RECIPE: Chickpeas with Cherry Tomatoes and Feta or Halloumi

I've made this at least 6 times in the past 2 months!  (And recently (summer 2026), I've been making it every other day!)

The original recipe calls for cherry tomatoes and sheep feta, but I've also made it with small tomatoes, large tomatoes, cow feta, sheep-goat halloumi, and cow halloumi and they were all good..  The BEST version was with small tomatoes (1.5-2") and halloumi.  When I experiment with other cheeses, my husband chides me for messing with the recipe! 

CHEESE: The feta our cheesemaker makes is firmer than what I can buy at Whole Foods, and holds its shape better when cubed.  The feta from Whole Foods tends to crumble when cubed.  If you can get Abbott Hill feta, sheep has more fat than cow and will be richer, but the cow feta is perfectly OK and delicious.  Halloumi is our favorite though.  The farm halloumi is to die for!  

Farm members: there are some 1.5" tomatoes in the U-Pick field.

My husband likes this with sausage on the side, any kind of sausage.  

Original recipe: Sheet-pan Feta with Chickpeas and Tomatoes

Chickpeas with Tomatoes and Feta or Halloumi

Chickpeas with Tomatoes, Feta, and Halloumi

Serves 3-4

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups cooked chickpeas, drained, rinsed and shaken dry (I use one 28oz can)
  
• 3-4 pints (about 2-3 pounds) tomatoes, larger ones cored and cut into 1" pieces
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced (sub 1.5 cups green onions, including the white parts)
  
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 T. honey - don't skimp on this!
• 2 (6-8oz) packages sheep feta (cow feta has less fat) or halloumi sliced into 3/8"-1/2" cubes(I prefer the smaller cubes)
• 1 t. mild chile flakes or to taste (I used gochugaru or silk)
• salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

 

Preheat oven to 400F.

 
On a sheet pan, combine the chickpeas, tomatoes, shallot, olive oil and  honey.   

 

NOTES: I like a 2:1 ratio of tomatoes to chickpeas - 2/3 of the pan filled with tomatoes, 1/3 filled with chickpeas.  I went easy on the honey once and it wasn't as good - use the full 2 T.

 

Spread in an even layer and season with salt (I used about 1 t. salt)

 
Arrange the feta or halloumi among the chickpeas and tomatoes and sprinkle with chile flakes.

 
Roast until the feta is brown and the tomatoes are soft, 30-35 minutes.  There is no need to stir.  Eat right away! 

 
Leftovers reheat beautifully.

 

Here is a photo of the ratio of chickpeas to tomatoes that we prefer:

Chickpea : tomato ratio we prefer

 

Here's what it looks like before I add the cheese:

 

In the photo below, I used Abbot Hill sheep feta and cow feta. 

The photo below was made with large tomatoes (MaiTai) and Halloumi.  

My husband loved this version, but I thought it needed more tomatoes.

MaiTai tomatoes and Halloumi cheese made with cow's milk