Chick-fil-A Testing Vegan Kale Crunch Side Dish

Chick-fil-A is expanding its vegan menu with the leafy green Kale Crunch Side.

The new dish is currently being tested for a limited time at select Chick-fil-A restaurants in Florida, Iowa, and Texas, including Orlando, Daytona, Space Coast and Gainesville, Florida; Eastern Iowa; and Tyler-Longview, Texas.

The dish boasts a blend of curly kale and green cabbage that is tossed with salted, crunchy almonds and tossed in an Apple Dijon Dressing. Vegan and vegetarian-approved, the Kale Crunch Side is being dubbed a fresh snack that is a lighter option on chain’s side menu.

“We are thrilled to introduce the Kale Crunch Side to our guests looking for a healthier side alternative that is still convenient,” Leslie Neslage, menu lead for the menu and packaging team at Chick-fil-A, said in a press release. “We look forward to hearing what customers in our test markets think of this.”

Not looking to go vegan? No problem! The beloved chicken chain claims that the Kale Crunch Side serves as the perfect complement to the Grilled Nuggets or the classic Original Chicken Sandwich.

Offered in small and large servings with prices starting at $1.85, with both sizes coming in at less than 150 calories including toppings, the Kale Crunch Side extends Chick-fil-A’s reach even further into the vegetarian and vegan demographic.

Should the new side dish prove a success during the limited-time test run, the beloved chicken chain will roll the Kale Crunch Side out to menus nationwide.

Currently billed as one of the more vegan-friendly fast food chains, Chick-fil-A’s menu includes a number of options for vegans, including waffle fries, hash browns, the Grilled Market Salad, and even a Grilled Chicken Wrap minus the chicken and cheese, all of which are made without any animal ingredients.

In early March, and in accordance with the Lenten season, which requires practicing Christians to abstain from eating meat, Chick-fil-A introduced a fried fish sandwich. Available at participating locations during Lenten seasons of year’s past, the sandwich features two lightly battered fried cod fillets between a warm, buttered bun. It is topped with cheese, lettuce, and an optional lemony tartar sauce that “pairs perfectly with the flaky white fish.”

The chain also introduced boxes of fish tenders, with both the tenders and the sandwich served with a side of waffle fries, the chain’s best-selling menu item. Proving to be healthier options, the fried chicken sandwich ticks in at 370 calories while the fish tenders clock in at 190 calories.