Grilled Halloumi Cheese with grilled tomatoes that are marinated with garlic, and served with balsamic vinegar, fresh basil, and olives. This Mediterranean appetizer bursts with flavors!
This recipe for grilled Halloumi cheese is an easy one to make. It takes about 5 minutes on the grill plus 30 minutes to marinate the tomatoes.
What Is Halloumi Cheese?
Halloumi cheese or Haloumi, is a cheese made of a mixture of goat and sheep's milk. It's salty and squeaky and holds its shape when you cook it. It's not a cheese that melts when cooked that's why it's always grilled or pan-fried.
Is Halloumi Greek Cheese? There is usually the confusion that Halloumi is a Greek cheese but it's not. Even though it is in many Greek dishes, Halloumi is a Cypriot cheese.
Best Ways To Eat Halloumi
Halloumi cheese is either served as an appetizer or as a filling Vegetarian substitute for meat. So the best ways to eat Halloumi cheese are:
- Grilled (or pan-fried) and served with balsamic or honey and sesame. In Greece, we love to serve grilled Halloumi as a warm salad with grilled vegetables or over a dark leafy green salad (like a mixture of spinach and rocket for example).
- Inside wraps and sandwiches instead of meat. Like a pita wrap with vegetables and grilled Halloumi for example (in this case it substitutes Gyros or Souvlaki).
How To Grill Halloumi Cheese
Since Halloumi is a grilling cheese it's very easy to grill. It doesn't stick because it doesn't melt. It takes only a few minutes to cook and once you see how easy it is you'll be making it over and over again!
Grilling Halloumi on a grill pan or griddle: Cut the cheese into 1.5 cm (¾-inch) thick slices.
Heat your grill pan or griddle very well over high heat. Then brush the cheese with some oil (I use olive oil) and grill for a few minutes.
Grilling Halloumi on BBQ: Just an extra step when grilling on fire, brush the grates with oil as well!
How to grill Halloumi in a pan: If you want to cook Halloumi in a plain pan (cast iron would be great) add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. It will be more pan-fried than grilled though.
What To Serve With Grilled Halloumi
The saltiness of this cheese and the delicious juices released from the grilled tomatoes definitely call for some bread or pita bread on the side. In Greece, bread is grilled and seasoned with dried oregano, olive oil, and sea salt. Serve this together with this grilled Halloumi appetizer for a little taste of heaven.
You can also season the pita bread with dried oregano, sea salt, pepper, and a tiny bit of olive oil. Rub all over and grill the pita for a minute on each side. It gets so yummy that way!
As an appetizer Halloumi goes amazing with most meat, pasta, and vegetable dishes. Here are a few examples: Chicken with Hilopites, Mpiftekia (Greek burgers), Briami (Vegetable Bake), and Healthy Greek Chicken Pasta Salad.
Recipe
Grilled Halloumi Cheese
Ingredients
For The Halloumi Recipe:
- 225 grams (8 ounce) Halloumi cheese cut into 1,5 cm (¾-inch) thick slices
- 2 small tomatoes cut into 1,5 cm (¾-inch) thick slices
- 1 small garlic clove minced or pressed
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- a pinch of dried oregano
To Serve With:
- fresh basil leaves
- green olives
Instructions
- Marinate the tomatoes. Rub the slices with the olive oil and garlic. Season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of dried oregano. Leave to marinate for 30 minutes.
- Heat a grill pan (or griddle or bbq) over high heat. Remove excess marinade from the tomatoes but do not discard it.
- Grill the tomatoes for 3 minutes turning them once (see note 1 below).
- Grill the cheese (after brushing it with some olive oil first) for 3 to 4 minutes turning it once as well.
- Serve. Lay the cheese and tomato slices on a plate. Mix the leftover tomato marinade with the balsamic vinegar and drizzle over the cheese and tomatoes. Toss a few fresh basil leaves (chop if too big), and serve with some olives on top. Enjoy!
Is there reliable advice anywhere for making Saganaki with greek cheeses please? I can get the cheese every time Lidl has a Greek theme. What I need is advice re how hot to have the grill pan and for hiw long. Some recipes coat the cheese in flour: others don't. Thank you.
Hello Leslie. There are a couple of ways to make Saganaki that's why there's different advice. In Greece we make it both ways either coated in flour or not. Coating with flour will give it a nicer crust. But if it's Saganaki cheese and not some Kefalotyri or Graviera cheese (which is sometimes used to make Saganaki as well) then the cheese itself will develop a nice crust on its own. What it's important is to deep-fry it. Half-fill a frying pan with a light vegetable oil (such as sunflower oil or canola) and heat to 180°C / 356°F. Then carefully add the cheese in and fry it for 2-3 minutes turning it once.
Love this access to authentic recipes. But methods are less encouraging. Trying to "Rub tomato slices with garlic" isn't practical as they pull apart. Good advice to keep the tomatoes and halloumi separate on a grill pan must imply a very big pan: mine isn't.
Hi, If the tomatoes are pulling apart then they're no good to put on the grill either. They should be a bit firm otherwise they will turn mushy and fall apart while you grill them. If the grill pan isn't big enough, grill the cheese first and cover with a plate to keep warm and then grill the tomatoes.