20-minute Halloumi Pasta Primavera [Vegetarian]

20-minutes (chopping included!) is all you need to make this delicious, vegetarian halloumi pasta loaded with veggies. A light and summery dish without cream, this is a great summer dinner that lets the veggies shine.

I'm pretty sure no one has missed the fact that I loooove a good pasta. And while I do eat pasta year-round (yes, even if it's 30 C outside) my favorite changes with the season.

In fall: a creamy red wine pasta with mushrooms and thyme.

In winter: a flavor-packed chicken pasta with Feta cheese.

And in summer: this Halloumi Pasta.

Why you will love this recipe

• It's quick - done in 20 minutes, chopping and cooking pasta included
• It's easy - all except the pasta done in one pot, and all ingredients added raw
• It has multiple layers of texture from cooking the vegetables to different degrees of done-ness
• Halloumi adds a chewiness and almost meaty texture that you won't get from veggies alone
• It is just slightly spicy from fresh chili
• The veggies are the stars of the show - lightly seasoned with white wine, garlic and black pepper they really get a chance to shine
• It's light and summery and the only pasta I want to have even if it's 30 degrees outside

What you need to make it

Ingredient notes

• Butter and olive oil both serve their own purpose for this recipe, and I encourage using both if you can.
• Spaghetti can be switched for another type of pasta.
• White wine can be switched for dry sparkling white wine or - if that's all you have - for white cooking wine.
• Fresh chili - I use red serrano chili for this recipe, and about half of the seeds. To make it more or less spicy, adjust the type of chili you use and/or the amount of seeds.
• Halloumi can be skipped, and it's still a delicious dish. Just add a pinch of salt together with the black pepper.
• Shallots can be swapped for red onion (best option) or yellow onion.
• All of the veggies can be swapped for what you have at home - great additions include bell peppers, broccoli and white asparagus.
• Asparagus - for the best experience when cooking with asparagus, the end should be removed. See below for my guide to how to do this.
• You can also add some chopped green spring onion - it's nice, but not necessary.

How to prepare asparagus

Depending on the season, a smaller or larger part of the asparagus stem will be hard and stringy - and not so nice to eat in a dish like this. So we want to remove it, but not more than necessary.

To remove just the right amount of stem, here's my trick:

1. Grab one asparagus with two hands, and find the place where it starts to go from hard to softer.
2. Make as to break the asparagus at this point, and it will snap in just the right place.
3. You end up with two pieces of asparagus. The top part you use for this pasta, the lower part you can freeze and use for soup or stock at a later date.

How to make this recipe

First things first: prep! This halloumi pasta requires a bit of chopping, but don't be scared - we'll just make sure to get it over with before we start cooking.

So go ahead and chop your garlic and shallots as small as possible, and your zucchini, mushrooms, asparagus, cherry tomatoes and halloumi a bit more coarsely - I like to switch it up and do different sizes of all the ingredients to keep it interesting.

For the chili, remove half of the seeds (for a light spiciness) and then chop it all together.

Now, last thing before we start with our halloumi pasta sauce: get the pasta cooking. When it's done, make sure to keep some of the pasta water to use in the sauce.

1. Place a plan over medium-high heat and add in half of the butter and all of the olive oil.
2. When the butter is melted, add in the chopped shallots, garlic and chili.
3. Fry for a minute until softened and a bit browned.
4. Add in the zucchini and fry for a minute.

5. Add in the mushrooms and some more butter. Keep adding butter until the mushrooms are fully satiated and won't absorb more.
6. Add the asparagus and cook for 2 minutes.
7. Pour in the wine.
8. Mix, and let simmer for a minute.

9. About half of the liquid should now have evaporated, if not - let it simmer a bit longer.
10. Lower the heat to medium and mix in the halloumi. Cook for about 2 minutes, until the halloumi has softened. It shouldn't melt or brown, just soften. You will feel this easily by pressing it with your cooking utensil.
11. Season with ground black pepper and mix well.
12. Add in the cherry tomatoes and mix. If you want to add green spring onion, add that now as well.

13. Add in the cooked pasta, together with the pasta water.
14. Mix well - and serve!

Tips & Tricks

• Don't add salt - at least not before tasting the finished dish. Halloumi is a salty cheese, combine it with salted butter and well-salted pasta water and you probably won't need more.
• Add more butter if needed when frying the mushrooms - you want them to become completely satiated.
• Prefer a creamier halloumi pasta? Add some cream! I'll do it once in a while just to switch it up.
• Make it dairy free and vegan by switching butter for olive oil & excluding halloumi - still delicious, just add some salt since you don't have the salty butter & halloumi.

Recipe FAQ

More quick & easy halloumi recipes

Love halloumi? Check out these delicious recipes:

• Quick Vegetarian Wraps with Halloumi & Pesto
• 20-minute Potato & Halloumi Stir-fry
• Halloumi & Portobello Burgers with Caramelized Onions

Or if you're looking for a summer pasta with a different flavor profile - try this salmon cème fraîche pasta with lemon & chives!

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