How Many Pounds Of Avocado Chipotle Goes Through In A Year

In our humble opinion, no rice bowl or burrito at Chipotle is complete without adding on guac. While it might add a little extra to the check, this topping truly ties the whole meal together. But did you know that just a single batch of the chain's guac uses a whopping 84 avocados? Pair this with over 4,000 global locations plus a fervently loyal fan base, and you're left with an astonishing amount of avocados used per year — around 100 million pounds, to be exact (per Chipotle).

One fun fact is that you'll never find a freezer at these chain restaurants. Rather than rely on a pre-made mix, Chipotle prepares fresh batches of guacamole every morning. The recipe uses six simple ingredients: avocados (duh), lime juice, chopped cilantro, diced red onion, jalapeños, and kosher salt. People can't get enough of the stuff, and with guac being one of the chain's most popular items, many branches have no choice but to prepare multiple batches to meet demand.

On Reddit, one self-identified employee revealed that their team would make four to five batches of guacamole every the morning, "then you check the guacamole levels at about 2-3 pm and see if you need to make more. Usually we would make one or two more batches of guacamole so the night crew doesn't run out." That's around seven batches per day, which equates to roughly 588 avocados for just one store. It's no surprise, then, that according to a 2016 Chipotle press release, a single location goes through approximately 44,000 pounds of avocados annually.

There are many different avocado varieties out there, but Chipotle sticks to just one well-known kind for its guac: Hass. You've probably seen this type in the produce section of your grocery store, and that's no mere coincidence. Hass is the most consumed and traded avocado variety worldwide by an enormous margin. Its thick skin and long shelf life make it easy to transport and sell, while its smooth, creamy texture and delicious flavor makes it a natural fit for guacamole. Showing how the chain achieves the perfect balance of chunky and smooth, Chipotle's former executive chef Chad Brauze took to Instagram to share the restaurant's method of using a large whisk instead of a fork to mash the avocado halves. Brauze also detailed some of his own tricks to make Chipotle's guacamole even better.

You might expect that U.S. Chipotle locations source their avocados from California, which (according to World Population Review) produces approximately 90% of the nation's avocados, including the majority of Hass avocados. While these numbers are certainly impressive, they pale in comparison to California's southern neighbor, Mexico, whose avocados reportedly account for 90% of all those consumed in the U.S. (per CNBC). Chipotle is no exception to this, and in 2025 Chipotle's CEO told CNBC that roughly 50% of its avocados were sourced from Mexico, with California remaining a key supplier.

Mexico's stats used to be higher, but by 2025, Chipotle had spent seven years looking for other countries to add to its avocado supply chain. Naturally, equatorial nations where avocado farms thrive — like Brazil, Guatemala, Peru, and the Dominican Republic — were added to the rolodex. Chipotle also has plans to add Honduras and El Salvador into the mix.