Meet a potential new addition to the Chipotle family! In mid-February, the popular restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill began testing a new vegan menu item, Sofritas, at some of its San Francisco Bay Area locations. Sofritas are an aromatic and spicy blend of shredded tofu braised with chipotle chilies and roasted poblano chilies. Hodo Soy Beanery, Chipotle’s tofu provider, is also based in the Bay Area (Oakland) and has gained popularity at restaurants and other local venues for its artisanal methods of production and the high-quality organic and non-GMO tofu that results.
What’s the idea behind this new menu item? Steve Ells, Chipotle founder, chairman and co-CEO, states that
“[Sofritas were] really conceived with vegetarians and vegans in mind, but it’s so delicious that we believe it will have a broad appeal on taste alone.”
Chipotle already offers vegetarian and vegan-friendly options with their fajita vegetables, black beans, four types of salsa, and top-notch guacamole, but this would be the first “meaty,” protein-packed filling that is not animal-derived.
To find out first-hand how this appealing new product tastes, I recently made a trip to the Palo Alto Chipotle location—one of the seven restaurants currently offering Sofritas—with a non-vegan friend in tow. We decided to try the Sofritas in both a salad and traditional burrito format.
My first impression was that WOW, the Sofritas sure pack a kick! Spicy food lovers will appreciate the layers of chili and seasoning, which come through a bit more in the salad than burrito format. Both the spices and the chewy, dynamic texture of the Sofritas pair especially well with Chipotle’s rice and their divine guacamole (which I love, if you can’t tell!). Despite this, I must admit that the Sofritas did not totally hit a home run for my friend and I. We enjoyed its texture and spices, no doubt, but the flavors didn’t seem to be totally or evenly absorbed into the tofu. The result was a very strong initial chili taste, which then made way to a less flavorful, markedly salty base that kept me grabbing for my water. In addition, despite having the potential to act as an alternative/compliment to Chipotle’s “carne” offerings, the Sofritas are very finely shredded and therefore seem to act more like a topping or condiment, rather than the main event. This actually worked out quite nicely in my salad, but made the Sofritas harder to detect and appreciate in the burrito.
Chipotle is very good about providing ingredients and nutritional facts about their products to customers, and in terms of nutrition, the Sofritas stack up pretty well! A 4oz serving of Sofritas is less caloric than Chipotle’s equivalent meat offerings (145 vs. 170-190 calories), has significantly less saturated fat (1.5g vs. 6.5-8g), is free of cholesterol, and happens to be protein and fiber rich (10g and 3g, respectively). Each serving is, however, quite high in sodium (850mg), which explains why they made me so thirsty! As for the price, getting a Sofritas-filled meal costs the same amount as the cheapest entrees on the menu (Veggie and Chicken), so that’s a definite win.
Bottom Line? I find it admirable and exciting that a chain as popular as Chipotle is continuously and actively striving to appeal to a wider range of customers. Filling, fun, and distinct animal-free items like the Sofritas are definitely a welcome addition, and one that will hopefully encourage people to introduce more vegan items into their repertoire. For me, personally, Sofritas aren’t necessarily going to replace my typical order of Fajita Veggies, beans, and guacamole, but I can definitely see it being a hit for a lot of people, vegan and non-vegan. It’s also nice to know that if I’m ever craving yummy and convenient Mexican food bursting with chili flavor, my closest Chipotle will have a hot, fresh plate of it waiting for me!
If you happen to be or live in the Bay Area and would like to try Sofritas for yourself, the following locations are currently offering it:
- 525 Market in San Francisco
- 121 Fourth St. in San Francisco
- 126 New Montgomery in San Francisco
- 2019 Chess Drive in San Mateo
- 251 East 3rd Ave. in San Mateo
- 180 El Camino Real in Palo Alto (Stanford Mall)
- 135 El Camino Real in Millbrae
If you’d like to encourage Chipotle to keep the Sofritas and/or bring Sofritas to your area, please contact them and let your voice (and growling stomachs) be heard!
Thank you for this review! I would love to see Sofritas come to my local Chipotle to change things up a bit!
Just tried it at the Dublin location. For a post workout protein boost, I could see myself considering it. To be honest though, it just was not as good as my standard fajita veggies, brown rice, black beans and guacamole choice. The tofu is served in liquid, and I felt like it took away from the crispness of the fajita veggies and lettuce. Plus that salt! I don’t feel like my taste buds are incredibly different than a non vegans, and this was wayyyyy to salty. I had high hopes, but “sofritas” fell short for me.
Good to know Scott! I LOVE my beans, rice, and guac too 🙂
Can you share the actual nutrition facts? I can’t seem to find them anywhere.
I will ask Yifan if she has them…
Thanks Scott, looks like we shared similar core sentiments! I do appreciate when chains get creative with veg-friendly options but agree that this one might need a bit of tweaking (and less salt) to be a total home run. Curious to see what others think, too!
Hey there, thanks for reading! Here they are:
Size: 4oz
Calories: 145 (90 from fat)
Fat: 10g (1.5g saturated, 0g trans)
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 850mg
Carbs: 9.5g
Fiber: 3 g
Sugars: 4g
Protein: 10g
Sofritas actually debuted in 2010 and not 2013 which is probably when it arrived in San Francisco. When ordering the Chipotle Sofritas product recently at the nearest location where I’m located in Charlotte, NC an annoying factor I’ve noticed about the Sofritas product returned back to my mind and escalated into something I had to call Chipotle out on. Their Sofritas at all their locations are kept right next to the meat products which are also cooked on the same grill. The servers at the Chipotle location I visited yesterday in uptown Charlotte were in such a rush they absent mindedly spilled chicken into their Sofritas container right in front of me. I insisted they make an uncontaminated chicken free batch for me which they did gladly and gave me a free soda. And as they were making my Sofritas burritos, they carelessly brushed the tortilla against their over filled chicken container. I made them start over because of that and I complained about them via their website, Facebook and Twitter.
Given the fact that Chipotle isn’t known to be 100% Vegan friendly and their animal products are prepared on the same surfaces, I enter their locations accepting that understanding and I don’t mean to come across as a pretentious Vegan prick. However, when their products are carelessly handled and placed next to stuff I don’t care to consume, accidents like what occurred yesterday are waiting to happen and I must speak up.
I’m not the kind of Vegan thats 100% animal cruelty free. I just don’t like knowing I’m eating meat.
If you can relate to how I feel in any way shape or form, don’t hesitate to speak out. Chipotle cares. The location I was at immediately reacted to my complaints and relocated their Sofritas container away from the chicken.