Are you a fan of Chick-fil-A's kale crunch salad? If you are, we've got you covered. You'll be coming back to this recipe on repeat, because it's quick to assemble and so good for you.
If you love Chick-fil-A's salads, you'll want to check out our copycat market salad and our copycat Southwest salad.
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
- To make the apple Dijon dressing, pour the apple cider vinegar on top of the pure maple syrup. (Image 1)
- 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)
- 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)
- To assemble the salad, mix the kale and cabbage together. (Image 4)
- 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)
- Massage the kale with your hands for roughly 5 minutes. The kale should get softer, change color, and shrink down a little. (Image 6)
- Toss and cover and let it rest for 30 minutes on the counter or in the fridge. (Image 7)
- 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
Their website states it's a good choice for a healthy snack, and we also agree. It's also easy to eat on the go, because there's minimal ingredients and isn't messy.
Chick-fil-A's side salad has 120 calories with 8g of carbs and 9g of fat for 1 cup of salad. Our copycat version has a serving size of 1 cup with 227 calories, 14.3g of carbs, and 18.5g of fat. For more nutritional information, scroll to the end of the recipe card.
Our copycat recipe is higher in calories, fat, and carbs because of the salad dressing. Feel free to reduce the amount of dressing or have a smaller serving size if you're watching your calorie intake.
The Chick-fil-A salad apple Dijon dressing tastes slightly sweet and is subtle and mild. The curly kale is chewy, but not soggy. The crunch in the title comes from the green cabbage and the roasted salted almonds. Our copycat version tries to mimic the CFA original, but feel free to adjust the seasonings to your personal taste if you like a salad with a bit more bite.
Yes, please do! This salad tastes better if it can rest with the dressing on it for at least 30 minutes to 3 hours for maximum results. We have also had it 24 hours later and it is still good. If you are planning on making a big batch, we suggest that you portion out what you want to eat in the next 24 hours before pouring on the dressing. Add the salty roasted almonds just before serving to have the maximum crunch.
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.
Other Chick-fil-A Copycat Recipes You'll Love
Recipe
Copycat Chick-fil-A Kale Crunch Salad
Ingredients
Apple Dijon Dressing
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons distilled vinegar
- 1 tablespoon white wine
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Kale Crunch Salad
- 9 cups chopped kale, packed
- 2 ½ cups green cabbage, shredded
- ½ cup whole almonds
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
- ½ teaspoon salt, optional
Instructions
Apple Dijon Dressing
- Pour the maple syrup and apple cider vinegar into a medium bowl or large mason jar.
- Add the distilled vinegar, white wine, and the Dijon mustard. Whisk if using a bowl, or shake together if using a mason jar.
- Next add the freshly squeezed lemon juice, sea salt, and black pepper. Whisk or shake together.
- Slowly pour in the olive oil while whisking, or put the lid on the mason jar and shake well. This recipe makes 1 ¼ cups of dressing.
Kale Crunch Salad
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Toss the whole almonds in the coconut oil and salt. Spread them on a small baking tray and roast for 10-15 minutes. Allow them to cool before cutting into smaller pieces with a large chef's knife.
- Remove any ribs from the chopped kale, then add the shredded green cabbage and toss with your hands.
- Pour on the apple Dijon dressing and massage the kale with your hands for roughly 5 minutes. You will notice the kale softening and turning a darker shade of green.
- Cover the salad and let it sit for 30 minutes (or up to overnight) in the fridge. This gives the kale time to soften, and for the cabbage and kale to marinate in the dressing.
- When ready to serve, add the roasted almonds and toss. Adjust seasonings, adding a bit more vinegar, lemon juice, salt or pepper if desired. You should have about 9 cups of salad.
Video
Notes
- 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.
Nutrition
Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.
Heather
So dang GOOD!! I am sooo happy that I found you...& this recipe!! That salad is by far one of my favorite things from Chick-fil-A, & your recipe is ON POINT!! Thank you so much!! I can't wait to try out some of your other recipes!!
Emma
Thank you so much, Heather! We hope you love all of our recipes as much as you enjoyed the kale crunch!
Elisabeth
It’s better than the original because it is nearly TWICE as unhealthy! It has almost twice the amount of calories, fat and carbs in it. How do they call that a copycat recipe? This is a rare example of fast food being healthier than homemade :/
Emma
The reason this recipe is more calories than Chick-fil-A's for the same serving size is because of the dressing. We can't make the dressing taste the same as CFA for the same amount of calories because CFA uses special ingredients and processes to keep the fat and calories down. When we develop a copycat recipe, we make sure the recipe tastes and looks as similar as possible to the original; calories aren't our top concern. If you want to lower the calories, feel free to decrease the amount of dressing or reduce the serving size.
Che
Thank you so much for this recipe. I've made it twice now and it's better than Chick-fil-a's salad.
Emma
That's fantastic, Che! Thank you so much for your kind comment!
Tenisha
I will be making this soon but I’m cutting sugar out of my diet is there a healthier substitute for maple syrup?
Emma
You could try other liquid sweeteners like honey, agave nectar, or date syrup. We've only tested this recipe with the maple syrup, so you'll have to experiment to see what sweetener you like the best.
Duke Soulier
Fabulous! Doubled the recipe and it was all eaten. Will be making it again!
Emma
That's great, Duke! Thanks for making our recipe.
Seven Tehuti
This is amazing!! I follow the instructions to the T’, once I sample it 24 hours later... I lost it! I’m singing as we speak. Lol! Could I do this with out the distilled vinegar next time?
Thanks,
Seven
Emma
We're so glad that you enjoyed the salad so much, Seven! I wouldn't recommend leaving out the vinegar, as it will change the flavor, but you can substitute with a different type of vinegar if you would like. White wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or rice vinegar would all be tasty options.
Wittley
What kind of white wine do you use??
Emma
Any kind will work.
Francesca
So so good! It tastes exactly like the CFA kale crunch salad and it did not disappoint! Seriously delicious!
Emma
That's awesome, Francesca! We're so glad that you enjoyed the salad!
Ashliee
Why is your recipe calorie count higher than the restaurant? Super excited to try it out but I’m watching calories so any where I can cut out I definitely want to.
Emma
Feel free to cut back on the dressing, as that's the main source of calories. Enjoy!
Tammy
Omg! I made this salad the other night and we were totally blown away by how close the taste is to the original. Used Publix shredded cabbage mix and Marzetti simply 60 Dijon honey mustard vinaigrette with a little apple cider vinegar, as well as all of the other ingredients. My new favorite salad
Emma
That’s amazing to hear, Tammy! We’re so thrilled that you found this salad to be so close to the original.
Alex
The kale is chewy and the almonds are crunchy. The salad dressing tastes amazing on the greens. The Parmesan adds the wonderful flavor, the cranberries add sweetness, and the apple gives it additional crunch.
Emma
I love the hint of Parmesan here, too! Thanks for leaving a review, Alex.
Beth
The kale has a great taste from the dressing and lemon juice. The cabbage and almonds add some color and crunch. The beautiful colors, parm cheese, apple, craisins, and Brussels sprouts are great. The addition of sunflower seeds is nice too.
Emma
I'm glad you enjoyed the salad, Beth!