Roasting the tomatoes and corn makes this a warm salad, and scattering crispy halloumi bites and drizzling a honey and mustard dressing over the top takes it from good to totally addictive! This magical salad makes an easy meal in itself or a delicious side at any time of year.
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It’s a warm salad
This is one of those ‘magic’ salads that’s great all year round because it’s a WARM salad, which of course are fabulous all year round.
If you’re a fan of warm salads in general, or you think you could be persuaded, may I suggest this incredible roasted fennel orange salad with radishes, feta and pistachios? Or this roasted butternut squash, chorizo and feta salad, which makes an incredible light lunch or side?
But this crispy halloumi salad is one of my favourite warm salads for several reasons:
- It showcases crispy halloumi bites. Not sure if you’ll like them? Try these halloumi fries or this halloumi burger first. You’ll be hooked on crispy halloumi forever.
- Add yummy roasted cherry tomatoes, corn (who doesn’t like that?) and creamy avocado and you’ve got one very crowd pleasing salad.
- It can be a light meal all by itself or a delicious side dish for a BBQ or simple midweek meal. I’ve listed specific serving ideas below.
- The easy honey mustard dressing is very tasty. It takes the salad from good to outstanding.
About the ingredients
All you need is:
Baby tomatoes: I usually roast them for ten minutes in the oven.
Corn: The best thing to do is to cook fresh corn as you normally would – either boil, grill or roast – then shave it off the cob and into the salad! Sometimes however I take the lazy approach – I simply open a can of cooked corn and roast it with the tomatoes. It aint fancy but it works.
Chopped cucumber, avocado and onion: No explanation necessary!
Halloumi cheese: Buy a ‘log’ of cheese and chop it into cubes. Crisp it by shallow frying in oil. Delicious… not to mention addictive!
Fresh basil
Honey mustard dressing: Whisk together honey, mustard, cider (or other) vinegar and olive oil. Done.
Making the halloumi bites is one life skill you really need to master. Need a quick and crowd pleasing appetizer idea? Skip the salad and just make halloumi bites!
How to make it
Step 1: Roast the tomatoes for 10 minutes. If using canned corn, add that to the tray too.
Step 2: In the meantime, cook the corn. Either boil for 10 minutes, or air fry for 10 minutes. You can even microwave it (go with 8 to 10 minutes). Let cool a little, then shave off the corn with a sharp knife.
Step 3: Cook the crispy halloumi. Simply roll smallish cubes of halloumi cheese (about 2cm square) in a little flour, then cook for a couple of minutes on each side in a cm or so of oil. Use a small saucepan – that’s all you need.
Step 4: Stir everything together with all the other salad ingredients (the cold ingredients), then scatter the crispy halloumi on top.
Step 5: Whisk together the dressing ingredients. Serve the warm salad immediately with the yummy dressing on the side.
Tips for the perfect salad
- First things first: get everything chopped and ready to go. You want to be able to serve the salad immediately after the halloumi is cooked.
- As always with salads, try to use good quality ingredients – red juicy tomatoes, fresh corn on the cob if you can, perfectly ripe avocado, and nice fresh basil.
- I’d recommend serving your salad on a big plate with the halloumi bites scattered on top so that it stays crispy. Let everyone drizzle over their own dressing once they’ve got the salad on their plate.
The salad is just as delicious with raw tomatoes. / Use a bottled salad dressing if you like. / I don’t recommend skipping the crispy halloumi, but this salad is also delicious made with feta or goat’s cheese.
The only problem is not eating all that gorgeous crispy halloumi before it makes it to the salad.
How to serve it
- Halloumi is very ‘meaty’, so you can serve this salad on its own with some fresh bread. I highly recommend trying this easy homemade focaccia bread!
- Serve with some chicken, steak or fish on the side. Here’s a really easy and delicious baked chicken thigh recipe. Or how about a chicken schnitzel?
- If you’d like to keep your meal vegetarian, may I suggest serving your halloumi salad with this spinach and feta filo pie, or this traditional Spanish tortilla?
More things to know (FAQ)
If you like, you can use fresh corn. Grill it, microwave it, or air fry it, then shave it off and into the salad. 10 minutes should do the trick.
You can also roast it for 35 to 40 minutes in the oven at 205C/400F. Or you can simply boil it for 10 minutes.
You can even just use a can of ready cooked corn and throw it onto the tray when you roast the tomatoes. Why not – I won’t tell.
What? You don’t like halloumi!? Try it this way (crispy) and see if you change your mind. If you still don’t like it, of course you can use another cheese. Try feta, goat’s cheese, ricotta or even blue cheese.
I definitely wouldn’t skip cooking the halloumi. It’s absolutely delicious and halloumi cheese is definitely better when cooked.
But yes, if you want to skip a step you can just use raw tomatoes. Just chop them in half and away you go!
More recipes for halloumi lovers
- Did I mention how addictive these crispy halloumi fries or halloumi bites are? Once tried, never forgotten!
- Imagine those same crispy halloumi bites… in a taco! You have to try these halloumi tacos with pineapple mango salsa.
- These crowd pleasing crispy halloumi burgers are ready in just 15 minutes.
- This one pan Greek couscous with halloumi is another example of how halloumi can be the shining star of an easy vegetarian meal.
- And finally… try this minty halloumi and sundried tomato salad for a different kind of halloumi salad.
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Crispy halloumi salad with roasted tomatoes, avocado and corn
Equipment (affiliate links)
Ingredients (UK/Australia? Click below for grams/ml)
For the salad
- 9 ounces cherry tomatoes (in Australia and the UK, this is about 1 punnet or container of tomatoes)
- ⅔ cup cooked corn (corn shaved off 1 cooked corn on the cob will be fine, or use cooked corn from a can – see notes below for cooking options)
- ⅔ cucumber cubed
- 1 avocado cubed (try to use one that's perfectly ripe – not too hard, not too mushy)
- ½ small onion finely chopped
- 1 large handful fresh basil
For the halloumi bites
- 9 ounces halloumi cheese 1 'log', chopped into cubes (about 1 – 2cm)
- 2 tablespoons flour (approximately)
- oil for cooking (about ½ inch in a medium saucepan – I usually use olive oil but any oil is fine)
For the dressing
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons cider vinegar (or your favourite vinegar)
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180C / 355F, then roast the tomatoes on a baking tray for 10 minutes. If you're using canned corn, you can add the corn too.
- At the same time, boil the corn for 10 minutes if you're using fresh. Let cool a little, then shave off the cooked corn.
- Roll the halloumi cubes in the flour and set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan, then add the halloumi cubes. Let cook for two or three minutes without moving, then toss and let cook for a minute or two longer. Repeat until the cheese is well browned and crispy. Drain on kitchen paper.
- When cooked, tip the tomatoes and corn onto a large plate or platter, then add the cucumber, avocado and onion. Stir through the basil, then scatter the crispy halloumi over the top.
- Whisk together the dressing ingredients. Serve the warm salad immediately, with the dressing on the side.
Katherine | Omnivore's Cookbook says
Look at all these colors and flavors! My kinda salad, any time of day!
Helen says
Hi Katherine! Are you helping Maggie out? Anyway, nice to ‘meet’ you and thanks for visiting!
[email protected] says
Girl I am on a salad kick lately and love how easy and delicious this salad is!! I love love halloumi so totally trying this out!
Helen says
Hi Ami! Thanks so much for passing by! And really hope you do try out the salad! 🙂
Eva says
J’aime beaucoup les salades comme celle-ci, c’est un plat à part entière. Ton mélange est génial ! Je crois que j’ai préférerais les tomates frais, sans le rôtir. Je suis d’accord avec toi, c’est bien pourvoir changé les ingrédients selon les envies. Bon dimanche 🙂
Helen says
Merci, Eva… et bon mardi! 🙂
mira says
Love everything about this salad! The dressing sounds delicious, too! Great idea to add crispy halloumi!Pinning to try it. Hope the weather warms up soon!
Helen says
Thank you Mira! Unfortunately it is THROWING it down with rain right now and has been all week. Yuck!
Marissa says
I love how versatile this salad is, Helen! Halloumi is one of my absolute favorite cheeses and, when you make it crispy – even better!
Helen says
Thanks Marissa! Vive le crisp! 🙂
Kathleen | Hapa Nom Nom says
Oh Helen, crispy halloumi! Be still my heart! I love, love, love that squeaky cheese! And this warm and bright salad has everything I love! This would be absolutely perfect for a picnic! Hope warmer weather finds you soon! 🙂
Helen says
Oh, I hope so too! It just keeps raining and raining and raining over here. Tell it to stop!!
Jess @ What Jessica Baked Next says
This salad looks fantastic, Helen! Love the cripsy halloumi and all the other gorgeous flavours. Hopefully this warm weather is here to stay! 😉
Helen says
No such luck – bucketing it down right now! But I’m still going to eat delicious salads! 🙂
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
When you said crispy halloumi I knew that it would be a goody! We might be having warmer weather than you it seems and we are in Winter. I hope it warms up for you! 😀
Helen says
Oooh, don’t make me jealous you rascal!! 😉
Mariana says
I absolutely love halloumi. And I have officially called summer down south, it’s been 27c all week!!!!!!!
Helen says
Hi Mariana! I know my fellow UK blog buddies always appreciate a nice bit of crispy halloumi. Thankfully it’s been nice here this week too – I love summer, but shame it’s so temperamental!
[email protected] says
Huh? What is with the WEATHER over there!!! We had crazy storms last weekend but now it’s like summer is back, I was at the beach yesterday! 🙂 I had a giant greek salad last night, was thinking of you. I had the feta crumbled though, not the proper way in a chunk! This looks fabulous, all my fave salads in one yummy salad!
Helen says
Hi Nagi! We’ve had a reasonably warm week this week (thank goodness!), but the weather’s always so temperamental over here, even in summer 🙁
You crumbled the feta through the salad – shock horror!!! Nah, it’s OK. Don’t tell anyone, but I do that sometimes too! 🙂
[email protected] says
Sorry about the weather, I’m sending sunny vibes your way. This is a salad I could eat anytime, I love roasted tomatoes in a salad.
Helen says
Hi Janette – thanks so much for the sunny vibes. They’re working!!
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says
Halloumi AND avocado? I am totally on board with that. I have been eating loads of these kinds of salads recently, as they are really filling.
Helen says
I know you’re a fan of halloumi, Dannii, so this one was just for you! 😉