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Halloumi bowls with lentils and broccolini make a beautiful, nutritious, and super-easy vegetarian dinner any night of the week.
Why we love this recipe
Dinner doesn’t have to be difficult to be fabulous. Case in point, these gorgeous, satisfying halloumi bowls. They’re:
- Packed with both savory flavor and nutrients
- Quick, easy, and prep-ahead friendly
- Easily customizable
- Equally kid- and adult-friendly
- Vegetarian and gluten- and grain-free
I first published this recipe here back in 2019. I’ve since updated the post for clarity and made a couple of minor tweaks to the recipe.
What you’ll need
Here’s a glance at the ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe.
- Halloumi cheese originates in Cyprus. It’s made from a combination of sheep’s milk and goat’s or sometimes cow’s milk. When grilled or sautéed, it gets crisp on the outside and tender and dreamy on the inside. The taste is briny and herb-flecked and satisfying.
- A jar of roasted red peppers packed in water or oil is fine. Either way, you’ll drain and pat them dry. I tend to seek them out water-packed for this recipe because they’re less messy to work with.
- I’ve included broccolini in the recipe since it’s popular in our household and many others, but you can feel free to include any green vegetable that you like. Broccoli, green beans, leafy greens, asparagus — knock yourself out.
- Any variety of lentil would work nicely in this meal, but I particularly like Puy lentils (sometimes called French lentils) for salads and bowls because they hold their shape and a little bit of bite even when beautifully creamy and tender, and even after a week in the fridge. They have a delicate, complex, earthy flavor. Here’s how to cook them to perfection.
- Here’s how to make a quick, easy, and truly wonderful batch of our creamy lemon vinaigrette to top things off.
- Here’s how to make perfectly jammy 7-minute eggs.
- Safflower oil is my high-smoke-point, neutral-tasting vegetable oil of choice. You can substitute another oil that has similar properties, such as canola, sunflower, peanut, corn, or vegetable oil blend.
How to make it
Here’s an overview of what you’ll do to make a beautiful halloumi bowl. You can see the steps in action in the video that accompanies this post, and get all the details in the recipe card below.
- First you’ll prepare the elements: the lentils, broccolini, halloumi, eggs, and dressing.
- Then you’ll assemble the bowls. Start with a base of lentils.
- Layer in the broccolini, peppers, halloumi, and egg.
- Drizzle with dressing, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve.
Expert tips and FAQs
Halloumi and jammy eggs both shine when warm but are fine at room temperature, too. The rest of the ingredients do equally well warm or at room temperature. It’s really up to you.
You can make several of the elements well in advance. The lentils and the dressing keep well in airtight containers in the fridge for a week (and I recommend having them both on hand as often as possible). You can also cook the broccolini and the eggs up to a week in advance if you like. Cook the halloumi and assemble the bowls shortly before serving.
Leftovers will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for a week.
More favorite ways to use halloumi
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Halloumi Bowls with Lentils and Broccolini
Ingredients
- 1 cup French lentils, prepared like this
- 1 ½ pounds (680 grams) broccolini
- 1 pound (454 grams) halloumi cheese
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) safflower oil
- 1 jar, about 12 ounces roasted red peppers
- 4 jammy eggs
- 1 batch creamy lemon vinaigrette
Instructions
- Prepare lentils according to our easy recipe for a perfect pot of lentils.
- Trim ends from broccolini. Bring 1 inch of water and 1 teaspoon fine sea salt to a boil in a 12-inch lidded pan. Add broccolini and cook until it reaches your desired tenderness. We like it crisp-tender, about 5 minutes' cooking time. Drain and, if you like, place into a bowl of ice-water. (This step helps it stop cooking and retain its bright-green color but isn't strictly necessary.)
- Cut halloumi into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Heat oil in another 12-inch pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. (Or dry and reuse the same pan if the broccolini is done). Add halloumi and cook, flipping once, until golden brown on both sides and warmed through.
- Drain roasted red peppers.
- Divide ingredients among four bowls, or let diners serve themselves, and drizzle everything with magic blender dressing.
Notes
- I've included broccolini in the recipe since it's popular in our household and many others, but you can feel free to include any green vegetable that you like. Broccoli, green beans, leafy greens, asparagus — knock yourself out.
- Safflower oil is my high-smoke-point, neutral-tasting vegetable oil of choice. You can substitute another oil that has similar properties, such as canola, sunflower, peanut, corn, or vegetable oil blend.
- You can serve halloumi bowls warm or at room temperature. Halloumi and jammy eggs both shine when warm but are fine at room temperature, too. The rest of the ingredients do equally well warm or at room temperature.
- You can make several of the elements well in advance. The lentils and the dressing keep well in airtight containers in the fridge for a week (and I recommend having them both on hand as often as possible). You can also cook the broccolini and the eggs up to a week in advance if you like. Cook the halloumi and assemble the bowls shortly before serving.
- Leftovers will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for a week.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Where can I get Halloumi cheese?
Hi, Joanne! I get it from Whole Foods or FreshDirect.