Honey Lime Chicken or Pork Enchiladas
If you’ve never had these lifechangingly good honey lime chicken enchiladas, you are missing out! So simple to make, and delicious!
To say this honey lime chicken recipe has stood the test of time is a serious understatement! It has been a family favorite for over ten years and I don’t see that changing any time soon.
If your life has been without this delectable honey lime combo for enchiladas (or burritos, salads, etc), I hate to say it, but you’ve definitely been missing out. Not only are these probably some of the easiest enchiladas you’ll ever make, there really isn’t another enchilada recipe like them in terms of one-of-a-kind deliciousness.
Over the years, I’ve barely adapted this recipe. The original is just too good! But I have included a few steps and notes below to highlight a few simple ingredient substitutions that can make it even easier.
For instance
Green enchilada sauce vs green salsa. What’s the difference, really? Well, green enchilada sauce is often thicker than salsa with a deeper, roasted flavor. The good news, I’ve made this recipe countless times with either enchilada sauce OR salsa verde (green salsa). And both are delicious and amazing and life changing and wonderful. Basically, don’t stress too much about interchanging the two.
Shredded chicken. This recipe is a bit unusual in the fact that the marinade actually starts with cooked, shredded chicken. You might be thinking “Mel, you’ve finally lost your marbles” but I promise it works! The chicken is infused with that amazing honey, lime, chili combo, and it only needs about 30 minutes marinating time (although it does taste even better if you can let the chicken hang out of several hours).
A rotisserie chicken is perfect for this recipe. Or, this is my go-to stovetop cooked, shredded chicken recipe. Often, I just throw chicken breasts in the Instant Pot with 1 cup broth, salt and pepper, and cook on high pressure for 8-12 minutes (discard extra cooking liquid).
We like to add a few extra toppings to our honey lime chicken enchiladas for amped up yumminess. Chopped tomatoes, sour cream, avocado, cilantro, extra lime wedges. But you can leave them plain and simple, too.
Oh! Also, the creamy topping. I don’t want to forget this note. After the enchiladas are assembled and in the pan, they get a smothering of sorts from the green enchilada sauce + leftover marinade (don’t forget this! Flavor!) + cream, sour cream or half and half. This gives a creamy oomph to the enchiladas that is to-die for.
However! Again, after making this meal so.many.times over the last decade, there have been many instances where I’ve left out the creaminess in the topping altogether and just combined the green enchilada sauce with the leftover marinade to spread on top of the enchiladas. And then loaded on the cheese, of course. I’m not one to leave cheese out of anything.
Basically this recipe is pretty adaptable…and so incredibly easy! It pains me to think that some of you newcomers to my blog may have been living without this tried-and-true honey lime chicken enchilada recipe. It took the world by storm when I shared it over ten years ago, but I think it’s time for a comeback.
Also, remember that the honey lime meat mixture (which is super delicious with shredded pork, too) is amazing as enchiladas – but also crazy good made into burritos (smothered – yum!) or as a topping for a salad.
With this creamy cilantro lime dressing? Holy cow, best salad ever.
What To Serve With This:
Confetti Rice and Bean Salad, Grilled Corn Salad, or Guacamole Salad
Fresh fruit
Tortilla Chips/Salsa or Cornbread
Honey Lime Chicken {or Pork} Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons honey
- 5 to 6 tablespoons lime juice, 2 to 3 large limes
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon coarse, kosher salt
- ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon black pepper, I use coarsely ground
- 2 pounds chicken, cooked and shredded – about 4 cups total (see note)
- 8 to 10 (6 to 8-inch) flour or corn tortillas
- 4 cups about 1 pound shredded Monterey jack cheese, (or a combo of cheddar and Monterey Jack)
- 16 ounces green enchilada sauce (see note)
- 1 cup heavy cream, sour cream, or half-and-half
- Additional Toppings, optional: sour cream, chopped tomatoes, extra lime wedges, avocado, chopped cilantro
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, lime juice, chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Place the shredded chicken in a resealable bag or other covered container. Pour the marinade over the chicken and toss until the chicken is evenly coated. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 8 hours.
- Lightly grease a 9X13-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray and pour about 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pan.
- Fill flour tortillas with chicken (save the leftover marinade!) and shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the leftover marinade and the the cream (or sour cream/half-and-half).
- Spread sauce evenly on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes until brown and crispy on top. Serve with chopped tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, extra lime wedges, chopped cilantro, and/or avocado.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe originally published March 2008; updated April 2019 with new photos, recipe notes, etc.
Recipe Source: long ago adapted from The Sister’s Cafe
207 Comments on “Honey Lime Chicken or Pork Enchiladas”
I felt like I needed to come and leave a review for this recipe. I have made it for over 20 meal trains (new moms, sick or injured friends, grieving families), and EVERY time the person texts me asking for the recipe. I love how easy it is to make, and get excited when people choose it because it makes enough for my family to eat a tray too! I love all your recipes, but his is definitely the one that gets made the most.
Love hearing that, Brittany! Thanks for taking the time to let me know. You’re amazing for taking so many meals to friends/families in need!
Looking for recommendations for the best/favorite store bought green enchilada sauce to use for this recipe. Thank you!
Hi Janie, I prefer using the salsa verde from Trader Joe’s or the Herdez brand (from my local grocery store).
I have been making this recipe for over a year now, and my family LOVES it! I have made it for a lot of different parties and everyone always wants the recipe. It is a family favorite!! Thanks Mel!!!
My family had this for Mother’s day Dinner and my younger nephew who is 1 loved it. My sister did a great job on it and I am enjoying it again for my lunch at work. Thanks for a great recipe.
Very excited to try these tonight. However, I used shredded pork and the marinade was soaked up completely. I then did another batch of marinade to add to the pork and it was instantly soaked up. There definitely won’t be any to add to the sauce.
These are on my new favorites list. We devoured them and will be used again in the future for sure. There hasn’t been one recipe I have tried that I don’t like. All so yummy!
Do you have any thoughts on subbing out the honey for maple syrup? I have a friend who we swap freezer meals, but her hubby is allergic to honey!
I froze it after baking and it reheated beautifully!
Did you try it with maple syrup, Emily? I haven’t tried it so I hesitate to recommend it – it will change the flavor significantly.
Hi Emily,
I saw something called vegan honey that is made with apple juice. There are simple recipes for it, and/or it can be bought or ordered from your local grocery store, usually. I hope this helps.
I’m so excited to try this. I’m going to make some for all my ministering sisters to freeze and use during the busy Christmas season. If I want to freeze it, should I wait to add the creamy topping until it has already baked for an hour?
I don’t think you’d need to wait to add it.
Holy Moly! I don’t know if I did something wrong or we’re just wimps, but the chili powder in this almost killed us all. No one in my family could finish it – so so spicy. I do want to try it again with maybe half the chili powder. The flavor was good – just too hot for us.
Hey Amy – what brand of chili powder did you use? Different brands vary vastly in spicy/heat levels.
I used greek yogurt in place of the cream/sour cream, plus a can of black beans, and my picky husband loved them! They really did have a great flavor.
I finally made these tonight after having the recipe printed out for 3 1/2 years , and the whole family enjoyed them! I used chicken cooked in the Instant Pot and your green enchilada sauce recipe; I did not mix the sauce with any cream, sour cream, or half-and-half and thought the amount of sauce and flavor were fantastic! Thank you!
Thanks for the review!
These were SO GOOD. So good I attempted to make them twice in one week. I say attempted because I had just finished discovering that the corn tortillas I bought from TJ’s were not up to the task when the chicken fell on the kitchen floor. It was a very, very, sad moment, especially for my mouth. Your rotisserie hack might be insane but it is also genius. Thank you!
Oh, that is so sad!!
Didn’t realize this would also be so quick to make! definitely adding to my list to make frequently!
I made these tonight and I had no marinade left. I checked the amount a few times. How much marinade is usually left over?
I already had shredded chicken so I measured for 4 cups. I am not sure what I did wrong, but no marinade was left over.
It’s usually not very much – sometimes I just get a few tablespoons.
I usually love your recipes but this one just didn’t work for me. It was just too sweet.
Sorry you didn’t love this one, Julie!
The second time I made this, I added extra lime, less honey and a can of green chili peppers. It did the trick for me! Not as sweet, and had a nice little kick. Truly the BEST enchiladas I’ve ever made! Recipes are just guidelines… you get to be the chef and tweak it to your liking!