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Home » Salad

Copycat Chick-fil-A Kale Crunch Salad

Published: Dec 2, 2022 by Brooke · This post may contain affiliate links, which can earn us a commission.

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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 superfood salad.

person holding a forkful of kale crunch salad

Jump to:
  • Ingredients
  • How to Make
  • Recipe FAQs
  • Serve
  • Variations
  • Expert Tips
  • Recipe
  • Comments

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Ingredients

glass bowls of ingredients for kale crunch salad

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.

How to Make

making the apple dijon dressing
  1. To make the apple Dijon dressing, pour the apple cider vinegar on top of the pure maple syrup.
  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.
shaking dressing in a jar and mixing kale and cabbage

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.

4. To assemble the salad, mix the kale and cabbage together.

pouring apple dijon dressing on salad and tossing it

5. If you're planning on eating this within 30 minutes, add most of the chopped almonds.  (Save some for a garnish.) Pour on all 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.

6. Massage the kale with your hands for roughly 5 minutes.  The kale should get softer, change color, and shrink down a little.

putting lemon juice and salt on salad

7. Add 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice and sea salt to taste.  Toss and cover and let it rest for 30 minutes on the counter or in the fridge overnight.

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.

Recipe FAQs

Is the kale crunch salad at Chick-fil-A healthy?

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 that aren't messy.

How many calories are in this recipe?

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.

What does this salad taste like?

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.

Does Chick-fil-A still serve kale salad?

They make it fresh every day in two sizes.

Serve

  • Make Ahead: 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.
  • Leftovers: Place in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 day with dressing or 4 days without the dressing.

Variations

  • Can't have nuts?  Try roasted sunflower 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.

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

  • Chick-fil-A Mac and Cheese Recipe
  • Chick-fil-A Chicken Tortilla Soup
  • Copycat Chick-fil-A Peach Milkshake
  • Chick-fil-A Peppermint Milkshake Copycat

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Recipe

bowl of kale crunch salad

Copycat Chick-fil-A Kale Crunch Salad

Copycat Chick-fil-A kale crunch salad is a simple healthy recipe you can quickly assemble in your kitchen this summer.  Learn how to make the apple Dijon dressing that makes this easy side salad so tasty, plus know about additional add-ins that turn this side dish into a main meal.  This is also vegan and gluten free.
4 from 64 votes
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Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 9 cups
Calories: 227kcal
Author: Brooke & Emma

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.

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 all of 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.

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: 1cupCalories: 227kcal (11%)Carbohydrates: 14g (5%)Protein: 3.7g (7%)Fat: 18.5g (28%)Cholesterol: 0mgSodium: 321.6mg (14%)Fiber: 2.9g (12%)Sugar: 8.9g (10%)Vitamin C: 53.8mg (65%)Calcium: 101mg (10%)Iron: 1mg (6%)

Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.

Tried this Recipe? Tag us Today!Mention @savortheflavourblog or tag #savortheflavour!

This recipe was originally posted on July 24, 2020 and has be updated with resized photos and refreshed content on December 2, 2022.

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Welcome to our kitchen! We're Brooke & Emma, the mother-daughter team behind Savor the Flavour. As self-taught cooks and bakers, we love to inspire you to cook from scratch with real food! Increase your kitchen confidence with our recipes, instructional photos, and helpful tips and facts.

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