Burritos have a lot of calories. That’s not exactly “news at eleven,” but even the most calorie-conscious among us would be surprised by how quickly the numbers add up between the flour-tortilla folds. Sure, we could cut out the shredded cheese and even the tortilla itself and save a few calories, but that’d be ignoring one important fact—life is short. Too short, in my opinion, to waste it worrying about the occasional foil-wrapped indulgence. (Unless “occasional” means multiple times a week, in which case you probably don’t give a flying fiesta bowl about calorie counts.)When it comes to burritos, I say go big or go home. And at these Mexican fast-food chains, it’s hard to do otherwise.
Qdoba
Qdoba lets patrons build their own burritos, offering a plethora of meat, bean, and sauce options. So, what if you order ground beef on a flour tortilla with cilantro-lime rice, black beans, lettuce, sour cream, cheese, guacamole, and roasted chile corn salsa and top it with 3-Cheese Queso sauce? Photo: zarprey (cc)
Oddly enough, if you replace the cheese sauce with Ancho Chile BBQ, it’s only a ten-calorie difference.
The Green Burrito (Carl’s Jr.)
Its One Pound burritos are the most caloric items in the group, but the Ground Beef version—with sour cream, guacamole, lettuce, rice, refried beans, hot sauce, salsa, and jack and cheddar cheeses—outdoes the rest.
Somehow, the same thing at Red Burrito (the East Coast’s Carl’s Jr. outpost) clocks in at only 840 calories.
Chipotle
Like at Qdoba, diners can customize burritos. For example, you could get a flour tortilla filled with carnitas, cilantro-lime rice, pinto beans, corn salsa, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, and romaine.
Replacing the tortilla with three crispy taco shells actually loses 110 calories! Or you could also cut out the lettuce and save five. Every effort counts, right? Photo: Skeptict
Taco Del Mar
The Mondo Burrito has ground beef, refried beans, rice, salsa, and cheese. Sounds basic, but it packs a shockingly salty punch.
Calories: 1,070; Total Fat: 36 g; Saturated Fat: 12.5; Sodium: 2,560 mg
Baja Fresh
You’d think the pork carnitas Bean & Cheese burrito would be the worst health offender, but charbroiled steak Bean & Cheese takes the cake.
Breaded fish Bean & Cheese has the same amount of calories, but surprisingly, it boasts fewer grams of fat and significantly less salt.
