Kale Crunch Salad (Chick-fil-A Copycat Recipe)
Make Chick-fil-A’s kale crunch salad at home using my copycat recipe. This salad tastes like the one you get at the store, but better because it’s homemade! Have it on your table in five to ten minutes!
Chick-fil-A’s Kale Crunch Salad is light, crisp, and, of course, crunchy. It is the perfect balance between kale and cabbage, with almonds on top for additional crunch. My favorite part is the Dijon apple cider vinaigrette. The combination comes together to create a unique pop of flavor. It is one of those salad dressing that leaves you wanting more!
This salad is perfect for a light lunch, a side salad, or a full meal. I like to top it with fresh apples and extra crispy chickpeas I make in the air fryer for extra crunch! It also pairs great with any main dish, including vegan sloppy joes, kidney bean curry, and ciambotta (Italian summer stew).
Chick-fil-A Kale Crunch Salad Recipe
At a Glance
EASE: Super Easy!
COURSE: Light lunch, main dish or side salad
TIME: 5- 10 minutes
DIET: Vegan, plant-based, dairy free and gluten-free
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- The apple cider and Dijon mustard vinaigrette packs this salad with flavor.
- Making a crunchy kale salad is fast and easy! Making it from scratch, including chopping the vegetables, takes about ten minutes (fast). But if you are using precut kale and cabbage, this salad will be ready in less than five minutes (super fast!)
- This salad checks all the boxes! It is fast, easy, delicious, loaded with nutrients, vegan, vegetarian, plant-based, and clean.
Notable Ingredients
Kale
Kale is more popular than ever and easy to find at your local grocery store. It’s loaded with vitamins and fiber and has a great crunch texture! Kale comes in many different varieties. I chose to use curly kale to match Chick-fil-A’s recipe. You can use your favorite varieties or save time by buying a pre-packaged cake that is pre-cut.
Cabbage
Cabbage adds crunch and flavor to give your salad a touch of complexity. Chick-fil-A uses green cabbage. To mimic their salad, I use the same curly variety, but you do not have to. You can use red or purple cabbage. Much like the kale, it is a personal choice.
Almonds
I like to use almond slivers. They’re already cut up and easy to top your salad with. If you have time, dry roast the almonds on your stove. This will bring out their flavor and give them a crisp texture.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Before making this salad, I hardly ever used apple cider vinegar. It sat in my pantry. I soon realized that was the secret ingredient that made the salad dressing pop in flavor! I now use it in most of my salad dressings!
Dijon Mustard
is what provides a slight bite on the finish. I use Grey Poupon. I love the flavor, and it’s vegan. It also makes me giggle from their old 80’s commercial! Sweetener: This ingredient is necessary to balance out the vinegar and mustard. Chick-fil-A uses honey in their dressing.
Sweetener
You will need a sweetener to balance out the tang from the apple cider and the bite from the mustard. Honey, blue agave, or maple syrup are all great choices. If using maple syrup opt for the real stuff, 100% pure.
See the recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
Want to mix up the dressing? – Try this easy maple dijon dressing from Green Heart Love. I can’t get enough of the delicious flavor, and It pairs perfectly! For a spicy twist, try topping your salad with Chili Lime Pepitas!
Personalize this Recipe
There are so many great ways to personalize this salad that I had a hard time narrowing down suggestions. That’s a good problem to have, right?
Cheese
If you love cheese, I recommend feta, goat, or shaved parmesan cheese. If you are vegan, the vegan feta cheeses are great. In fact, out of all the vegan cheese options, feta is close to the real thing!
Dried Fruit
Add dried cranberries, golden raisins, or apricots to create pops of flavor. You only need about a quarter cup and instantly your salad will have pops of sweetness!
Protien
To add protein, top this salad with chickpeas or grilled chicken. You can top it with extra crispy chickpeas to give it more crunch!
How to Store this salad: You can store this salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. If you are meal-prepping, mix and store the dresing separately.
Did you make this? Leave a comment below and let me know how it turned out!
Kale Crunch Salad (Chick-fil-A Copycat Recipe)
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Sharp knife
- cutting board
Ingredients
Salad
- 4 cups (268g) curly kale chopped
- 1 cup (89g) green cabbage shredded
- ¼ cup (36g) roasted almonds slivers
Apple Cider and Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette
- ¼ cup (54g) extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons (10g) fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon (15g) dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons (30g) apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons (42g) honey, blue agave or maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Kale: Wash and dry the kale. Remove stems and chop into bite-sized pieces. In a bowl, drizzle kale with 1 teaspoon olive oil and a small squeeze of lemon juice. Massage with clean hands for 2–3 minutes until tender.
- Combine: Combine the kale and shredded green cabbage in a large mixing bowl
- Vinaigrette: In a small bowl or mason jar, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, sweetener of choice, salt, and a pinch of pepper.
- Toss: Drizzle the Dijon mustard Vinegrette Dressing and sprinkle the roasted almond.
Notes
- Store any extra dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Serve the salad in a large salad bowl or individual plates.
- This recipe serves 4-6 people as a side dish or 2-3 people as a main course.
- To make the dressing vegan, substitute blue agave or maple syrup for honey at a 1:1 ratio.
Love this salad… Added grilled Shrimp, red onions and feta. Dressing is delish! Thanks so much for the recipe!!!
YUM!!!! That’ sounds amazing! I am so glad you liked my recipe and thank you so much for leaving a comment!
This is delicious! Dressing was spot on, and salad is even better as leftovers!
What a great way to use our abundance of kale in the garden.
Made as described for my husband, added cranberries to mine.
Hi Molly, thank you so much for your comment! I am so glad you liked my recipe. Adding cranberries is a great choice!
Delicious! My husband and I both really liked it
Hi Cindy! Thank you so much for leaving a comment. I am so happy you liked this recipe. <3
Is the nutritional value for one serving?
Good morning Marisa, yes the nutritional value is for one serving. I did rerun it in the recipe card and the amount was lower. I thin cross checked it in ChatGPT. What I listed in the recipe card is the nutritional value from Chat, it also aligns with Chick-fil-A. Let me know if you have any other questions. Ruth
Loved this recipe! Quick to put together. Fabulous dressing!
Hi Lacey, I am so happy you liked it! It really is fast and easy (and super tasty!). Thank you for leaving a review. It really does help others find me.
How long can you keep it after making if you add dressing?
Hi Tiffany, the salad can be kept for up to three days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I would recommend adding fresh almonds before serving.
Literally the bestest (not a word but I made it one) kale salad I’ve ever had!