Qdoba Mexican Eats is a popular fast casual restaurant chain that serves Mexican-inspired cuisine. One of Qdoba’s signature menu items is their tortilla chips and queso dip appetizer. Qdoba’s tortilla chips are freshly made in-house every day from corn masa flour. The chips are crisp, lightly salted, and perfect for scooping up the restaurant’s creamy queso dip. But exactly how many of these delicious tortilla chips are in a standard serving at Qdoba? Let’s take a closer look.
What is Considered a Serving?
A serving is a measured amount of food or drink that provides a reference for how much you are consuming. The serving size listed for a food product helps you understand the amount of calories, fat, sodium, sugar, or other nutrients you will get from eating or drinking that quantity. Serving sizes are especially useful for comparing similar products and monitoring portions.
For packaged foods, the serving size is listed on the Nutrition Facts label with the number of servings per container. But at restaurants, the serving sizes are not always clearly posted or standardized across menu items. Customers are often served large portions that contain multiple servings.
USDA Recommended Serving Sizes
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides recommended serving size guidelines for many common food items. However, the serving sizes are intended as suggestions, not requirements. Here are the USDA recommendations for some typical snack foods:
- Potato chips: 1 ounce or about 15 chips
- Pretzels: 1 ounce
- Tortilla chips: 1 ounce
- Popcorn: 3 cups
As you can see, the recommended serving size for tortilla chips is one ounce based on weight or around 15 chips. Of course, most people eat more than the suggested single serving amounts when snacking.
Qdoba’s Serving Sizes
So how does Qdoba’s tortilla chip serving measure up against the USDA recommendations?
Unfortunately, Qdoba does not provide any definitive serving size information for their tortilla chips on their online nutrition data. The calorie and nutrient counts are listed for their chips and queso appetizer combination, but there is no breakdown per serving.
After some digging, I was able to determine that a small order of chips and queso at Qdoba provides approximately 2 servings. A full size order contains around 4 servings.
Here are the details:
Small Chips & Queso
- 670 calories
- 2 servings per order
- 335 calories per serving
Regular Chips & Queso
- 1340 calories
- 4 servings per order
- 335 calories per serving
Based on this information, Qdoba’s tortilla chip serving size appears to be equivalent to their small chips and queso order, which contains about 2 servings.
Since the small chips and queso has 670 total calories, half of that is 335 calories per serving. Qdoba’s serving is over double the USDA recommended serving size of 150 calories for tortilla chips.
Serving Size Comparisons
To put Qdoba’s large 335 calorie tortilla chip serving into perspective, let’s compare it to serving sizes for chips at some other popular restaurants:
Chipotle
- Single serving side of chips: 140 calories
- Chips included with entree: 210 calories
Moe’s Southwest Grill
- Side of chips: 210 calories
Taco Bell
- Side of chips: 220 calories
- Chips with nachos appetizer: 300 calories per serving
As shown, Qdoba’s tortilla chip serving is significantly larger than a single serving at most other Mexican fast casual chains. Their chips have 100-200 more calories per serving compared to Chipotle, Moe’s, and Taco Bell.
Factors Affecting Serving Sizes
Why does Qdoba have such a large chip serving compared to competitors? Here are some potential factors that influence their serving sizes:
Restaurant Service Style
Qdoba is set up cafeteria-style where customers serve themselves chips from large portion bins versus weighed single servings. This facilitates larger portions.
Menu Offerings
Since chips and queso is one of Qdoba’s signature dishes, they may provide bigger chip servings to showcase their famous queso dipping sauce.
Chip Ingredients
Qdoba’s chips may seem bigger than other brands based on their shape, thickness, and airiness. More surface area to dip means customers perceive them as better value.
Company Policies
Corporate portion guidelines at Qdoba likely account for their large chip servings. Bigger portions can improve customer satisfaction.
Pricing
Qdoba doesn’t charge extra for more chips. So there’s no incentive for customers or employees to limit portions.
Estimating Qdoba Chip Servings
Since Qdoba doesn’t post an official chip serving size, the best way to estimate how many chips you’re eating is by:
Weighing the Chips
Use a food scale to weigh out 1 ounce or about 15-20 chips for a typical serving.
Counting the Chips
Visually count out 15-20 chips for a serving. Estimate based on chip pile volume.
Measuring Chips and Queso Calories
A good rule of thumb is chips have about 335 calories per 2 servings in a small order or 4 servings in a regular order.
Comparing to Common Objects
A golf ball-sized amount of chips is equal to approximately one ounce or one serving. A baseball-sized portion contains around 2-3 servings.
Using Your Hand
An estimated serving is the amount of chips you can hold in your cupped hand. Limit portions to a single handful at a time.
Benefits of Smaller Chip Servings
Consuming Qdoba’s super-sized 335 calorie chip servings on a regular basis can add excess calories, carbs, fat, and sodium to your diet. Here are some benefits of sticking to smaller chip portions:
Lower Calorie Intake
The USDA recommends a single 150 calorie chip serving. Just halving Qdoba’s serving saves you around 185 calories.
Increased Nutrition Control
Smaller portions allow you to better control fat, carbs, fiber, sodium, and more per snack.
Healthier Overall Diet
Choosing appropriate chip portion sizes makes room for more nutrient-dense foods in your daily menu.
Decreased Overeating
Huge chip portions can lead to mindless overeating. Smaller servings help prevent excess calorie intake.
Better Weight Management
Proper serving sizes help limit calorie consumption for improved weight control or loss.
Tips for Managing Qdoba Chip Portions
Here are some handy tips to help control your portion sizes when dining at Qdoba:
- Share an order of chips and queso with a friend so you only get 2 servings max.
- Ask for a side cup of queso for dipping instead of chips and queso
- Order a kids size side of chips
- Portion chips into small bowls or bags for easy grabbing
- Skip the chips and order a low-carb salad or burrito bowl
- Request a half portion of chips
- Fill up on veggies from the salsa bar and salad toppings
Nutrition Information
To round out our exploration of Qdoba’s tortilla chips, let’s examine the nutrition facts for their snack-sized servings:
Qdoba Tortilla Chips Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 15-20 chips (1 oz / 28g) |
|---|---|
| Calories | 150 |
| Fat | 7g |
| Carbohydrates | 18g |
| Fiber | 2g |
| Protein | 2g |
| Sodium | 280mg |
Based on a single 1 ounce serving, Qdoba’s tortilla chips provide 150 calories, 7g of fat, 18g of carbs, 2g of fiber, 2g of protein, and 280mg of sodium.
Daily Value Percentages
| Total Fat | 11% |
|---|---|
| Saturated Fat | 6% |
| Cholesterol | 0% |
| Sodium | 12% |
| Total Carbohydrate | 7% |
| Dietary Fiber | 7% |
The percentages show the amount each nutrient contributes to your daily recommended intake based on a 2000 calorie diet. As you can see, a single serving of Qdoba chips provides 11% of your daily fat, 12% sodium, 7% carbs, and 7% fiber.
Making Healthy Chip Choices at Qdoba
You can still enjoy Qdoba’s crunchy tortilla chips as part of an overall balanced diet by:
- Sticking to the recommended 1 ounce chip serving
- Choosing fresh salsa over queso for dipping
- Adding veggies like lettuce, tomato, onion, and corn
- Choosing brown rice, veggies, beans, chicken, or steak to fill up
- Drinking water instead of sugary sodas
- Balancing out the chips with fruits, vegetables, lean protein, whole grains, healthy fats, and dairy
The Bottom Line
Qdoba’s serving for their signature tortilla chips is very generous compared to other Mexican restaurant chains. Their large portions provide around 335 calories per serving – more than double the recommended 150 calorie serving.
To maintain portion control when dining at Qdoba, estimate your chip servings by weighing, counting, or using visual comparisons. Limit yourself to 15-20 chips per serving to reduce excess calories, carbs, fat, and sodium. Balance out your meal with healthier menu items like salads, bowls, or grilled chicken. With some adjustments, you can still enjoy Qdoba’s chips as part of an overall nutritious diet.
