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Of all the places to grab dinner, Applebee’s is known for having really tasty and unique menu items. Among them is their fiesta lime chicken which is first marinated, then sautéd, then baked with some pepper jack cheese. Talk about the full treatment! It’s the combination of all these steps together that ensures this chicken always comes out juicy and full of flavor.
Step one in the process to recreating this recipe at home is the marinade. It’s a flavorful blend of teriyaki sauce, ground ginger, lime juice, and some liquid smoke. For the most flavor make sure to let this sit for at least 2 hours.
Then fry the chicken breasts until cooked before adding them to a baking pan along with a punchy sauce cream flavored with salsa, Tabasco sauce, dill, and Cajun seasoning. Then sprinkle with the cheese and bake until it’s all melted and gooey.
While the chicken is cooking you can make some rice, but of course you can also serve this fiesta lime chicken on a bed of tortilla chips like they do in the restaurant if you want.
This chicken dish is perfectly spiced and it’s ideal for when you want to make something decidedly un-boring for dinner that will really satisfy your tastebuds.
Copycat Fiesta Lime Chicken
Yield(s): Serves 4
2h 20m prep time
20m cook time
837 calories
you're making mealtime meaningful.
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup teriyaki sauce
- juice of 4 limes
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 4 small chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 cup uncooked rice
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons salsa
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
- 1/8 teaspoon dried dill weed
- 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
- Combine water, teriyaki sauce, lime juice, garlic cloves, liquid smoke, salt, and ginger in a large bowl. Place chicken breasts in the marinade and place into refrigerator. Allow to sit 2 hours, turning over halfway through. Chicken can be left to marinate in refrigerator overnight for even more flavor.
- Heat oil over medium heat. Cook the chicken breasts for 3-5 minutes on each side or until internal temperature reaches 165˚F. While chicken is cooking prepare rice to package directions.
- When ready to bake preheat oven to 375˚F. In a medium bowl combine mayonnaise, sour cream, salsa, milk, Cajun seasoning, parsley, Tabasco sauce, and dill.Place chicken into oven-safe pan and coat both sides with mayo mixture. Top with cheese and place on upper rack of oven until cheese is melted, about 5-7 minutes.
- Season rice with salt and pepper to taste. Serve chicken on top of rice and/or crushed tortilla chips.
Recipe adapted from Insanely Good Recipes.