Squidgy Fried Halloumi with Crushed Nuts – less painful than it sounds

Ah, fried halloumi. You springy, squidgy, salty, delicious little cheese.

The more we eat halloumi cheese, the more we love it. This fried halloumi recipe comes almost a year to the day after we released our last halloumi recipe, the heavenly halloumi salad.

And heavenly it is, much like this very recipe.

Fried halloumi with crushed nuts and sweet peppers

While crushed nuts sounds painful to be sure, there are a couple of reasons that this recipe really stands out to us – and they’re adaptable to everyone.

Firstly, if you’re looking for a vegetarian high-protein recipe or meal plan then this one has you more than covered. In fact, it’s packed full of protein – almost 30g per serving! An incredible amount, mostly due to the nuts and halloumi cheese.

Secondly, if you’re looking to gain weight and muscle because you’re smashing it in the gym, the recipe has you covered there as well.

Adding a side to the meal, like brown rice, is a good way to get the calories and carbohydrates up. Naturally the protein levels stay high (or go even higher, thanks to the rice).

And finally, it’s easy to use this recipe to help with weight-loss, too. In fact, that’s how I first ate it – and loved it. And I still do.

Halloumi for weight-loss

To make this recipe suitable for weight-loss, we just need to do a couple of things. First, we don’t need a side with it. Nuts, cheese and peppers is already a balanced and filling meal.

Secondly, we cut down on the oil. In fact, we go from three tablespoons to one. We use half for the onion and pepper, and half for the halloumi.

It’s easy to make fried halloumi with less oil – it takes slightly longer to cook – but not much, and the flavour is still superb.

We also halve the nuts. This is where a lot of the fat and carbs come from, so let’s cut down on those just a little if we’re looking for weight-loss.

Halloumi for… fun

Of course, these are just suggestions. We love all types of fried halloumi, and this recipe, in our humble opinion, is a joy to eat in its own right.

There’s something very satisfying about the combo of crushed nuts and cheese, the soft peppers and the crunchy pomegranate seeds.

Talking of pomegranate seeds

It’s now really easy to get hold of frozen pomegranate seeds, which is exactly what we recommend for this recipe. They’re much easier to use without having to extract them yourself, and far less messy!

Of course, if you can’t find frozen ones then the regular ones are still just fine – or you can even skip the seeds in a pinch. The fried halloumi, nuts and peppers are the main ingredients.

Squidgy Fried Halloumi with Crushed Nuts

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5 from 9 votes

Fried halloumi absolutely rocks! We can’t get enough of the stuff and this quick recipe is another sure-fire, high-protein winner!

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Cuisine:Global

Diet: egg-free, gluten-free

Prep Time:15 minutes minutes

Cook Time:15 minutes minutes

Total Time:30 minutes minutes

Servings:2 servings

Calories:547kcal

Author: HurryTheFoodUp

Ingredients

• ½ cup brown rice
• 14 oz sweet peppers
• 5 oz halloumi cheese
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 medium onion
• 8 cashews
• 1.5 tbsp pomegranate seeds (frozen is easiest)
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp cumin, ground
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• 3 tbsp water
• Salt to taste
• ¼ bunch dill, fresh (dried also works)

US CustomaryMetric

Instructions

• Cook the rice according to packet instructions.
  
• Give the peppers a quick clean and dice into small pieces, removing the seeds.
• Thinly slice the onion into half-moon shapes, and start them frying in olive oil on a low heat until soft. Add the peppers after a couple of minutes. Fry for another five minutes. During frying you made need to add a little extra hot water if things start to stick. This is to keep the oil levels down.
  
• In the meantime, peel and dice or crush the garlic. Chop the cashews.
• Add the garlic to the pepper and onion mix and cook for another minute, stirring it together.
• Add the sugar and let it caramelise (go a bit brown and liquidy). Add a little water. Add the cinnamon, cumin and pomegranate seeds. Give it a good stir.
• Add the lemon juice, salt and cayenne pepper. Stir again.
• Remove from heat and put in bowl to the side.
• Slice the halloumi into strips and fry until browned on both sides. No oil necessary.
  
• Rip the dill (or use dried). When the halloumi is ready, place the pepper-onion mix onto plates and layer the halloumi on top. Garnish with the cashews and dill. That’s it, ready!
  

NOTES

Tips: If you can’t get hold of Halloumi for the Crushed Nuts dish, then any BBQ cheese will do instead. Failing that you could also go for a feta or salad cheese (but don’t cook it).

Love this recipe? We have more to enjoy:

Full of nutrients Heavenly Halloumi Salad

Super-speedy Ricotta Bake

Mega-delicious Quinoa Burgers

Amazing and spicy Sweet Potato Burritos

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Squidgy Fried Halloumi with Crushed Nuts

Amount per Serving

Calories

547

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

24

g

37

%

Saturated Fat

 

13

g

81

%

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

2

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

8

g

Sodium

 

866

mg

38

%

Potassium

 

729

mg

21

%

Carbohydrates

 

62

g

21

%

Fiber

 

8

g

33

%

Sugar

 

15

g

17

%

Protein

 

23

g

46

%

Vitamin A

 

6337

IU

127

%

Vitamin C

 

263

mg

319

%

Calcium

 

771

mg

77

%

Iron

 

3

mg

17

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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