Halloumi and white beans baked in a rich, smoky, Spanish inspired tomato sauce! This is a simple but stunning one pot vegetarian meal that is on the table in just 30 minutes. With lots of different serving suggestions, you will never tire of making this amazing halloumi bake for dinner.
We had a pretty good run of fresh tomato recipes here on HVK this summer, didn’t we? But as we head into winter, we’re back to the tinned tomatoes.
This does not have to be a sad thing! Because rich, juicy tinned or jarred tomatoes are a joy to behold as well.
And in this recipe, we are transforming them into a beautiful smoky sauce to house some creamy white beans and our favorite salty, squeaky cheese halloumi.
The joys of baked halloumi
Baked halloumi stays more moist, which works really well in some recipes. I always used to fry or grill it to get it super crispy, but now I am thoroughly enjoying preparing it this way from time to time.
In this recipe we’re going to brown it on the top so that there is still some familiar crisp, but beneath that we have our deliciously juicy slabs of halloumi sitting in a rich, smoky sauce and, well, I challenge you not to fall head over heels for it.
The Smoky Spanish Tomato Sauce
High quality tinned plum tomatoes are helpful in making this sauce as delicious as can be. The flavoring is Spanish inspired, with lots of garlic and smoked paprika. You can give it a spicy kick, or not, with the addition of chili flakes. The heat level is yours to decide upon.
I make it pretty mild, because my tastebuds are a little wimpy when it comes to heat.
And it’s a 30 Minute + One Pot Meal!
Oh I’ve saved the best part for last… This is an extremely easy weeknight meal.
30 minutes, and everything cooks in one pot. Use a shallow casserole dish that you can use on both the stovetop and in the oven, and you’re good to go.
You simply prepare your sauce in the pan…
And then you add your beans and halloumi, and put it all in the oven.
You’ll bake it, and then broil / grill it at the end to get the halloumi browned.
Ta da!
How to serve your Halloumi Bake
- To keep this as simple as possible, and not use any more pots, get yourself a mound of pita bread or a fresh baked baguette, and just dig right in. It’s going to be great.
- It would be amazing atop a baked sweet potato or slices of sweet potato toast.
- I also like to serve it with rice or couscous.
- If you’re avoiding carbs, you could spoon it over zucchini noodles or cauliflower mash.
- If you want to add some greens, throw some spinach into the sauce just before adding the halloumi. It’s always a nice addition.
Can I use less halloumi?
There are two blocks of halloumi in this dish, and while halloumi is super easy to find and affordable here in London, I am conscious that a meal using two entire packages of it could be cost prohibitive elsewhere.
So yes. Feel free free to use just one package of halloumi. You will just need to bulk out the pan in another way, the most simple idea being to add another can of white beans.
Love halloumi dinners? Don’t go without checking out these other Happy Veggie Kitchen faves:
- Roasted Halloumi Fajitas
- Halloumi Traybake with Pesto Rice & Roasted Vegetables
- Vegetarian Pad Thai with Halloumi
Ready to cook? Prepare to meet your new favorite dinner…
Smoky Tomato & Halloumi Bake
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced
- A few pinches of chili flakes, to taste
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp red wine vinegar
- ½ tsp brown sugar
- 400 g (14 oz) can of white beans , I used butter beans, but cannellini beans or chickpeas work well too
- 800 g (28 oz) whole plum tinned tomatoes , that is two normal sized cans
- 500 g (18 oz) halloumi cheese, sliced lengthways and then widthways into slabs
- Parsley or coriander, to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C / 390F. In a shallow casserole dish, heat some olive oil and gently saute your sliced garlic until it’s starting to brown.
- Add the smoked paprika and oregano and stir for a moment until fragrant, then add the tomatoes, sugar and red wine vinegar.
- Stir the sauce and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Drain and rinse the butter beans, then add to the sauce.
- Remove from the heat and arrange the halloumi on top of the sauce.
- Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes until bubbling. If you want to get the halloumi browned on top, turn on the grill / broiler for the last 5 minutes.
Yasssss! Baked halloumi is always a good idea. Well, halloumi is always a good idea baked or not, really. But I love it so much paired with the beans and the smoky tomato sauce. Thanks for another amazing recipe!
Squeaky cheese and smoked paprika? Pretty much all of my favorite things in one dish! Love how easy and adaptable this recipe is!
Christine, I love your recipes and have tried quite a few of them. Did this one today – it was yummy, but I do have a few questions/issues/comments.
First, the ingredient list says ‘whole plum tomatoes’ but the instructions say ‘chopped tomatoes’. Does this just mean that you chop the whole tomatoes? Instructions also say to add sugar, but there is no sugar in the ingredient list (I guessed and added just a pinch).
The timings were also confusing, leading to a delayed meal. I believed it when you said 20 minutes cooking, but according to the instructions it was 20 minutes to simmer the sauce. So the cooking time as stated didn’t include sautéing the garlic and spices etc. which was at least 10 minutes more. I should have read the recipe more closely before I started.
I was cooking for 2, so I halved most of the ingredients – 1 tin tomatoes, 1 packet halloumi etc. But I put in a whole can of beans and am glad I did – I think it would have been very skimpy otherwise.
I’ll definitely make it again – great flavours, and very simple. I never met a halloumi I didn’t like!
I made this tonight and it was great. Whole family loved it (I added spinach) thank you for posting!
That’s so great to hear! Adding spinach is an excellent idea! 🙂
Mine is in the oven now. I too added spinach. I omitted the chillie because I can’t do really spicy, but smoked paprika is good. It smells lovely, having gluten free bread with it. I feel really hungry now!
Amazing!! In love with it. I serve it with crusty bread or cous cous! It’s going on the weekly rotation!
Hurrah! Your comment made my day. Thanks so much for coming back to rate it!
I halved the recipe (for two) and forgot to halve the oregano/paprika, no harm done though, it was delicious! A fast and easy weeknight meal, and I had all the ingredients on hand! Yay!
If I followed the recipe to the point where the halloumi is placed on the top of the sauce (uncooked) could it be successfully frozen at this point and baked when required. If so how long do you think it would freeze for. Thank you.
Yes absolutely! I’d go with 6 months as a general rule for vegetarian recipes.
Made this for dinner on a rainy night with a few changes: I added an onion and half a jalapeno in with the garlic, added some very finely chopped kale in with the beans and added about a 1/4 cup of veggie stock to loosen everything up before adding the halloumi and putting it in the oven. It was awesome! A great dinner for two people with some crusty bread, and plenty leftover for lunch the next day. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Wow that sounds amazing, I love your spin on this recipe! Thanks so much for sharing!
Love this recipe. I had leftover capsicum so chopped it up and added in place of half the haloumi. Thanks!
Can I cook it on the stove instead of oven?
Thank you
Absolutely, but you would want to pan fry the halloumi and just add it on top. Otherwise the texture won’t be as nice.
Delicious! Has become a mid week staple, thank you for the recipe
Delicious. I had it with courgetti and sprinkled with coriander leaves
This dish was fantastic! I halved the recipe and added some mushrooms and spinach that I had lurking in the fridge to bulk it out. Served with tomato and garlic couscous and a brown petit pan roll to mop up the sauce. Will be a regular on my meal plan from now on!
You can now get a veggie dish using Halloumi in the oddest of places. Was in my local Sainsburys supermarket (UK) the other day and in the cafe they offered an Halloumi and Spicy Couscous salad. Not bad if a little small portion-wise.
They also now offer a vegan Bubble and Sqeak Paninni which has cabbage, cranberry and houmous.
Several other veggie dishes on offer such as Christmas nut roast dinner.
Not bad for a basic canteen style supermarket cafe.
Halloumi is everywhere isn’t it! The bubble and squeak panini sounds interesting, I will keep an eye out for that in my local Sainsbury’s…
I have just one word for this recipe DELICIOUS!
I was looking for some new vegetarian recipes to try and really wanted to like this, but it was just ok for me. I served it as a main dish and the textures seemed a bit off, the whole peeled tomatoes didn’t quite break down and the beans were a little bland. Maybe it needed more time for the flavors to meld or could work better partially pureed? I did have it as an accompaniment to my omelet with a little sauteed kale for breakfast the next morning and it worked much better!
Hi Cat, I am sorry this wasn’t as successful as you’d hoped! A few thoughts… Tomato sauces are always better the longer you can give them so yes, if it tasted better the next day maybe a longer cooking time would help. I wonder whether breaking the tomatoes up with a wooden spoon would help with the texture, or just using pureed tomatoes in the first place. Have you ever tried Mutti polpa tomatoes? They’re so good and have a more broken down texture. They’d be lovely in this. The quality of your canned tomatoes can be the difference between it being bland or not as well. If you have time, you could roast some peppers and other veggies to add in too. You’d roast the veggies in the pan with the garlic and smoked paprika, and then go ahead with the rest of the recipe as written. I hope this helps, but if it’s not the recipe for you do have a look at some of the other halloumi recipes on here if you’re a fan. I have a bunch and maybe a different one would be more to your tastes? Thanks so much for your feedback, it’s always helpful.
Thank you for the tips! I will have to look into the Mutti polpa tomatoes, and I also like the idea of adding roasted veggies. Will definitely give some of your other recipes a try as well!
Well I’m still waiting for mine to finish baking in the oven, but I’ve read all these comments. This dish is like the The Stone Soup story. There have been so many wonderful ideas as to things to add, I could make it every week and do it differently. I didn’t have chopped tomatoes but had passata so I’ve used that and a little stock. Thank you so much. Especially good as we are in isolation after a mini operation this week.
Hi Sue, thanks so much for your comments. I really hope you enjoyed it in the end! I just love how this recipe morphs and changes with everyone who makes it. Best of luck with your recovery and isolation period.
This is one of my favourite, go-to recipes. It comes together in less than 30 minutes, is low effort but tastes amazing. My boyfriend loves it and requests it very often! I always make sure to stock a can of tomatoes, butter beans and a block halloumi in the house to make this on a whim!
So happy to hear this 🙂
I’m always looking for ways to get away with leaving meat out of a meal (it’s risky with two major carnivores in the house), and remember halloumi with fondness from holidays in Cypress when I was (much) younger so thought I’d give this a go, but was not confident about the reception it would receive! I added a finely chopped onion, because every savoury dish needs onion (if you had to give up one veg for life what would it be – NOT ONIONS!!), and stirred in some chopped spinach 5 minutes before the end. I also used chilli halloumi (left out the chilli flakes) and served it with ciabatta. Oh my word. Delicious! My husband couldn’t stop raving about it, and my teen, who initially dissected it like he thought it was going to explode in his face, ended up shovelling it down like he hadn’t seen food in a week! All in all a major win, and another veggie recipe added to the repertoire. Thank you!
Delighted to hear this Elaine! Haha yes onion is definitely at home in this dish, but sometimes I just overload my sauces with garlic and call it a day because chopping onions is the bane of my life! Anyway I know what a win it is when the whole family is equally enthused about a meal and I am really happy this recipe could do that for you 🙂
I’m eager to try this recipe but don’t know the correct amount of Halloumi to use. You say 500 grams (8.8 oz.) but 500 grams is actually 17.637 oz. That is a BIG difference! I realize that the amount is somewhat fungible but what do you suggest as the optimum amount?
Oh yikes I am so sorry about that oversight! It’s 500g / 18oz. Generally that’s what you would expect to get from two packs! Hope you enjoy it 🙂
This was ABSOLUTELY delicious. 5 stars. Excellent recipe. I made rice and naan bread on the side. Will absolutely make again.
Great recipe, I also use the tomato sauce in other things like roast veg lasagne.
So happy to hear this! Never thought to use that smoky sauce in lasagne, what a fab idea!