This halloumi salad was a big hit with all members of my family. The halloumi cheese adds a delicious element and complexity to this very simple, healthy and quick to make salad.
In addition to halloumi cheese, this salad contains salad greens, red onion, Lebanese cucumbers, Kalamata olives and chickpeas. To accompany this salad and take it to the next level, dress it with the Middle Eastern Tahini Salad Dressing.
What is Halloumi Cheese?
Normally made from goat’s or sheep’s milk, this cheese is quite versatile. You can eat it raw or cooked and due to it’s heat tolerance, you can sauté it and it will maintain its shape.
Halloumi cheese adds a great flavor to this salad as it has a mild salty flavor and is quite rubber-like. It does hold well together but if you don’t slice carefully, it can break.
This cheese is great for sautéing, but needs oil rubbed on to all sides exposed to your pan to avoid it sticking to the pan.
Halloumi Nutrition and Calories
Halloumi cheese is high in protein. In fact every ounce of halloumi cheese contains 7 grams of protein. Halloumi is also high in calcium like other types of cheese. Cheese is important for bone and teeth health.
It’s important to remember that halloumi is relatively high in sodium so don’t overdose on it.
Each ounce of halloumi contains 9 grams of fat and 110 calories.
Halloumi Substitute for Vegans
This recipe does call for halloumi cheese, it’s the star of the dish. However, vegans can still make this salad and substitute the cheese with tofu. There are some halloumi vegan recipes such as this.
Chickpeas in Salad
I use canned chickpeas because it’s easy. Ensure you rinse the chickpeas before throwing into the salad. You can buy dry chickpeas and pre-cook them, using in the salad once they’ve cooled. You’ll need hours to prepare them this way.
Salad Instructions
The salad is simple to prepare. You’ll first start by slicing the 9 oz. of halloumi cheese block. Each slice should be around 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch wide. Brush each side with oil and sauté, turning once the underside is browned.
Place the cheese slices to one side and start preparing the salad ingredients. Wash and slice the cucumbers. Slice your onion pieces thinly, add your pitted Kalamata olives to the salad greens and add your chickpeas.
You’ll now need to add the salad dressing. I use Middle Eastern Tahini Dressing which goes very well with the ingredients in this salad. The calorie total below includes the calories in the dressing too.
You can serve this as a main meal or a side dish. It fills up my family of four with plenty leftover. Hope you enjoy!
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Middle Eastern Halloumi Salad
This salad is super healthy and filling. It's also so easy to make. With middle eastern flavors, this salad is also very delicious.
- 5 oz. Salad greens
- 9 oz. Halloumi cheese
- 1/4 cup Red onion (thinly sliced)
- 1 cup Pitted Kalamata olives
- 2 Lebanese cucumbers (medium to large sized)
- 1/2 cup Middle Eastern Tahini Dressing (see link above)
Slice the halloumi cheese into 1/3 to 1/4 inch slices
Brush each side of the cheese slices with olive oil and sauté until browned. Set cheese aside.
Wash the salad greens and set aside
Slice the cucumbers and adds to the greens
Slice the red onion and add to the salad
Wash and drain your chickpeas and add to your salad
Add the pitted olives to your salad and mix it up. Now add the cheese slices to the salad. You can break up the cheese slices if you prefer to distribute them evenly.
Add the dressing to the salad, mix and serve.