This Chick-fil-A Copycat Kale Crunch Salad is a super simple side salad, easy to make, and better than the original! It's made with curly kale, dijon maple dressing, toasted almonds, and crunchy cabbage. It's a great side or a base for any salad or rice bowl! Serve it with grilled or roasted chicken, meat, or fish.
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Why You'll Love This Salad
Better than the original - This copycat salad is made with all the same ingredients that Chick-fil-A uses in their salad but homemade is always better! You know what exactly goes in, that the dressing is sweetened with just pure maple syrup and doesn't have any flavors or preservatives. It's fresh, crunchy, and so flavorful!
Easiest side salad - While this salad is packed with flavor, it's also incredibly simple! You only need 9 ingredients and the salad comes together in just 20 minutes! It's easy to make and you don't even have to shred your own cabbage.
Lots of uses - You can serve this salad with anything from the grill, roasted chicken, turkey, steak, or even fish like roasted or grilled salmon, or shrimp. The salad is vegan-friendly so if you don't eat meat, you can serve it with some tofu as well!
It stores well - Kale is a great choice if you're planning to store your salad for a couple of days and don't want it to wilt down. This salad will stay the same for up to 3 days in the fridge! It won't wilt down and there is nothing that would release excess water so it will be just as delicious then as the first day!
Ingredients
- Kale - The original Chick-fil-A salad uses curly kale so that's what I used in this recipe. That being said, my go-to kale variety is always dinosaur kale (cavolo nero). It's darker, not as curly, and slightly easier to chew.
- White cabbage - You can shred your own cabbage or you can save time by using a coleslaw mix like I do in this recipe! The shredded carrots add extra flavor and color to the salad.
- Toasted sliced almonds - I opted for sliced almonds instead of chopped almonds because they still give the salad a nice crunch but aren't as hard as whole chopped almonds.
- Dijon maple dressing - The dressing is super simple. All you need is extra virgin olive oil, maple syrup, dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
Variations and Substitutions
- Dressing - If you don't have apple cider vinegar, you can use freshly squeezed lemon juice instead or other vinegar like white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar. If you want to change it up and try it with a completely different dressing, you can do that as well! Try it with this Lemon Shallot Vinaigrette.
- Different lettuce - If you're not a fan of kale or want to do half kale and half another lettuce, romaine lettuce would be a great option. Keep in mind that when you do this, the salad will wilt down more easily and won't last as long.
- More veggies - You could add practically any veggies into this to make it a full meal but some boiled and shelled edamame would be delicious for added protein. You can also add shredded carrots, beets, or chopped bell peppers.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F (175C).
- Spread sliced almonds on a large baking sheet and roast in the preheated oven for 6-8 minutes. Set aside to cool.
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- While the almonds are roasting, prepare the dressing.
- In a jar or a bowl, whisk together the extra virgin olive oil, dijon mustard, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, sea salt, and black pepper. Set aside.
- Add shredded kale to a large mixing bowl.
- Add 1-2 tablespoon of the dressing and massage the kale using your hands for a minute as if you were kneading dough. This softens the kale.
- Add shredded cabbage and roasted sliced almonds to the bowl.
- Drizzle with the rest of the dressing and toss to mix well.
- Serve the salad right away or store it in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to eat.
Expert Tips
- Don't like curly kale? If you don't like the grassy taste of curly kale, try dinosaur kale (also called cavolo nero) instead. It's darker, with less "green" taste and the leaves are flatter and easier to chew.
- Always massage your kale before adding any other ingredients. You can do this with just olive oil and sea salt or with any dressing you're using. Massage it for a minute as if you were kneading dough. It will visibly look softer and darker after you massage it. This makes the kale easier to chew.
Serving Suggestions
- BBQ or anything from the grill - Serve this salad at any BBQ or a cookout with grilled chicken, meat, fish, seafood, or even tofu!
- Holiday side - This salad is great if you want to add a little bit of crunchy salad to your holiday table at Thanksgiving or Christmas. It goes really well with any fall and winter meals.
- With any protein - This salad is a very versatile side. Whether it's protein from the grill, roasted, sauteed, air-fried, or anything else, I can guarantee you it will go with this salad! Add it to rice bowls or serve with sandwiches, wraps, or burgers.
Storing
Kale stores really well so this salad can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days without really wilting down at all!
FAQs
It's made with shredded kale, white cabbage, and apple cider maple dressing, with an option to add roasted almonds as a topping. It's meant to be served as a side.
Yes, they're usually too tough to chew so I recommend always removing them.
Similar Recipes
If you like this salad and want to try other kale salads, check out the four salads below! To see all the latest ones, head over to Salads.
📖 Recipe
Kale Crunch Salad
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 6 mins
- Total Time: 21 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Chick-fil-A Copycat Kale Crunch Salad is a super simple side salad, easy to make, and better than the original! Serve it with grilled or roasted chicken, meat, or fish.
Ingredients
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 8 cups shredded kale, stems removed
- 2 cups shredded cabbage (I used a coleslaw mix)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F (175C).
- Spread sliced almonds on a large baking sheet and roast in the preheated oven for 6-8 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- While the almonds are roasting, prepare the dressing. In a jar or a bowl, whisk together the extra virgin olive oil, dijon mustard, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, sea salt, and black pepper.
- Add shredded kale to a large mixing bowl.
- Add 1-2 tablespoon of the dressing and massage the kale using your hands for a minute as if you were kneading dough. This softens the kale.
- Add shredded cabbage and roasted sliced almonds to the bowl. Drizzle with the rest of the dressing and toss to mix well.
- Serve the salad right away or store it in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to eat.
Notes
Storing: Kale keeps really well so this salad is great for meal prep. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
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Veronika Sykorova says
Definitely one of my favorite copycat recipes I've made, so easy too!