Kale Crunch Salad (Chick-Fil-A Copycat)

This Kale Crunch Salad is an easy copycat recipe of the best side salad at Chick-Fil-A. It’s a simple kale and cabbage salad topped with an apple dijon vinaigrette that takes only a few minutes to make.

If you like copycat salad recipes and are looking to make more restaurant salads at home, try this Sweetgreen Hummus Crunch Salad or this Sweetgreen Peach & Goat Cheese Salad.

For some more simple side salad recipes, try this Creamy Chickpea Salad or this Blueberry & Goat Cheese Salad.

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• Recipe Highlights
• Ingredients & Substitutions
• Step By Step Instructions
• Expert Tips
• Recipe FAQs
• 📖 Recipe

Recipe Highlights

• Chick-Fil-A Copycat — Made with a copycat Apple Cider And Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette, this recipe is an easy to make homemade copycat version of Chick-Fil-A’s Kale Crunch Salad.
• Easy Side Salad — This is a super simple salad to make with only 3 main ingredients (roasted almonds, kale and green cabbage). You can prep all the ingredients in advance to quickly throw this salad together throughout the week.
• Crowd-pleaser — The crunch from the cabbage and almonds combined with the tangy apple cider vinaigrette is a combination that is guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser!

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Kale: Use fresh kale or pre-packaged kale that has been washed and torn into bite sized pieces. You can use mixed greens or spinach as a substitute.
• Green Cabbage: Cabbage (along with the almonds) is what gives this salad its “crunch”. Chick-Fil-A uses green cabbage, but you can use red cabbage as a substitute if you prefer.
• Almonds: Use plain, whole almonds. You could also use almonds that have already been roasted and skip the roasted sea salt step. As a substitute for almonds, you can use pecans, which will give the salad a slightly sweeter flavor.
• Olive Oil: Use a high quality extra virgin olive oil. You can use another type of oil as a substitute, such as sunflower oil, avocado oil or vegetable oil. Olive oil is used for making the roasted almonds, the salad dressing, as well as for massaging the kale.
• Sea Salt: Sea is used to make the roasted sea salt almonds as well as the apple cider vinaigrette.
• Apple Cider Vinegar: Apple cider vinegar is one of the main ingredients in this dressing. Use a high quality apple cider vinegar for the best flavor. If you don’t like apple cider vinegar, you can use white wine vinegar as a substitute.
• Dijon Mustard: Dijon is the second main ingredient in this dressing. Regular mustard does not work as a substitute.
• Maple Syrup: A bit of maple syrup adds the right balance of sweetness to the vinaigrette. You can use another type of sweetener, such as honey or agave syrup.
• Pepper: You’ll need a small dash of pepper for the dressing.
• Garlic Powder: You’ll also need a small amount of garlic powder for the dressing. You could use a small spoonful of fresh garlic as a substitute.

Step By Step Instructions

Step 1: Drizzle the olive oil and sprinkle the sea salt over the almonds. Toss them to evenly to cover all the almonds.

Step 2: Line the almonds in a single layer on a small baking sheet. Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes, tossing them halfway through.

Step 3: Add the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, sea salt, pepper and garlic powder to a mason jar. Shake vigorously for 20 seconds until the ingredients are well combined.

Step 4: Wash and dry the fresh kale and tear it into bite sized pieces. In a large bowl, drizzle the kale with a small amount of olive oil. Massage the kale for 1 to 2 minutes until the kale becomes tender and vibrant green.

Step 5: In a large salad bowl, combine the kale, green cabbage and roasted almonds. Top with the apple cider dijon vinaigrette.

Expert Tips

• Add in some extras. As is, this is a simple side salad. However, you can make it a heartier salad by adding in some extras, such as apple or pear slices, roasted chickpeas or couscous.
• Make the dressing sweeter. This apple cider vinaigrette has a bit of a tang to it. If you enjoy a sweeter dressing, you can add in a dash of extra maple syrup, to taste.
• Substitute the salad dressing. If you don’t like the apple cider vinaigrette, you can make this salad with another type of salad dressing, such as this Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette, this Red Wine Vinaigrette or this Lemon Oregano Vinaigrette.
• Meal-prep in advance. This is an easy salad to meal prep in advance for the week. Store the roasted almonds and dressing in separate containers until right before you are ready to eat the salad.

Recipe FAQs

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