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Helpful tips for eating gluten-free at Chipotle

By • Oct 17, 2010 • Restaurants, Reviews • 8 Comments

Chipotle has long been a favorite of many newly diagnosed celiacs for their seemingly celiac friendly menu. According to Chipotle, everything on the menu with the exception of the flour tortillas is naturally gluten-free. They do recommend skipping the lettuce and the cheese as it is handled by gloved hand along with the flour tortillas increasing the risk of contamination. They also recommend being cautious of the red tomatillo salsa as it contains distilled vinegar. Lastly, they warned that it’s possible that their corn may have a small amount of gluten from potentially co-mingling with gluten-containing grains in the field.

So with no lettuce, no cheese, no red tomatillo salsa, no corn, and no flour tortillas, what is a celiac to eat at Chipotle? The answer is that there are still quite a few ingredients that are available to make up a reasonably satisfying meal. You can still eat any of the meats, pinto beans, black beans, rice, fresh cut tomatoes, Tomatillo Green-Chili Salsa, fajita vegetables, and of course the guacamole. This sounds like the makings of a pretty good meal if you ask me.

Also, in an effort to clear up some misinformation out there, none of their meats are marinated in soy sauce (soy sauce contains wheat), this has been a rumor that has been floating around on more than a few Websites and is not true according to Chipotle.

For a restaurant that does not offer a gluten-free menu, Chipotle does have a menu that can be adapted to the needs of a celiac quite easily. Options abound and the risks for cross contamination are relatively minimal (but still possible). On top of that, their commitment to sustainably raised food and locally sourced produce makes them a far better option than most other fast food restaurants. While a lot of the sustainability talk is most likely marketing language used in their advertising — if it’s happening at all — it’s definitely better than what most of their competitors are doing.

Have you had a good (or bad) experience at Chipotle? I’d love to hear more from celiacs who have been successful (or not) with Chipotle.

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About Chris

After over a decade of troubling symptoms that finally led to a diagnosis of celiac disease in 1999, the Celiac Handbook website was created in an effort to streamline the process of finding relevant information regarding celiac disease and the gluten-free diet.
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  • http://glutenfreesteve.wordpress.com glutenfreesteve

    Chipotle is one of my standbys for quick, easy, safe and yummy gf meals. Their chips and guac are the best.

    • Unhappy Customer

      Thats false because these people made me sick from their food and it took them for ever to find out what food I could eat. This store is a scam!

  • avery

    Had a terrible experience with Chipotle – they are insensitive and tell you there is no cross-contamination when I saw it right in front of me.

    • Unhappy Customer

      I went with high hopes to the Boca Raton restaurant. They clearly do not understand gluten free. I spoke with the manager and he didn’t even understand what I was asking for. I watched as the employees touched the serving spoon on flour tortillas and then back into every ingredient. It is such a shame! They have no business advertising gluten free options with even the manager having no basic understanding.

  • Rjrenneck

    Went to 2 different outlets within a mile of each other (in Toronto) and had 2 completely different experiences…first was great (employee knew to change gloves and get new ladles), while at other one I had to keep hopping up and yelling over the sneeze guard that I was allergic to flour, that handling corn tacos BEFORE changing gloves meant I’d need a new bowl of tacos, etc. Clearly it’s all about education – would think a new employee orientation would touch on the most common food allergies, seeing as it is a place that serves food! I think it’s time I printed some gluten allergy “business cards” to bring along, although I suspect the surly woman here who looked at me like I had 3 heads wouldn’t bother reading it…

  • http://www.facebook.com/andrea.zimmerman.77 Andrea Zimmerman

    Sorry to ruin the party, but don’t get too excited about Chipotle
    being gluten free. We went to the one in Little Rock yesterday. Most of the workers there had no idea what gluten was. One guy was very knowledgeable. That was our first clue. We
    watched them make a flour tortilla burrito for someone else. The flour
    tortillas are plopped down right next to the ingredients. The guy making
    the meal touched the tortillas, then touched the serving spoons for
    various ingredients. Once in a while, a spoon would touch the tortilla
    before going back into the bin. And finally, there were a couple of
    times that too much of an ingredient was put on the tortilla, so he put
    some of it back in the bin. All in all, the risk of cross-contamination
    here cannot be ignored. We were very disappointed. Hopefully they can do
    something to improve the situation in the future.
     

  • Gluten Free

    Don’t eat here! They cook the corn tortillas with the floor ones, that’s fucked up! I had to ask for the employee to change their gloves. It’s all a mad world, it’s you want to throw up and enjoy your cramps then viva chipoltle!

    • http://www.celiachandbook.com Chris Armstrong

      Always good to just avoid the tortillas entirely. Stick with their bowls.