Halva
Updated Dec 24, 2025
This traditional halva is made with tahini, sugar, pistachios and rose water for an authentic Middle Eastern dessert that’s rich but simple!
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Have You Tried Halva?
Halva is one of those foods that I grew up seeing in my pantry. The Arabic word for halva is halwa or halawa, which means “sweet confection” and it has a fudge-like consistency, but is still flaky and crumbly. My parents always bought it because it was cheap and widely available.
But when I set out to make a homemade halva, I found two methods for making it from scratch: one with milk powder and powdered sugar and the other with sugar that’s cooked into a candy. I didn’t want to mess with milk powder so I experimented with cooking temperatures of the sugar along with the ratio of the tahini to sugar. After a few tries, I found the optimal temperature for cooking the sugar to give us the consistency of fudge that I grew up eating! I think you’re going to love it!
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
Halva Ingredients
- Tahini: Use a runny tahini, which will be easier to mix with the rest of the ingredients.
- Rose water: Like you might expect, this is very floral-tasting! While I think it’s worth buying it, if you can’t find it, you could try substituting almond or vanilla extract.
- Sugar: Make sure to use granulated white sugar.
- Pistachios: You can buy pre-shelled pistachios, but make sure they’re unsalted. Salted pistachio might make the halva too salty!
How to Make Halva
Halva Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups tahini
- 1 teaspoon rose water
- Pinch salt
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ¾ cup water
- ½ cup unsalted raw pistachios roughly chopped
Instructions
- Line a loaf pan with parchment paper with a little overhang for easier lifting. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine tahini, rose water, and salt. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, add the sugar and slowly pour the water to cover the sugar. Cook, until mixture reaches 235°F on a candy thermometer, 10-15 minutes.
- Carefully and slowly pour the tahini mixture into the syrup mixture and stir until fully incorporated and glossy. It will thicken as you stir. Fold in the pistachios.
- Pour into the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle more pistachios on top and smooth the top. Allow it to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. Then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours. Slice into 8 or 10 slices and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Recipe Variations
- Chocolate: Instead of the pistachios, stir in ½ cup of chopped chocolate and top the halva with more chopped chocolate. I think dark chocolate would be great here.
- Cardamom: Add ½ teaspoon cardamom to the tahini mixture.
- Lemon-rosemary: Mix 1 tablespoon lemon zest and 1 teaspoon chopped, fresh rosemary into the tahini mixture.
- Cherry: Mix in ¼ cup chopped pistachios and ¼ chopped dried cherries.
- Toasted coconut: Instead of the pistachios, mix ½ cup of toasted coconut into the halva. Top the halva with more toasted coconut.
Recipe Tips
- Pay attention to the sugar syrup temperature. When you’re cooking the sugar with water, you need to use a candy thermometer! The different stages of candy making refer to the increasing concentration of sugar as the water evaporates and every stage results in a different texture. The stage we want is at 235°F, which is called the “soft ball”- ideal for a fudgy consistency that won’t quickly crumble.
- Line the loaf pan. Lining the loaf pan with parchment paper will make it easy to lift the halva up and out after it cools and makes it easier to slice.
- Add the tahini mixture slowly. This will allow the tahini to evenly mix it into the sugar syrup without needing to over mix things! It also prevents the tahini and hot sugar from sputtering up and out at you.
- Don’t rush the cooling process. For the right texture, you want to cool the halva at room temperature and in the fridge.
FAQs
If it’s a couple of degrees, you’re probably okay, but if it’s much higher, you’ll need to start the process over! Making candy is super specific and you need to stick 235°F for the right halva consistency. It’s also why I recommend using a candy thermometer!
If it’s still soft and gooey after chilling, the sugar syrup might not have reached the right temp before mixing in the tahini. That 235°F mark is really important and anything under that and it may not firm up fully.
It’s usually because the sugar syrup was cooked too long or got too hot. You want it to reach 235°F not higher. If it goes past that, it starts to firm up too much and can make the halva dry and brittle instead of soft and sliceable.
More Middle Eastern Dessert Recipes
- Almond Crusted Cardamom Cake
- Ka’ak il Eid anise cookies
- Layali Lubnan semolina pudding
- Maamoul walnut and date
- Namoura semolina cake
- Atayef
- Homemade Knafeh
- Sfouf turmeric cake
Comments
I made this today as dessert for friends. It was an instant hit. They loved it. Specially the subtle sweetness and the perfect balance of rose water. Thank you for always sharing the best recipes and they never fail.
Aww, yay! I’m so happy it was a hit!! Thank you so much, Sakia. Glad you loved it!!