Grilled Halloumi

History

Halloumi is a semi-hard Cypriot cheese, traditionally made from a blend of goat’s and sheep’s milk, whose distinctive feature lies in its production process: the curd is heated before being molded, giving it an elastic texture able to withstand heat without melting.

This unique property makes it a cheese made for grilling, seared dry or with a little oil until it forms a golden, crackling crust while staying soft inside; in Cyprus, it’s enjoyed just as often plain as part of a meze spread as paired with watermelon in summer, a sweet-savory contrast much loved locally.

Halloumi belongs to a small family of cheeses worldwide engineered or treated to resist melting under heat — South Asian paneer, Latin American queso panela or queso para freír, and Greek saganaki-style kefalotyri all share this same practical trait, even though each is made by a different method and eaten in a different context.

Ingredients — serves 4

• 250 g (8.8 oz) halloumi cheese
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp honey
• Fresh mint
• Freshly ground pepper

Step-by-step grilled halloumi recipe

1. Cut the halloumi into slices about 1 cm (0.4 in) thick.
2. Heat a dry pan or with a drizzle of olive oil over high heat.
3. Sear the halloumi slices for 2 to 3 minutes on each side until a deep golden crust forms.
4. Arrange the grilled slices on a serving plate.
5. Drizzle with a little lemon juice and still-warm honey.
6. Scatter with chopped fresh mint and a turn of the pepper mill before serving immediately.

Cooking method

Technique: dry or lightly oiled searing over high heat, without excess fat, for a crackling crust without the cheese melting.

Traditional equipment: cast-iron pan or grill, cheese pre-drained to avoid spattering.

Tips: halloumi is ready as soon as well-marked golden lines appear, without waiting for it to melt. It never will.

Nutrition, per serving

Calculated from the raw ingredient quantities above, divided by four servings.

Halloumi’s brining and heating process concentrates protein and fat relative to a fresh, unripened cheese: 13 g of protein and 23 g of fat per serving here, with the honey-lemon drizzle contributing nearly all of the modest 6 g of carbohydrate.

Economic context

Halloumi is a protected-name product tied to Cypriot goat and sheep milk, which keeps it pricier than a generic table cheese — it functions as a starter or meze item in Cyprus rather than a everyday cooking cheese.

Source: World Bank / FAO, Food Prices for Nutrition database (Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet) v4.0, 2024 data, CC BY 4.0, DOI 10.57966/41AN-KY81. Retrieved 29 July 2026. This figure describes the cost of a healthy diet in Cyprus generally — it is not a costing of this specific recipe.

Who this dish suits

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