Jess Sepel: These spicy chicken tacos are the perfect weeknight dinner

A nutritionist has shared a delicious quick and easy chicken taco recipe sure to spice up your weeknight dinner menu,

‘Tacos are the ultimate quick meal! I’ve made mine super fresh and zesty,’ Jessica Sepel, the founder of multi-million dollar vitamin empire, JSHealth, said, adding that the dish is best served with a hot sauce for ‘extra punch’.   

‘Dice the chicken into small pieces so it cooks quickly and use a pre-prepared slaw mix if short on time,’ she said. ‘The chicken can be replaced with fish or, for a vegan option, tofu, tempeh or black beans.’

Recipe: How to make Jessica Sepel’s spicy chicken tacos 

Ingredients 

Tacos 

● 1/8 red cabbage, shredded

● 1 carrot, grated

● small handful coriander leaves, finely chopped

● 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

● 1 tbsp sweet paprika 

● 1 tsp ground cumin 

● ½ tsp chilli flakes

● 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

● 1 clove garlic, minced

● 300g chicken breast, diced

● 6 corn tortillas, or tortillas of choice

Salsa 

● ½ avocado, diced

● 10 cherry tomatoes, finely diced

● 1/8 red onion, finely diced

● ½ lime, juiced

Method 

1. To make the salsa, place all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Season with sea salt and black pepper and toss.

2. To make the salad, combine the shredded cabbage, carrot, coriander leaves and apple cider vinegar in a bowl.

3. To prepare the chicken, place the sweet paprika, cumin, chilli flakes, 1 tbsp olive oil and garlic in a mixing bowl. Season with sea salt and black pepper and stir until smooth. Add the diced chicken to the bowl and stir until the chicken is evenly coated.

4. Heat the remaining olive oil in a large non-stick fry pan over a medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the pan and cook for 5 minutes or until cooked through.

5. Whilst the chicken is cooking, prepare the tortillas as per the packet instructions.

6. Fill each taco with the cabbage salad, cooked chicken and top with the salsa and an extra squeeze of lime!

Serves 2 – 3 

To begin, Jessica makes the salsa by tossing avocado, cherry tomatoes, red onion and lime in a small bowl and seasoning with sea salt and black pepper.

She then makes the salad by combining shredded cabbage, carrot, coriander leaves and apple cider vinegar in a bowl.

Onto the chicken, Jessica places sweet paprika, cumin, chilli flakes, olive oil and garlic in a mixing bowl before seasoning it with sea salt and black pepper and stirring until smooth. 

Jessica’s recipes have been dubbed a ‘life-saver’ by many fans, with the health expert recently posting her healthy take on a nourishing Mexican bowl 

She then adds diced chicken to the bowl and stirs it until it’s is evenly coated.

She then heats the remaining olive oil in a large non-stick fry pan over a medium-high heat, adds the chicken and cooks for five minutes or until cooked through.

To finish, Jessica prepares the tortillas and fills each one with cabbage salad, cooked chicken, salsa and an extra squeeze of lime.

Jessica’s recipes have been dubbed a ‘life-saver’ by many fans, with the health expert recently posting her healthy take on a nourishing Mexican bowl.  

Recipe: How to make Jessica Sepel’s Nachos Nourish Bowls 

Ingredients

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

¼ red onion, diced

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 tsp cumin powder

2 tsp sweet paprika

1 400g tin black beans, rinsed & drained

1 head cos lettuce, shredded 

2 handfuls corn chips

½ cup corn kernels, we used frozen

½ avocado, smashed

3 tbsp Greek yoghurt, optional, or coconut yoghurt for dairy-free

40g (1.4oz) cheddar cheese, grated, omit for dairy-free

6 jalapeno slices

Salsa

10 cherry tomatoes, quartered

½ cucumber, diced

1/8 red onion, diced 

½ lime, juiced

1/8 bunch coriander, leaves shredded

Method

1. Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a non-stick pan over a medium high heat. Add the red onion, garlic, cumin and sweet paprika and sauté for 2-3 minutes or until the onion has softened.

2. Add the black beans to the pan with a splash of water. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Sauté for a further 3-4 minutes.

3. To make the salsa, combine all of the ingredients in small bowl and stir to combine. Season with sea salt and black pepper.

4. To assemble your nacho bowl, arrange the shredded cos lettuce and corn chips across the base of 2 serving bowls. Add the bean mix, corn kernels and salsa. Top with smashed avocado, Greek yoghurt, cheddar cheese and jalapeno slices.

She combined her two favourite things – Mexican and nourish bowls – together for the delicious dish, describing it as ‘zesty, creamy, spicy and fresh all at once’. 

To make it Jess heats extra virgin olive oil in a non-stick pan over a medium high heat and adds red onion, garlic, cumin and sweet paprika before sautéing them for two to three minutes.

She then adds black beans to the pan with a splash of water, seasons with sea salt and black pepper and sautés for a further three to four minutes. 

To make the salsa, Jess combines all of the ingredients in small bowl and stirs to combine before seasoning the tasty mix with sea salt and black pepper.

Once ready to assemble, she arranges the shredded cos lettuce and corn chips across the base of two serving bowls then adds the bean mix, corn kernels and salsa.

To finish, she tops with smashed avocado, Greek yoghurt, cheddar cheese and jalapeno slices.

Today, a JSHealth product sells somewhere in the world every 27 seconds, Jessica’s vitamin range is the second most popular stocked in Australian pharmacies and there are more than 25,000 independent glowing reviews for her products online 

Since the launch of her vitamins in 2019, Jessica’s JSHealth has gone from strength to strength and she has thousands of loyal fans who follow her for her tasty recipe ideas and simple health advice.

Today, a JSHealth product sells somewhere in the world every 27 seconds, Jessica’s vitamin range is the second most popular stocked in Australian pharmacies and there are more than 25,000 independent glowing reviews for her products online. 

‘Every single product has come about through an issue that’s been raised within the community. I’ve always been more gratified by customer reviews and personal stories more than by hitting KPIs and making millions,’ she told FEMAIL.

‘While it’s obviously great to financially reach a certain level of success, I’m more interested in empowering women and creating a safe space for women to learn more about nutrition and health.’