Halloumi burger

This halloumi burger is easy to made and with a delicious sweet-salty combination of flavors. It makes a great lunch, light meal and a tasty vegetarian option.

This post may contain affiliate links, where we earn from qualifying purchases. See more details in the policy page.

We are pretty big cheese fans in our house, and always have a few different kinds in the fridge. Some are good for melting, others for snacking and then the odd ones like halloumi are best fried.

Yes, I did say fried. I know it might seem unusual, but if you are not familiar with halloumi, it's worth getting to know.

What is halloumi?

Halloumi is a Cypriot cheese that you'll find in mezze platters alongside slices of tomato, cucumber and dishes like baba ghanosh and tzatziki. I've even seen it at breakfast buffets. It's always cooked, whether dry-fried, grilled or sometimes baked.

It has a slightly rubbery, chewy texture and is a bit salty. I  love having it as an option for part of a quick and easy lunch, such as with a simple salad or eg made into something like this halloumi burger.

How to make this halloumi burger

Maybe 'burger' isn't quite right, but more of a halloumi sandwich, but whatever you call it this is delicious. It might seem like there's a long list of ingredients, but everything comes together quickly and works well together.

• First put the mango, crystalized ginger and water in a small pan and warm gently until it all softens and becomes jam-like. Set aside.
• Mash the feta with oil, lemon and honey.
• Grate the carrot, shred the cabbage and slice the herbs. Mix all together along with the lime juice.
• Slice and fry the halloumi until golden.
• Slice the bread roll, put the feta sauce on one side, mango jam on the other. Top the feta side with slaw, then halloumi then put other side on top.

I've drawn on a couple other recipes to make up this dish. First, there's a quick and easy mango-ginger jam, as I used in my "jammin' Jamaican" chicken grilled cheese. It's really easy to make and the sweet-salty combination with the cheese is so good.

Alongside the mango jam and halloumi, the burger is also filled with a simple, herby slaw. The crunchy veg and a nice texture and the freshness of the mint and cilantro lighten it all up. Finally, I've also put a simple feta spread on the bottom, which you can skip if you like, but I think it adds to the sweet-salty thing going on and is tasty too.

This halloumi burger is colorful, flavorful, and a wonderful mix of sweet and salty goodness. Whether you're looking for a light vegetarian meal or not, you're sure to love it.

Looking for more cheesy goodness? Try these!

• Eggplant spinach grilled cheese sandwich
• Adjaruli khachapuri (Georgian cheese bread)
• Savory palmiers (cheese and fig pastries)
• Plus get ideas for vegetarian meals in the archives.

Print Recipe

5 from 5 votes

Halloumi burger

This vegetarian burger/sandwich is an easy and delicious sweet-savory combination.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time20 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Fusion

Servings: 2

Calories: 564kcal

Author: Caroline's Cooking

SaveSaved!

Ingredients

For the mango jam

• ½ cup mango fresh or frozen, defrosted - chopped small
• 2 tablespoon crystallized ginger finely chopped
• 2 tablespoon water

For the feta sauce

• 3 tablespoon feta crumbled
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon honey

For slaw

• 1 carrot large
• ⅓ cup red cabbage (approx as much as you have carrot when grated/shredded)
• 1 tablespoon mint roughly chopped, or more to taste
• 1 tablespoon cilantro coriander, roughly chopped, or ore to taste
• 1 tablespoon lime juice (or lemon)

For rest of burger

• 4 oz halloumi 120g, approx ½ a standard block
• 2 rolls

Instructions

For mango jam

• First make the quick mango jam. Place the mango, crystalized ginger and water in a small pan over a medium-low heat. Warm the ingredients, stirring occasionally, for around 5min until soft, well combined and slightly dried then remove from the heat. This can be made ahead of time.

For feta sauce

• Crumble the feta and mash or blend it up with the oil, lemon and honey until relatively smooth. Chill until needed.

For slaw

• Peel and coarsely grate the carrot. Put in a bowl with the shredded cabbage (you should have around the same amount of each) along with the chopped mint and cilantro. Squeeze over the lime juice then toss together.

To make up burger

• Cut the halloumi into slices. Warm a medium skillet and fry the cheese slices on both sides, turning just once when brown (don't use oil). It will take just a couple of minutes per side. 
• Meanwhile, lightly toast the inside of the rolls, if you prefer, then put the feta sauce on bottom side, mango jam on the top (you may have leftover jam). Put some slaw on top of the feta sauce then top with slices of cooked halloumi. Carefully put on the top half of the roll and serve. 

Nutrition

Calories: 564kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 1285mg | Potassium: 202mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 5850IU | Vitamin C: 30.4mg | Calcium: 716mg | Iron: 11mg

See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store. 

If you like halloumi, try out some more ideas:

• Halloumi, herb and shaved vegetable salad
• Halloumi tacos from The Cook Report
• Za'atar halloumi cheese fries from My Life Cookbook
• Honey roasted sweet potato with halloumi from Supergolden Bakes
• Tomato and halloumi bake from The Cook Report.

Remember to pin for later!