chipotle gluten-containing items contain wheat.”
The page also says this with regards to gluten:
“If you avoid gluten, don’t eat our flour tortillas. If you are highly sensitive to gluten and would like us to change our gloves, just let us know at the start of your order. You should be aware items containing corn, including corn tortillas (chips and crispy corn tortillas) and corn salsa, may have trace amounts of gluten from potentially co-mingling with gluten-containing grains in the field.”
You can also ask the staff to use fresh serving utensils to scoop your ingredients, and in my experience they usually have no issue accommodating this request. Personally, I think it helps that I’m always super friendly when making these requests, and I always try to acknowledge that I’m slowing them down and I appreciate the extra effort.
On a recent visit to Chipotle, the extra friendly staff even let me know that if I was willing to wait a few extra minutes, they could make my tacos with a fresh batch of guac from the back—which could lower the risk of accidental contamination.
What To Avoid At Chipotle
If you want to avoid wheat when eating at Chipotle, you’ll want to avoid the burritos, quesadillas, and soft flour tacos. Other than that, you can build bowls and salads with whatever elements you like. If you want tacos, be sure to get the crispy corn shells. Additionally, some Chipotle locations do sell beer, which contains gluten.
FAQ’s
Is Chipotle’s Chicken Al Pastor gluten free?
According to Chipotle’s website, the limited-time Chicken Al Pastor is gluten-free. It’s seasoned with morita peppers, ground achiote, pineapple, lime, and cilantro.
Are the tortilla chips at Chipotle gluten free?
For the most part, yes. The tortilla chips at Chipotle are made from corn and are wheat free, although the website does say traces of gluten contamination are possible from the fields where the corn is grown.
Are the bowls at Chipotle gluten free?
As long as you don’t order a flour tortilla on the side, all of the bowls at Chipotle are gluten free. However, there is some risk of accidental contamination.
Photos: Julianne Tripp Hillian
Other Gluten Free Menu Guides
We are on a mission to analyze all the popular restaurants near you for what is and isn’t gluten-free. If you have a restaurant you want us to visit, please let us know! You can contact us or send us a DM on Instagram. Here are other guides we have written so far:
The GF bread at Jersey Mike’s varies greatly from visit to visit– from being pretty good to being very dry and crumbly. I’ve given up and only order bowls when I go. Their meat is good though and the salads are good. Thanks for these restaurant guides!