Copycat Chick-fil-A Kale Crunch Salad (2024)

Why We Love This Recipe

• Massage the Kale: Take the 5 minutes that is needed to message the kale. This will soften it, reduce the bitterness, and darken the color.
• Make Ahead Friendly: Make up a big batch for the whole week on Sunday. Add the dressing at least 30 minutes before eating.
• Texture and Variety: The crunch comes from the cabbage and the roasted almonds. The curly kale has a satisfying texture and a different mouthfeel than iceberg or Romaine lettuce.
• Versatility: This salad is great to eat on it's own or as a side dish. You can easily make it a main course by adding grilled chicken. It is wonderful wholesome menu option when you want to eat healthy.

Ingredients

Chick-fil-A's kale crunch salad takes only a few ingredients and it's super healthy, so if you're closely watching your calories and carbs, you'll want to eat this salad weekly.

• Vegetables: We used green cabbage and kale.
• Nuts: We used roasted and salted whole almonds.
• Dressing: We used our copycat recipe for their apple Dijon dressing.

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations

• Can't have nuts? Try roasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds.
• Don't want to use green cabbage? Swap it out with red cabbage; it's more colorful.
• Need more fat? Add avocado chunks.
• Want some grains? Add cooked and cooled quinoa.

How to Make Chick-fil-A Kale Crunch Salad

1. To make the apple Dijon dressing, pour the apple cider vinegar on top of the pure maple syrup. (Image 1)
2. Add the distilled vinegar, lemon juice, white wine, Dijon mustard, and the spices (sea salt and black pepper). Whisk until well mixed, then add the olive oil, and slowly pour it in while whisking. (Image 2)

3. If you find that the dressing isn't emulsifying with a whisk, pour it into a mason jar and give it a good shake. There should be 1 ¼ cups of dressing. (Image 3)
4. To assemble the salad, mix the kale and cabbage together. (Image 4)

5. If you're planning on eating this within 30 minutes, add most of the chopped almonds. (Save some for a garnish.) Pour on the dressing. If you are making this ahead of time, only pour the dressing on what you plan to eat that day or within 24 hours. (Image 5)
6. Massage the kale with your hands for roughly 5 minutes. The kale should get softer, change color, and shrink down a little. (Image 6)

7. Toss and cover and let it rest for 30 minutes on the counter or in the fridge. (Image 7)
8. When ready to serve, toss it again and adjust any seasonings (vinegar, lemon juice, salt, or pepper). Garnish with the reserved almonds. Serve cold or at room temperature. (Image 8)

Recipe FAQs

Serve

Round out your meal by serving kale crunch salad with a main course of Creamy Lemon Chicken or Crispy Baked Teriyaki Tofu. If you are looking for a healthy soup to compliment this salad, try our Moroccan Lentil Stew. Our Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Cranberries is a wonderful healthy side dish. If you are looking for a homemade bread recipe to serve with this salad, try our Hearty Multigrain Bread.

Expert Tips

• Massage the kale for 5 minutes. It will darken in color and soften.
• For the best flavor, allow the salad to marinate for 30 minutes to 3 hours.
• Additional Add-Ins: chopped apple, dried cranberries, avocado chunks, sliced Brussels sprouts, julienned carrots, broccoli matchsticks, spring onion, Parmesan shards, roasted sunflower seeds, grilled chicken, grilled salmon, and quinoa.

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