If you love this salad then you will also love my Arugula Quinoa Salad, Perfect Pumpkin Quinoa Salad or this Easy Creamy Chickpea Salad.
Ingredients Notes & Substitutions
Below is a list of all of the ingredients you will need to make this next level delicious Avocado Halloumi Salad recipe as well as any notes and possible ingredient swaps. I found everything I needed from my local grocery store, which was very handy! You can find the ingredient quantities in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Salad Ingredients
- halloumi cheese – use either cow’s milk halloumi or sheep’s milk halloumi. If you can’t get halloumi then swap for mozzarella, burrata, goat cheese or feta cheese. If you are swapping the cheese then skip frying it and just throw it straight into the salad. Halloumi is a good calcium and protein addition for this salad.
- white quinoa – you can use white quinoa or tri colour quinoa, it really doesn’t matter.
- extra virgin olive oil – olive oil can be swapped for avocado oil as it also has a high smoke point and can be used for frying.
- chickpeas – I have used drained and rinsed tinned chickpeas.
- arugula – also known as rocket. Arugula can be swapped for another salad green like lettuce or baby spinach.
- avocado
- cucumber – swap for other salad vegetables like cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper or blanched asparagus.
- red onion – if you’re following a low FODMAP diet then you can leave the red onion out.
- dill – I love using fresh dill in this recipe but you can swap for torn fresh basil or mint.
Salad Dressing
- lemon juice – swap lemon juice for apple cider vinegar in a pinch.
- dijon mustard
- honey – you can swap honey for another liquid sweetener like pure maple syrup.
- extra virgin olive oil – olive oil can be swapped for flaxseed oil or avocado oil. I always recommend extra virgin olive oil over regular olive oil as it is much less processed and retains more of the nutrients and antioxidants.
- sea salt flakes
How to Make Halloumi Avocado Salad
This salad is quick and easy to make and ready in just 30 minutes, including prep time. Start by cooking the quinoa. Add the quinoa to a large saucepan and top with cold water. Use your hands to swish the quinoa around to rinse it. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and return to the pan. Repeat this step another two times to rinse off saponins. Saponins are an anti-nutrient that can reduce the absorption of other nutrients. To the quinoa add 1 and 3/4 cups water, place on the stove and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer. Once most of the liquid has been absorbed, turn off the heat and place the lid on, allowing the quinoa to steam. Once steamed, take off the lid and fluff the quinoa with a fork and set aside to cool.
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While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the salad vegetables, cut the halloumi into thick slices and make the dressing. To make the dressing, add the lemon juice, mustard, olive oil, honey and salt to a small bowl and whisk to combine.
Bring a medium frying pan to a medium heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil. Once hot, add about half of the sliced halloumi to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes (2-3 minutes) on each side or until both sides are golden brown. Transfer to a plate and then cook the remaining halloumi. Alternatively, you can grill the halloumi on the bbq.
To a salad bowl, add the quinoa, diced cucumber, arugula, chickpeas and dill. Drizzle with the salad dressing and toss to combine. Add the halloumi slices to the top of the salad as well as the slices of avocado. Serve straight away.
Storage
Store the leftover salad in an airtight container in the fridge for around 2-3 days. Coating the avocado slices in lemon juice is a great trick to prevent them from browning.
Halloumi & Avocado Salad
Equipment
- Large frying pan or skillet
- Sharp knife
- Chopping Board
- Large saucepan
- Fine mesh sieve
- Whisk
- Salad bowl
Ingredients
- 1 cup white quinoa
- 225 grams halloumi, sliced
- drizzle extra virgin olive oil
- 240 grams cooked chickpeas, from a 400 gram can, drained and rinsed
- 120 grams arugula
- 1 Lebanese cucumber, diced
- ¼ red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 avocado, thinly sliced
- small bunch bunch dill
Honey Mustard Dressing
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- sea salt flakes, to taste
- cracked black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Pour quinoa into a large saucepan and top with tap water. Swirl the quinoa around to rinse and then strain through a metal sieve. Return the rinsed quinoa to the saucepan along with 1 and ¾ cups water. Place onto the stovetop and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer until most of the water has been absorbed by the quinoa. Turn off the heat and place the lid onto the pan so that the quinoa can continue to steam. Fluff the quinoa with a fork and then pour out into a large salad bowl and allow to cool to room temperature.
- While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the dressing. Add the honey, mustard, olive oil, lemon juice and sea salt to a small bowl and whisk to combine until smooth and well combined.
- Next, prepare the haloumi. Heat a large frying pan to a medium heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil and then the slices of haloumi to the pan. Fry for a few minutes until golden brown. Flip each slice over and fry until golden brown on the other side. Once cooked turn off the heat and transfer the halloumi to a plate. You may need to do this in two batches, depending on the size of your pan.
- Assemble the salad by adding the cooked and cooled quinoa, chickpeas, arugula, cucumber and red onion to a salad bowl. Top with dressing and toss to combine. Top with the avocado slices and cooked halloumi Serve straight away.
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