Beef Barbacoa Quesadilla

What Chipotle says it is

Chipotle’s own quesadilla page says: “We start with a warm flour tortilla, your choice of Adobo Chicken, Steak, Beef Barbacoa, Carnitas, Plant-Based Sofritas, or Fajita Veggies, then layered with Real Monterey Jack Cheese and folded before being pressed until golden and crisp.” “Every Chipotle Quesadilla comes with your choice of three sides.” It is a digital order: “The Quesadilla is a digital-only menu item at Chipotle, meaning you can order it exclusively through the Chipotle app or website for pickup or delivery.”

On the protein, Chipotle’s ingredients page says of the beef: “Our steak and Barbacoa always start with Responsibly Raised beef. Then, we achieve tenderness in two ways. First, we cook it sous vide, which locks in moisture by heating the beef at a precise, low temperature for a looong time. Then we marinate it overnight in our smoky, spicy chipotle pepper adobo, and finish it on the grill (for steak) or add aromatic spices like oregano, cloves, and bay leaf, braise it slowly at a low temperature until it’s mouthwateringly tender, then shred it by hand (for Barbacoa). Sorry, is our beef-geek showing?” The statement for the barbacoa names eleven ingredients: Bay Leaf, Beef, Black Pepper, Chipotle Chili, Cloves, Cumin, Garlic, Oregano, Salt, High Oleic Sunflower Oil and Water.

The Beef Barbacoa Quesadilla was listed at 367 of the 368 restaurants read, in 48 states and DC on 25 September 2026. That makes it a core item, on 367 of the 368 open menus read. Six of those menus marked it unavailable on the read day: a quesadilla is made on the digital line, and the menu marks it off where that line is off.

Why the listing and the build differ

The ordering menu lists the Beef Barbacoa Quesadilla at 170 calories. That figure is the 4 oz of barbacoa alone: the tortilla, the rice, the beans, the salsas and the toppings are chosen on the line and are not in it. This site prints that figure as the listing and never as the meal.

The classic build on this page comes to 1,035 calories: Barbacoa (170 calories), Flour Tortilla (burrito) (320 calories), Monterey Jack Cheese (in a quesadilla, 3 oz) (330 calories), Fresh Tomato Salsa (25 calories), Sour Cream (110 calories) and Roasted Chili-Corn Salsa (80 calories). The other reference builds: light at 865 calories and loaded at 1,500 calories.

Protein runs 55 g across the classic build, 5.3 g per 100 calories, and sodium 2,610 mg, 113 percent of the 2,300 mg the FDA uses as the daily value. Press any part in the build above and the bars redraw from that part’s own record.

What the price buys

A median of $12.35 for pickup, from a low of $11.00 to a high of $14.65 at the 367 restaurants that listed it, read on 25 September 2026. The same menus carry Chipotle’s own delivery price: $16.05 at the median, 30 percent above pickup, before the service fees the checkout adds. It is the dearest of the seven quesadillas on the board at the median, level with Steak Quesadilla; the cheapest is the Cheese Only Quesadilla at $10.35. The barbacoa premium over chicken is $2.00 at the median on this format.

The cheapest state median on the read date was Kansas at $11.72, the dearest New York at $13.70. A state median stands on eight restaurants at most, so one dear or cheap restaurant moves it; the national range is the safer figure. Pick a state at the top of the page and every price on this site prints that state’s median.

The priced add-ons on a quesadilla: Guacamole $2.95 at the median ($2.85 to $3.20, 367 restaurants), Queso Blanco $2.95 at the median ($2.85 to $3.20, 367 restaurants) and Cilantro Lime Sauce $1.50 at the median ($1.50 to $1.50, 367 restaurants). So the classic build on this page stands at $12.35 and the loaded build at $15.30, the entree plus $2.95 of add-ons at the national medians.

The figures against a day

Against a 2,000 calorie day, the listed 4 oz of barbacoa is 8 percent of the calories and 23 percent of the sodium daily value. It carries 24 g of protein, 14.1 g per 100 calories, and 2.5 g of saturated fat (12 percent of the daily value). Cholesterol, which the calculator does not print, is 65 mg on the printed sheet’s row for the same portion.

The classic build is 52 percent of a 2,000 calorie day and 113 percent of the sodium daily value, which is to say more sodium than a day. Carbohydrate runs 77 g with 8 g of fiber (29 percent of the 28 g daily value); fat 50.5 g, of which 25 g saturated.

Allergens and diets on this order

Chipotle’s allergens and special diets chart has a row for Barbacoa: it contains none of the four chart allergens (dairy, soy, wheat and gluten, sulphites); the row marks it keto and paleo. The classic build on this page contains wheat and gluten, sulphites and dairy, by the rows for its parts; it is not vegetarian (Barbacoa rules it out).

On the tortilla the brand is plain: “If you avoid gluten, don’t eat our flour tortillas. If you are highly sensitive to gluten and would like us to change our gloves, just let us know at the start of your order.” Every row on the chart carries the same two cautions: “Individual foods may come into contact with one another during preparation, which is not reflected on this chart.” “Although we do not use eggs, mustard, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, shellfish, or fish as ingredients in our food, Chipotle cannot guarantee the complete absence of these allergens in its restaurants.”

Where else the protein turns up

The same protein feeds the Family Meal - Beef Barbacoa, $64.00 at the median for four to six people, $16.00 a head at four. For a child, the Beef Barbacoa Kid’s Build Your Own is $5.70 and Beef Barbacoa Kid’s Quesadilla is $5.20 at their medians. The same protein in the other formats: Beef Barbacoa Burrito at $11.80, Beef Barbacoa Bowl at $11.80, Beef Barbacoa Salad at $11.80 and Beef Barbacoa Tacos (3) at $11.80.

Guides and comparisons that mention it

• National Quesadilla Day at Chipotle: the offer
• How many calories are in a Chipotle quesadilla?
• Does Chipotle still have the Quesarito?
• Price change log
• Protein ranking