Chick-fil-A Kale Crunch Salad Copycat Recipe

The Chick-fil-A Kale Crunch Salad Copycat Recipe is a massaged kale and cabbage salad with roasted almonds and this tangy sweet apple dijon vinaigrette and it’s the perfect kale salad. I never liked kale until I tried the Chick-fil-A Kale Crunch Salad. Within my first bite, I realized that I was preparing kale ALL wrong.

Case in point, I have always been a BIG fan of the waffle fries, but this salad is SO good that the past several times I have been to Chick-fil-A I got this salad instead of fries— that’s some big salad talk. This salad recipe, dare I say, might actually be better than the original Chick-fil-A Kale Crunch Salad. You have got to try out this copycat recipe for yourself. 

Step by Step: How to Make Kale Salad Taste Good

The first time I tried to make a kale salad, I didn’t know how to properly prepare kale. I avoided raw kale for a good year after trying it out.

Kale salad should not be bitter and the green should not be woody or crunchy, if you have had a kale salad like this before, then give kale another shot using these steps. Trust me this kale crunch salad is worth it! A good kale salad is dense and flavorfulThe whole experience was not pleasant and certainly did not taste right, but after I tried the Chick-fil-A kale salad I knew that there had to be a way to make kale delicious. There are a few keys to preparing kale greens for salad that are super important to making these greens delicious.

Step 1: Rinse the Kale, Cut, and Re-Rinse the Kale

Just like lettuce, we need to rinse our kale to make sure we start with a clean canvas. Unlike lettuce, kale can become bitter when cut into or massaged, so it is important to re-rinse the kale after you chop it to make sure that you remove the bitter taste. If you are lucky enough to shop at an ALDI, then you can skip this entire step by getting their organic bag of pre-chopped Kale. Make sure if you are starting with un-chopped kale that you do not neglect this step.

Step 2: Remove the Ribs

Remove the ribs (or stems or stalks) of the Kale. Do not try to eat these hard pieces of the plant. The stems are edible but are not tasty and are pretty difficult to eat in the raw form. You can save them and blanche them and fry them if you would like, but just don’t put them in your salad.

Step 3: Massage the Kale ( & why it is important to massage kale?)

Massaging the kale sounds funny; honestly, it sounded odd to me to give a vegetable a spa treatment. But the kale massage is THE most crucial step in creating an edible kale salad. The massage breaks down the fibers in the kale and makes the salad more tender. To massage the kale use washed hands to massage the kale (to me, it feels similar to doing a scalp massage motion). When the kale has reduced to 1/3 of the size, you are done massaging it.

Step 4: Absorb the Dressing

Let the salad dressing absorb into the salad for at least 30 minutes. Unlike other salad greens, kale holds up pretty well to pre-dressing the salad. It’s similar to coleslaw in that way.

Chick-fil-A Kale Crunch Salad Copycat Ingredients

Kale

I love to use ALDI’s pre-chopped kale bag, but curly kale will also work. Make sure to read the steps above on how to prepare the kale for the salad.

Coleslaw Mix

The original Chick-fil-A salad has green cabbage in it and no carrots. But I will be honest, I rarely end up finishing a whole head of cabbage before it goes bad (for a myriad of reasons). Coleslaw mix makes this salad a breeze to put together and helps me reduce my food waste, and the carrots are a welcome addition.

Almonds

The original salad uses crunchy chopped roasted salted almonds. You can use chopped, slivered, or sliced almonds in this recipe. I add a little extra pizazz to this recipe by adding a bit of pure maple syrup and salt to the almonds while toasting them.

Pure Maple Syrup

The pure maple syrup (make sure it’s pure) pairs nicely with the apple and dijon fall flavors in the vinaigrette. If you are all out of pure maple syrup, then honey would be your best substitute.

Apple Juice

The Chick-fil-A salad lists apple juice concentrate as an ingredient in the vinaigrette. Apple cider or juice will work well in this recipe. If you are all out you can also add 1/2 tsp more of pure maple syrup for the sweetness.

Apple Cider Vinegar

This is the same vinegar that Chick-fil-A lists in their ingredients and is imperative to cracking the taste of this salad dressing. In a pinch, you could use white wine vinegar, but I really wouldn’t suggest it.

Dijon Mustard

Other copycat recipes I have seen use spicy brown mustard in the vinaigrette. I have tried this as well, but the flavor wasn’t right for me. Chick-fil-A advertises the vinaigrette as an apple dijon vinaigrette, so the dijon mustard tastes a lot closer to the version at the restaurant.

Additional Topping Suggestions for the Chick-fil-A Kale Crunch Salad

The Chick-fil-A version of the salad is quite simple, which makes it very budget-friendly to make. Its only ingredients are green cabbage (in our case coleslaw mix), kale, roasted almonds, and the apple dijon vinaigrette. The salad is delicious as is, but if you are looking to bump up the toppings I would suggest the following:

• 1 chopped tart apple
• 3-4 crumbled bacon or turkey bacon pieces
• 3/4 cup of feta
• 1/4 cup craisins

What Should I Serve With Chick-fil-A Crunch Kale Salad?

At Chick-fil-A, this salad is served as a side dish, but when I make this copycat at home my husband and I typically eat this salad for dinner. Sometimes we will make it as a side instead or add some grilled chicken to the top. Here are some other great options to make this salad more of a side dish:

• Grilled chicken
• Grilled Shrimp
• Tomato Mozzarella Panini (Better Than Starbucks)
• A cozy fall soup