Halloumi tacos with homemade salsa macha, cherry tomatoes and avocados will give a little Middle Eastern kick to your taco night routine!
This post is a collaboration with Happy As a Yam. I am proud to only work with people and businesses I truly believe in!
What is Pepita Salsa, or Salsa Macha?
All this talk about halloumi cheese is great, you may think, but what about the other ingredients in our tacos? For example, what is pepita salsa, also known as Salsa Macha?
Salsa Macha is an unusual rich sauce that hails from Veracruz, Mexico. Unlike more typical salsa that is based on fruit or even veggies, Salsa Macha is made from ground and processed dried chiles, garlic, nuts and seeds.
A lot of Salsa Macha is made largely from peanuts or sesame seeds. For my recipe, I wanted to make a salsa based on another seed: pumpkin seed salsa.
In this deeply flavored salsa, ground and toasted pumpkin seeds are joined with mixed dried chiles, sesame seeds and garlic and ground into a delicious, slick pumpkin seed salsa. This salsa goes beautiful with the cheesy flavor of hallomi cheese, but I also love drizzling it on tofu, roasted cauliflower or using in other vegetarian tacos of your choice.
For example, it would go really well on my friend Katia's Curried Jackfruit Tacos.
You can find my pumpkin seed salsa recipe here. When I don't have extra salsa macha in my fridge, I love making a quick homemade salsa to spice these tacos up. It's so refreshing!
Blogger Spotlight: Happy As a Yam
Let me tell you a bit about the blogger who sparked up this delicious recipe: Katia from Happy As a Yam.
I got to know Katia through Instagram, where her colorful and beautiful feed of gluten-free and vegan recipes made me drool every time. Once we started chatting, I was thrilled to discover Katia was also based in Montreal, spending her days cooking and baking gluten-free dishes, just like me!
With a unique palette, an eye for international recipes and an easy-going, light and bright photography style, Happy As a Yam's recipes offer something for everyone. I can't wait to try her gluten-free and vegan croissants, her savory portobello mushroom spaghetti squash boats, or her eggplant ratatouille once my favourite summer vegetable appears!
For this recipe collaboration, Katia developed mouthwatering Curried Jackfruit Tacos that would put any pulled pork recipe to shame. They remind me of my vegan pulled pork sandwich, only they sound even better!
Halloumi Tacos Ingredients
To make these veggie tacos with grilled halloumi cheese, you will need:
- 1 halloumi
- 1 avocado
- 8 corn tortillas (i love these Brown Rice Tortillas)
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- ½ purple onion
- Fresh cilantro, to taste
- Lime wedges, to taste
- ½ cup pumpkin seed salsa (salsa macha)
How to Make Halloumi Tacos
Make Salsa Macha
Follow my recipe to make a fiery pumpkin seed salsa, or use your favorite store-bought pepita salsa.
Toast Tortillas
Lightly toast your corn tortillas in the same pan you used to fry the halloumi cheese. Lay 2 pieces of grilled halloumi cheese per taco, topping them with halved cherry tomatoes, and a few slivers of purple onion.
Pan fry halloumi cheese
Drizzle a non-stick pan slightly with oil, and preheat it to medium-high heat.
Add halloumi cheese to the pan; cook for 2 minutes on one side, and 1 minute on the other.
Remove halloumi from the pan. (To see other methods for cooking halloumi cheese, check out my post on this amazing Cypriot cheese).
Assemble halloumi tacos:
Dilute desired quantity of pumpkin seed salsa with a few teaspoons of water to make it more drizzable. Top halloumi tacos with a generous drizzle of salsa and a generous sprinkling of fresh cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.
Adaptations
vegan and dairy-free
To transform these grilled halloumi tacos into vegan tacos, substitute the halloumi cheese for sliced extra firm tofu. Sprinkle each slice with salt and pepper before grilling the tofu slices the same way you would prepare the halloumi cheese.
keto, paleo and whole 30
For keto tacos or Whole 30 tacos, sub the corn tortillas for thinly sliced daikon radish or a keto tortilla. You will end up with miniature, bite-size halloumi cheese tacos that are adorable!
Accompanying Dishes
The following dishes can go nicely alongside these halloumi tacos with pumpkin seed salsa, the ultimate in Mexican - Middle Eastern fusion!
Recipe
Tried and loved this recipe? Please leave a 5-star review below! Your reviews mean a lot to me, so if you've got any questions, please let me know in a comment.
Halloumi Tacos With Pepita Salsa, Cherry Tomatoes And Avocados
Equipment
- blender OR
Ingredients
- 1 halloumi
- 1 avocado
- 8 corn tortillas
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- ½ purple onion
- Fresh cilantro to taste
- Lime wedges to taste
- ½ cup
Pumpkin seed salsa (Salsa Macha) Recipe here: https://immigrantstable.com/pepita-salsa-macha/
Instructions
Make Salsa Macha, or grab your favorite salsa
- Follow my recipe for making salsa macha, or use your favorite store bought salsa.
To grill halloumi cheese:
- Drizzle a pan slightly with oil, and preheat over medium-high heat.
- Add the halloumi cheese slices directly to the pan; for 2 minutes on one side, and 1 minute on the other.
- Remove halloumi from the pan, and use in the halloumi tacos immediately.
Assemble halloumi tacos:
- Lightly toast your corn tortillas in the same pan you used to fry the halloumi cheese. Lay 2 pieces of grilled halloumi cheese per taco, topping them with a few avocado slices, some halved cherry tomatoes, and a few slivers of purple onion.
- Dilute desired quantity of sunflower seed salsa with a few teaspoons of water to make it more drizzable. Top halloumi tacos with a generous drizzle of pumpkin seed salsa and a generous sprinkling of fresh cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.
Liz says
I am obsessed with halloumi and tacos are my new favorite! Love these toppings ideas to take them to the next level. YUM!
kseniaprints says
So glad to hear you find these inspiring!
Marta says
Your vibrant images sell this recipe and the flavors do not disappoint at all! Great recipe for a weeknight dinner.
kseniaprints says
Thank you! I'm so happy to hear this was what you expected
Jere Cassidy says
Your photos just look delicious. These halloumi tacos are perfect for our meatless dinners
kseniaprints says
Thank you!!
Petro says
And now I'm hungry! Such a delicious recipe, thanks for sharing!
kseniaprints says
Thank you! Hope it satisfied your craving for tacos.
Hayley Dhanecha says
I was looking for a vegetarian taco recipe different from what I have tried in the past. This was amazing. My friends loved it too.
kseniaprints says
I'm so glad, Hayley!
AISilva says
I've never cooked much with halloumi so I appreciate you giving a background on it! That salsa macha looks mouth watering. We've been having more taco nights lately so I can't wait to try this!
kseniaprints says
I think you will absolutely love it!
Tristin says
We love halloumi! These are on the menu for taco Tuesday, can't wait to try them out!
kseniaprints says
Thank you Tristin!!! Hope they worked for you
Jacqueline Debono says
These tacos look fabulous! I love halloumi. Sadly, it's not easy to find here in Italy. But next time I come across it, definitely going to give this recipe a go! Thanks for sharing!
kseniaprints says
Ahh, Italy, where the only cheese you may have difficulty finding is halloumi
Kushigalu says
Love the combination of ingredients in this tacos recipe. I would love to make this for my family soon. Thanks for sharing
kseniaprints says
Let me know how they like it!
Jenny says
The tacos came out really great! Your recipe is easy and fuss-free; I love the halloumi as an ingredient. Thanks so much; we will definitely make them again.
kseniaprints says
I'm so glad, Jenny!!!
Jen says
Yum! Halloumi tacos sound like such a great idea and the pumpkin salsa is the perfect touch. I'm trying these on taco Tuesday!
kseniaprints says
Hope they go over well!