• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Fermenting for Foodies

Health, Taste and Tradition

  • Fermentation
    • General Information
    • Beans, Nuts & Seeds
    • Beer, Wine, & Cider
    • Dairy & Cheese
    • Fermented Fruit
    • GF Sourdough
    • Trad Sourdough
    • Probiotic Beverages
    • Vegetables
    • Supplies
  • Healthy Meals
    • Appetizers
    • Baked Goods
    • Breakfasts
    • Condiments
    • Main Dishes
    • Sides & Salads
    • Soups & Stews
    • Desserts
    • Gluten-Free
    • Vegan
  • Fruit-Sweetened Treats
  • Cookbook

How To Make Halloumi Cheese

Halloumi is one of my favorite types of cheese. This traditional cheese comes from Cypress and is brined after pressing, similar to feta. The result is a firm, low-acid cheese, which won’t melt when grilled or fried. Here’s how to make halloumi cheese.

How to serve halloumi- barbecue, fried or in salads
Halloumi with Zaalouk

Looking for some ways to serve this unique cheese? See the section below for my favorite ways to enjoy halloumi cheese.

Why Make Fresh Cheese?

While I occasionally dabble in the world of hard cheese, I prefer making fresh cheese.

  1. Though clean is always best, you can be a bit more relaxed about sanitation with fresh cheeses. 
  2. The payoff is great! A gallon of milk turns into about 4 cups of cheese.
  3. You don’t have to wait 6 months for the cheese to age and finish!

How to Serve Halloumi Cheese

Halloumi is quite different from typical cheeses. Like feta, it won’t melt. However, it’s also not crumbly. Here are a few of our favorite ways to serve halloumi.

  • Barbecue: It holds up to grilling, so spread it with a bit of olive oil and grill for a vegetarian meat alternative.
  • Salads: Sauteed halloumi is delicious in salads. Try this recipe for a hearty lentil and broccoli salad.
  • Pan-Fried: Pan-fried halloumi is delicious with sauteed vegetables. I especially enjoy this recipe for zaalouk.
Homemade Halloumi Cheese - An easy cheese for beginners
Halloumi in brine.
Print

How To Make Halloumi Cheese

Halloumi cheese is a delicious vegetarian option for barbecues
Print Recipe

★★★★

4 from 1 reviews

Learn how to make halloumi cheese at home! It’s an easy fresh cheese that is perfect for salads, frying, and grilling. See the section above for some serving suggestions.

  • Author: Emillie
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
  • Yield: 1.5 lbs of cheese 1x
  • Category: Cheese
  • Cuisine: Cyprus
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 gallon (4L) whole milk (goat and sheep are traditional, but you can use cow dairy)
  • 1/4 tsp calcium chloride stirred into 1/4 cup of water
  • Rennet (enough to set 1 gallon, follow the instructions on the packaging) in 1/4 cup of water
  • 1 Tbsp salt for poaching the curds
  • 1/3 cup salt for brining the cheese

Instructions

  1. Heat the milk to 86F.
  2. Stir in calcium chloride, fully mixing in.
  3. Add the rennet, fully mixing in with up and down strokes for 2 minutes.
  4. Keep the mixture at 86F until the curd has formed (30-45 minutes).
  5. Cut the curd into roughly 1-inch cubes.
  6. Allow the curds to settle for 5 minutes. Then slowly raise the temperature to 104F, raising it to 2F and gently stirring every 5 minutes. Heat the curds for a total of 1 hour (including the time to raise the temperature).
  7. Drain the curds into a cheesecloth-lined strainer with a bowl underneath to catch the whey. Save the whey for poaching.
  8. Leave the curds to drain for about 30 min, then either hang the cheese to further drain or press it in a mold for 1 hour.
  9. After an hour heat the whey to 195F. At this point, you will get a bit of fresh ricotta floating on the top of the pot. Scoop it out with a slotted spoon, and save it for future use. (Bonus!)
  10. Add 1 Tablespoon of salt into the pot of whey. Remove the halloumi cheese from the press and slice into 4-5 large slices. Put the cheese into the salted whey and keep it at around 180F for 1 hour of poaching.
  11. After poaching, make a brine of 1/3 cup salt and 2 cups of water. Put the cheese into the brine and top with whey to fully cover the cheese (you will need at least 2 cups of whey). Allow Halloumi to brine in the fridge for at least 2 days or up to 2 months (see notes).

Notes

  • Halloumi is traditionally made just with rennet; however, raw milk would already have a bacterial culture to provide some flavor. If you’re using store-bought milk, then I recommend kefir culturing the milk for about 6 hours prior to making the cheese.  You don’t want the milk to be very acidic because this is not an acid cheese, but using slightly cultured milk will improve the flavor.
  • Please read up on the detailed processes involved with cheesemaking if you are uncertain about any of the steps in this recipe.
  • Halloumi can be brined in a cool room (18C) or in the fridge. 

Keywords: grilling, frying, salad, homemade, cheesemaking, diy, gluten-free, keto, traditional, beginner, summer, fall

Filed Under: CheeseTagged With: Greek, Halloumi, Middle Eastern, Turkish

Previous Post: « A creamy dip for all occasions
Next Post: Delicious Lentil and Millet Dosa (Vegan, GF) »

Reader Interactions

Related Posts

How to make different types of homemade fresh cheese.
Recipes for Homemade Fresh Cheese
Simple homemade cream cheese - cultured, fermented and probiotic
French-Style Homemade Cream Cheese
Turn milk kefir into a delicious marinated soft cheese with herb infused olive oil
Herb Marinated Soft Cheese

How to make pressed kefir cheese
Hard Kefir Cheese (Pressed or Strained)
Traditional homemade cottage cheese is easy and delicious - perfect for lasagna, pierogi and more
How To Make Cottage Cheese
How to avoid common cheesemaking problems.
Cheesemaking Problems And How To Solve Them

Comments

  1. gaynor

    January 24, 2017 at 9:06 pm

    is hallumi cheese classed as prefermented and how so?

    Reply
    • Emillie

      January 25, 2017 at 6:53 am

      Halloumi doesn’t need to be prefermented, however it wouldn’t have much flavour. I used milk kefir grains to give mine a “flora”. Instructions are written up in the notes below the recipe.

      Reply
  2. Lesley Davies

    May 9, 2017 at 6:43 pm

    It is my understanding that traditional halloumi has been minted
    when and at what stage you recommend I add some.

    Reply
    • Emillie

      May 10, 2017 at 5:53 am

      I would add mint after you’ve made the cheese as a marinade (with lemon juice & olive oil). Enjoy!

      Reply
  3. Annie

    April 4, 2019 at 7:59 pm

    Is this hard to make? Could my kids help make this cheese?

    ★★★★

    Reply
    • Emillie

      April 5, 2019 at 8:56 am

      I haven’t tried making cheese with my kids, mainly because they lack patience in the kitchen, and cheese takes patience. But it would be a good activity for a rainy day!

      Reply
  4. o

    April 25, 2020 at 4:15 pm

    Halloumi cheese is Cypriot. Not Greek nor Turkish.

    Reply
    • Emillie

      April 25, 2020 at 5:37 pm

      Thanks for letting me know!

      Reply
    • Betty

      August 13, 2021 at 2:49 pm

      Why does halloumi need to be poached?

      Reply
      • Emillie

        August 14, 2021 at 5:21 am

        Poaching firms up the cheese and draws out more whey. Most (all?) firm cheeses involved heating the curds. Enjoy!

        Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

Primary Sidebar

Hi, I'm Emillie, an island-dwelling fermentation enthusiast. Fermenting For Foodies features healthy recipes designed to feed your microbiome.
Read More →

Check Out My Cookbook!

Fermenting Made Simple Cookbook

Want healthy recipes right to your inbox? Subscribe to our mid-month newsletter!

Thank you!

Please check your inbox to confirm your subscription.

Affiliate Disclosure

In order to run this site, Fermenting For Foodies sometimes earns an affiliate commission on the sales of products we link to. We only feature items we genuinely want to share, and this is an arrangement between the retailer and Fermenting For Foodies. Readers never pay more for products. Thank you for reading!

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Affiliate Disclosure
  • Sponsored Content
  • Contact

Copyright © 2023 · Fermenting for Foodies