Super Food Salad

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Disclaimer: This post isn’t sponsored by Chick-Fil-A, I’m just a crazy fan of their Super Food Salad so I developed a recipe for myself that is close enough for me not to tell a difference if my eyes were closed.

Super Food Salad - my copycat version of Chick-Fil-A's delicious new side dish!

My daughter’s favorite place to eat in the world, aside from our home, is Chick-Fil-A. We usually eat there on the night she has choir practice since that is a night the entire family seems to be scattered to the winds.

So when they switch up their menu, I have a chance to check out the new stuff pretty soon after it’s debut. The latest craze is their Super Food Salad and let me tell you what, it was love at first bite. I could live on that stuff! So you know I had to have a go at duplicating the recipe at home. I want to be clear, right out of the gate, that this isn’t Chick-Fil-A’s recipe. I have never seen their recipe and I just developed my recipe from the ground up based on the menu description. However, to my tastebuds, they are twins, maybe not absolutely identical, but twins just the same.

So if you are in love with the superfood salad they serve there like I am, here is how you can make it at home on those days where you may not be heading in the general direction of Chick-Fil-A but you still have a need that deserves to be filled.

Oh and this, this is another reason why I am so familiar with their menu du jour…

We’ve started calling this “Chicken School” on the days we take our homeschool to Chick Fil a 🙂 #chickfila #eatmorechicken #homeschooling

A photo posted by Christy Jordan’s SouthernPlate (@southernplate) on

We also have what we call “Chicken School” from time to time where I pack up our homeschool materials and we find us a booth at the local chick fil a for breakfast. After breakfast, we start on our school work and finish up around lunchtime, which we then have there (of course) before heading back home. The fun thing about Chicken School is how welcoming our local Chick-Fil-A spot is. They refill our drinks while we work, ask if there is anything else we need, and tell us to let them know if we do. The crazy thing is that Katy enjoys it so much that she hasn’t noticed we get twice as much work done on those days!

Super Food Salad - my copycat version of Chick-Fil-A's delicious new side dish!

For the salad part, you’ll need Kale, broccoli, sunflower kernels*, and dried cherries.

*Chick-Fil-A does NOT use sunflower kernels. They use a roasted nut blend which seems to be almonds, pecans, and walnuts, but you don’t see a lot of those and I wanted more nuts throughout, plus sunflower kernels are cheap :).

I was so tempted to add in matchstick carrots, shredded cabbage, etc, but decided to keep it simple and try to stick as close as I could (aside from the nuts) to how Chick-Fil-A does it. I’m glad I did because this salad is stinking awesome.

Also worth noting is that Chick-Fil-A uses broccolini. I had to look that up. Sounded like baby broccoli with aspirations or something. Turns out it is some Italian broccoli with smaller florets and larger seeds. Either way, to me it was just another veggie putting on airs so I settled for plain old broccoli, already in a bag, already cut. And you see that big old bag of Kale? It was already cut, too, and cost me less than $3. There was enough to make this salad twice. If you decide to make one serving and save the rest of the Kale, just put it in a zipper seal bag with one paper towel and store in your fridge. That paper towel in there will keep it fresh and crispy for twice as long. Works for lettuce and such, too.

Super Food Salad - my copycat version of Chick-Fil-A's delicious new side dish!

For the dressing you’ll need: apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Now y’all, I’m using my famous Maple Syrup from Ginter’s Corner Tap N’ Sap again. You may recall how I fantasized about getting my daughter married into their Maple Syrup Dynasty over in my Maple Pecan Pie Post. I’m still working on that…

The big old mason jar contains my dressing ingredients. I’m about to put a lid on it and give it a good, hearty shake. If your kids walk in while you are doing this open your eyes real big and growl while shaking it. They will scatter to the winds until you call them back into the kitchen for supper and you’ll have a little “me” time :).

Super Food Salad - my copycat version of Chick-Fil-A's delicious new side dish!

Lookie thar. All shook up. Just like Elvis!

Super Food Salad - my copycat version of Chick-Fil-A's delicious new side dish!

Oh look, there’s Brady! You don’t see him around on SouthernPlate much these days so when I was taking photos and he leaned in for a bomb it felt like a rare treat for me. I’m hoping you’ll see more of him after this school year as he’s decided to join us at home, customize his studies (more programming and pre engineering classes), and finish up high school with an advanced degree in one year rather than two. It’s amazing what you can do when you don’t have to stay behind a pace car, just another reason why I love homeschooling :).

Disclaimer for the people o’ the internets: No insult is intended towards anyone who doesn’t homeschool or any schools, public or private, that currently come to the mind of whoever is reading this. Please note that it is possible to say something that compliments a choice without it being a statement degrading a different choice. Just like saying someone is pretty is not saying the rest of the world is ugly. If you find yourself offended, please click here and read this post. Now let us get back to the food part…

Super Food Salad - my copycat version of Chick-Fil-A's delicious new side dish!

Put all your stuff in a bowl. Pour dressing over. Stir it up real good. Eat it real good. Enjoy!

Store this in the refrigerator, covered. Best if enjoyed within the first two days of being made.

Super Food Salad - my copycat version of Chick-Fil-A's delicious new side dish!

So how did it turn out? Well, it’s gone and no one helped me eat it :).

I love this stuff and can see myself making it weekly, especially since it is so easy.

To my tastebuds, I hit the mark with this recipe – but that’s not saying I won’t spin through the drive through to get my fix should the need arise.

If you have a Chick-Fil-A near you, I highly recommend this side dish with your next meal! If you want to be like me when you grow up (we’ll discuss your misguided aspirations later), you can order a plain grilled chicken sandwich, superfood salad, and a large Diet Dr Pepper. Be sure and ask for a pack of ketchup and put that on your sandwich because that is how I roll!

Super Food Salad

This recipe is forgivable and easily customized. Add more of whatever you like and less of whatever you don't.
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: salad
Servings: 4 about 12 cups
Calories: 386kcal
Author: Christy Jordan

Ingredients

  • About 8 cups chopped kale
  • About 2-3 cups broccoli florets
  • 1/2 cup sunflower kernels
  • 1/2 cup dried cherries
  • 1/2 cup cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 5 tablespoons good quality maple syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • Place kale, broccoli, sunflower kernels, and dried cherries in a very large bowl. Set aside.
  • In mason jar, add vinegar, oil, maple syrup, salt, and pepper. Put lid on and shake really well, until combined.
  • Pour over kale mixture and stir to coat. Store, covered, in the refrigerator, for up to two days.

Nutrition

Calories: 386kcal
Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!

Don’t worry about the people who aren’t happy for you.

They probably aren’t happy for themselves, either. 

~Unknown

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175 Comments

  1. Thanks for such a great recipe! I have been wanting to figure out how to copy Chick-fil-A for this salad. I am using walnuts that have not been glazed with sugar, although I love their’s that are. Also you have inspired me to try chicken school! I laughed so hard because we must be sisters in heart. My kids beg for Chick-fil-A every Tuesday after choir class for lunch, haha. Someday very soon we will be giving chicken school a try!

  2. Thank you for sharing your recipe. It is nice to have a new addition to our low carb diet (doctor’s orders). Soon after Chick-Fil-A introduced their “new salad” my husband and I tried it and fell in love with it. I was so glad that I had seen your version on Southern Plate. I did make one change – I substituted dried cranberries for the cherries. I noticed that the cranberries were lower in sugar and to me they taste about the same. I mix the ingredients in a sealable bag and then add the dressing when ready to serve.

    1. Well you stick close to SouthernPlate because I’m doing low carb myself and loving every minute of it! Lots of great meals coming your way!
      I’ll have to look into using dried cranberries next time. I sure do appreciate the tip!

  3. After making this a few times now, I’ve decided I like it better with baby kale rather than the crinkly stuff. Baby kale has a lighter flavor and does better on my palate. Thanks for the recipe.

  4. Hi Christy! This salad is so good! I have had my mom’s cooked kale with bacon and vinegar, but had never tried kale in a salad. I know it’s “all the rage these days”, but I just assumed fresh kale was too tough to eat raw; but you broke me! My supermarket had a sale on bagged kale, so I gave in and bought some. It helped that I made the dressing ahead of time and was instantly hooked. Had to make the salad to put it over, to keep myself from swilling it down straight! I see why it’s called Super-food Salad! I added some fresh strawberries to it and, seriously, the strawberries just put it even further over the top. I made a small bowl for my mom to try because she too, found it hard to believe that kale could be good in a salad… I guess the apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree……Who knew, haha? She was very pleasantly surprised. We do have Chick-fil-a restaurants up here in southern NJ, but I am not sure that they have added this salad to the menu yet. I checked my local menu online, but it just lists coleslaw and some variations of chicken salad at the present. Can’t wait till our Jersey blueberries come in so I can throw them in too. Have a blessed week!

  5. Brady is very handsome. I was disappointed that they discontinued Cole Slaw, we loved it. I have a friend that Loves this salad. I’m sharing your recipe with her. I’m sure she’ll love it.

  6. I finally tried Chick-fil-A’s Superfood Side a few days ago & I instantly fell in love, so of course I took to the internet to find a recipe for it. And here I am. I made your version last night, minus the sunflower seeds, since I found dried cherries/cranberries already with glazed walnuts/pecans…JACKPOT (although, I am sure the sunflower seeds would be the bomb.com as well)! And, OMG, you are my new BFF! This salad was amazing! I even dragged my 2 kids back to the grocert store tonight to buy more kale so I won’t run out of this salad. Ha! Thank you for this recipe! It will definitely be a staple in my house from now on. 🙂

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