Herbie Creative Recipes

Antique Taco Salad Dupe

Name: Antique Taco Salad Dupe: Kale Salad with Strawberries, Spicy Peanuts, and Pomegranate Vinaigrette
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts; 1 teaspoon olive oil or neutral oil; 1/4 teaspoon cayenne; 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin; 1/4 teaspoon paprika; 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder; Pinch of kosher salt; 1/4 cup dried cranberries; 1/4 cup pomegranate juice; 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar; 1 teaspoon honey; 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil; 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste; Black pepper, to taste; 1/3 cup light olive oil or neutral oil; 3 corn tortillas; 1 tablespoon olive oil or neutral oil; Pinch of kosher salt; 2 bunches lacinato or curly kale, stems removed, chopped into bite-size pieces (about 8 packed cups); 1 medium red bell pepper, finely diced; 1/2 medium red onion, finely diced; 1 cup sliced strawberries; 3 ounces queso fresco, crumbled; 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds; The spicy peanuts with cranberries; The tortilla strips; The pomegranate vinaigrette; 1/2 avocado, cubed; Cooked chicken, pork, or shrimp, if you want a larger plate

Kale Salad with Strawberries, Spicy Peanuts, and Pomegranate Vinaigrette

A kitchen-lab dupe of Antique Taco's kale salad: strawberries, red pepper, red onion, queso fresco, spicy peanuts with cranberries, sesame, crisp tortilla strips, and a light pomegranate vinaigrette.

Salads Sides Mexican Latin From Herbie From Antique Taco 4 servings Prep 20 min Cook 15 min Total 35 min

Created August 13, 2026

5.0 (1 review)

All recipes

Finished

Ingredients

Spicy peanuts with cranberries

1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts
1 teaspoon olive oil or neutral oil
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Pinch of kosher salt
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Pomegranate vinaigrette

1/4 cup pomegranate juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
Black pepper, to taste
1/3 cup light olive oil or neutral oil

Tortilla strips

3 corn tortillas
1 tablespoon olive oil or neutral oil
Pinch of kosher salt

Salad

2 bunches lacinato or curly kale, stems removed, chopped into bite-size pieces (about 8 packed cups)
1 medium red bell pepper, finely diced
1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
1 cup sliced strawberries
3 ounces queso fresco, crumbled
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
The spicy peanuts with cranberries
The tortilla strips
The pomegranate vinaigrette

Optional add-ins

1/2 avocado, cubed
Cooked chicken, pork, or shrimp, if you want a larger plate

Instructions

Heat the oven to 300 F. Toss the peanuts with 1 teaspoon oil, cayenne, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, and a pinch of salt. Spread on a parchment-lined sheet and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring once, until fragrant. Cool, then toss with the dried cranberries.

Prep
Raise the oven to 375 F. Cut the corn tortillas into thin strips, toss with 1 tablespoon oil and a pinch of salt, and bake in a single layer for 8 to 12 minutes, until crisp and lightly browned. Cool on the pan.
Whisk the pomegranate juice, red wine vinegar, honey, toasted sesame oil, salt, and pepper. Stream in the 1/3 cup oil while whisking until the vinaigrette looks blended. Taste and add a pinch more salt if it needs it.
Put the chopped kale in a large bowl. Add about two-thirds of the vinaigrette and massage it into the leaves for 1 to 2 minutes, until the kale darkens and softens but still has crunch. Let it sit while you finish the toppings.

Cooking
Add the red pepper, red onion, strawberries, queso fresco, sesame seeds, and the spicy peanut-cranberry mix. Toss. Add the remaining vinaigrette only if the kale still looks dry.
Top with the tortilla strips just before serving so they stay crisp. Add avocado or cooked chicken, pork, or shrimp if you want them.

Finished Antique Taco Salad Dupe: Kale Salad with Strawberries, Spicy Peanuts, and Pomegranate Vinaigrette — Finished dish

Notes

This is a Herbie Creative kitchen-lab dupe. Antique Taco does not publish the salad recipe. Chef credit: Rick Ortiz / Antique Taco, Chicago, for the restaurant salad being matched.
The current delivery menu lists: kale, fruit, red pepper, red onion, spicy peanuts with cranberries mix, queso fresco, tortilla strips, sesame, and pomegranate vinaigrette.
Fruit is seasonal at the restaurant. Strawberries are the version most often described. In other months use whatever ripe fruit they would plausibly swap in, such as grapes or stone fruit, in the same amount.
Sesame shows up on the menu as its own item. This batch uses toasted sesame seeds on the salad and a little toasted sesame oil in the vinaigrette.
Avocado, chicken, pork, and shrimp are restaurant add-ons, not part of the base salad.
Honey keeps the vinaigrette lightly sweet. Maple syrup works if that is what you have. Skip coconut oil. It is not a vinaigrette fat and it firms up when cold.
Earlier home copycats (Dietitian Debbie Dishes, Dramatic Pancake, and others) helped confirm the kale, strawberry, peanut, cranberry, queso fresco, and pomegranate-vinaigrette family. This version follows the current listed ingredients, including red pepper and sesame, which some copycats left out.
Contains peanuts.

Reviews

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Anonymous 2026-08-13

Kale, strawberries, spicy peanuts, and that pomegranate vinaigrette. Sweet, salty, and crunchy in one bowl.