Deliciously filling and packed with veggies, this halloumi sandwich is great for a tasty dinner or lunch. Seared halloumi with sweet roasted vegetables, spinach and smashed avocado. This truly is the ultimate halloumi sandwich, even hardcore meat-eaters will love this!
This hearty sandwich is packed with roasted vegetables, salty halloumi and creamy avocado. We love halloumi, whether it's halloumi burgers, halloumi curry or wraps, halloumi is always on the menu. This sandwich is one of our favourite quick dinners.
Roasted sweet romano pepper and courgettes (zucchini) along with grilled halloumi are just the perfect combinations. They all come together with creamy smashed avocado and baby spinach served on toasted ciabatta. Great hot or cold this sandwich is halloumi heaven!
Why You'll Love This
- Griddled halloumi - perfectly soft and salty, so good in a sandwich
- Roasted peppers - sweet romano peppers are roasted to perfection making them juicy and sweet!
- Smashed avocado - no need for sauces here, that creamy avocado is just delicious!
Ingredient Spotlight - Halloumi
Halloumi is a traditional Cypriot cheese made from a mixture of goat's and sheep's milk and sometimes cow's milk too. Its texture is often described as squeaky. It has a high melting point making it great for grilling or frying.
What You'll Need
- Halloumi - for best results look for authentic Cypriot halloumi, you will find it with the speciality cheeses in the cheese aisle of your grocery store.
- Romano Pepper - these are long sweet peppers, you should find them in all good supermarkets. If you can't find them then you can use a couple of bell peppers (capsicum) instead.
- Courgette/zucchini - look for the smaller courgettes, they have the most flavour. One medium courgette should do.
- Ciabatta - I use two half ciabattas, but you can use ciabatta rolls too. You can also use a French baguette if you prefer.
- Avocado - you will need one large ripe avocado. Depending on the size of your avocado, if they are very small I would use two.
- Baby Spinach - I use baby spinach for this, fresh is best. You can swap this for lettuce if you prefer.
- Other Ingredients - you will also need a small bunch of fresh coriander (cilantro), a couple of spring onions, one lime, olive oil, salt and black pepper.
How To Make Halloumi Sandwiches
*This is just a quick guide, see the recipe card below for full instructions and the ingredients list.
1. Roast the vegetables - preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F. Slice the courgette into thick slices then cut the romano pepper in half lengthways. Add them to a baking tray, drizzle them with a little oil, season with salt and black pepper and roast in the oven for 15 -20 minutes. Turn everything halfway through cooking.
2. Make the smashed avocado - roughly mash the avocado with a fork. Add the chopped coriander (cilantro), chopped spring onions (scallions), minced garlic and lime juice and stir well, season to taste with sea salt and black pepper. Heat a grill pan, griddle pan or frying pan, and cut the ciabatta in half lengthways. Toast the ciabatta cut side down.
3. Cook the halloumi - griddle the sliced halloumi on a dry griddle pan. Place slices of halloumi on the pan, cook until they are crispy and have golden brown stripes then turn them over and cook the other side.
4. Build your sandwich - spread one-quarter of smashed avocado over one side of the ciabatta, add the spinach, pepper, and courgette, and finish with a couple of halloumi slices. Spread another quarter of the smashed avocado on the remaining slice of bread. Close the sandwich then cut it in half. Repeat with the remaining ciabatta and ingredients.
Top Tips
- Dry the halloumi - I rinse my halloumi in cold water then pat it dry with kitchen paper/towel. This gets rid of the brine that the cheese is stored in. This will also get rid of some of the saltiness from the halloumi.
- Roast or grill your veggies - if you want you can grill the courgettes and pepper on a grill pan, or on the bbq. Roasting and grilling the vegetables for this sandwich really brings out the flavours of the veggies and adds more flavour to your sandwich.
- Cooking the halloumi - there is no need to use oil in the pan to cook halloumi, this cheese has a high melting point and won't melt easily. Dry frying the halloumi will give you the best results. I use a well-seasoned cast-iron griddle pan to cook the halloumi if you don't have one of those you will still get very good results using a non-stick pan.
Variations
- Swap the avocado for mayo, and try a spicy mayo or a creamy pesto mayo instead. Both of these go really well with that salty cheese!
- Make it with fresh vegetables, try adding juicy tomatoes, cucumber and slices of red onion for a quicker version.
- Add slices of roasted portobello mushrooms for an even meatier sandwich.
More Tasty Sandwich Recipes
We love our sandwiches and there's no need to miss out or settle for a boring sandwich just because you're vegetarian. Try my Portobello Mushroom Sandwich, this is such a delicious sandwich and great for lunch or dinner. Want something a little different? Why not try my Falafel Wraps instead. If you want more halloumi then check out my Halloumi Fajitas, they make a very tasty quick and easy dinner.
Halloumi Sandwich
Ingredients
- 1 romano pepper cut in half lengthways, pith and seeds removed.
- 1 medium courgette (zucchini) cut in half lengthways then sliced into thick slices
- 1 medium ripe avocado
- 2 medium spring onions (scallions) white part chopped, green parts discarded
- 1 small handful of coriander (cilantro) chopped, the long stems removed
- 1 medium lime the juice of
- 1 clove of garlic finely minced or put through a garlic press
- 1 8 oz pack 250g of halloumi sliced
- 30 g 1 cup of baby spinach
- 2 half ciabattas or 4 ciabatta rolls
- ½ tablespoon olive oil + more for drizzling over the ciabattas before toasting
- ½ teaspoon finely ground sea salt divided into two parts
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper divided into two parts
- Lime wedges for serving
Instructions
Roast the vegetables
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350° F. Cut the peppers in half lengthways and remove the stem, pith and seeds.Slice the courgettes into thick slices.Place the peppers and courgettes on a baking tray. Drizzle a little olive oil over them then pop the tray in the oven and cook for about 15 - 20 minutes. Turn the vegetables halfway through cooking. They should be soft and cooked through.When the peppers are done carefully remove the skin from the peppers.
Make the smashed avocado
- Remove the stone from the avocados and scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Using a fork roughly mash the avocado.Stir in the chopped coriander (cilantro) spring onions (scallions), garlic and lime juice.Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.Cover with cling film and keep in the fridge until you are ready to use it.
Cook the halloumi and make the sandwich
- Slice the ciabattas in half lengthways. Drizzle a little olive oil over the cut side of each piece of bread.Place on a hot griddle pan to toast. Repeat for each one.If you don't have a griddle pan you can do this on a regular frying pan too.
- Reduce the griddle pan or non-stick pan to medium heat.Add the halloumi, again you may have to do this in batches, cook for about 5 minutes on each side.
- Spread a quarter of the smashed avocado over one piece of ciabatta, top with some spinach, and then add the courgettes. Top with a few slices of halloumi. Squeeze a little lime juice over the filling. Spread another quarter of the avocado on the remaining piece of ciabatta. Repeat with the remaining ciabatta and ingredients. Cut the sandwich in half and serve immediately.
Notes
- Bread - I use two half ciabattas for this which served 4 people for lunch. You could use 4 ciabatta rolls if you prefer. If you are very hungry then this could serve 2 people.
- Halloumi - I used full-fat halloumi.
- Griddle pan - if you don't have a griddle pan you can use a non-stick pan to cook the halloumi and toast the bread.
- Freezing - this recipe is best made and eaten fresh. I don't recommend freezing this sandwich.
- Storage - if you want to keep any leftovers you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge and use them within 2 days.
- Nutritional Information - 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.
Nutrition
*This recipe was first published Aug 2020 and updated Jan 2023 with new photos and more information.
Michelle
Love the flavors and freshness of this sandwich
TAYLER ROSS
I made this sandwich for lunch yesterday, and both my husband and I loved it! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Sue
Made this for lunch over the weekend and it was really delicious ~ something I've never tried before, thanks!
Kushigalu
The combination of flavors in this sandwich recipe is fantastic. Thanks a lot for sharing
Shadi Hasanzadenemati
This was such a hit! Thank you for the recipe.
kim
Love this recipe! The flavors are wonderful and it's so easy too. I'll definitely be making again!
Michelle Alston
Thanks so much Kim! I'm so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Cindy
I’ve been in such a cooking rut lately, so I’ve been exploring new recipes to make! I happened upon your recipe and I am so glad I did. I made it today and my entire family loved it! Its going into our menu plan rotation!!
Michelle Alston
That's so great to hear Cindy! I'm so glad you all loved it 🙂
Noelle
This was the perfect sandwich for lunch, can' t wait to make it again soon!
Priscila
This combination of flavors looks brilliant! It looks so fresh and colorful. I've never cooked halloumi before, can't wait to try it out. Thank you!
Michelle Alston
Thanks so much Priscila, I hope you give it a try soon. Let me know how it goes for you x