Vegan Halloumi

This vegan halloumi seriously tastes just like the real thing. It’s tangy yet mild with heaps of cheesy flavor and a great texture!

Is that grilled tofu you see before you? Heck no, that’s vegan halloumi!

It may look a little like grilled tofu (and it does have tofu IN it) but the taste is pure halloumi.

From what we could find online, it seems that most people simply grill tofu with a cheesy marinade to mimic the tastes and textures of halloumi. This is great, but we wanted to take it a bit further and really recreate that halloumi flavor. So that’s exactly what we did.

We adapted our vegan feta recipe to make it a little milder in flavor, a bit more yellow in color and then grilled it to get perfect slices of vegan grilled halloumi. It is seriously delicious and the taste is spot ON.

The only thing that is not just like halloumi, is the texture. Regular grilled halloumi tends to have a very rubbery texture whereas our vegan version is more of a melty cheese texture inside. Honestly, I think ours is better.

You’ll also love our vegan brie, vegan mozzarella and vegan cheddar cheese.

Ingredients For Vegan Halloumi Cheese:

Ingredient Notes

• Raw cashews – we did not soak our cashews first as we made this in a high speed blender (Vitamix). If you don’t have a high speed blender it would be best to use a food processor instead. If you do want to soak the cashews then do a quick 15 minute soak in hot water. Place the cashews in a bowl, pour over boiling hot water from the kettle until the cashews are submerged. Leave them to soak for 15 minutes and then drain and rinse.
• Turmeric – is just for a little color.
• Soy sauce – can be replaced with tamari.
• White vinegar – we used distilled white vinegar as it adds a wonderful tanginess that mimics the flavor of cheese. I don’t recommend substituting this, though other vinegars like apple cider vinegar will of course work in a pinch.
• Miso paste – we used white miso paste (it’s not actually white at all as you can see) but red or brown miso will also work just fine.
• Lemon juice – tastes best when freshly squeezed but bottled will also work.
• Agar agar powder – this must be powder and not flakes. It should also be a 100% pure agar agar powder.

How To Make Vegan Halloumi From Scratch – Step By Step

You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.

• Add raw cashews, firm tofu, ¼ cup water, lemon juice, distilled white vinegar, nutritional yeast, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, dijon mustard, soy sauce, miso paste and turmeric to the blender or food processor and blend until smooth. It will be thick. Leave it in the blender, and set aside.

• Prepare an 8×4 loaf pan by spraying it with non-stick spray. Set aside.
• Add 1 cup of water to a saucepan along with agar agar powder and bring to the boil, stirring constantly.

• When it comes to a rolling boil, set a timer for 1 minute and let it boil, while you continue to stir, for the full 1 minute.

• Moving very quickly, as the agar agar begins to set fast, pour the agar agar mix into the blender on top of the other blended ingredients and blend it in quickly.

• Immediately pour this out into your prepared 8×4 loaf pan.
• Smooth it down and then place it into the fridge to set. It starts to set very quickly but should be completely set and firm within an hour.

• Once set, loosen the sides with a knife and then tip it out onto a wooden cutting board.
• Cut into slices. Don’t make the slices too thin or they will be too fragile for the grill pan. You want them fairly thick (as pictured).

• Place the slices onto a parchment lined baking sheet and brush them with olive oil.

• Heat a non stick grill pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, place the halloumi strips into the pan and let them sear and cook for about 2 minutes until browned with grill lines.

• Then flip them over and cook the other side for about 2 minutes until browned with grill lines.

• Repeat with the next batch of vegan halloumi slices. Serve warm.

Serving Suggestions

This vegan halloumi makes a wonderful addition to any salad but it’s especially amazing in a vegan pasta salad, vegan macaroni salad, vegan couscous salad or vegan quinoa salad. It’s also great mixed into your vegan stroganoff for a vegan halloumi stroganoff!

It can also be smashed on crackers or sandwiches or toast.

Chef’s Tips

1. High speed blender or food processor. If you don’t have a high speed blender (like a Vitamix or Blendtec) then it would be best to use a food processor instead. You may not get the texture quite as smooth, but it won’t make any difference to the deliciousness of the final result.
2. Non-stick grill pan. Your grill pan should be non-stick so that you don’t have to worry about it sticking to the pan. The cheese is still fairly soft, so if there is any sticking it will simply break.
3. The grill pan must be hot. When you add your slices of halloumi the grill pan should already be hot, so that it will sear nicely. Leave it to cook for 2 minutes before you flip it.

Storing and Freezing

Keep your vegan halloumi stored in the fridge for up to a week. You can reheat it in the microwave or in a hot pan, or just enjoy it cold.

It’s also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge and then reheat it in the microwave or in a hot pan, or enjoy it cold.

More Vegan Cheese Recipes

Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!