Baked Halloumi with Tomatoes & Hot Honey | Easy Mediterranean Oven Recipe
Creamy baked halloumi is roasted with juicy cherry tomatoes, garlic, olives, sweet onions, and fresh thyme, then finished with a drizzle of hot honey. Served with crispy garlic bread, this simple Mediterranean-inspired dish is perfect for lunch, dinner, or sharing as an appetizer.
By Hanan · Salt & Hearth
Published July 10, 2026 · Updated July 27, 2026
Full quantities, times and temperatures · How we make this site
Prep
10 min
Cook
20 min
Total
30 min
Serves
2
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There's something magical about halloumi straight from the oven — golden and blistered on the outside, squeaky-soft and warm in the middle — pooled in a bubbling mess of burst cherry tomatoes, briny olives, and sweet roasted onion. The hot honey drizzled on at the end is what makes this dish addictive, that little hit of sweet heat cutting through the salty cheese and savory olive oil. It comes together in one small baking dish with almost no hands-on work, which makes it perfect for a lazy weekend brunch, a light dinner, or a shareable appetizer when friends drop by. Pile on the toasted garlic bread and just tear, dip, and repeat until the dish is clean.
Why you'll love this recipe
- One dish, 20 minutes, big Mediterranean flavor
- Sweet-hot honey plays perfectly against salty halloumi
- Great for brunch, dinner, or a shared appetizer
- Garlic bread makes the leftover sauce impossible to waste
- Looks impressive but takes almost no effort
Ingredients
- Ingredients
- For the Bake
- 1 large block halloumi cheese (about 250g / 9 oz)
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 10 green olives
- 10 black olives
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1–2 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp crushed chili flakes
- ½ tsp flaky sea salt
- ½ tsp cracked black pepper
- For Serving
- 3 slices garlic bread, toasted
- Extra fresh thyme
- Extra honey for drizzling
Ingredient notes & substitutions
- Halloumi cheese:
- Use full-fat, high-quality halloumi and pat it dry with a paper towel first so it browns instead of steaming.
- Cherry tomatoes:
- Pick the ripest, sweetest ones you can find — they'll burst and turn jammy, forming the base of the sauce.
- Hot honey:
- No store-bought hot honey on hand? Just warm regular honey slightly and stir in a pinch of the chili flakes from the ingredient list.
- Green and black olives:
- Go for good-quality, pitted olives if you can, so nobody bites down on a surprise pit at the table.
- Red onion:
- Thin slices soften and sweeten in the oven; if red onion is too sharp for you, a shallot works well too.
- Garlic bread:
- Toast it right before serving so it's crisp enough to scoop up the warm tomato-olive oil mixture without going soggy.
Method
- 1
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- 2
Arrange the cherry tomatoes, sliced garlic, onion, olives, and thyme evenly inside a small round golden baking dish.
- 3
Slice the halloumi into thick pieces and arrange them over the vegetables.
- 4
Drizzle generously with olive oil, season with salt, black pepper, and crushed chili flakes.
- 5
Bake for 15–20 minutes, until the halloumi is golden and the tomatoes have burst.
- 6
Toast the garlic bread until crisp and golden.
- 7
Drizzle hot honey over the baked halloumi just before serving.
- 8
Serve immediately with toasted garlic bread for dipping into the warm tomatoes, honey, and olive oil.
Tips
- Use full-fat halloumi for the best texture.
- Pat the halloumi dry before baking to help it brown.
- Don't overbake or the cheese can become rubbery.
- Use ripe cherry tomatoes for the sweetest flavor.
- Warm the honey slightly before drizzling for a smoother pour.
- Serve immediately while the halloumi is hot and soft.
- Enjoy with toasted garlic bread, warm pita, or crusty sourdough.
Variations to try
- Swap the olives for a handful of capers or roasted red peppers for a different briny note
- Add a few halved figs or grapes alongside the tomatoes for extra sweetness against the hot honey
- Use za'atar instead of thyme for a more herby, Middle Eastern-leaning flavor
- Skip the garlic bread and serve over warm couscous or with pita for a heartier meal
Storage & make-ahead
This dish is really best eaten fresh from the oven, since halloumi turns firm and a bit rubbery once it cools and sits. If you do have leftovers, store them covered in the fridge for up to 2 days and reheat gently in a low oven or skillet just until warmed through — the microwave will make the cheese tough. The tomato, olive, and oil mixture on its own keeps well and reheats beautifully, so it's fine to make that part ahead and add freshly baked halloumi right before serving.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I make this ahead of time?
- You can prep the vegetable base — tomatoes, garlic, onion, olives, and thyme — a few hours ahead and keep it in the fridge, then add the sliced halloumi and bake right before you want to eat.
- Why is my halloumi rubbery instead of soft?
- This usually means it's overbaked or has cooled down too much — halloumi firms up fast as it cools, so serve it immediately while it's still hot from the oven.
- What can I use instead of hot honey?
- Warm regular honey and stir in a pinch of the crushed chili flakes already in the recipe, or use a chili-infused olive oil drizzle instead.
- What should I serve with this besides garlic bread?
- Warm pita, crusty sourdough, or even a simple green salad all work well for scooping up the tomatoes and soaking up the olive oil.
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