Meal prepping has become an increasingly popular way for people to eat healthy, save money, and save time during busy work weeks. The basic idea behind meal prepping is to prepare multiple meals in advance that can be eaten throughout the week. While many people cook their meal prep recipes from scratch at home, some wonder if pre-made meals from restaurants like Chipotle can also work for meal prep.
Can you buy multiple meals at once from Chipotle?
Yes, you can buy multiple meals at once from Chipotle to use for meal prep throughout the week. Chipotle is set up to easily allow for ordering multiple meals in bulk. You can order online or in person and simply customize each meal how you’d like it and specify the quantity you want. This makes it easy to order a week’s worth of burrito bowls, tacos, salads, and more all at once.
Does Chipotle offer any bulk ordering deals?
Unfortunately, as of now Chipotle does not offer any special bulk meal prep discounts or deals. The pricing is the same whether you order 1 meal or 10 meals. However, Chipotle does offer some ways to save on a large meal prep order:
- Order online for quicker service and to easily customize each meal
- Ask for “half portions” on high-calorie ingredients like rice, beans, and meat to reduce calories and cost
- Skip the tortilla on burrito bowls to save about 300 calories and $1 per bowl
- Order vegetarian meals to save money over steak, carnitas, etc.
- Use a Chipotle Hack: order a bowl with tortilla on the side to get more food at the burrito price
- Get a large order of chips and guacamole as “family style” sides for the week
- Order extra meat earlier in the day when it’s just been freshly cooked
What are the best Chipotle meal prep options?
Here are some of the best meal options at Chipotle that can work great for meal prep:
Burrito Bowls
Burrito bowls without the tortilla are a popular meal prep choice. They provide a balanced mix of rice, beans, meat, salsa, and veggies. You can customize each bowl differently so you have variety throughout the week. Burrito bowls also reheat well.
Salads
Chipotle salads like the Chicken, Steak, or Garden Salad provide a lighter, healthier meal prep option. Top with salsa dressing or guacamole and they make very filling prep meals.
Soft Tacos
Tacos hold up well and are easy to pack in bulk for meal prep. Choose corn or flour tortillas filled with your choice of meat, beans, salsa, etc. Tacos provide nice variety from bowls and salads.
Burritos
Burritos make ultra convenient meal prep meals that you can grab and go. Foil or paper wraps keep them contained neatly. Just be mindful of calories with large burritos and size down ingredients as needed.
Vegetarian
Veggie bowls, salads, tacos, and burritos can make excellent lower calorie, lower cost meal prep options. Load up on fajita veggies, salsa, guacamole, beans, rice, etc.
Kids Meals
For families, ordering a bunch of the kid’s meals can be a great way to prep lunches or dinners for children in bulk.
What are the benefits of using Chipotle for meal prep?
Here are some of the top benefits of using Chipotle for your meal prep:
- It’s fast and convenient – Order online or walk in and your entire week’s meals are ready in minutes. No recipe planning, grocery shopping, cooking, or cleaning up required.
- Customization – You can tailor each meal exactly how you want with your ideal ingredients.
- Balanced nutrition – Chipotle meals provide filling combos of carbs, protein, fiber, and healthy fats.
- Variety – Switch up bowls, salads, tacos, and more each day so you don’t get bored.
- Portion control – Order “half portions” of rice, meat, etc. for lighter prepped meals.
- Reheats well – Chipotle burritos, bowls, and tacos often taste just as good reheated later in the week.
- Kid friendly – Easy to prep kid-approved meals like quesadillas, tacos, rice bowls.
- Chipotle hacks – Use tricks like ordering tortilla on the side to get more food for the money.
What are the downsides to using Chipotle for meal prep?
While using Chipotle for meal prep has some great perks, there are also some downsides to consider:
- No bulk order discount – You pay full menu price even when ordering a large quantity for prep.
- Higher sodium – Pre-prepared meals often have higher sodium levels.
- Higher cost – Prepping with restaurant meals costs more vs home cooked meals from scratch.
- Heavy on carbs and protein – Chipotle meals tend to be lighter on vegetables.
- Formulaic – Even with customization, restaurant prep meals lack the variety and creativity of homemade.
- Takeout packaging – Lots of paper bags, foil, etc. is wasteful compared to reusable containers for homemade prep.
- Food safety – Takeout meals keep for a shorter time vs homemade meals prepped in bulk.
Meal Prep Tips for Ordering Chipotle
If you want to give Chipotle meal prep a try, here are some helpful tips to maximize convenience, nutrition, and cost-effectiveness:
- Order online for fastest service, easiest customization, and to earn free Chipotle rewards.
- Get a mix of bowls, salads, tacos, and burritos for more variety.
- Ask for “half portions” of rice, meat, beans, etc. to control portions.
- Load up on salsa, pico, corn, guacamole, and other veggies for nutrition.
- Skip extras like chips, soda, and desserts to limit fat and calories.
- Order extra meat earlier in the day when supplies are fresher.
- Utilize vegetarian and sofritas (tofu) options to lower cost.
- Re-portion meals into reusable containers at home to reduce packaging waste.
- Refrigerate prepared meals within 2 hours and reheat within 3-5 days.
- Freeze extra burritos or bowls to heat and eat later.
Sample Weekly Chipotle Meal Prep Schedule
Here is an example Chipotle meal prep schedule for 1 week:
| Day | Meal 1 | Meal 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Steak burrito bowl with light rice, beans, salsa | Chicken salad with salsa dressing |
| Tuesday | Carnitas tacos with corn tortillas, pico, guac | Barbacoa burrito bowl with light rice, corn, sour cream |
| Wednesday | Sofritas salad with romaine, black beans, vinaigrette | Veggie tacos with pinto beans, guac, lettuce cups |
| Thursday | Steak taco salad with salsa | Chicken burrito with light rice, salsa, cheese |
| Friday | Barbacoa bowl with brown rice, fajita veggies, corn salsa | Carnitas salad with romaine, pico, guacamole |
Meal Prep Shopping List for Chipotle Order
To make your Chipotle meal prep order, grab this handy shopping list to customize and order meals for the week:
| Protein (Pick 2-3) | Veggies | Other Toppings |
|---|---|---|
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Grocery Shopping for Side Dishes
Since Chipotle meals are lighter on vegetables, you may want to supplement your meal prep with some fresh grocery store side dishes and snacks like:
- Fruit – apples, bananas, berries
- Vegetables – bell peppers, carrots, celery, cucumber
- Yogurt
- Cheese sticks
- Hummus and pita chips
- Mixed nuts or trail mix
- Cottage cheese
- Hard boiled eggs
- Avocado
How to Store and Reheat Chipotle Meal Prep
To safely store and reheat your Chipotle meal prep:
- Let meals cool slightly before packing in reusable containers or food prep bags.
- Refrigerate within 2 hours at 40°F or colder.
- Store meals towards the back of the fridge where it’s coldest.
- Reheat refrigerated meals within 3-5 days.
- Frozen meals keep for 2-3 months. Thaw in fridge before reheating.
- Reheat meals to 165°F. Use microwave, oven, or stovetop.
- Avoid reheating meals more than once.
- Discard any leftovers after 4-5 days in fridge.
Meal Prep Tips
Here are some final tips for success when doing Chipotle meal prep:
- Order meals for the week on Sunday or prep day for freshest ingredients.
- Pack meals into individual reusable containers to reduce waste.
- Shake up your order each week to prevent boredom.
- Pair meals with healthy grocery store side dishes and snacks.
- Freeze extra burritos or bowls for a quick future meal.
- Utilize Chipotle’s nutrition calculator to plan lower calorie meals.
- Re-portion large burritos into multiple meals.
- Avoid adding sugary soda, chips, etc. to every meal.
Conclusion
While not as inexpensive or customizable as homemade meal prep, ordering meal prep from Chipotle can provide a convenient, healthy shortcut for your weekly meals. The key is choosing lower calorie, more nutritious options and combining it with fresh grocery items to round out your nutrition. With some planning and creativity, Chipotle meal prep can be an easy way to save time and eat healthier on busy work weeks.