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Honey lime chicken enchiladas are loaded with juicy marinated chicken, smothered in creamy enchilada sauce, and topped with lots of melted cheese. Mouthwatering and gorgeous, this dish is always a crowd-pleaser!
This honey lime chicken enchiladas recipe is one of the most requested meals in our home! The chicken is slightly sweet and not too spicy, and the creamy enchilada sauce is savory and sweet, with melted cheese, which makes a delicious combination. It is a simple meal that comes together perfectly!
Use your slow cooker to do most of the work, then marinate even more infused flavors, and finally wrap up all the ingredients in a tortilla for an amazingly delicious homemade enchilada. It is perfect for making ahead, freezing, and easy to heat up for leftovers.
Honey Lime Enchiladas Ingredients
Don’t let this list of ingredients discourage you from making this easy honey lime chicken enchilada recipe. Each ingredient is packed with flavor and comes together to make incredible homemade enchiladas. There’s something in this enchilada dish for everyone!
- Onion – Choose a sweet onion to give a kick of sweetness when cooking in the slow cooker.
- Chicken – Place boneless skinless chicken breasts in the slow cooker. You will shred the chicken once it is cooked.
- Chicken broth – This will help tenderize as well as give moisture to the chicken.
- Chili powder – Add a little bit of heat to this chili powder. Use more or less depending on who is going to enjoy these enchiladas.
- Garlic – Always a favorite flavor to add to most dinner meals. It is simple to mince fresh garlic or use marinated garlic in a jar.
- Honey – Sweeten the chicken with a natural sweetener using honey.
- Lime juice – This adds a little bit of tart and tangy flavor. These are both delicious with a Mexican-flavored chicken!
- Tortillas – Use either corn or flour tortillas to wrap the chicken in. When wrapping the tortillas, place seam side down in the baking dish.
- Cheese – Grab a block of Monterrey Jack and get shredding, because the more cheese, the better.
- Green enchilada sauce – A store-bought canned or homemade green enchilada sauce gives these enchiladas that authentic Mexican taste!
- Heavy cream – Mix with the enchilada sauce to make a creamy sauce that is divine!
How to Make Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
- Cook the Onion: Sauté the onion in a small amount of butter until soft and translucent.
- Slow Cook the Chicken: Place the chicken, chicken broth, sautéed onion, chili powder, garlic, salt, and pepper in a slow cooker. Cook on low for about 8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours, adding more broth if needed to keep the chicken moist.
- Season the Chicken: Drain off most of the cooking liquid, reserving about ¼ cup. Shred the chicken and stir in the honey and lime juice. Transfer the chicken mixture to a resealable plastic bag, press out as much air as possible, and seal.
- Marinate: Refrigerate and marinate for 30-60 minutes.
- Prepare the Baking Dish: While the chicken marinates, coat a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and spread about ½ cup of enchilada sauce over the bottom.
- Fill the Tortillas: Fill each tortilla with the chicken mixture and shredded cheese, reserving about 1 cup of cheese for the topping. Roll up the tortillas and place them seam-side down in the prepared baking dish.
- Add the Sauce: Stir the heavy cream into the remaining enchilada sauce. Pour the sauce evenly over the enchiladas and sprinkle with the reserved cheese.
- Bake and Serve: Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the top is lightly browned. Serve hot with your favorite enchilada toppings.
Tips and Modifications for this Recipe
Easy chicken enchiladas are so simple to make! These tips and modifications are perfect for making it even easier when making dinner. Add your favorite toppings or make it gluten-free with just a few modifications. Honey lime chicken enchiladas are a delicious dinner that everyone loves!
- Boil chicken – If you don’t have a crock pot, just boil the chicken in the same ingredients in a large pot with a little extra chicken broth until cooked through and can shred.
- Rotisserie chicken – When you are short on time, shred a store-bought rotisserie chicken to help save time. You can either marinate or skip the marination and add to the enchilada filling right away.
- Shredding chicken – Once your chicken is cooked in the crockpot, you will need to shred the chicken before marinating. Shred with either two forks, pulling it apart, or using tongs to help the shredding process is quick too. It should fall apart easily!
- Top it off! Garnish your enchiladas with black beans, diced tomatoes, sour cream, and avocado.
- Protein – Chicken is the best meat to use for this flavor combination. Pork or shrimp is another equivalent to try too!
- Spice it up! Add green chiles, red pepper flakes, or a sprinkle of paprika to add heat to the enchiladas.
- Enchilada sauce – Instead of the green enchilada sauce, use this red homemade enchilada sauce for another savory flavor.
- Gluten-free – To make this recipe for your gluten-free friends and family, opt for corn tortillas and look for a GF enchilada sauce. Several brands make them, so just check the labels at the grocery store.
What to Serve with Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
Pair this sweet and savory dish with a simple green salad and a few of these delicious sides and you’ve got a real feast. Choose other sides to make this a complete meal!
- Grilled Cilantro Lime Corn on the Cob
- Easy Restaurant-Style Mexican Rice
- Mexican Street Corn Cups (Disney Copycat)
- Cafe Rio Cilantro Lime Rice and Beans
- Cheater Restaurant Style Refried Beans
“SO YUMMY! 🙂 Made these a couple nights ago and they are just delicious. Family said they had to go into our regular enchiladas rotation. Thanks for the GREAT recipe! It will be made often 🙂”
-Cory
Frequently Asked Questions
Avoid having a soggy tortilla by frying your tortillas in hot oil before you fill and roll your enchiladas. This gives the tortilla a hard shell feel that helps eliminate the filling from seeping out and falling apart.
You can bake uncovered for this recipe. If you are wanting to have a light brown topping you can bake uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes then cover with aluminum foil to finish baking.
Either corn or flour tortillas are best! If you have a personal preference, then use your favorite. Enchiladas are usually made with corn tortillas, either white or yellow. They have a chewy texture compared to flour. Flour tortillas are softer with a sweeter flavor. Corn tortillas are smaller compared to flour, and they don’t hold as much filling as flour tortillas can.
Storing and Making Ahead
There’s nothing I love more than honey lime enchiladas for lunch the next day. They reheat beautifully and taste delicious! They’ll stay nice and fresh in the fridge for up to three days.
- Storing – Make it simple and cover the baking dish that you started with and store it in the refrigerator for up to three days.
- Making Ahead – Simply make the chicken ahead of time and marinate for 24 hours ahead of time. When ready to fill the enchiladas, take the pre-cooked chicken and wrap it in the tortillas.
- Reheating – Place the baking dish in the oven to reheat at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until warmed through. If you are warming up individually, place it on a plate and microwave it for 30 to 45 seconds at a time.
- Freezing – This enchilada casserole makes a perfect freezer meal. There are a couple of ways to do this. Freeze the marinated meat, then use that to create your fresh enchiladas the day of. Or you can assemble the whole casserole and then freeze it, making sure it’s covered well. If you go this route, use corn tortillas rather than flour, as flour could get soggy during the freezing and reheating process. These enchiladas will keep for up to a month in the freezer. A perfect dish to take to neighbors and friends!
More Enchilada Recipes
We love our enchiladas around here and have several to choose from. Try some of our favorite dinner recipes with your family!
Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 1 small onion, peeled and diced (use a sweet onion if you can find it)
- 3 chicken breast halves
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced (2-3 cloves)
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 6 tablespoons honey
- 5 tablespoons lime juice, (1 large lime)
- 12 corn tortillas, or 8 flour if you prefer
- 1 pound Monterey jack cheese, shredded
- 16 ounces green enchilada sauce, (we like Las Palmas brand, but any brand is great)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Sauté onion in a little butter until it becomes transparent and soft.
- In a crock pot* add chicken, chicken broth, sautéed onion, chili powder, garlic, and salt & pepper. Cook on low for about 8 hours (or high for 3-4) adding more broth if needed (you don't want it to cook out completely).
- Drain out some of the juices (but not all of it, keep about ¼ cup) and add honey and lime. Place seasoned, shredded chicken in a Ziploc bag and seal tightly, pressing out as much air as you can.
- Marinate at least 30-40 minutes or up to an hour.
- While the chicken is marinating, spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray, then pour about ½ cup of enchilada sauce over the bottom.
- Fill tortillas with chicken mixture and shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas. Layer along the bottom of the dish.
- Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with heavy cream. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top. Serve hot and top with your favorite enchilada toppings.
- Serve hot and top with your favorite enchilada toppings.
Notes
Variation for Creamy Honey Lime Enchiladas:
- While chicken is marinating, mix enchilada sauce, 1 can of condensed cream of chicken soup, 1 ½ cups sour cream, and 2 additional tablespoons of lime juice and honey in a bowl. Pour ½ cup of creamy enchilada sauce mixture into the bottom of the 9×13 pan. Spread 2 tablespoons of creamy enchilada sauce mixture evenly over each tortilla before filling it with chicken and cheese.
- If you don’t have a crock pot, just boil chicken in the same ingredients in a large pot with a little extra chicken broth until cooked through and can shred.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I just made this for dinner tonight, and we all loved it. My daughter took one bite, looked at me and said, “Make this again. Please!” The flavor combination is delicious, and they’re easy to make.
Thank you, Jenn! It’s so great to hear your daughter liked them. We love success stories! 😉