Recently a lot of TikTokers have started promoting Chipotle Catering as an efficient meal prep lifehack. Basically you bulk order a bunch of pre-made Chipotle dishes, assemble them and stick them in your freezer—but this idea definitely has some detractors, partly due to Chipotle’s prices.
In a viral TikTok captioned “Im sorry for hurting your feelings,” TikToker @averybrynn1 argued that Chipotle Catering orders don’t actually save money, and you’re better off ordering ingredients elsewhere.
“Bestie I KNOW it sounds good to order Chipotle Catering for $130 ~meal prep~,” reads the TikTok text. “but bestie I promise: RICE, BEANS, LETTUCE, CHEESE, SOUR CREAM, SALSA are about $30 at the grocery store. For realz. So you’re basically paying $100 for meat. Granted, it’s very well seasoned meat, I respect that. But bestie that’s not a deal.”
@averybrynn1 Im sorry for hurting your feelings
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Commenters were divided on @averybrynn1’s argument, with some pointing out other potential problems with the Chipotle Catering “hack.” For instance: “chipotle will not serve their food 24 hrs after it’s made, neither should you.”
“Go to a Mexican butcher and buy the meat there,” agreed another commenter. “It’s already seasoned and usually they have good prices.”
However there are definitely some differing opinions on the appeal of this meal prep hack—and on the purpose of doing meal prep in the first place. Some people prepare a bunch of meals in advance to save money, but others are just trying to save time and/or avoid cooking. And while bulk-ordering a ton of Chipotle dishes may not be cheap, it’s a very efficient way to quickly obtain a lot of meals you know you’ll enjoy.
“y’all have to realize not everyone is poor,” reads the top comment on this TikTok. “If you make way more than $100 in the time it would take to shop and prep it’s worth it.” Others defended the tastiness of Chipotle’s own recipes, leaving comments like, “I can’t replicate the taste of their specific tortillas and their specific cilantro rice.”
@averybrynn1 makes some good points about the lifehack’s budgetary issues, but when you look at TikToks from people promoting the Chipotle Catering hack, you can tell they’re satisfied with what they’re getting. They’re getting 10 or 12 pre-prepared meals at once, which ultimately has a different appeal to going grocery shopping and assembling everything from scratch.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @averybrynn1 via email.
Update March 17, 7:43am CT: In an email, @averybrynn1 tells the Daily Dot: “We all love grabbing Chipotle as an overall healthy and filling meal, but I can’t imagine grabbing a 5 day old container of to-go food out of my refrigerator and being excited to dig in. However, people have different priorities, whether time management, financials…maybe they just really love Chipotle! They should have the freedom to do what works best for their lifestyle. Even if it’s 4 day old guacamole :)”