If you enjoy the superfood salad from Chick-Fil-A, You’ll love this copycat version you can make at home. I’ve made a couple tweaks, like using broccoli florets instead of broccolini (simply because the florets are easier to source) and replacing the walnuts with sunflower seeds (just personal taste), but the spirit of the salad remains the same. A sweet and tangy Maple-Cider Vinaigrette gives this salad it’s signature flavor that will keep you coming back for more!
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
Salad
- Fresh broccoli florets – You can also use broccolini if you can find it.
- Kale – One of the keys I discovered to not hating kale was to massage it. Just put the clean kale in a big bowl and grab it with your hands and scrunch it up until it’s softens a little. This helps break down the toughness and helps it hold onto the dressing a little better.
- Dried tart cherries – If you can’t find dried cherries, Craisins will work as well.
- Salted, shelled sunflower seeds – The original salad uses walnuts, which you are welcome to add if desired. I personally prefer sunflower seeds. Pepitas (pumpkin seeds) are also delicious.
Dressing
- Apple cider vinegar
- Green onion
- Creole or mild course-grain mustard
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Real maple syrup
- Extra virgin olive oil
How to Make a Copycat Chick-Fil-A Superfood Salad
- Make the dressing: In the jar of your blender, combine apple cider vinegar, onion, mustard, salt, pepper, and maple syrup. Blend until smooth. With the blender running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Set aside.
- Assemble the salad: Massage your clean kale in a large serving bowl to soften it a bit. Make sure your broccoli is broken into very small bite-sized pieces and toss those in. Then add some dried cherries or cranberries and some sunflower seeds.
- Drizzle about 3/4 of the dressing onto the salad. You can always add more dressing if desired, but this is a good place to start. Toss everything together and Refrigerate for up to 24 hours before serving.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store finished salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This salad is best if chilled for at least a few hours and up to 24 hours. You can certainly still enjoy it after that 24 hour mark, but the greens will begin to soften eventually.
- If you have leftover dressing, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 4-5 days for best results.
- If you’d like to add a little extra flavor or protein, try crumbling a little feta or mild goat cheese over the salad right before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
You may be surprised by how delicious kale can be when marinated in a good dressing! I would recommend giving it a try. I have not tried replacing the kale in this recipe, but you could always try thick shredded cabbage if desired, as it holds up well to dressing in a similar way. You could always try another leafy green, such as spinach, arugula, collard greens, Swiss chard, or mustard greens. Just be aware that some of these will wilt quickly and should be eaten right away after dressing the salad.
Broccolini is a hybrid vegetable created by crossing Chinese kale and broccoli. This results in a more tender, milder floret. It can sometimes be hard to find and more expensive than regular broccoli, which is why I usually use broccoli in this recipe.
Copycat Chick Fil A Superfood Salad
Ingredients
Maple-Cider Vinaigrette
- ⅓ cup cider vinegar if you can, use something murky like Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 green onion trimmed about 1″ on top and the “hairy” root end on the bottom
- 1 teaspoon Creole or mild coarse grain mustard
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- A few cracks of fresh black pepper
- ⅔ cup real maple syrup
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil I use our garlic olive oil
SALAD
- 4 cups broccoli broken into small pieces
- 8-10 cups about 8 ounces kale, massaged
- 6 ounces tart dry cherries or Craisins
- ⅓ cup salted shelled sunflower seeds
Instructions
Dressing
- In the jar of your blender, combine the vinegar, onion, mustard, salt, pepper, and maple syrup. Blend until smooth. With the blender running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Set aside.
Salad
- In a very large bowl, combine the broccoli, kale, cherries, and sunflower seeds. Drizzle about 3/4 of the dressing onto the salad and toss to coat evenly. Add more dressing if desired. Refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
Notes
- Nutrition information was calculated using 3/4 of the dressing.
- Store finished salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This salad is best if chilled for at least a few hours and up to 24 hours. You can certainly still enjoy it after that 24 hour mark, but the greens will begin to soften eventually.
- If you have leftover dressing, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 4-5 days for best results.
- If you’d like to add a little extra flavor or protein, try crumbling a little feta or mild goat cheese over the salad right before serving.
Questions & Reviews
I put my kale into my ninja mixer until it is broken up into small pieces- not mush; just broken down. I find it “tenderizes” the kale quite a bit and makes the pieces more like Chick-fil-A size. Love the dressing!
This is spot in delicious. I love diced almond so I use that instead of sunflower seeds. I make this for dinners and only use the dressing each time we serve the salad so we don’t have to refrigerate the whole salad and deal with sogginess. Such a great salad.
I think this is even better than the salad at Chick Fil A. I cut down the maple syrup to 1/2 cup and it was perfect. I think the one at CFA is too sweet. Thank you for sharing this!
This is an amazing salad! I’d had it at Chick-fil-A and wanted to make it myself. My family LOVES it. My teenage sons devour it! Loved your tip to “massage” the kale. It’s absolutely necessary and many people don’t know about it. Thanks for a great recipe that I make over and over again!
I haven’t had the salad from CFA, but we had this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! I subbed pepitas (little pumpkin seeds) for the sunflower seeds. Yum!
I adore CFA ksle salad, but it is $$$! I can’t wait to try this at home! Thanjs so much for sharing!
Massaging Kale w a little salt will help breakdown the toughness of the Kale. Also the longer it marinates the better it gets. If you haven’t tried it you will be surprised of how good it is. Even makes me feel the goodness after i eat it.
Holy crap this is TASTY!!! I subbed in brown sugar for the maple syrup. I was snarffing down greedy bites as I prepared the rest of dinner. I was not expecting this from a kale salad!!
Yes!! This makes me so happy!!
This is the closest I’ve tasted to the CFA Superfood dressing! (I didn’t use the mustard, omitted the salt and subbed soy sauce.) Definitely a keeper. Thank you! Well done!
Yes!!! I love to hear this! ??
I’m addicted to this salad. I buy two large and add an 8 count grilled nugget to it to make a meal. After spending way too much monty for these at the restaurant, I decided to search copycat recipes. We tried one that was basically a dressing mix of ACV/EVOO/maple syrup/salt/pepper and it wasn’t that great. The next one we tried was your version. HELLO, YUM!! You nailed it!! Now I can make a huge bowl to feed the family and not break the bank. THANK YOU!!
YES! I’m so happy to hear this! 🙂