This fried halloumi with a Mediterranean-inspired salad is a very flavorful vegetarian meal that can be eaten on its own or served with your favorite protein. This salad is a delicious quick main dish for any occasion.
Halloumi cheese is a salty and firm cheese that can stand up to heat either by grilling or frying. It comes from the Mediterranean region and it is so versatile in cooking.
If you were to ask my family what my favorite meal is, it would be something that involves halloumi cheese. It is so easy to cook, quick to cook and goes so well with so many ingredients.
I can easily find ways to cook up this salty cheese.
It is just plain delicious!
Ingredients Needed
It may seem like a long list of ingredients here but the idea is to use what you have on hand.
Here is what you will need:
- Halloumi cheese
- Mixed olives like Spanish and kalamata
- Arugula
- Soy sauce (for cooking the halloumi)
- Salted pistachio shells removed. This adds crunch and texture to the salad.
- Shallot diced
Mediterranean Dressing
- Chili peppers such as serrano
- White vinegar
- Olive oil
- Sugar salt and pepper to taste
How to make
Frying halloumi is a lot easier than you may think. It may seem odd to cook cheese for dinner but this type of firmer cheese cooks up beautifully in a pan.
It gets a nice golden crust and a warm center.
Here is what it looks like:
- The first thing you want to do is slice the halloumi lengthwise into about ½-inch pieces. Halloumi cheese comes in a rectangular shape so it will have a long side and a shorter side. Cut it on the longer side since this will make fewer pieces you have to cook.
- The next thing you want to do is add the sliced halloumi to a pre-heated pan with a little oil. As the halloumi cooks, it will exude some of its juices.
This is ok! Once you flip it and start cooking the other side, the juices from the cheese should start to dry up.
When you see this happen, you add in some soy sauce for a little extra caramelization and flavor. Once this happens, the halloumi cheese will get a nice golden color.
- Once the halloumi is done cooking just add it to your plate with the Mediterranean salad and delicious toppings. Don't forget that delicious Mediterranean dressing that gets drizzled over the top of the fried halloumi!
Substitutions
If you cannot find Halloumi cheese, a great substitute for halloumi cheese is Panella cheese or Queso Blanco frying cheese which can be found in many supermarkets.
I often buy Panella cheese when I cannot find halloumi in the stores and it works great with this recipe.
Some stores will only carry halloumi in the spring since it is traditionally made then. These days since it is very popular it is more and more common to find it all year long.
Storing and Leftovers
If you do have any leftover fried halloumi cheese, you can easily use it the next day. I like to warm it up for about 30 seconds in the microwave to soften it back up.
Another favorite way I like to use leftover fried halloumi is to make a delicious sandwich with it by placing it on baguette bread, adding thinly sliced veggies.
It is so good that way!
Fried halloumi makes a wonderful meal prep item for lunches so if you are going to be making this recipe, I recommend doubling up on the fried cheese portion. If you want to make this fried halloumi salad even more substantial.
Tips
- When making this fried halloumi salad, the heat of your pan will draw out the liquids in your cheese and leave you with lots of liquid in the pan. You will want to drain this away after it happens so you get a nice sear on your fried cheese.
- The best way to remove the liquid after initially heating the halloumi is to just tilt your saute pan and spoon it out. It is very quick and worth it. This is the difference between boiled cheese and pan-fried.
More like this
If you love this halloumi salad recipe, you may also like these cheesy recipes:
Fried Halloumi with Salad
Ingredients
- 1 6 oz package of halloumi cheese
- 1 bag of arugula salad
- ⅛ cup of roasted and salted pistachios shells removed
- 1 shallot diced
- 4 tablespoon soy sauce low sodium
Mediterranean Dressing
- 3 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 small chili pepper such as serrano seeds removed and sliced thin into ringsif you don't like spicy use ½ the pepper or just omit the pepper all together
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- ¼ cup of mixed olives pitted spanish and kalamata
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, add your vinegar, sugar and sliced chili peppers and mix well and let sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour to lightly pickle the peppers.1 small chili pepper such as serrano, ¼ cup white vinegar, 1 teaspoon of sugar
- While the vinegar and chilis are coming together, you can start making your salad.
- On a medium to large platter, add your arugula. In a medium bowl, add your olive oil, olives and shallots and a pinch of salt and mix well and set aside.1 bag of arugula salad, ¼ cup of mixed olives pitted, 1 shallot diced
- Now, slice your halloumi cheese lengthwise into ¼ inch slices. You should get about 5-6 slices from one block of the halloumi cheese.1 6 oz package of halloumi cheese
- Preheat a medium saute pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil to the pan. When the oil is hot, begin adding your halloumi cheese to the pan and cook for about 3-4 minutes a side.
- At this point you will see your halloumi cheese sweat out it's liquid. Once this happens, tilt your pan and spoon out the liquid and discard.
- After removing the liquid from the pan, pour your soy sauce evenly over your halloumi.4 tablespoon soy sauce
- After a couple minutes, with a spatula, check to see if the cheese is browning before flipping. If it has a nice caramel color forming go ahead and flip the cheese over and cook the other side for 3-4 minutes. If it is not brown continue cooking until it is and then flip and cook the other side.
- When the halloumi is done cooking, carefully remove it from the pan and place on a cooling rack.
- Going back to the salad, take your bowl of vinegar and chili peppers, salt and pepper then add that to your olive oil and olives bowl and mix it all in. This is your vinaigrette for your salad.3 tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste
Assemble
- Take your cooked halloumi and lay it over your bed of arugula. Now taste your dressing with the olives and chilis and see if it needs any salt and pepper (remember that the halloumi cheese is salty so be careful not to add too much salt to your dressing). Drizzle your dressing and all of its ingredients over the top of the halloumi cheese until it is all used up.
- Now sprinkle the pistachios over the top of that.⅛ cup of roasted and salted pistachios shells removed
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition Values are estimates only.
See full nutrition disclaimer hereTried the Recipe? We Would Love To Hear From You In The Comments Below!
Melissa says
Thanks Erika