When choosing meat at Chipotle, some customers may be concerned about spiciness. For those who prefer milder flavors, the question arises: which Chipotle meat is the least spicy? To answer this, we need to look at the seasoning and spiciness levels of each meat option on the Chipotle menu.
Chipotle’s Meat Options
Chipotle offers four different meat choices: chicken, steak, barbacoa, and carnitas. Each is seasoned and prepared slightly differently.
- Chicken: Chipotle marinates and grills its chicken. The chicken is seasoned with a blend of spices including cumin, oregano, black pepper, and chipotle chili peppers.
- Steak: Chipotle’s steak is grilled and seasoned with black pepper and kosher salt.
- Barbacoa: Barbacoa is shredded beef seasoned with a blend of chipotle peppers, oregano, cumin, and other spices. It is braised until tender.
- Carnitas: Carnitas are braised pork that has been seasoned with bay leaves, garlic, and other spices. The pork is cooked until tender and shredded.
So which of these meat options has the mildest spice level? To determine this, we need to take a closer look at the specific spices used to season each meat.
Spiciness of Chipotle’s Meat Seasonings
Some of the main spices and chili peppers used to season Chipotle’s meats include:
- Chipotle chile pepper: Chipotle chiles are dried, smoked jalapeño peppers. They have a deep, earthy heat.
- Cumin: Cumin adds earthy, nutty, and smoky flavors. It adds more aroma than heat.
- Oregano: Oregano brings a woodsy, slightly bitter flavor but does not add significant spiciness.
- Black pepper: Black pepper adds some pungency but is not very hot.
- Bay leaves: Bay leaves have an herbal, slightly bitter taste. They do not bring heat.
- Kosher salt: Kosher salt seasons the food without adding spiciness.
Clearly the main spices bringing heat to Chipotle’s meat are chipotle chile pepper and to a lesser extent, black pepper. But each meat contains varying amounts of these spicy seasonings.
Chicken
Chicken contains chipotle chili pepper, which adds moderate heat. But it does not contain very much of it compared to some of the other meats. The additional spices like cumin, oregano, and black pepper add more flavor than heat.
Steak
Steak contains only black pepper and kosher salt. It does not contain any chipotle chili peppers. So the steak has just a touch of heat from the black peppercorns used to season it.
Barbacoa
Barbacoa contains a blend of chipotle chili peppers, adding moderate heat. It also contains spices like oregano and cumin that complement the chipotle flavor without significantly increasing the spiciness.
Carnitas
Carnitas do not contain any chipotle peppers. They are seasoned with bay leaves, garlic, and other spices that add flavor but no spiciness. Of all the Chipotle meats, carnitas contain the mildest spices.
The Least Spicy Chipotle Meat
Based on the seasonings used to flavor each meat, carnitas are the least spicy meat option at Chipotle. Here is a summary of the Chipotle meats from least spicy to most spicy:
| Meat | Heat Level |
|---|---|
| Carnitas | Very Mild |
| Steak | Mild |
| Chicken | Mild to Medium |
| Barbacoa | Medium |
Carnitas have no spicy peppers or pungent spices. The pork is simply seasoned with bay leaves, garlic, and other mild seasonings.
Steak gets a small kick from some black peppercorns but contains no spicy chili pepper flavors.
Chicken has a bit more heat from the addition of chipotle chili peppers, but it is still relatively mild compared to barbacoa.
Barbacoa contains the most pronounced chili pepper flavor thanks to the generous use of chipotle peppers in the seasoning blend.
Choosing the Right Meat
Those who are sensitive to spice should choose carnitas or steak at Chipotle. Both offer great flavor without much heat. Chicken has a bit more seasoning but is still on the milder end of the spice spectrum compared to other cuisines.
Those who want more bold, spicy Mexican flavors can opt for the barbacoa. But the chipotle chili peppers used to season the meat add a slow building heat rather than an intensely hot spiciness.
Keep in mind you can always add extra spice with Chipotle’s salsas and hot sauces. So starting with a milder meat as your base is a good approach if you want to control the heat level of your bowl or burrito.
Chipotle also offers sofritas, braised organic tofu that is seasoned with spices like cumin and chili powder. Since it contains some chipotle chili powder, sofritas fall around a medium level on the spiciness scale.
Other Factors that Influence Spiciness
It’s worth noting that the spiciness of Chipotle’s food can vary a bit across locations. Small differences in recipe execution and ingredient ratios from one restaurant to the next can lead to slight variations in spice levels.
The spiciness of some ingredients like chili peppers can also vary seasonally or from one harvest to the next. So there may be times when a normally mild dish comes across slightly spicier.
Conclusion
If you want to minimize spiciness when ordering at Chipotle, your safest bet is to choose carnitas or steak. Carnitas offer the mildest spicing, followed by steak. Chicken has mild to medium heat, while barbacoa is the spiciest of the meat options. You can always amp up the spice by adding more salsa or hot sauce. With a choice of four proteins and various spice levels, Chipotle offers great flexibility whether you prefer mild or sizzlingly hot.