Food & Drink

Chipotle debuts limited-time carne asada option to menu

There’s a new protein in town.

On Tuesday, Chipotle Mexican Grill’s menu expanded to include carne asada for a limited time.

The thin, stripped steak cut will cost 50 cents more than the current, cubed steak Chipotle has long offered.

The 6 million members of Chipotle’s loyalty program, which launched in March, will get a first taste of the new meat on Tuesday. On Thursday, it’ll become available to all customers nationwide, while supplies last.

The fast food chain teased the special menu option in July, when its CEO Brian Niccol mentioned it on an earnings call.

It’ll be its first new protein since 2016, when it added chorizo — so, a big deal in the burrito world.

“This is the start of many things to come,” Stephanie Perdue, Chipotle’s vice president of marketing, told CNBC.

After carne asada is fully rolled out, queso blanco looks to be the next Chipotle menu item. The white cheese dip has been available since July in certain testing markets, including Detroit, Dallas and San Diego, CNBC reports.