Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas are so flavorful and sure to be a favorite new recipe in your arsenal! This dish packed with chicken in a sweet yet tangy marinade is wrapped up in a tortilla and then smothered in a rich creamy sauce and topped with gooey cheese.
This recipe is bringing all the classic components you would expect from an enchilada dish, while adding a fun and bright, honey lime twist! Quick to assemble and easy to prepare in advance, this is the perfect dish for busy weeknights, making it a favorite family friendly recipe!
If looking for other easy, prepare in advance meals Freezer Burritos and Southwestern Tamale Pie both hit it out of the park when it comes to busy weeknight dishes!
And when it comes to really brightening up this dish we love to add our fresh restaurant style Pico De Gallo or Cowboy Caviar dip on top.
🥫 Ingredients
With just a handful of ingredients this dish is packed with flavor! Wake up your taste buds with every bite. With a bright hint of lime, these enchiladas are sweet while still bringing a slight kick! Talk about a flavor trifecta!
Here is what you will need for this tasty dish!
- Shredded Chicken - we like using Costco pre-shredded rotisserie chicken, it makes this dish so much quicker
- Honey
- Lime Juice
- Chili Powder
- Garlic Powder
- Tortillas - we prefer 8 inch sized tortillas
- Green Enchilada Sauce
- Heavy Cream
- Shredded Cheese
🥣 Step by Step Instructions
Firstly, in a large bowl add shredded chicken, lime juice, honey, enchilada sauce and spices. Mix together until all chicken is well coated.
Fill each tortilla with a scoop of the chicken mixture and sprinkle with cheese before rolling the tortilla tightly and placing it seam side down in a greased casserole dish. Repeat this until all tortillas are filled and in the pan.
Avoid soggy enchiladas by frying your tortillas for a minute before you fill and roll them. This will also make the tortillas more pliable to help them avoid breaking, so a total win, win!
Next top your pan of enchiladas with any remaining chicken mixture and marinade juices. Then pour your remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the pan of tortillas.
Follow up with pouring the heavy cream over the top of your enchiladas. Lastly, top the pan off with remaining shredded cheese.
Place pan in the oven and bake till your cheese is melted, golden and bubbly! Serve hot and enjoy.
👩🏻🍳 Make it Your Own
Enchiladas are a fun dish to take and make your own! There are all kinds of things you can add or swap out for your filling mixture.
Try adding a can of corn or diced green chilies, chopped onion or peppers for some crunch. You can also switch things up by using shredded pork for your protein in place of chicken. It is also easy to swap out red enchilada sauce for green.
🍽 How to Serve
There are countless ways to enjoy enchiladas. Mexican Street Corn, Baked Rice, or Cowboy Caviar are some of our favorite tex-mex side dish go-tos. We also love pairing these enchiladas with black, refried or pinto beans and a side of crunchy tortilla chips.
It can also be fun to serve a variety of toppings to go with your Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas. Fresh cilantro, Pico de Gallo, Creamy Jalapeno Dip, and Avocado Salsa are some of our favorites.
This is our favorite fast dinner to make any time people come over. It is always a slam dunk! Everyone leaves asking us for the recipe.
💭 Top Tips
Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas are a great freezer meal! Making ahead and freezing this dish for later will make busy weeknights so much easier to get dinner on the table.
This dish is a really easy meal to double and make two of at once. I like to freeze one batch for later and bake one right away.
If planning to prepare this recipe as a freezer meal we suggest preparing the filling mixture in advance and storing in the freezer till ready to use.
Then when ready, assemble your Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas as normal. This will help preserve the texture of your enchiladas because tortillas and sauces do not freeze well together.
Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for two to three days. Or you can also freeze leftovers for up to 2 months in a freezer safe container.
📋 FAQ's
What are the best tortillas for enchiladas?
Corn, flour, wheat tortillas … all will do when making Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas. For this ingredient it really comes down to your own personal preference. Each provide different benefits when it comes to flavor, texture, and structure.
Corn tortillas provide the most flavor and do help to prevent the tortillas from getting too soggy. Flour are the most pliable while wheat offers different health benefits.
What kind of cheese is best for enchiladas?
When it comes to cheese you really want a blend that will give you both the best meltiness and flavor. Your cheeses that are going to do that are a Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Mozzarella, Asadero or Queso.
I'll be honest - we use shredded mozzarella. We prefer the flavor and it is so convenient to grab. It definitely makes pulling Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas together quick and easy.
You can also grab a Mexican Blend of pre-shredded cheese from the store that will most likely an assortment of all the cheese types. But I will say, freshly shredded cheese has SO MUCH MORE flavor, so do with that what you will.
Honey Lime Enchiladas
Chicken in a sweet tangy marinade, smothered in a rich, creamy sauce and topped with cheese makes these enchiladas a winner!
Ingredients
- 4 cups shredded chicken
- ⅔ cups honey
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ cup lime juice
- 28 ounces green enchilada sauce
- 8 tortillas, 8 inch
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350° and spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl add shredded chicken, lime juice, honey, ⅓ cup enchilada sauce and seasonings. Mix together until all chicken is well coated.
- Pour a thin layer of enchilada sauce in the bottom of the baking dish, about ½ a cup.
- Fill each tortilla with a scoop of the chicken mixture, about ½ cup, and sprinkle with ¼ cup cheese.
- Once filled roll each tortilla tightly and place it seam side down in the dish. Repeat until all tortillas are filled and in pan next to each other.
- Once pan is filled, drizzle remaining marinade over the top of the rolled tortillas.
- Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over tortillas in pan.
- Pour heavy cream over the top of the dish.
- Sprinkle pan with remaining shredded cheese.
- Place pan in the oven at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until edges are bubbly. If necessary broil for 2-3 minutes to allow cheese on top to finish melting.
Notes
- We like to use canned or rotisserie chicken to make things go quicker.
- You can set chicken mixture aside to marinade in the fridge or go ahead and use immediately.
- Avoid soggy enchiladas by frying your tortillas for a minute before you fill and roll them. This will also make the tortillas more pliable to help them avoid breaking, so a total win, win!
- You can add a variety of ingredients to your chicken mixture. For ideas check out our suggestions above!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 639Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 112mgSodium: 1241mgCarbohydrates: 64gFiber: 4gSugar: 29gProtein: 34g