Applebee’s Fiesta Lime Chicken

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Make Applebee’s Fiesta Lime Chicken at home! The most delicious marinated chicken topped with a creamy sauce, melted cheese and served with rice!

A RESTAURANT COPYCAT RECIPE

I used to go to Applebee’s quite a bit, especially when my husband and I were first dating back in the day. Even though I don’t hit up our Applebee’s as much as we used to, this is still one of my favorite things to get when we do go. The recipe may feel intimidating when you first see the ingredient list below, but it really is pretty simple to throw together. It’s just a bunch of layers of flavor (and total worth it!)

A large serving platter of Applebees Fiesta Lime Chicken.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Can I bake this in the oven instead?

Yes. You can bake the chicken at 350°F for 20-25 minutes until the juices run clear.

What can I change in this chicken dish?

It’s your kitchen, change what you want. Leave out what you don’t want. Just want to remind you that I created this as a copycat recipe to be as close to the original one from Applebee’s as I could. If you make changes to it, don’t expect it to still taste like the original one.

What to serve with this?

I served it with the Mexican rice I mentioned in the ingredient list. You can just grab a box from the store, or make some Homemade 3-ingredient Mexican Rice. If you’d like to make another option, try a slice or two of Mexican Cornbread.

Can I use homemade pico de gallo?

Sure. Here’s a quick recipe if you need one.
4 ripe Roma tomatoes, diced (seeds removed if too juicy)
½ medium red onion, finely diced
(optional) 1–2 jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped (leave seeds if you like more heat)
¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Instructions
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the diced tomatoes, onion, jalapeños, and cilantro.
Squeeze the lime juice over the mixture.
Toss everything together until well combined.
Taste and adjust with more lime or add salt if needed.
For best flavor, let the pico de gallo sit for 15–20 minutes before serving so the flavors meld.

How to store leftovers?

You can keep the leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can keep leftovers longer by freezing for up to 3 months in a freezer safe container.

An Applebee's Fiesta Lime Chicken on a big white serving plate.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)

mayonnaise– hate mayo? Try more sour cream or you could sub with Greek yogurt, but this may change the overall flavor.
salsa– use your favorite brand. You can even make your own Homemade Salsa.
sour cream
chopped cilantro
fresh squeezed lime juice– for this recipe (and in my opinion, just about any recipe with lime juice) you have to stick to the fresh lime juice. I can’t get behind the plastic lime bottles of acid that claim to be lime juice. There’s just no flavor there to me. For the best results, grab those limes and squeeze them when ready to make this chicken.
cumin
garlic – minced
teriyaki sauce
honey
taco seasoning– grab a packet of your favorite or some scoops of your favorite Homemade Taco Seasoning.
chicken breasts– if you don’t want to cut the chicken breasts, you can just buy the ones that are already cut for you to help save on time. Additionally, you could use chicken thighs as they tend to be cheaper than chicken breasts. If choosing thick chicken breasts, really be sure you cut them thin so they cook properly.
shredded Colby Jack cheese
Mexican rice– I discussed more above in the FAQ section, but you can use store bought, or make your own.
tortilla strips– The crunchy tortilla strips can be found usually in the salad aisle of the grocery store in bags.
pico de gallo– you can grab some from the store or make a homemade quick version that I shared above in the Frequently Asked Questions section.

Chicken breasts, mayo, salsa, sour cream, chopped cilantro, lime juice, cumin, salt, oil, garlic, teriyaki sauce, honey, taco seasoning, Colby Jack, Mexican rice, tortilla strips, and pico de gallo.

HOW TO MAKE APPLEBEE’S FIESTA LIME CHICKEN:

To a bowl, add the sauce ingredients. Mix until combined. Refrigerate for at least one hour (this really helps the flavors to come together and it will thicken slightly as well.)

A collage of images with a bowl of sauce ingredients being mixed together.

To a bowl, add 2 Tablespoons oil, lime juice, minced garlic, teriyaki sauce, honey, and taco seasoning. Mix until combined.

Marinade ingredients being mixed in a bowl.

Coat the chicken in the marinade. Marinate for up to 1 hour, but overnight is great as well. Heat a skillet over low to medium heat with 1 tablespoon of oil. Saute each side of the chicken in a skillet over medium heat for 4 minutes or until the juices run clear and you have an internal temperature of 165° F.

Chicken marinating in a bowl and cooking in a skillet.

Coat the chicken with the sauce.

Chicken cooking in a skillet and then sauce being added on top.

Top the chicken with the cheese. Turn off the heat. Add the lid until the cheese is fully melted.

Shredded cheese being added to chicken with sauce and then it melted on top of chicken and sauce.

Serve the chicken with the Mexican rice, tortilla strips, and pico de gallo.

A big white serving bowl of Applesbees Fiesta Lime Chicken.

CRAVING MORE RECIPES?

A baking dish with Applebee's Fiesta Lime Chicken close up.

Chicken Ingredients

▢ 3 Tablespoons oil (divided use)
▢ 2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
▢ 3 garlic cloves, minced
▢ 2 Tablespoons teriyaki sauce
▢ 1 Tablespoon honey
▢ 2 Tablespoons taco seasoning
▢ 4 medium (or 2 large chicken breasts, have to make thinner) (see notes below)
▢ 1 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese

To serve:

▢ 4 cups Mexican rice
▢ 2 cups tortilla strips
▢ 1 cup pico de gallo

To a bowl, add ¼ cup mayonnaise, ¼ cup salsa, ¼ cup sour cream, 1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro, ½ Tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice, ⅛ teaspoon cumin and ⅛ teaspoon salt. Mix until combined. Refrigerate for at least one hour (this really helps the flavors to come together and it will thicken slightly as well.)
To a bowl, add 2 Tablespoons oil,2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice, 3 garlic cloves, minced, 2 Tablespoons teriyaki sauce, 1 Tablespoon honey and 2 Tablespoons taco seasoning. Mix until combined.
Coat the chicken breasts in the marinade. Cover and marinate for up to 1 hour, but overnight is great as well.
Heat a skillet over low to medium heat with 1 tablespoon oil.
Saute each side of the chicken in a skillet over medium heat for 4 minutes or until the juices run clear and you have an internal temperature of 165° F.
Coat the chicken with the sauce.
Top the chicken with the cheese.
Turn off the heat. Add the lid until the cheese is fully melted.
Serve the chicken with the Mexican rice, tortilla strips, and pico de gallo.

Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
You want relatively thin chicken breasts for this. If yours are on the thicker side, you’ll want to slice each one into two breasts. You can also purchase thin cut chicken breasts or just use chicken breasts that are on the thinner side. You could use thicker chicken breasts but they will just take longer to cook. Make sure the internal temperature reaches 165F degrees.

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: American

“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

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