These vegetable and halloumi skewers are easy to make and great for BBQs. With salty halloumi cheese marinaded in a fresh Mediterranean-style marinade, then grilled until golden brown these skewers are delicious.
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I've been making these halloumi kebabs for so long now and they always go down so well with everyone, even meat eaters love them. I love to cook these on the BBQ but you can cook them in the oven too. To make these a main meal I serve them with flatbread, lemon wedges and just a dollop of Greek yoghurt.
Colourful and packed with flavour these halloumi and vegetable skewers are very popular at all our BBQs. The halloumi is marinated in a fresh herb, lemon juice and smoked paprika marinade, once you thread the halloumi and vegetables on the skewers everything is glazed in that marinade before you grill them.
❤️ Why You'll Love These
- These veggie kebabs and the marinade are really easy to make and those Mediterranean flavours are delicious.
- This makes a great vegetarian family dinner, that's perfect for Summer!
- You can easily adapt this recipe to include your favourite veggies.
🛒 What you'll need
- Halloumi - Look for authethis Cypriot halloumi if you can. Halloumi is made from a mixture of goat and sheep's milk. It has a high melting point making it great for filling. It is also known as squeaky cheese but don't let that put you off. When cooked properly halloumi has a lovely gooey center!
- Vegetables - I use red bell pepper and orange bell pepper but you can also use green if you like. I also add courgettes and mushrooms to these kebabs.
- For the Marinade - You will need olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, smoked paprika, fresh oregano, thyme salt and black pepper.
🔪 How To Make Halloumi Kebabs
Please see the recipe card below for full instructions and ingredients list.
- Make the marinade. Add all the marinade ingredients to a large bowl and whisk.
2. Cut the halloumi into equal-sized chunks. They should be cut to a large size. Add the halloumi to the marinade, cover the bowl and refrigerate for an hour. Keep any marinade leftover.
3. Meanwhile cut the fresh vegetables into equal-sized pieces and cut the mushrooms in half. Thread the vegetables and the halloumi onto the skewers, I use metal skewers. Place the skewers onto a board or baking tray, brush the vegetables and the halloumi with the remaining marinade then grill for 10 minutes on each side. Serve on a serving platter with warmed flatbreads and a dollop of Greek yoghurt.
👩🍳 Top Tips
- When threading the halloumi onto the skewers try not to squish them too tightly together, they need some room to breathe and to absorb that marinade!
- I prefer to use metal skewers as they are reusable, but you can use wooden skewers if you prefer, remember to soak them before you use them. I like to make these kebabs on long skewers for the BBQ, however, you can use the shorter skewers if you prefer.
- If you don't want to fire up the BBQ you can make these in the oven or on a griddle pan. If you bake these in the oven the cooking time may be slightly longer.
- Cutting the halloumi into large chunks will stop the grilled halloumi from breaking up and falling off the skewers.
🔄 Variations
- Try adding different vegetables to these kebabs - Sweet red onion works well on these kebabs as do cherry tomatoes and aubergine.
- Add some spice to the marinade - if you love a little heat try adding red pepper chilli flakes to the marinade for an extra kick.
- Instead of serving these with flatbread try serving them on a bed of couscous with a dollop of hummus and some pomegranate seeds.
💭 FAQs
These kebabs are best made fresh and eaten straight away. However, you can reheat these if you want. Store any leftover skewers in an airtight container then reheat the next day.
The kebabs themselves are best made fresh and cooked that day. You can make the marinade the day before. Cover the bowl and store in the fridge until you are ready to use it.
Make sure you have brushed the halloumi with the leftover marinade, the olive oil in the marinade should help stop it from sticking. Also, make sure your grill is hot enough, this will also stop the halloumi from sticking.
🍽 More Tasty Halloumi Recipes
- Halloumi Tray Bake - This easy tray bake with baby potatoes and veggies is a great weeknight family dinner. Easy to make and you can swap in your favourite veggies!
- Grilled Halloumi Sandwich - Packed with grilled halloumi and sweet roasted roasted veggies this is the ultimate halloumi sandwich.
- Halloumi Wraps - These spicy halloumi wraps are packed with crispy chickpeas and a minty yoghurt sauce. Perfect for a tasty lunch.
- Halloumi Curry - This creamy halloumi curry is one of our favourite curries. It's packed with flavour and so good for curry night!
🍴 Tasty Salads For Your BBQ
Halloumi Kebabs
Ingredients
For The Skewers
- 2 x 225g packs of halloumi cut into thick chunks
- 1 medium red bell pepper pith and seeds removed then cut into pieces
- 1 medium orange bell pepper pith and seeds removed then cut into pieces
- 200 g Brown (chestnut) mushrooms cut in half
- 1 medium courgette cut into thick slices
For The Marinade
- 4 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 cloves of garlic finely minced or put through a garlic press
- 1 medium lemon you will need the zest of the whole lemon and the juice of half the lemon.
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ tablespoon chopped parsley for serving (optional)
For Serving
- Flatbread
- Greek Yoghurt
- Lemon Wedges
Instructions
- Make the marinade by whisking the smoked paprika, salt, pepper, chopped herbs, garlic and honey with the olive oil in a medium bowl.
- Add the chunks of halloumi to the marinade and gently toss. The halloumi should be coated in the marinade.Cover the bowl then leave it in the fridge for about an hour. If you are using wooden skewers soak them in water now.During this time chop the vegetables and warm the flatbread if using.
- Once the halloumi has been marinated you can start to thread the vegetables and halloumi on the skewers.Try to spread the vegetables and halloumi evenly onto each skewer.Place on a baking tray once done.
- Brush the vegetables and the halloumi with the remaining marinade.Turn the skewers over and brush them on the other side.
- Preheat the grill to hot then add the skewers to the grill.Cook for 5 minutes depending on how hot your grill is, then turn the skewers and cook for another 5 minutes.The skewers are done when the halloumi is golden brown and the vegetables are soft and charred around the edges.Sprinkle with some chopped parsley before serving.Serve with flatbread, greek yoghurt and lemon wedges.
Notes
- Halloumi - To stop the halloumi from sticking to the grill make sure and brush it with the remaining marinade. To stop the halloumi from breaking up and falling off the skewers make sure the are cut into large chunks.
- Marinade - The marinade can be made the day before.
- Freezing - These skewers are not great frozen so I don't recommend it.
- Nutritional Information - The nutritional information listed is for one skewer. All nutritional information shared is an estimate based on third-party calculations. If calorie count and/or nutritional values are important to you, we recommend putting the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary depending on which brands were used. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.
- Weights and measurements - For US readers, I use Cuisipro measuring cups and spoons, and a Pyrex measuring jug for liquids. These are the industry standard. Cup/spoon volumes can differ from brand to brand, for accuracy, I recommend weighing all ingredients if possible for the best results.
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