Chick Fil A Kale Crunch Salad Copycat Recipe

Try this copycat Chick Fil A Kale Crunch Salad for a healthy lunch meal prep! Kale, cabbage, and almonds were drizzled with cider vinaigrette.

5 from 9 votes

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Prep Time 8

Cook Time 20

Total Time 28

Course Lunch

Cuisine American

Servings 4

Calories 316 kcal

Ingredients

1 lb. chicken breast (454 grams)
cooking oil spray of choice
¾ cup raw almonds (or use roasted, salted almonds to save time)
10 ounces raw kale (284 grams; I used dinosaur kale; curly kale also works)
6 ounces green cabbage, shredded (170 grams)

For the apple Dijon dressing:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 tablespoons apple cider
2 tablespoons sugar-free maple syrup (or regular maple syrup)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Mist a stovetop grill pan with cooking spray. Put the pan over medium heat.
Cook the chicken on the grill until it has reached the minimum safe internal temperature of 165°F (74°C). This took approximately 10-15 minutes per side. Season the chicken with salt and pepper while it cooks.
While the chicken breasts cook, toast the almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat. Stir them frequently to prevent burning. They should become lightly toasted in 3-5 minutes.
Next, rinse your kale in cool water, dry it, and chop it into bite-sized pieces. You should remove the thick stems from the kale since this is a raw kale salad.
Put the kale into a large bowl and massage it with clean hands for a few minutes. This will help make your kale more tender and delicious!
Shred the cabbage and then divide your chopped kale and cabbage between four bowls or meal prep containers.
Chop your grilled chicken into bite size chunks and add ¼ of the chicken to each salad bowl. To finish the non-dressing ingredients, add ¼ of the almonds to each salad container.

To make the apple Dijon dressing:

Make the dressing by putting the olive oil, cider, syrup, mustard, vinegar, garlic, salt, and black pepper in a jar. Put a lid on the jar and give it a good shake to mix the ingredients.
Stir the dressing into the salads about 30 minutes before serving. If using the salads as a meal prep, keep the dressing in a separate container. This will help keep your salads from getting soggy. Enjoy!

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Notes

This is a level 1 recipe (may help support fat loss). If I had to pick the ideal sort of meal that could help support weight loss, this would be it. Why? Well, we've got:

low calorie kale and cabbage that add a ton of volume and fiber,
plenty of high quality lean protein from chicken,
and some healthy fat in the almonds and the dressing

If anything, this salad is a bit on the low side for calories. If you wanted to round out the meal, add an ounce of low fat cheese and an ounce of whole grain crackers. This brings things up to around 500 calories and adds two additional food groups to the meal. Nice!

If you have a fat loss goal, the one way to really "go wrong" with salads is to pile on the added oils, nuts, and seeds. I inadvertently sabotaged my weight loss efforts for too long with "healthy" salads containing 1000+ calories of things like olive oil and nuts. Cue my frustration.

Remember that a little can go a long way when it comes to fats (and particularly added fats). We need some fat in the diet, it is essential, but it can be easy for some of us to go overboard. Fat is definitely not "bad," but it is possible to get too much of a good thing!

It can be frustrating to set a goal and not achieve it. If you are working towards a healthier lifestyle to achieve fat loss, your healthy diet needs to support that goal.

Some people need to gain weight for health, while others could benefit from weight loss. Eating in a healthy way that also supports your goal can prevent you from feeling like you're spinning your wheels but going nowhere.

Nutrition information is for one serving of the recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 316kcalCarbohydrates: 13.4gProtein: 29.4gFat: 17.2gSaturated Fat: 1.7gSodium: 383.8mgPotassium: 419.7mgFiber: 4gVitamin A: 132.1% DVVitamin C: 149.4% DVCalcium: 16.4% DVIron: 17.7% DV