Chipotle uses a blend of two main types of cheese in its offerings:
- Monterey Jack Cheese : This is the primary shredded cheese served on menu items like burritos and bowls. Monterey Jack is a semi-hard cheese known for its mild, buttery flavor with subtle tanginess, making it ideal for melting and complementing the bold flavors of Mexican-inspired dishes. Chipotle sources its Monterey Jack from Meister Cheese in Wisconsin and Petaluma Creamery in California, both of which adhere to Chipotle's standards for pasture-raised cows without artificial hormones or unnecessary antibiotics
- White Cheddar Cheese : While not offered as a shredded topping on its own, white cheddar is used alongside Monterey Jack in Chipotle’s queso blanco dip. The white cheddar used is aged, providing a sharper, tangier flavor that balances the creaminess of the Monterey Jack in the queso. White cheddar is essentially cheddar without the orange coloring (annatto) and adds complexity to the queso’s flavor profile
In summary, the shredded cheese topping at Chipotle is Monterey Jack, and their queso dip is made from a blend of Monterey Jack and aged white cheddar cheeses, combined with milk and spices to create a creamy, flavorful cheese sauce
