Our Favourite Things to Make with Halloumi
Fried, baked or grilled, we can’t get enough of halloumi! Served as a side or as the main event, it steals the show on any plate. Super quick to prepare, halloumi slices only need a couple of minutes in a pan on each side, so you don’t have to wait long to enjoy a cheesy, chewy bite! Golden and firm on the outside, with a melty yet firm texture inside, it’s the perfect cheese to experiment with in vegetarian dishes (just be sure to check whether your halloumi contains rennet, if you’re cooking for a veggie!).
From burgers to salads to kebabs, halloumi is so jam-packed with savoury satisfaction, you’ll never miss the meat! We’ve rounded up tasty ways to enjoy the nation’s favourite squeaky cheese in a variety of slimming-friendly dishes.
Grab your Family Meal Planner to take notes – you’ll want to try all of these!
Spiced Halloumi Burgers
When halloumi is paired with nutritious accompaniments, there’s nothing to stop you enjoying it as a tasty midweek regular. That’s why our Spiced Halloumi Burgers come piled high with mixed leaves and tomato slices, before they’re drizzled with our homemade yoghurt and herb dressing. Any spice and halloumi combination creates a taste sensation, so we’ve smothered our halloumi patties in a homemade harissa and honey marinade.
Keep an eye on your halloumi patties while they’re in the frying pan – they only need around 2 minutes on each side before they’re golden (you don’t want the honey to catch in the pan and burn your hard work!).
Halloumi Couscous Burgers
Another veggie-friendly crowd-pleaser for family burger night, our Halloumi Couscous Burgers with Salsa are mouth-wateringly good. Whether you flip them on the hob or on the barbecue, these crispy-coated patties are every bit as filling and satisfying as a beef patty alternative (that’s your next meat-free Monday sorted!). As an alternative to higher calorie breadcrumbs, we’ve used couscous to create our slimming-friendly crunchy coating. Keep them in the pan a little longer than you’d usually fry halloumi slices (for around 7 minutes or so), until you see a lovely layer of golden crust. That’s your cue to flip and serve!
Halloumi and Smoky Bacon Hash
Is it the weekend yet? Our Halloumi and Smoky Bacon Hash is a lazy Sunday on a plate. A magical end-of-the-week brunch, it gives crispy veggies and potatoes a delicious halloumi makeover. By using a tasty combination of smoked paprika spices with garlic granules, we’ve guaranteed plenty of flavour without piling on the calories. When the veg, potatoes and streaky bacon bits are nicely coated, you’ll know it’s time to stir in the lightly-fried, golden brown halloumi pieces. Top with a runny-in-the-middle fried egg and say hallo-umi to your new favourite brekkie!
You can find the full recipe in our second cookbook, Pinch of Nom: Everyday Light. If you’ve not got your copy yet, you can grab one here.
Halloumi in Blankets
We can all agree that Pigs in Blankets are the highlight of any spread (they’re way too good to be just for Christmas!), so it definitely doesn’t hurt to give our melt-in-the-middle Halloumi in Blankets a whirl. A delicious alternative to eating the traditional sausage-filled version, our cranberry-covered halloumi piggies come delicately wrapped in cosy courgette blankets. Before they’re baked in the oven, coat them lightly with a sprinkling of paprika and garlic. The results are so moreish, we can promise these won’t last long on any buffet spread. Our top tip? Serve yourself first before they’re all gone!
Roasted Vegetable and Halloumi Quinoa
While quinoa served with juicy oven-roasted vegetables is good to begin with, we take things to the next level with our Roasted Vegetable and Halloumi Quinoa. The saltiness of the halloumi is a perfect pairing with oh-so-sweet oven-roasted veggies. We’ve used courgettes, peppers, cherry tomatoes, juicy red onions and quinoa to make this delightful dish as bright and colourful as it is tasty. Halloumi is so versatile and mild-flavoured, playing around with ingredients is a dream – so you can always throw in any oven-friendly veggies going spare in the veg drawer!
This recipe’s only available in our second cookbook, and you can buy your copy here.
Halloumi Fries Salad
If you’ve got a hankering for sweet and salty flavours, our Halloumi Fries Salad is a vibrant solution. Since deep-fried breadcrumb coated versions of halloumi fries aren’t typically slimming friendly, we’ve baked ours in a homemade panko breadcrumb coating to avoid any hidden nasties. Just as mouth-wateringly satisfying to pull apart as full-fat alternatives, each salty fry adds an irresistible crunch to our leafy pomegranate salad. Finish with a drizzle of our homemade sweet-chilli infused dressing – it brings everything together so nicely!
Minty Halloumi and Vegetable Kebabs
Our Minty Halloumi and Vegetable Kebabs add all the best bits from a barbecue dinner to a chewy, filling skewer. We’ve threaded together juicy red peppers, courgette, red onion and halloumi chunks, and served them up with a zingy mint dip. Halloumi’s oh-so-satisfying firm bite is ideal for this garden party treat, as it holds its shape even while fresh from the grill. It can be tough to keep track of calories while you’re enjoying a barbecue buffet, but you can rest assured these savoury skewers come in at just 116 per portion. We’d recommend serving each flavour-loaded bite with a fresh, crispy salad and a side of sunshine!
Sweet and Sour Halloumi
If the ‘sweet and sour’ option is your go-to on any takeaway menu, you should get a load of this one! With sweet pineapple chunks, a tasty combination of spices and a firm yet gooey halloumi base, our Sweet and Sour Halloumi is a guaranteed family Fakeaway night winner. As if the juiciness from the pineapple wasn’t moreish enough, we’ve stirred in stir-fried onions, peppers, garlic and ginger to recreate restaurant-quality flavours for far fewer calories. Served over a fluffy bed of basmati rice, you’re looking at 471 calories in total – not bad at all for a spot of weekend indulgence!
Bang Bang Noodles
True to their name, our Bang Bang Noodles come loud and proud with a fiery kick. In classic Pinch of Nom style, we’ve found ways to recreate the signature flavours you’d expect from takeaway versions, using a healthier combination of fresh veg, herbs and spices. Stir the veggies, sweet chilli, halloumi chunks and noodles in a pan until they’re browned and ready to serve. If you’d prefer this dish on the milder side, you can always reduce the amount of chilli to suit your taste – the flavours will still be banging!
A substantial, versatile cheese, halloumi is a failsafe ingredient you can have some fun with. From breakfast through to dinner, there’s no shortage of yummy ways to work this veggie favourite onto your plate.
Which of our halloumi recipes are you melting over?
We can’t wait to see which of our slimming-friendly halloumi recipes you cook up first. Tell us in our Facebook group, where there are almost 1 million members sharing ideas and inspiration.
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