Copycat Chick-Fil-A Market Salad
This Copycat Chick-Fil-A Market Salad is mixed greens topped with fresh fruit, blue cheese, walnuts, and tender chicken drizzled with apple cider vinaigrette. Sweet, tangy, salty, and savory flavors come together to create a mouthwatering salad.
Want to try more copycat recipes? Try this Cheesecake Factory Chopped Salad next.
Copycat Chick-Fil-A Market Salad
This homemade Chick-Fil-A Market Salad is bursting with flavor and amazing texture too; from the crunch of the chopped walnuts to the soft blue cheese crumbles. The fast food franchise is best known for its fried chicken nuggets and chicken sandwiches but Chick-Fil-A salads are absolutely delicious! With a few nutritious and tasty tweaks, this is bound to be the best market salad recipe you’ve ever had.
Why You’ll Love This Copycat Chick-Fil-A Market Salad Recipe
Better Than Fast Food. This salad contains the same ingredients as the Chick-Fil-A market salad, but just with higher quality ingredients. The best part is, you can enjoy it any time you want, even on Sundays, when Chik-Fil-A is closed.
Affordable. For the price of 1 Chick-Fil-A salad, you can make a few different meal prep salads.
Customizable. Easily customize your market salad recipe to add more or less of any ingredient to suit your taste.
What is a Market Salad?
Market Salad is the healthiest salad on the Chick-Fil-A menu. So, what is in a Chick-Fil- market salad? Mixed greens are topped with grilled chicken, blue cheese, sliced red and green apples, strawberries, and blueberries. It comes with a side of Harvest Nut granola, roasted almonds, and either the Zesty Apple Cider Vinaigrette or light Balsamic dressing.
The key differences between the restaurant version and my homemade one are the chicken breasts, the granola mix, and the nuts. Instead of grilled marinated chicken, I use my recipe for air fried chicken tenders. I make my own refined sugar-free granola and opted for walnuts instead of almonds.
Chick-Fil-A Market Salad Ingredients
Spring mix: This is a fresh mix of leafy greens like spinach and baby lettuce. The variety adds dimension to the flavor and texture.
Fresh Fruit: I use sliced strawberries, sliced granny smith apples, and blueberries.
Walnuts: Chopped.
Chicken breasts: Air fried chicken is perfectly crisp chicken with the crunch of deep fried chicken but lighter. This recipe is great for meal prep. Make the chicken ahead of time so you can add it to the salad.
Blue cheese: This adds a rich, creamy quality.
Granola: I love that this Chick-Fil-A salad doesn’t include croutons because granola stays crunchy when combined with the salad dressing. My homemade granola is vegan, gluten-free, and so easy to make.
Apple Cider Vinaigrette
Olive oil: This is the base of your salad dressing so use high-quality olive oil.
Apple cider vinegar: Get ACV that includes the “mother”. That holds all the nutrients.
Lime: Use juiced lime for a bright, citrus flavor.
Honey: This acts as an emulsifier and thickens the dressing.
Seasoning: I keep it simple and season it with salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.
How to Make Chick-Fil-A Market Salad
Begin by making the chicken! You can use my air-fried chicken cutlet recipe. Then grab a large bowl and add the spring mix on the bottom.
Add the strawberries, apples, blueberries, walnuts, blue cheese and granola on top.
Into a jar with a lid, add the ingredients for the apple cider vinaigrette. Shake it well to combine. Taste and make any adjustments if needed.
Finish the salad with sliced chicken and a drizzle of apple cider vinaigrette. Toss to combine & enjoy right away.
Substitutions + Variations
Spring mix: Use any lettuce, kale, spinach, or romaine.
Strawberries: Raspberries will work as a substitute.
Granny smith apples: Use any variety of apples or pears on hand.
Blueberries: Dried cranberries would be a tasty alternative.
Walnuts: You can use slivered almonds, pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds instead.
Chicken breast: You can use grilled chicken.
Blue cheese: Use feta cheese as a replacement.
Granola: If you don’t want to make homemade, use store-bought granola instead.
Salad dressing: You can use a balsamic vinaigrette, ranch, or honey mustard.
Vegan Chick-Fil-A Market Salad: Omit the chicken, use plant-based cheese, replace the honey in the vinaigrette with agave, and add chickpeas for protein.
Tips
You can triple the servings of this salad to serve it to a group. In that case, serve the toppings on the side so everyone can pick and choose which inclusions they want on their personal salads.
Allow the chicken to cool before slicing it.
Avoid over-seasoning the salad. Each element packs more than enough flavor.
Storing Leftovers
Store the leftover salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Store the salad dressing separately in a mason jar in the fridge for up to one week. Shake the dressing well before using it because it will separate.
FAQ
Is the Chick-Fil-A Market Salad healthy?
This salad is one of the healthiest options at the fast food chain. It’s a well-balanced meal and this homemade Chick-Fil-A market salad is even more nutritious since it’s made with fresh inclusions. If you want to save some calories, cut back on a few toppings (granola and cheese) or use reduced measurements.
Can Chick-Fil-A Market Salad be made in advance?
Save time by preparing the chicken, granola, fruit, and apple cider vinaigrette ahead of time. Don’t assemble the salad until you’re ready to eat it.
Copycat Chick-Fil-A Market Salad
Ingredients
- 4-6 cups spring mix
- ⅓ cup strawberries, sliced
- ¼ cup granny smith apples, diced
- ¼ cup blueberries
- ¼ cup walnuts, chopped
- 2 chicken breasts, air fried
- ¼ cup blue cheese
- ¼ cup granola
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinaigrette
- 1 lime, juiced
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Begin by making the chicken! You can use my air-fried chicken cutlet recipe.
- Grab a big bowl, and add the spring mix on the bottom.
- Add the strawberries, apples, blueberries, walnuts, blue cheese and granola on top.
- Into a jar with a lid, add the ingredients for the apple cider vinaigrette. Shake it well to combine. Taste and make any adjustments if needed.
- Finish the salad with sliced chicken and a drizzle of apple cider vinaigrette.
- Toss to combine & enjoy right away.
Hey, I’m Jazz
I’m a nutritional therapist practitioner and spent 3 years as a personal chef to NBA athletes. Follow along for easy, attainable and healthy recipes in under 30 minutes!
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