A few weeks ago, Chipotle announced its latest offering. Now, you can order a “Build-Your-Own Chipotle” pack using the fast-casual dining chain’s online ordering platform. Billed as feeding four to six people, this is meant to be an option somewhere between ordering a la carte and getting catering. Well, being the diligent personal finance reporter that I am, I decided to try this new option out while my mother-in-law was in town to see how the value math works out.
First, let’s go through what you get with the Build-Your-Own Chipotle option. The pack includes:
- Choice of protein
- Choice of rice
- Choice of beans
- Cheese
- Lettuce
- 8 flour tortillas
- Choice of up to three salsas/sour cream
- 2 large bags of chips
- Large guacamole or large queso blanco
As for the price, that will depend on what protein you choose (and likely also which market your store is in). For us, the cheapest BYOC options are Chicken or Sofritas at $52. At our store, Carinitas is $58, Steak and Beef Barbacoa are $63, and the current limited-time protein, Carne Asada, is $71.
For our BYOC trial, we went with Chicken — not just because it was the cheapest but also because my mother-in-law can’t handle any spice (Carintas also could have been in the mix, then). Speaking of cost, I was able to take advantage of a $10 off coupon code that Chipotle offered as part of this feature’s launch. Alas, most of those savings went toward the tip the app invited me to give to their crew. This is, of course, optional… but I always feel compelled when prompted.
Unpacking our items, I was impressed with the packaging for each item. I also thought that there was a good amount of each, leading me to think that the “serves four to six people” estimate would be about right. There were also several serving spoons, which made it easy to set up a proper and hygienic assembly line.
One quirk is that the app said the tortillas were taco-sized. This seemed a bit weird to me — especially since there were only going to be eight of them and a single Chipotle order includes three tacos normally. In reality, though, we end up with full-sized tortillas, fit for burritos. I’m not sure what the discrepancy is about, but I’d suggest they make the adjustment on the menu so that this is clearer.
Anyway, on the day we ordered our BYOC, the three of us were each able to make a burrito and munch on chips. From there, the number of servings gets less formal. Nevertheless, I know that I personally ate two more full-sized burritos in the week that followed, while my wife had some bowls that were on the smaller side. I then took the rest of the ingredients that I would eat for a final half-sized burrito that was still as tasty as my first.
By the way, if you do plan on trying this BYOC pack but don’t intend on eating it all in one sitting, I do have a piece of advice for you. Although all of the burrito ingredients could be easily refrigerated to keep them tasting great, the plain paper bags they put the chips in really do nothing to stop them from going stale. Thus, I’d recommend moving them into something with a better seal — I definitely wish we’d done so.
Given my experience, we definitely got at least six servings from our order. In fact, for us, it was probably closer to eight, not even counting the chips and guac. In terms of value, if you were to purchase six Chicken burritos, you’d already spend $52. Then, adding on chips and guac, that’d be another $10. Yet, with this option, we got all of it for that $52 and had more to spare! I’ll also note that my leftovers reheated surprisingly well since I could warm it up with the burrito open (I wouldn’t dare try unraveling an already-built burrito).
So would I order Build-Your-Own Chipotle again? Definitely. Honestly, the burritos I had with this pack were on par or even better than the ones I get in-restaurant. Having said that, seeing as there are only two of us, we’d need to be prepared to eat a lot of Chipotle in a single week before ordering. Instead, we’ll probably wait until the next time we have a guest. Still, overall, I think this new option is worth a try.