Burrito bowls for a family of 4 costs $50? Might as well just order Chipotle next time, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m trying hard to see how OP spent $50. Here’s a rough budget:

2 avocados - $3
2 cans beans — $3
Rice — $1
Tomatos — $2
Onion$1
Salsa $5
Lime $1
Chicken, 2.5 pounds $21

That’s like $37– maybe a little more if you use skirt steak. If you’re paying more for organic of course you can’t really compare that to chipotle prices.

I do think between 5-10 pp is reasonable budget for make at home burrito bowls. Restaurants will get some economy of scale, certainly. (There’s an SNL skit about Arby’s where they are wondering how Arby’s can make that big meat sandwich for $5.). If you buy the massive meat packs at Costco or Walmart and separate them out, you can save money. Same with buying big bags of dried beans instead of canned beans. Even the six pack of avocados at Costco saved a bunch of money.

This is all one reason why I never feel bad about buying a $15 salad at Chopt. It would be pretty expensive to buy all those items and it would take me for ever to separately prepare the 15 different things I put into the salad. So I feel like it’s a good value for me. Unlike the burgers at 5 guys which I could make easily in 10 minutes for half the price. Fast food that has a lot of elements in it is labor intensive and makes sense to do at scale by a fast food restaurant.

You came close enough, some of your items seem to be on sale, plus herbs and spices. Chipotle x 4 bowls (no drinks, no chips) is also right around $50.

[Anonymous]

Here is what we do:

-I make pot of slow cooked beans (dried beans) seasoned with onion, cumin, garlic $3

-rice $4

- 1 pack chicken thighs, seasoned and grilled $5

- 1 jar Trader Joe’s salsa authenica $3

- 2 avocados $4

- cilantro and lime $3

- block of chihuahua cheese $5

This is $27. It will feed my family of 5 dinner, plus the ingredients bought go toward other meals.

[Anonymous]

I see no one knows how to make good guac. It's not just lime, avocado and cilantro.

A really good guac costs me nearly $10 (just priced it at Wegmans) in ingredients using three avocados.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I see no one knows how to make good guac. It's not just lime, avocado and cilantro.

A really good guac costs me nearly $10 (just priced it at Wegmans) in ingredients using three avocados.

So then why don’t you post how to make it instead of just commenting that no one know how to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here is what we do:

-I make pot of slow cooked beans (dried beans) seasoned with onion, cumin, garlic $3

-rice $4

- 1 pack chicken thighs, seasoned and grilled $5

- 1 jar Trader Joe’s salsa authenica $3

- 2 avocados $4

- cilantro and lime $3

- block of chihuahua cheese $5

This is $27. It will feed my family of 5 dinner, plus the ingredients bought go toward other meals.

Just making your beans takes two days. One day to soak, one day to slow cook.

[Anonymous]

Assembly like food like chipotle is very efficient.

Most of what you made could easily be doubled for the same effort and similar cost, but you don't have double the people to eat it.

You could make leftovers for tomorrow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m trying hard to see how OP spent $50. Here’s a rough budget:

2 avocados - $3
2 cans beans — $3
Rice — $1
Tomatos — $2
Onion$1
Salsa $5
Lime $1
Chicken, 2.5 pounds $21

That’s like $37– maybe a little more if you use skirt steak. If you’re paying more for organic of course you can’t really compare that to chipotle prices.

I do think between 5-10 pp is reasonable budget for make at home burrito bowls. Restaurants will get some economy of scale, certainly. (There’s an SNL skit about Arby’s where they are wondering how Arby’s can make that big meat sandwich for $5.). If you buy the massive meat packs at Costco or Walmart and separate them out, you can save money. Same with buying big bags of dried beans instead of canned beans. Even the six pack of avocados at Costco saved a bunch of money.

This is all one reason why I never feel bad about buying a $15 salad at Chopt. It would be pretty expensive to buy all those items and it would take me for ever to separately prepare the 15 different things I put into the salad. So I feel like it’s a good value for me. Unlike the burgers at 5 guys which I could make easily in 10 minutes for half the price. Fast food that has a lot of elements in it is labor intensive and makes sense to do at scale by a fast food restaurant.

For burrito size?

2 avocados - $3
2 cans beans — $2
Rice — $0.50
Tomatos — $1
Onion $1
Salsa $2
Lime $1
Chicken, 1.5 pounds $15

$27

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I see no one knows how to make good guac. It's not just lime, avocado and cilantro.

A really good guac costs me nearly $10 (just priced it at Wegmans) in ingredients using three avocados.

You can make guacamole how ever you want. When we do burrito bowls, I don’t make it all rather just slice up fresh avocado.

But when I do make guacamole, I use smashed avocado and mix in finely chopped garlic, red onion, lots of cilantro, fresh lime and salt. That is how I like it. There is no “right” way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see no one knows how to make good guac. It's not just lime, avocado and cilantro.

A really good guac costs me nearly $10 (just priced it at Wegmans) in ingredients using three avocados.

You can make guacamole how ever you want. When we do burrito bowls, I don’t make it all rather just slice up fresh avocado.

But when I do make guacamole, I use smashed avocado and mix in finely chopped garlic, red onion, lots of cilantro, fresh lime and salt. That is how I like it. There is no “right” way.

Oh, and some finely minced jalapeños

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is what we do:

-I make pot of slow cooked beans (dried beans) seasoned with onion, cumin, garlic $3

-rice $4

- 1 pack chicken thighs, seasoned and grilled $5

- 1 jar Trader Joe’s salsa authenica $3

- 2 avocados $4

- cilantro and lime $3

- block of chihuahua cheese $5

This is $27. It will feed my family of 5 dinner, plus the ingredients bought go toward other meals.

Just making your beans takes two days. One day to soak, one day to slow cook.

They can soak overnight.

[Anonymous]

I don't understand how people are calculating how much meat costs. A serving of Chipotle meat is 4 ounces. There really 16 ounces in a pound.

Some weight is lost cooking the meat so let's say that is 25%. So you from a pound of meat (16 ounces) - 25 % (4 ounces) leaves you with 12 ounces of meat. So that serves 3 people.

So you can buy 1 pound of chicken and that is around 8-9 dollars for skinless boneless chicken breast. Steak is more expensive so that might be $12-14 a pound. So if you want a combo of meat and chicken you can get a pound of chicken and half a pound of steak for under $15.

Beans and rice are staples we buy in bulk. So that is onions, salsa, avocados left to buy.

That isn't $50 for 4 dollars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here is what we do:

-I make pot of slow cooked beans (dried beans) seasoned with onion, cumin, garlic $3

-rice $4

- 1 pack chicken thighs, seasoned and grilled $5

- 1 jar Trader Joe’s salsa authenica $3

- 2 avocados $4

- cilantro and lime $3

- block of chihuahua cheese $5

This is $27. It will feed my family of 5 dinner, plus the ingredients bought go toward other meals.

Chipotle offers three more meat options, three more salsa options, one more bean option, sour cream, sauteed onions & peppers, and salad, so your $27 is for a meal that's not exactly apples to apples for a family of 5. I also question a family of 5 using only 2 avocados. If you're being honest and your kids and husband love it, 50% savings is noteworthy. Chipotle for 5 is probably $60.

[Anonymous]

I wonder where OP shops for grocery items. It would be a lot less than OP's number if at Lidl or Aldi.

[Anonymous]

A lot of the time if you make something starting from zero, and have absolutely none of the ingredients on hand, it costs more than single serving takeout. Cooking being cheaper in part relies on having a stocked kitchen and using ingredients for multiple meals. Like, we always have rice, dried beans, and spices on hand, and usually at least a jar of one salsa in the fridge or cupboard. Buying multiple salsas and then not eating them is very weird to me.

I would never make multiple meats for one meal, either! If I were doing something like that, we'd be having steak tacos with one salsa one night, chicken nachos with guac and another salsa another night, bean and cheese burritos, etc. For the ingredients OP bought, plus a pack of tortillas, we'd eat for several meals.

[Anonymous]

This reminds me of a time that my friend wanted to make pad Thai at home. It was so many ingredients and so much time to make it. Never again.