Chipotle's Salads Have A Major Issue. Here's How To Solve It

Chipotle's fast casual salads are a hearty, nutrient-rich option that can often have enough leftovers to comprise a whole extra meal. However, the real issue is preventing sogginess long enough to enjoy them again. Fortunately, a few tweaks to your order can help preserve the integrity of your dish.

The easiest way to do this is by asking an employee to add your lettuce last, on top of the bowl. While the juice from salsa, meat, and beans may taste amazing, many of these ingredients contain salt, which might be why your salad grows soggy. This goes double if you opt for a vinegar-based dressing because acid breaks down cell walls, speeding the process along even further. If you plan on enjoying the rest of your meal later, the key is to let only the lettuce you'll eat right away come in contact with any seasonings.

Drier meats and ingredients like Chipotle's chopped chicken, peppers, and onions are especially good choices for a salad since they don't have much excess moisture. Still, if you prefer wet ingredients like barbacoa or carnitas, feel free to ask the employee to "drain" them a bit. If you are a diehard enthusiast for that juice, though, you can also ask them to simply store the meat in a separate container, allowing you to reheat it later without warming up your lettuce. Similarly, you could ask the employee to keep the lettuce separate, so you can add it later.

Where and how you store your salad plays a major role in its long term integrity. While a ticking clock starts the moment moisture touches the lettuce, you can extend its freshness by a day or two with the right tricks.

All that trapped heat and steam from your ingredients contributes to lettuce wilting, so be sure it's cooled completely before affixing the lid and putting it all in the fridge. That steam can also build condensation along the aluminum lid, essentially dousing your greens in unnecessary water. If you plan on eating the rest of your salad the same day, capitalize on a fridge's cold, dry air by leaving a small gap between the lid and the bowl. This helps evaporate some excess moisture, retaining all the flavor while further reducing the chance of sogginess.

If your salad might be sitting in the fridge for a day or two, you might want to consider putting it in a different bowl. Chipotle bowl bottoms are made of plant fibers, which can quickly grow soggy. This creates a worst-of-both-worlds situation, letting your meal sit in a wet environment while also stealing all the flavorful juices and dressings. Also, remember that lettuce is quite prone to frostbite, so the best place to store salad is on the topmost shelf close to the door — where warmer, but still quite cold, air circulates.