14 Hacks For Ordering At Chipotle Everyone Should Know

If you intend to eat at Chipotle, adopt the hacks customers have discovered to get the best out of the experience. For the most part, the ordering tricks are about how to stretch your dollar a little further. If you order creatively, you can end up with large quantities of food and free ingredients. But that's not all; other hacks can help you customize food items to your tastes and prevent you from waiting in long lines.

Once you know what's possible, you can use a few of these tricks to craft an order that makes sense for your meal preferences. Granted, we found some hacks that no longer work because Chipotle realized people were gaming the system. For example, you could once order a taco with the tortilla or shell on the side to get a cheaper Burrito Bowl, but now, the two menu items cost the same. Abusing these hacks might ruin it for everyone. So, hack wisely and conservatively for the best results. 

Before getting started with a Chipotle order, we urge you to research promotions and rewards. There's always something, so not taking advantage of available deals will rob you of potential savings. To find Chipotle promotions, the best thing to do is search online — type the current year and scan for deals. For example, you might find a promo code allowing customers to get free chips and guacamole or queso with an order of three entrées or more. There's also the Boorito celebration — customers get free food when they place an order while wearing a Halloween costume. 

The often-downloaded Chipotle Rewards program is one of the best for saving money. So always check the Rewards section of your app to see if you have a free reward. Keep in mind that some promotions are only available for Rewards Members. Regardless, the good news is that you can save reward points to earn free menu items, some of which are entrées.

One hack that Chipotle customers have found is ordering a Burrito Bowl with a tortilla on the side. It's like getting two items in one, but it's a cheap add-on since including a tortilla with your order only costs around $0.50. One of the huge tortillas that Chipotle sells is 320 calories. It provides substantial energy, and you can enjoy it with any leftovers from your bowl. 

Plus, since a bowl holds more ingredients than a taco or a burrito, you can use it to stretch your budget or share the meal. Of course, some people just get a tortilla because they can't decide between a burrito and a bowl and want the best of both worlds. Whatever your reason, it's a cheap way to get more bang for your buck out of a Burrito Bowl.

One Chipotle ordering hack that's especially popular is to get a half-and-half order of two types of meat. This hack generally provides you with more meat than you would normally get. Customers on social media have reported that employees usually do half scoops that are more than standard. Put two overfilled half scoops together, and you get more meat than you would with one full scoop — sometimes closer to two. 

It's not an exact science, but it works most of the time. Plus, you will get to enjoy more than one meat type with your order. Keep in mind that if you go halfsies on your meat order, you're going to get charged for the most expensive meat on the menu. So, don't think you'll get beef barbacoa and chicken for the price of the latter. That's not the way this hack works.

One of the most important things to know if you're trying to get the most bang for your buck is that there are several toppings you can order more of without an upcharge. So ask for extra if you want to increase the bulk of your order. You can request additional menu items that aren't meat or premium ingredients. Surprisingly, ordering extra rice, beans, and cheese doesn't cost more money. They provide lots of extra bulk and protein for your meal. 

Ordering extra veggies doesn't trigger an upcharge, either. Go ahead and request more fajita veggies, lettuce, or fresh veggie salsas. Additionally, extra salsa or even sour cream won't add an extra charge to your meal. A few premium items tend to cost more unless you've found a special deal. For example, getting guacamole or queso usually incurs an upcharge, and asking for more could result in a double charge. Be careful about those two. Also, be aware that if the server can't close the lid on your bowl, they may charge you for the cost of two bowls.

While there are good reasons for ordering online or with the app, you're more likely to get a better-created entrée if you do so in person. If not, the entrée creator will likely skimp on your order. The benefit of ordering in person is that you have a higher chance of getting a service worth revisiting Chipotle for. Additionally, you'll have the opportunity to examine the food while it's being prepared for you and make requests. 

As we mentioned earlier, you can ask for several ingredients without incurring an upcharge. When you're ordering digitally, there's not an option to ask for more. However, when you visit Chipotle in person, you can ask for just a little more of this or that, greatly increasing the bulk and value of your food. Plus, ordering in person allows you to enact some hacks, like the one we mentioned for getting two types of meat.

One ordering hack you might not have known about is being able to order any item on the menu on the side. This opens up a variety of possibilities that require a little creativity to benefit from. There are multiple reasons to order items on the side. For example, it's great for picky eaters who just want a couple of items or those who don't like their ingredients to touch. 

Getting items on the side also opens up some dipping possibilities for your chips beyond salsa, guacamole, and queso. You could load your chips with toppings like beans, meat, sour cream, or fajita veggies. Plus, some customers on social media have reported ordering all taco toppings on the side to avoid taking home soggy tacos. 

When the person taking your order at Chipotle asks the type of salsa you want, don't consider it a limitation. While it may seem like you can only get one, request as many as possible or even all. Different salsas offer something unique. The two chunky ones provide extra ingredients: Roasted chili-corn salsa contains corn, onions, peppers, and cilantro, while fresh tomato salsa features large tomatoes, onions, and cilantro. Meanwhile, the two liquid ones add an extra layer of flavor, with Tomatillo-Green Chili Salsa and Tomatillo-Red Chili Salsa contributing tartness.

There's no reason you can't get the entire roster to add fresh corn, peppers, onions, cilantro, and two types of tomatillo salsa to whichever entrée you order. However, you'll want to remember that combined, they add 150 calories and could make your entrée soupier. Additionally, too much salsa often leaks out of burritos.

If you're on a budget or watching your calorie intake, buying off the kids' menu might be a good choice. It's especially a good option if you're eyeing the most expensive meat option. One hack is to order two Kid's Build Your Own meals. The price is the same regardless of which meat you order. Ordering two meals provides you with four tacos. However, if you order one taco off the regular menu, you only get three.

Additionally, ordering the most expensive meat for your tacos on the regular menu will cost you more. Something else to note is that the kids' meal comes with a kid-sized portion of chips, fruit, and a small drink. So, you're really getting a good deal, even if you opt for one of the less expensive meats.

There is one caveat that might change your mind about trying this, though. You're only allowed one meat type and two toppings on a kids' menu taco (including salsas). On the other hand, you can choose one meat and up to five toppings for an adult taco. So, you'll have to decide which works best for what you want.

Guacamole is a premium add-on at Chipotle that costs nearly $3, which is why knowing how to get the free dip is such a great hack. One way to get free guacamole is to order vegan or vegetarian, while the other is to watch for promotions and Chipotle Rewards that offer free guac.

If you order your entrée without meat or a meat alternative, you automatically qualify for free guacamole. You can see this more easily on the app, where you can choose from meat, sofritas (a plant-based protein), or veggies. The veggie choice gives you guacamole instead of meat or sofritas. With all that yummy guacamole and all the other ingredients, you may not even miss the meat if you're not a vegetarian. And if you're with a vegetarian who doesn't want their free guacamole, ask for it on the side.

You'll also want to check special promotions and Chipotle Rewards offerings to get free guacamole. For example, we've seen a weekly contest where participants needed to look for a promo code on Instagram every Friday, and the first 1,000 customers to text the code would get free guac. There was another where, on Extra Sunday, Rewards members could use a special promo code to get free guacamole (or queso). Plus, you can use 500 reward points for guacamole at any time.

When Chipotle launched its mobile app in 2017, one of its claims was that it would help customers skip lines and shorten pickup wait times. Because there are so many online orders now, some locations even have a separate set of people putting together everything that comes through the website and app.

Even if you don't think about this hack right away, we've seen people on social media report that they've tried it after arriving at a crowded Chipotle during busy hours. Once they saw the long queue, they whipped out their phones and made the order — and it was ready before anyone ahead got their food. Even better, order before you get there. If there's no dedicated online order pickup area, you can go straight to the cashier and tell them you have an online order. If they haven't made it yet, they'll probably get started right away.

Who doesn't like free food? While we've mentioned a way to get free guacamole, getting a free entrée is even better. It turns out there are ways to get free Chipotle entrées by redeeming rewards points and looking for special promotions. To get free entrée with Chipotle Rewards, all you have to do is buy food at Chipotle. Every time you spend $1, you get 10 points you can collect until you have 1,625, which you can redeem for a free entrée. Yes, that means you have to spend $162.50 to earn that free entrée, but it's still free!                                        

You'll also want to keep your eyes open for random promotions offering a chance to win entrées. For example, in 2024, Chipotle launched an Unlock the Burrito Vault game on National Burrito Day that offered buy-one-get-one-free promo codes to the first 100,000 people who could figure out the vault code. Similarly, during the holidays, Chipotle often offers buy-one-get-one promo codes to customers who buy gift cards. If you want to stay in the loop about active promotions, sign up for Chipotle Rewards messages via email and text so you know what promotions are out there.

If you love meat and want more, try ordering it as a side instead of getting it on your entrée. One person on social media confirmed the validity of this hack after trying it. He noted that he sometimes got twice as much meat in the side container than in the Burrito Bowl.

Granted, people on social media report varying results at different locations when they order meat on the side. Some have even weighed it and been baffled by getting only 1½ to 2 ounces in one location and 4 to 5 ounces in another. So, it's not a perfect hack, but it might work, depending on which container employees are using for sides and how generous they're feeling. However, some people have found a way around this by asking for their sides to be placed in a bowl, which generally results in more meat.

There are no burritos that are more annoying than those that have pockets of ingredients rather than an even distribution of filling items, which is why you need to ask the server to mix your burrito fillings. So, if the server adds blobs of ingredients in such a way that the meat is in one spot and the sour cream is in another, you know what to do.

Some burrito chains like Pancheros pride themselves on serving burritos that are mixed in such a way that every bite is perfect because it contains a little bit of everything. While this isn't a normal service Chipotle provides, it's certainly something you can request if you order in person. Just ask them to mix everything before they start wrapping the burrito. When you finally take a bite, you won't be forced to taste individual ingredients since they will all be swirled together in sweet synchronicity.

While not a sure thing, there's a possibility you might be able to hack the menu to get a lettuce wrap. There are many reasons you might want a lettuce-wrapped burrito. For one, it's a way to avoid wheat if you are sensitive to it. For another, a large tortilla is 320 calories, which eats many of the calories you might have allotted for the day. And sometimes you just want the pleasure of eating your food as a burrito, not as a bowl.

A Chipotle employee posted a photo on social media of her successful attempt at making a burrito using really large lettuce. She made sure to use a lot of lettuce around the bottom and wrapped the whole thing in foil to keep it together. While we're not 100% sure you can get this, it wouldn't hurt to request it be made for you. If nothing else, you could get a Burrito Bowl and ask for extra large, unshredded lettuce instead of a lettuce topping. Then, request a burrito foil wrapper and try making it yourself.