Crispy, smoky chickpeas and halloumi croutons transform this colorful salad into a filling, super satisfying meal! With a creamy pesto dressing, this is packed with amazing Italian style flavors and textures.
This recipe was first published in January 2022 but was updated in February 2025 with new pictures and some changes to the ingredients to make it more varied and colourful.
Oh, this salad. I really love this kind of salad, which is big, filling and just packed with goodies.
There’s a range of crisp, fresh cold lettuce and veggies which are dressed in my popular creamy pesto dressing. Then there’s a pan full of roasted crispy chickpeas and cubed halloumi, all roasted in a smoked paprika and fennel seeds (if you have them), a combo that I use often because it lends a strong umami and “meaty” taste that make the flavors in this salad a little bit stronger and more substantial.
This is like an ode to all of the things we love best, in salad form.
What to Know About the Ingredients
At the party today we have all these guys…
But this kind of big leafy salad is always super flexible. Some thoughts:
- In the leaf department I am using romaine but you can use gem lettuce if you wish, and feel free to add some arugula (rocket), kale, baby spinach or any other leaves you wish for a more varied texture.
- Smoked paprika and fennel seeds are the seasoning for our roasted chickpeas and halloumi. If you don’t have the fennel seeds, don’t worry, you can leave them out, but they are quite special little seeds if you have them available.
- I’m using finely chopped red onion but feel free to use green (spring) onions or even just a big handful of chives instead.
- Cherry tomatoes, mini peppers and carrot give me my fill of sweet crispy veggies but you can mix and match here, you don’t have to use them all.
- Other great additions would be: cucumber, olives, celery, fresh herbs, toasted nuts.
The Pesto Dressing
I highly recommend making the pesto dressing! It is not hard work at all – you simply whisk together some mayonnaise, ready made pesto, dijon mustard, cider vinegar and sugar. No chopping, mincing, or otherwise fiddly tasks.
But if you just can’t be dealing with mixing this dressing up, or you don’t have the ingredients, that is OK! Find a bottle of creamy herby dressing and you are good to go. Think ranch (in the US) or the Pizza Express house dressing (in the UK).
Serving Suggestions
This serves 3-4 as a light meal, but you can bulk it up or stretch it further by adding something else to the mix.
- This salad is great served with a loaf of focaccia or garlic bread.
- For a soup and salad pairing, I think this easy Tomato Mascarpone Soup is ideal.
- Baked sweet potatoes or halves (these are easy to make in the air fryer) are another winner.
Leftovers?
Once the salad is assembled and dressed, it won’t keep well at all. So if you’re making it for two and know you won’t finish it, I would suggest putting some of the ingredients in containers for lunches the next day before you dress the salad.
Leave the chickpeas and halloumi to fully cool down before adding them.
Building it up as a mason jar salad would be a great way to enjoy your leftovers at their best.
More Halloumi Salad Recipes (all Dinner Worthy!)
Roasted Chickpea & Halloumi Salad
Ingredients
Roasted Chickpeas and Halloumi
- 8 oz (225 g) pack of halloumi
- 14 oz (400 g) can of chickpeas, drained and patted dry
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp fennel seeds (optional), crushed
Cold Salad Ingredients
- 2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped
- 1 cup (150 g) cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 large avocado, cubed
- ¼ large carrot, grated
- 2 mini peppers (or 1/2 of a bell pepper), sliced
- 3 tbsp red onion, finely diced or sliced
Pesto Salad Dressing
- 1.5 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 Tbsp prepared green pesto
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 2 tsp cider vinegar
- ⅛ tsp sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C / 390F.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, toss the halloumi cubes and chickpeas with the olive oil, smoked paprika and fennel seeds until they are all well coated. Scatter them on a baking sheet, and place in the oven for 20 minutes.8 oz pack of halloumi, 14 oz can of chickpeas, 1.5 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp fennel seeds (optional), 2 Tbsp olive oil
- While they cook, you can prep all of your other cold ingredients and add them to the salad bowl.2 heads romaine lettuce, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, 1/4 large carrot, 2 mini peppers (or 1/2 of a bell pepper), 3 tbsp red onion, 1 large avocado
- Make the dressing by whisking all of the ingredients in a small bowl.1.5 Tbsp mayonnaise, 1 Tbsp prepared green pesto, 1 tsp dijon mustard, 2 tsp cider vinegar, 1/8 tsp sugar
- The halloumi and chickpeas are ready once the chickpeas are crisp and the halloumi is browned around the edges. Remove from the oven and allow it all to cool down for a few minutes.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss the salad to mix the dressing through.
- Add the chickpeas and halloumi to the salad bowl. If you have a very wide bowl, you can just scatter them over the top and serve. If your bowl is less wide and more deep, toss them through very gently until just mixed in.
This was soooo tasty!! Loved the fennel and paprika combo. And delicious dressing. While I was making it I was worried other half would feel hard done by (as he sometimes does with salads!) but it was really substantial and filling. Even the toddler enjoyed it!
Thanks so much for the feedback, I am delighted to hear that it worked out so well for you! And I am sooooo impressed by your toddler enjoying his salad, that is quite impressive!