These Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas are one of our most favorite Mexican ever meals! Perfectly seasoned chickened rolled in flour tortillas and topped with a creamy sauce. They’re sweet and slightly spicy and taste amazing!
These Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas have been one of my favorite go-to Mexican meals for years. It’s the perfect meal for company, when you need to take dinner to a friend, or any weeknight meal.
To say these have been a family favorite for years is a bit of an understatement. I posted this recipe nine years ago and decided it was time to bring it back into the spotlight again with some updated photos and instructions.
If I made these enchiladas on a weekly basis, I don’t think anyone would complain about it. The flavors of lime and honey combined with the chili powder is just plain fabulous!
If you’ve never had these enchiladas, you have been missing out and you need to make them ASAP.
HOW TO MAKE HONEY LIME CHICKEN ENCHILADAS:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, lime juice, chili powder, and garlic powder. Pour over cooked, shredded chicken.
- Let the chicken marinate for at least 30 minutes (I do longer for maximum flavor!).
- Fill each tortilla with a scoop of chicken and some shredded cheese, roll up and place in a pan.
- Mix enchilada sauce with cream and pour over the top of the rolled tortillas.
- Sprinkle cheese on top and bake for 30 minutes.
One quick, important tip:
This recipe is a bit unusual because you marinate cooked, shredded chicken, instead of raw chicken. Just a heads up because the very first time I made these I obviously didn’t read the recipe very well and almost poured the marinade over my raw chicken. Thankfully, I glanced at the recipe just before and read “chicken, cooked and shredded.”
I’ve made one or two simple changes over the years and not because they weren’t delicious as is. I felt like there was always too much sauce, so I cut back on the amount of liquid added to the enchilada sauce and switched it from half & half to cream. I feel like the cream is thicker which makes the sauce thicker better. Also, only pour as much sauce on these as you want. If you like your enchiladas more “dry” then you could even cut the sauce recipe in half.
We love these with some Spanish rice, chips & salsa and maybe a green salsa. Also, we love drizzling these with some homemade Cafe Rio dressing, and topping them with peach mango salsa. . . seriously amazing!
Short on time?
Rotisserie chicken is a great shortcut BTW and works perfectly for these enchiladas and is a great time saver!
Talk about a simple, quick and fabulous dinner! These are a game changer! Oh and if you love these, you will love my Baked Honey Lime Chicken Taqutios and Baked Honey Lime Chicken Tacos
Enjoy!
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Honey-lime Chicken Enchiladas
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 10 1x
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 1/2 to 2 pounds chicken, cooked and shredded (or 4 cups rotisserie chicken works great)
Sauce:
- 2 (10-ounce) cans green enchilada sauce, divided
- 1/2 cup heavy cream (or half & half works too)
- 4 cups shredded Monterey jack or Colby jack cheese (*see notes)
- 10 to 12 small flour tortillas (I like the fajita size tortillas)
Toppings:
- sour cream
- cilantro
- pico de gallo
- avocado
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, lime juice, chili power and garlic until combined.
- Place the shredded chicken in a medium bowl or Ziploc bag. Pour the marinade over the chicken and toss until the chicken is evenly coated. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 8 hours (I’ve even done overnight).
- Spread about 1/3 cup of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of a greased 9×13 pan. Reserve the rest for the sauce.
- Fill flour tortillas with chicken and a generous amount of shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas.
Sauce:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining enchilada sauce and whipping cream. Pour mixture over the top of the enchiladas and top with the reserved cheese (you might not need or want to use all of the enchilada sauce, it just depends on how saucy you like yours).
- Bake uncovered at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes. Top with desired toppings.
Notes
- I love using half pepper jack cheese in place of the Monterey or Colby jack cheese. It gives it just a little extra pop of heat, but isn’t too much.
- If you want to add even more flavor, whatever marinade is left in the bowl/bag after using the chicken, add it the sauce mixture that you pour over the top of the enchiladas.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Main Dishes
Recipe Source: Adapted from Keeping up Cookbook (one of my favorites!)
Originally posted January 9, 2013.
This recipe is like hitting the jack pot!!! It was the quietest meal we have ever eaten because my family couldn’t get it into their mouths fast enough!!! THEY LOVED IT!!! It had the perfect flavor and oh so yummy!!!!
These are one of our favorites! So glad you guys loved them!
This are the B E S T!!!!
Do you have a preferred brand for the green enchilada sauce? I have only used red and experimented with several to find one that my family liked. I am not as familiar buying my own green kind so thanks for any recommendations!
Hi Ali! I really don’t have a favorite, I just buy whatever is the cheapest (lol!). I’ve used Old El Paso, La Victoria, Las Palmas, and Western Family (local store brand) and they’re all equally delicious. I hope you have a chance to make these enchiladas, they are amazing!
Thank you so much for your recommendations Jodi. I really do appreciate it as it’s a new ingredient for me to buy. I am definitely going to make these as they look super easy and super yummy. I continue to love your blog and expanding my at home meals, thank you!
You’re welcome Ali. Thank you for your kind words. I love hearing from my readers. Take care.
I’m making this right now and I know that you won’t see this before I put it in the oven, but do you cover the dish or leave it uncovered while you cook it?
★★★★★
Leave them uncovered.
I’m sorry…this was just too sweet. I grew up in .Texas and New Mexico….this does not qualify as Mexica food.
★★
Sorry you thought these were too sweet, I’ve never had anyone complain about that. You could always cut down on some of the honey to make these less sweet.
I tried your recipe for Baked Honey Lime Chicken Tacos and they were a BIG hit in our family. I saw your recipe for your Honey Lime Enchiladas and had to try them because the tacos were such a great success. These enchiladas were even a bigger SUCCESS . I’m sure, no! I know, this recipe will be put among my favorite recipes of all time. Thank you Jodi for all your wonderful recipes you put together. You’re the BEST!
Oh Evelyn, you’re the best! Thanks for the comment and I am so happy you’ve tried those recipes. They are some of our favorites!