Za’atar-Spiced Grilling Cheese Pitas
with Pickled Carrots, Tomato-Cuke Salad & Creamy Dill Sauce
- Milk
- Sesame
- Wheat
For this vegetarian dinner recipe, you’ll toss hunks of cheese directly into a hot pan. Yes, this technique took us by surprise too, but it’s all about the halloumi—a sturdy Middle Eastern “grilling cheese” that’s built for this treatment. You’ll coat the cheese in za’atar (a fragrant spice, seed, and herb blend), sear it until golden and crusty on the outside; then tuck it into warm pitas slathered with lemony, creamy dill sauce along with crisp, tangy pickled carrot, a juicy cucumber-tomato salad, and a final drizzle of hot sauce. It turns out, it IS easy being cheesy!
Ingredients
3 ounce
Carrot
4.5 tablespoon
Sour Cream
(Contains: Milk)
2 unit
Pitas
(Contains: Sesame, Wheat)
1 unit
Lemon
6 ounce
Grilling Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
1 unit
Mini Cucumber
1 unit
Tomato
¼ ounce
Dill
1 ounce
Golden Raisins
1 teaspoon
Hot Sauce
1 tablespoon
Za'atar Spice
(Contains: Sesame)
Not included in your delivery
1 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Wash and dry produce. • Dice tomato into ¼-inch pieces. Trim and finely dice cucumber. Roughly chop dill. Zest and quarter lemon. • In a small bowl, combine tomato, cucumber, raisins, and a pinch of dill; season with salt and pepper.
• Trim, peel, and slice carrot lengthwise into ¼-inch-thick planks. Cut planks lengthwise into ¼-inch-thick matchsticks (ours were 3 inches long). • In a second small microwave-safe bowl, combine carrot, 1 tsp sugar (2 tsp for 4 servings), juice from half the lemon, a pinch of salt, and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 30 seconds. Set aside to pickle, stirring occasionally.
• In a third small bowl, combine sour cream, a big pinch of dill, and a big pinch of lemon zest. Add water 1 tsp at a time until mixture reaches a drizzling consistency. Taste and season with salt and pepper if desired.
• Cut grilling cheese into 8 slices (16 slices for 4 servings). Place Za’atar Spice on a plate; season with salt and pepper. Coat cheese in seasoning, pressing to adhere. Shake off any excess seasoning.
• Heat a drizzle of oil in a large, preferably nonstick, pan over medium-high heat. (Be careful of oil splatter when adding the cheese!) Add grilling cheese and cook until browned, 1-2 minutes per side. (For 4 servings, you may need to cook in batches, adding a drizzle of oil per batch.) • Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate.
• Meanwhile, wrap pitas in a damp paper towel and microwave until warm, 30 seconds. Once cool enough to handle, halve pitas; gently pull apart to create pockets. • Spread insides of pitas with half the sauce. Evenly fill with pickled carrot (draining first), grilling cheese, remaining sauce, and as much tomato-cucumber salad as you like. Drizzle with hot sauce to taste.
• Divide grilling cheese–stuffed pitas and any remaining tomato-cucumber salad between plates. Serve with remaining lemon wedges on the side.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the balanced flavors, with the za'atar-spiced cheese and pickled carrots creating a delightful combination 🍲.
- Ease of prep: Some found it quick and easy, while others felt it was more time-consuming with multiple components to prepare.
- Suggestions: Consider cooking the carrots longer or shredding them for easier eating; add more sauce for extra moisture.
- Portions: A few found it light for dinner; others enjoyed it as a satisfying lunch or snack option.
- Texture: The crunchy pickled carrots added a nice contrast, though some preferred them softer for easier chewing.
Reviews from our home cooks
Okay I know sometimes I complain about not enough veggies - definitely not the case here. I like especially that you included the carrots as a texture contrast & additional flavor instead of only the tomato/cucumber salad. The overall package was just delightful, like everything that's great about a gyro only better. No notes, definitely would make again!
Omg this was SOOOO good - probably one of my favs. Way better than I expected. I will definitely make this again. Such good textures and flavors.
I think this is my favorite! We all loved this! It had great flavor and each step was easy to accomplish.
I loved everything about this. So flavorful, the raisins in the cucumber salad added just the right amount of sweet to balance the other flavors. This is a new favorite.
We used a little less seasoning than called for but very flavorful dish! The side and sauce was tasty!
These pitas were pretty good, but there's just too much to try to stuff into the pitas. Also, pickling the carrots was inadequate by a long shot. I'd say they really needed to be cooked to be softened properly. As it was, one of us here who has dentures couldn't chew them.
I chopped carrots into smaller pieces and they were easier to eat in the sandwich.
Fresh and delicious, but there wasn't enough za'atar to fully coat both sides of 8 slices of cheese.
Tasty and quick to prepare. I would replicate this meal in future.
Too many bowls and such. I prefer things a little less complicated to make. But good flavor.
