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These crispy halloumi burgers might possibly be the quickest, easiest and best veggie burgers you’ll ever make. Just coat halloumi cheese slices in flour, shallow fry and assemble your delicious burger!
If you’ve been following along with the blog for any length of time, you’re quite possibly fed up of me trying to push halloumi cheese onto you.
Or maybe you’ve tried this one pan Greek couscous with halloumi or these halloumi, chorizo and tomato skewers with honey-lime dressing and you’re already a convert.
If you’ve tried these crispy halloumi fries, I KNOW you’re already a convert! My young niece and nephews are always asking me to make them again, and they can’t be wrong.
They’re one of the most popular recipes on the blog for a reason. They’re just SOOOOO GOOD.
And it’s really no wonder these crispy halloumi burgers are so good. The halloumi cheese in them is really just a flatter, wider version of my crispy halloumi fries.
What’s halloumi cheese anyway?
In case you don’t know (which I suppose is possible) halloumi cheese is a cheese made only on the island of Cyprus. Yep, only there. It’s made from different types of milk – sometimes sheep’s, sometimes goat’s, sometimes cow’s, and sometimes a mixture of any of these.
It’s a salty, semi-hard cheese that doesn’t melt easily, which means it’s perfect for cooking. In fact you probably won’t ever eat it raw.
In case you’re looking for something to serve with your burgers, I think they go exceptionally well with sweet potato fries.
If you’ve never tried halloumi cheese, I challenge you to find some and make these delicious burgers.
Ingredients
You only need 8 simple ingredients (9 including the cooking oil) to have these delicious burgers on your dinner table:
- brioche burger buns
- halloumi cheese
- flour
- oil (for shallow frying)
- green salad leaves
- cucumber
- carrot
- mayonnaise
- sweet chilli sauce
And most of these are store cupboard ingredients so chances are you’d only have to go out and buy the halloumi cheese and possibly 1 or 2 more items that you’re missing.
So how do you make halloumi burgers?
I make these burgers in the same way as my halloumi fries:
- Dredge them in a little flour. No need for egg, flour, breadcrumbs, or any other fancy coatings to make them crispy.
- There’s no need to deep fry the halloumi and waste all that oil. Just use about half an inch of oil in a small saucepan and shallow fry in batches for a few minutes.
- When the cheese is a deep golden colour, a bit like slightly over-cooked fries, the burgers are nice and crispy and ready to take out of the pan.
- Plop them onto a brioche burger bun, slather with ribbons of cucumber and carrot and sweet chilli mayonnaise and you’ll have yourself one very tasty veggie burger…
… ready within about 15 minutes.
Pro tip: You’ll find the cheese is a bit wet when you take it out of the wrapper and this little bit of water is enough to make the flour ‘stick’.
In the UK almost every supermarket stocks halloumi cheese. It’s pretty easy to find in Australia too. I got mine from Aldi this time.
In the USA I believe you can get it at Trader Joe’s.
I warn you: halloumi CAN divide a room! It could be one of those ‘love it or hate it’ sort of things.
But even if you think you hate it, try it crispy fried as burgers and fries. Then decide again!
More 15-minute meals
- 15-minute Shanghai chicken (Mmmm!)
- 15-minute sticky sesame chicken
- 15-minute Thai basil pork stir fry
- 15-minute creamy pesto chicken with mushrooms and parmesan
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Crispy halloumi burgers
Ingredients (UK/Australia? Click button below for grams & ml)
For the burgers
- 9 ounces halloumi cheese 1 ‘log’ = 250 grams, sliced into 6 slices lengthwise
- 2 tablespoons flour (roughly)
- 0.5 inches oil in a small saucepan
- 0.25 cucumbers peeled
- 0.5 carrots peeled
- 2 burger buns (I like to use brioche buns)
- 1 handful salad leaves (I used rocket and spinach but any lettuce/greens is fine)
For the mayonnaise
- 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
Instructions
- Heat the oil until it sizzles when you dip the end of a piece of halloumi in it.
- Dip each slice of halloumi in the flour so that it has a thin layer all over.
- Carefully place the halloumi into the oil (in 2 batches) and let cook for 2 to 4 minutes until golden brown on both sides (you can turn it over half way through cooking if you like but you may not need to).
- Meanwhile, use a vegetable peeler to peel thin strips of cucumber and carrot. Mix the two together.
- Remove the halloumi from the oil and drain for a moment on kitchen paper while you prepare the mayo and burger buns.
- Lightly toast the buns. Meanwhile, mix the mayo and sweet chilli sauce.
- Assemble the burgers. Spread the bottom part of the bread with a layer of mayonnaise, then top with some salad leaves.
- Top each burger with 2 slices of crispy halloumi, then pile a handful of cucumber and carrot on top.
- Finally, spoon over more mayo to taste and cover with the top part of the burger. Enjoy!
Mira says
Wow, I haven’t bought Halloumi in a while, but will definitely get some. This sandwich looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it!
Helen says
Thanks, Mira. I’m addicted to these – I hope you get addicted too!
Stev says
is this cheese sold at ALDI in USA?
Helen says
Hi! I’m afraid I really don’t know and there doesn’t seem to be an answer online!
Marissa says
I haven’t made Halloumi anything for so long and I remember those amazing fries of yours! This burger needs to happen in our house right away!
Helen says
So glad you approve, Marissa. I dream about those fries…