Craving something quick, fresh, and bursting with flavour? This Halloumi Pasta is the easy recipe you didn't know you needed, featuring a slightly spicy tomato sauce packed with fresh cherry tomatoes and the irresistible golden crunch of fried halloumi. Perfect for a weeknight win that feels a little fancy!
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A Take on Pasta Puttanesca (Better With Halloumi!)
This Halloumi Pasta is our take on Pasta Puttanesca, but with a twist-gone are the salty anchovies, replaced by rich, squeaky halloumi. The sauce brings all the bold flavours of a traditional puttanesca, with tangy capers and olives, but we've elevated it with fresh tomatoes and halloumi for that perfect Mediterranean vibe.
It's a super easy dish that feels both comforting and decadent, thanks to the high melting point of halloumi, which holds its shape beautifully as it fries up golden and crispy. Halloumi's firm texture and savoury, salty flavour work wonders in this vegetarian recipe, adding that extra richness you never knew your pasta needed.
Halloumi, known for its high melting point and squeaky texture, is the perfect cheese for frying, grilling, or tossing into a dish like this one. It provides a satisfying, slightly chewy bite that complements the tangy sauce, and its saltiness gives the dish a depth of flavour.
Now that you've seen how well halloumi works in this dish, have a look at more of the best ways to cook with it below.
Ingredients and Substitutes
- garlic cloves: thinly sliced.
- dried chilli flakes: may be replaced with finely chopped red chilli pepper.
- capers: we will use capers as well as some brine from the caper jar. Have leftover capers? Try our Lemon Caper Pasta!
- olives: pitted and sliced into rounds. Both black and green olives work well.
- tinned chopped tomatoes: or passata, if you prefer a smooth sauce.
- cherry tomatoes: or baby plum tomatoes.
- halloumi cheese block: cut into bite-sized pieces.
- tenderstem broccoli (broccolini): or purple sprouting broccoli, sliced into long thin strips. Learn more about how to cook tenderstem broccoli here.
- spaghetti: or other long pasta shape.
- lemon juice.
- sea salt and black pepper.
Find the ingredient quantities, detailed instructions and nutritional values in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
VARIATIONS AND EXTRAS: You can get creative with the vegetables you add to this vegetarian halloumi pasta. Try some roasted bell peppers, green beans, regular broccoli or lots of spring onions in the sauce.
For a richer sauce, add 2 tablespoon of tomato puree to the sauce too! You can also skip the tomato sauce altogether - this halloumi and vegetable combination tastes great with basil pesto too!
Step-By-Step Method
1. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan over low heat. Add the sliced garlic, chilli flakes, capers with brine and sliced olives. Fry for 2 minutes on low heat.
2. Pour in the chopped tinned tomatoes. Stir and leave to simmer on medium heat and reduce for 12-15 minutes. If you reduce your sauce too much, just add a splash of starchy pasta water. Add the halved cherry tomatoes and cook for another 2-3 minutes, until tomatoes soften slightly.
3. Once the sauce is cooked, taste it and season it with a pinch of salt and black pepper, if needed.
4. In the meantime, cook your pasta following the instructions on the packet, making sure to cook your pasta al dente.
5. As your pasta cooks, cut your tenderstem broccoli into thin long strips (resembling the long pasta shapes).
6. Fry the halloumi cubes in a separate frying pan until golden brown all over.
7. When the pasta is about 2 minutes away from being cooked, tip the broccoli strips into the pasta pan, cover with a lid and leave to cook for 2 minutes.
8. Tip the drained pasta and broccoli into the tomato sauce and toss to combine. Finally, stir in the halloumi and lemon juice. Serve immediately, garnished with fresh basil or parsley, if you wish!
Recipe Tips
Here are a few tips and frequently asked questions about this Halloumi pasta recipe:
How To Cook Pasta Al Dente?
"Al dente" is an Italian term that translates to "to the tooth" in English. When used to describe pasta, it means that the pasta is cooked to be firm but not hard, with a slight resistance to the bite. Al dente pasta is not mushy or overcooked but still has a pleasing texture that enhances the overall dish.
- Use a large pot of salted water: Using a large pan of water will ensure your pasta has space to cook evenly, and the noodles don't stick to each other.
- Follow the cooking time on the package: Cook the spaghetti according to the packet instructions, but start checking for doneness a minute or two before the suggested cooking time.
- Stir the pasta often (especially at the beginning of the cooking process) to prevent the noodles from sticking to each other.
- Don't rinse the pasta: Once the spaghetti is cooked, don't rinse it with water. Do not add any oil either. This will remove the starch that helps the sauce adhere to the pasta.
How To Fry Halloumi?
- Once you have taken halloumi out of its packaging, dab it dry with a piece of paper towel. The less moisture on the surface of your halloumi, the better it will brown.
- Should You Add Oil to The Pan? It's open for debate. If you are using a non-stick pan, there is no need to add oil.
- Don't move the slices around too much. Let them fry for 1-2 minutes on one side, then gently flip them over and repeat on the same side!
- Halloumi isn't meant to be reheated - it will turn chewy and tough!
Best Pasta Shapes For Halloumi Pasta
There are several pasta shapes that work well with Halloumi Pasta, but the most traditional and popular choice is long-type noodles like spaghetti or linguine.Tagliatelle or bucatini also work well. The reason for this is that the tomato sauce with olives and capers can easily coat and cling to these types of pasta shapes, creating a delicious combination of flavours in every bite.
Additionally, short pasta shapes like penne or fusilli can also be used and work well in absorbing the flavours of the sauce.
Ultimately, the choice of pasta shape depends on personal preference, but any pasta shape that can hold the sauce and add to the overall flavour of the dish would work.
Why Does My Sauce Not Stick To My Pasta?
For the sauce to stick to your pasta, it needs to have a starchy coating. If you are rinsing your pasta before cooking, it will remove the starchy coating and your sauce will slip off. Another reason could be adding oil to your pasta before you coat it in the tomato sauce. We only recommend adding oil, if you cooked your pasta too early and don't want the noodles to stick to each other.
What To Serve With Halloumi Pasta?
Make this pasta dish into a full meal by serving it with a big green salad and some garlic bread on the side. We love a Courgette Ribbon Salad or Pea Shoot and Edamame Bean Salad, as well as some crusty Sourdough Baguette slices with it.
More Easy Vegetarian Pasta Recipes
Looking for more easy vegetarian pasta recipes the whole family will love? From spaghetti with creamy fresh mozzarella to unconventional tahini pasta, these delicious recipes are the perfect way to serve up an easy dinner everyone can enjoy!
Easy Halloumi Pasta With Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- ½ chilli pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoon capers + 1 tbsps of caper brine
- 10 olives pitted and sliced into rounds
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes 400g
- 100 g (3.53 oz) cherry tomatoes halved
- 225 g (7.94 oz) halloumi cut into bite-sized pieces
- 120 g (4.23 oz) tenderstem broccoli sliced into long thin strips
- 180 g (5.64 oz) spaghetti
- ¼ lemon juice only
Instructions
- Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan over low heat. Add the sliced garlic, chilli flakes, capers with brine and sliced olives. Fry for 2 minutes on low heat.
- Pour in the chopped tinned tomatoes. Stir and leave to simmer on medium-low heat and reduce for 12-15 minutes. If you reduce your sauce too much, just add a splash of starchy pasta water. Add the halved cherry tomatoes and cook for another 2-3 minutes, until tomatoes soften slightly.
- Once the sauce is cooked, taste it and season it with salt and black pepper, if needed.
- In the meantime, cook your pasta following the instructions on the packet, making sure to cook your pasta al dente.
- As your pasta cooks, cut your tenderstem broccoli into thin long strips (resembling the long pasta shapes).
- Fry the halloumi cubes in a separate frying pan until browned all over.
- When the pasta is about 2 minutes away from being cooked, tip the broccoli strips into the pasta pan, cover with a lid and leave to cook for 2 minutes.
- Drain the cooked pasta and broccoli and tip them into the tomato sauce and toss to combine. Finally, stir in the halloumi and lemon juice. Serve immediately!
Nutrition
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