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Iconic American surrealist comedian Mitch Hedberg famously joked, “I like rice. Rice is great when you’re hungry and you want 2,000 of something.” Indeed, rice is filling and cost-effective. Home cooks know this, and so do professional chefs — which is why, when folks order a burrito at a Mexican restaurant, there’s a good chance it’s stuffed mostly with rice. Many restaurants do this because rice is simply cheaper than other, even more desirable ingredients. In fact, the fast-casual burrito chain Chipotle has caught major backlash for this very practice.
A 2015 deep-dive published by The Wall Street Journal revealed that Chipotle employees were trained to scoop smaller portions of seven ingredients (steak, carnitas, barbacoa, chicken, cheese, guacamole, and sour cream) due to their higher food cost for the restaurant. Rice and beans, however, didn’t need to be measured as closely by employees and could be scooped more freely. Then, nearly a decade later in 2024, Forbes reported that “at least 10% of its locations were skimping on portion sizes after the company previously denied the claim.”
The confirmation from the CEO was followed by an unflattering social media trend in which customers filmed Chipotle employees assembling their burritos and posted the clips to verify that, indeed, the portions seemed smaller than normally anticipated. No más. To order like a pro at a Mexican restaurant, consider other offerings — like steak enchiladas or chorizo-loaded queso fundido — offer more protein and cheese proportional to filler ingredients like rice.
They’re delicious, but they’re mostly rice
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Depending on regional differences, some burritos don’t include rice at all. In California, Mission-style burritos typically do, while SoCal and Sonoran burritos do not. As a matter of preference, a Reddit poll asked foodies whether or not rice belongs in a burrito. In the responses, some adopted a utilitarian approach: “If you have a burrito with a lot of moisture inside the rice can help out a lot, but otherwise I tend to consider it a filler.” Others made a point that “a good burrito is a good burrito” whether there’s rice on it or not and that “jus a lil” is enough.
Beyond taking up available space for higher-cost ingredients like carnitas and guacamole, and thereby decreasing the menu item’s overall value for customers, excess rice can also Nerf an otherwise balanced burrito. Not unlike adding sour cream to a pot of chili, rice dampens and mutes the flavors of the other, bolder ingredients wrapped inside of the tortilla. But, ultimately, if you really want a burrito, you should order one. Burritos somehow always taste better at a restaurant than the ones we make at home — just maybe consider ordering it without the rice.
With the flavorful blend of cumin, garlic, tomato, onion, and other spices, most people are thrilled to see a fluffy pile of Mexican rice on the platter beside their chimichangas. But, it belongs on the side. As an entree or inside of your burrito, there are higher-value items on the Mexican restaurant menu to get for your money — and 14 more foods that you may want to skip entirely.
Dining and Cooking