It is no secret that I have a strong love for halloumi cheese. And this halloumi burger brings some of my favorites together. Perfect for when you don’t feel like a fancy dinner but still want to put something tasty on the table.

Halloumi burger recipe

So let’s start with the obvious; for this insanely good burger you need halloumi. I made my own halloumi at one point in time but that is totally not necessary if you can find it in your area. And I think it has become pretty mainstream. Here you can even find them already sliced into rounds. That’s a recent development but apparently people looking for vegetarian burgers are quicker persuaded to grab a round cheese. Not sure, but totally not necessary for these easy halloumi burgers.

The fun part about halloumi is that it has a rather high melting point compared to regular cheese. That makes it ideal for grilling, baking or frying as it keeps its shape nicely. Have a look at my halloumi fries too. Now that I think about it, I might try that cornflake coating for extra crispy halloumi burgers for next time too.

What do you need to make this halloumi burger recipe

Halloumi is quite a salty cheese so adding some fresher sauce is a good idea.

For this burger you need:

Greek yogurt – I sometimes make a mix of yogurt and mayonnaise depending on what I feel like
garlic – fresh garlic always works best
dill
cucumber
honey
chili flakes
tomato
lettuce leaves
burger buns or brioche buns

Of course, you can dress up the Halloumi burger any way you like. After all, it is still a burger. But the yogurt works really well to cut through the saltiness. Adding something crunchy like fries or chips is always a good idea. Tortilla chips are also quite tasty in addition.

Prepared ingredients for the halloumi burger

Grilling the halloumi

If you want to limit the amount of oil used you can go for grilling but I like to shallow fry my halloumi slices. It’s important to fry them in a single layer and on medium-high heat. You don’t want the process to take too long or the cheese will eventually melt. Remove the excess moisture first with paper towels and use a large non-stick pan with a small amount of oil. Quickly fry it for a couple of minutes and let the halloumi fry on both sides until golden brown. Remove from the pan and let it drain on paper while you prepare the rest of the burger.

Toasting the buns

Make sure to toast the buns as that will make them a little bit firmer and will prevent excess moisture soaking into the bread prematurely. Once toasted set aside.

Assembling the burger

The final step is to make the dressing which is really simple. You essentially make a tzatziki sauce to go with the delicious burger so you grate cucumber and add dill and garlic to the yogurt. I briefly heat the honey in a small saucepan with the chili flakes.

Now add a generous amount of tzatziki to each burger and top with lettuce, tomato and the fried halloumi slices. Drizzle with the spicy honey and serve right away!