Sesame Halloumi Fries

I love this sesame halloumi fries recipe because it has taken traditional Mediterranean ingredients and flavors and presented them in a way that is decidedly non-traditional, but still makes sense and works really well.

The coating came out golden and crispy, and the cheese was soft on the inside. I didn’t find the hot honey particularly spicy as I made it, but it worked well as a dipping sauce for the fries as the sweetness of the honey balanced the savoriness of the fries.

Overall, this one was a hit! It would scale up very easily and make a great snack or appetizer for a gathering.

I absolutely LOVED these grownup halloumi cheese sticks! The combinations are phenomenal– crunchy, salty, spicy, and packed with flavor! The spicy honey is the perfect accompaniment, although I ate the leftovers cold and plain and they were still delicious!

Often, I find in recipes calling for a flour-dredging mixture, there is way too much, but this is exactly the right amount of flour mixture, so there’s no waste. I didn’t have any dried peppers on hand, so I used crushed red-pepper flakes and the honey turned out perfect. A cold beer was the great sidekick!

Before eating these sesame halloumi cheese fries, I didn’t think it was possible for me to enjoy an entire block of cheese in one sitting. I stand corrected. You ever heard someone moan after they try a bite of something delicious? I did that.

I like my halloumi pretty salty, so I didn’t pre-soak, and the end result nicely contrasted the sweetness of the hot honey. I had my doubts at first that the halloumi wedges would work without a full breading station, but it absolutely did, and mine absolutely looked like the recipe author’s photo.

When buying Aleppo pepper flakes, ask if they’re mild or spicy, because I’ve seen both, and this will impact your hot honey simmer time. Aleppo is a pepper I find myself gravitating toward again and again because it has so much flavor, so it will be a great addition to your pantry if you don’t already have it.

Don’t be afraid to let the hot honey simmer longer than the recommended time if it’s not as spicy as you would like yet, and try not to burn your tongue when tasting it as I did.

Serve these fries as an appetizer or alongside a savory entrée.

This recipe for sesame halloumi cheese fries helped me get over my fear of deep frying and produced a perfect appetizer with such well-rounded flavor and satisfying texture. We ate this on a warm evening alongside sweet corn, veggie burgers, and grilled vegetables.

The hot honey came together easily (though we only needed about a third of what we made in the recipe), and the halloumi fried up perfectly golden and crunchy on the outside.

After I initially breaded the cheese strips and was waiting for the oil to heat up, I ended up doing a second round of breading because some of the floury mixture had absorbed into the moist cheese, and I still had some coating left over to use anyway. This ended up working beautifully!

The heat, sweetness, and smooth texture of the honey complemented the saltiness, crunch, and herbiness of the cheese. A squeeze of lemon might take this dish to an even more exquisite level. It’s a winning recipe for sure!