Chick Fil A introduced their superfood salad back in 2016 and ever since it has become a go-to side dish. They later discounted it in 2020 and replaced it with a new salad called "kale crunch side salad" made with green cabbage.
Fortunately, this copycat recipe tastes very similar to the original one, and it's easy to make at home too!
What I really love about this kale salad recipe is how it shows that greens can be exciting and fun to eat! Fresh kale, blanched broccoli, dried fruits, and nuts get tossed in a tangy maple vinaigrette dressing.
On top of that, it's packed with vitamin c and vitamin a, antioxidants, and healthy fats.
I hope you love this copycat version as much as I do. The best part is that you can always make small changes and customize it it to your personal preferences.
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Ingredients You'll Need
Get all the details on these simple ingredients in the printable recipe card found at the bottom of the post.
- Kale: There are a few different types of kale out there, but I think curly kale works best.
- Broccoli: Broccolini is what the original recipe uses, but since they're more expensive and hard to find, I use regular broccoli instead.
- Walnuts: You can use any nuts you like including pecans, almonds, cashews, etc. If you're allergic to nuts you can use sunflower seeds.
- Dried cherries: I like to use dried sour cherries but cranberries work as well.
- Lemons: We're using both the lemon juice and the lemon zest for the dressing!
- Apple cider vinegar: For adding to the dressing.
- Olive oil: Extra virgin olive oil is best, but another neutral oil could also work.
- Mustard: I use dijon mustard, but grainy mustard could also work.
- Pure maple syrup: If you don't have it on hand it can be substituted with another liquid sweetener such as agave syrup.
- Salt and black pepper: To taste.
How to Make Copycat Chick Fil A Superfood Salad
- Fill a large pot with water and add 2 teaspoons of salt. Cut broccoli into florets and once the water is boiling, add the broccoli and blanch for 3 minutes.
- Drain and add the broccoli to a big bowl filled with water and ice. Let it cool while preparing the salad.
3. Wash the kale and remove the stems. Chop it into small pieces and add it to a large bowl alongside 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Using your hand, massage the kale for 1-2 minutes, or until the leaves are tender.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients to the kale.
5. In a small bowl, make the dressing by mixing all of the ingredients together. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix until everything is well coated. Serve!
Top Tips
- Don't skip massaging the kale! Plain kale is quite hard to chew and massaging it makes it more tender and easily digestible.
- Blanch the broccoli for 3 minutes to give it a vibrant green color and to soften the florets a bit.
- Dress the salad 30 minutes to 2 hours before serving, but no longer than that, or it will get soggy.
- Toast the nuts in the oven for 7-8 minutes to get the most flavor out of them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Often when I am eating at fast food restaurants, I like to order a salad to balance out my meals, and this superfood side salad is a great option. It's packed with veggies, healthy fats, and some fiber, and most of all, it tastes great!
As mentioned above, this is a key step in this recipe. I don't recommend skipping it. And if you don't want to massage the kale, you can use baby kale instead, but the texture is going to be a bit different.
Absolutely! Massage the kale and blanch the broccoli 2-3 days ahead of time. You can also make the dressing and keep it in a mason jar in the fridge for up to a week.
Yes! To omit the oil, massage the kale with some lemon juice, and use my oil-free dressing instead.
Serving
If you want to serve this for dinner, I would suggest serving this delicious salad with tofu nuggets, chickpea nuggets, vegan meatballs, or marinated tempeh.
If you want to turn the salad into a complete meal you can add some cooked quinoa, chopped avocado, chickpeas, and more toasted nuts.
Storing
Store the salad and the dressing separately for best results. If stored in an airtight container in the fridge the salad will keep for 3-4 days, while the dressing can keep for up to a week.
If you have any leftover salad that has been dressed it will keep for 1 day in the fridge.
More Salad Recipes
- Copycat Costco Quinoa Salad
- Chickpea Avocado Salad
- Three-Bean Salad
- Cucumber and Tomato Salad
- Vegan Potato Salad
- Vegan Avocado Pasta Salad
Copycat Chick Fil A Superfood Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 bunch broccoli, cut into florets (~1.3 lb)
- 10 ounces kale
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup dried sour cherries
- ½ cup roasted walnuts or another nuts of choice
Dressing
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (from 1 medium lemon)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon salt, or more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with water and add 2 teaspoons of salt. Cut broccoli into florets and once the water is boiling, add the broccoli and blanch for 2-3 minutes.
- Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with water and ice. Once the broccoli is done cooking, drain through a colander and add it to the ice bath. Let it cool while preparing the salad.
- Wash the kale and remove the stems. Chop it into small pieces and add it to a large bowl alongside 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Using your hand, massage the kale for 1-2 minutes, or until the leaves are tender.
- To the massaged kale, add the rest of the ingredients for the salad- the blanched broccoli, nuts, and dried cherries.
- In a small bowl, make the dressing by mixing all of the ingredients together- olive oil, maple syrup, lemon juice, lemon zest, apple cider vinegar, mustard, salt, and black pepper.
- If ready to serve, pour the dressing over the salad, Taste and adjust the flavor if needed, adding more salt, black pepper, or lemon juice to taste.
(Please refer to the post above for instructional photographs and other helpful information for this recipe)
Notes
- Don't skip massaging the kale! Kale in itself is quite hard to chew and massaging it makes it more tender and easily digestible.
- Blanch the broccoli for 3 minutes to give it a vibrant green color and to soften the florets a bit.
- Dress the salad 30 minutes to 3 hours before serving, but no longer than that, or it will get soggy.
- Toast the nuts in the oven for 7-8 minutes to get the most flavor out of them.
Nutrition
Post photography by: Petranka Atanasova.
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