The best vegetarian halloumi fajitas served with all the trimmings. A simple and flavorful meal perfect for any occasion. Ready in about 15 minutes.
Vegetarian fajitas with halloumi
Make some halloumi fajitas tonight! The perfect vegetarian alternative to our Chicken Fajita Tacos, the cheesy filled tortillas are also super easy to make, quick, and inexpensive. So satisfying and full of flavor, no one will miss the meat!
If you are into fajita tacos as much as we are, you might have searched for a meatless version already. You can replace the meat with beans, and I do that often, but halloumi is even better! Much much better! If you didn’t eat this kind of grill cheese before, you should give it a try, you will love it!
What is halloumi?
Cypriot semi-hard, unripened and brined cheese made from a mixture of goat, sheep and sometimes cow milk. It is mostly made with vegetarian rennet but to make sure that the cheese you intend to buy is suitable for vegetarians, check what’s written on the package.
The best thing about it? Except that squeaky feeling, you get when you eat it? It doesn’t melt, it keeps its shape when grilled or fried. This makes it a superb alternative to meat, especially at grill parties when you know that some of the guests are vegetarian.
Tip:
The cheese is slightly salty, some brands too much so, so I got into the habit of buying certain brands which are salty, but not overly so. If you find the cheese you bought too salty, you can soak it in water for about 30 minutes to 1 hour, discard the water and pat the cheese dry afterward. It’s a trick I’ve learned from a Syrian friend, who makes this kind of cheese at home.
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What do you need?
- Halloumi
- Vegetables: one large onion and three bell peppers, one red, one yellow, one green. If you only have red or yellow peppers, don’t stress about it, they are perfectly fine. But I would not use only green peppers, they are slightly bitterer than the other and three of them might be too much.
- Seasoning: ground coriander and cumin, dried oregano, cayenne pepper. Or use bought fajita seasoning, your favorite brand.
How to make fajitas with halloumi?
- Prepare cheese: Halve the blocks. Pat them dry with kitchen paper. Slice the halves. Juice the lime and pour the juice into a large bowl. Turn the cheese strips into the juice. Mix the spices and sprinkle them over the cheese. Turn the slices into the spices to coat on both sides. (1)
- Cook cheese: Heat one tablespoon oil in a large nonstick pan or cast-iron skillet. Fry the seasoned strips for 2 minutes, turning halfway through, they should be golden. Remove from the pan. (2)
- Cook vegetables: Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add the vegetables and cook for about 5 minutes or until starting to soften. (3)
- Mix: Return the cheese to the pan, stir and cook the fajitas for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. (4)
- Serve: Anything made with grill cheese should be served immediately, while it is still soft and warm, it will harden again once it cools.
How to make vegetarian tacos with halloumi?
Salsa: deseed one or two tomatoes, depending on size. Chop them into small cubes. Chop one avocado into similar-sized cubes. Mix with freshly squeezed lime juice (to taste), some salt and pepper. Or make guacamole instead.
Tortillas: soft flour or corn tortillas. To make the soft tortillas more pliable, you can heat them in a large clean pan for a few seconds on each side just before serving.
- Place some of the fajitas on the tortillas.
- Top with lettuce, sour cream, or crème fraiche, guacamole, or salsa.
- Squeeze some lime juice on top and add some chopped cilantro or parsley.
- If you are using soft tortillas, fold or roll them.
- Serve immediately.
Serving alternatives
Make a bowl. Add all the serving ingredients listed above, except for the tortillas. Replace the tortillas with one of the following:
- Cooked rice
- Cooked quinoa
- Roasted or pan-fried sweet potatoes
- Roasted potato wedges or cubes
- Fries
- Refried beans
- Regular cooked beans
- Roasted vegetables like carrots, beets, cauliflower, broccoli, etc.
How to store?
The cheese veggie mixture keeps well in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat before serving, the cheese should be warm and soft again.
More quick recipes:
- American Chop Suey
- Fried Spaghetti
- Creamy Tuna Carbonara
- Creamy Tahini Pasta
- Simple Fried Gnocchi Recipe
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Easy Halloumi Fajitas
Equipment
- cast-iron or nonstick pan
Ingredients
- 1 lb halloumi (Note 1)
- 1 lime , small
- 1½ tsp ground coriander
- 1½ tsp ground cumin
- 1½ tsp oregano
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper , more to taste
- 3 bell peppers , green, yellow, red
- 1 onion , large
- 2 tbsp olive oil , divided
- 1 pinch fine sea salt or Kosher
- 1 pinch black pepper
Instructions
- Prepare cheese: Halve the blocks of cheese. Pat them dry with kitchen paper. Slice the halves thickly. Squeeze the lime and pour the juice into a large bowl. Turn the halloumi strips into the lime juice. Mix the spices and sprinkle over the cheese. Turn the cheese slices into the spices to coat on both sides.
- Prepare vegetables: Cut the peppers and the onion into strips as well. Set aside.
- Fry cheese: Heat one tablespoon oil in a large nonstick pan or cast-iron skillet. Fry the strips for 2 minutes, turning halfway through, they should be golden. Remove from the pan.
- Cook vegetables: Add the remaining oil to the pan and cook the peppers and onions for about 5 minutes or until starting to soften.
- Mix: Return halloumi to the pan, and gently reheat for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season lightly with salt and pepper, the cheese is already salted.
- Serve: Anything made with halloumi should be served immediately, while the cheese is still soft and warm, it will harden again once it cools.
Notes
- Halloumi is usually sold in blocks weighing 225 g/ 8 oz, so you will need 2 blocks.
- To make tacos fill soft tortillas with halloumi fajitas. Add shredded lettuce, sour cream or crème fraiche, guacamole or avocado-tomato salsa, chopped cilantro or parsley, and a squeeze of lime juice.
- To make a fajita bowl, leave out the tortillas. Fill bowls with fajitas, lettuce or other salad leaves, guacamole or salsa. Replace tortillas with roasted or pan-fried potatoes or sweet potatoes, cooked or refried beans, roasted vegetables and so on.