This halloumi pasta recipe is a total delight. With little effort and very few ingredients, you can create a crowd pleasing dinner full of flavor! Roasted cherry tomatoes and halloumi cheese are paired with mint, garlic, and toasted walnuts to make this healthy vegetarian pasta meal.
So, this is a recipe where three of my favorite things finally all get together in the same bowl.
Pasta + halloumi + cherry tomatoes. Mmmm.
Cherry tomatoes have paired with both pasta and halloumi seperately, in lots of my previous recipes. I use halloumi as a base for many recipes, and pasta as a base for even more, but the halloumi and pasta never came together in the same dish.
I’ve made halloumi pasta dinners before as part of “let’s clean out the fridge” pasta nights, but never really crafted a pasta dish with halloumi that made sense and felt worthy of sharing here.
Well that changes today.
I have finally arrived at a halloumi pasta recipe that I am happy with, a big pan of pasta with cherry tomatoes, mint, halloumi and walnuts. Mmm.
So let’s discuss.
How to make this Halloumi Pasta
The cherry tomatoes are roasted in the oven with some garlic and mint. MINT. Not basil today.
I am declaring 2019 the summer of mint here at Happy Veggie Kitchen. I’ve been putting it in all sorts of dishes where I wouldn’t have previously thought to put it. Turns out, cherry tomatoes and mint are a beautiful, summery combination and you’ll love it.
So. You roast all of these ingredients slowly in olive oil, and this is how we create a beautiful sauce for your pasta.
They roast for 30 minutes, so in the meantime we will cook your pasta and halloumi and toast your walnuts.
So let’s make a decision on your pasta shape.
I went random today and used radiatore pasta which is a sort of hybrid between fusilli and pasta shells. I loved it! Shells or fusilli also work well here.
It’s good to choose a very textured shape that can soak up lots of sauce and pick up lots of garlic bits in its ridges.
Your halloumi will be cubed, and then pan fried.
You could also roast the halloumi in the oven alongside the cherry tomatoes – see the recipe notes.
Toppings!
Chop up some extra fresh mint and toast some walnut pieces.
Now watch it come together.
Fresh from the oven, the cherry tomatoes will have started to release their juices and combine with the oil and garlic to make a beautiful light sauce.
You’ll mix in the pasta and let the ridges absorb some of that delicious flavor.
Add more oil if it needs it now.
And then in goes the halloumi!
And then the toppings go on, and it’s ready to serve.
It’s going to be a great dinner.
Love halloumi recipes?
Well, me too. I put halloumi in everything. So feel free to check out my full collection of halloumi recipes which includes various gems like Bruschetta Halloumi, Halloumi Fajitas and even a Butter Halloumi Curry.
Halloumi Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes & Mint
Ingredients
- 300 g (11 oz) dried pasta
- 250 g (9 oz) halloumi cheese, cut into cubes
- 600 g (21 oz) cherry tomatoes
- 6 cloves of garlic, sliced
- A big handful, around 1/2 cup of fresh sliced mint
- 4-5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 4 Tbsp chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 200C / 390F.
- Put your whole cherry tomatoes into a shallow casserole dish or baking tray, and add the garlic and mint. Pour the oil over the top and use a spoon or spatula to mix it all together and ensure everything is well coated.
- Place in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until the tomatoes are roasted and the juices are spilling out and mixing with the oil to form a sauce.
- Cook pasta according to package instructions. If it’s ready before the tomatoes, drain and toss some olive oil into the pan to stop it sticking together while it waits.
- Meanwhile, pan fry your halloumi pieces over a high heat until golden on each side.
- Toast your walnuts. I do this for a couple of minutes in a dry pan, constantly shaking the walnuts around to ensure they don’t burn.
- Once the tomatoes are ready, add the balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Pour in the pasta and mix together. Add extra olive oil if it feels too dry.
- Add the halloumi and mix through.
- Top with the walnuts and some additional fresh mint if desired.
- Serve.
Hi Christine, I’m thinking about making this tomorrow. Is it okay if I put the leftovers in the fridge? I’m a little worried about the pasta. I’ve made a couple of your recipes over the last couple of weeks. The smoky tomato and halloumi bake was really nice. I just want you to know that I really like your writing because your personality really shines through. I like how easy to use your site is as well.
Thank you so much, that is lovely to hear! Yes you can put this in the fridge, leftover pasta goes a little chewier and leftover halloumi goes a little soggier but it’s still tasty. I’d never make it ahead of time on purpose but leftovers are still worth keeping!
Hi Christine, thank you for getting back to me. I made this and it was really nice. The leftovers were fine as well. I’ll definitely make this again.
We enjoyed it and used whole wheat penne because we had it on hand. The addition on dry mint, again because it was what I had, was an excellent touch. Grape tomatoes instead of cherry worked. Delicious 🤤
I had some basil mint pesto that I mixed with the tomatoes while they roasted and it was great! The halloumi is perfect with it.
I was making the dish for dinner over two nights, so I roasted all the tomatoes with the pesto the first night but only cooked two servings of pasta and fried half the cheese. I used the leftover tomatoes the next night over freshly cooked pasta and fried the rest of the halloumi. The tomatoes made a very liquidy sauce, so I think that if the pasta had sat in the tomato liquid until night two, the pasta may have gotten dry or gummy.
Loved this recipe – thanks for sharing!