You don't have any fancy ingredients in your pantry but you are craving something sweet so badly? Give this simple Turkish Halva Recipe (un helvasi) a try. You only need 4 ingredients (butter, flour, sugar and water) and a little time for this thick and creamy dessert.

Turkish halva recipe with ground pistachio served on a white plate.

Un helvasi is the easy homemade version of traditional Middle Eastern halva made of tahini aka sesame paste.

Halva or helva as we say in Turkish, is one of the oldest Turkish desserts. It has several varieties: Classic tahini halva, semolina halva and this flour halva, un helvası.

This is a very easy but wonderful dessert especially when you have limited ingredients. If you don’t have much time or enough ingredients for making something special for your guests at an afternoon tea party, this un helva recipe made with flour and syrup is just for you.

What is Halva Dessert?

Halva, helva, halwa or halvah is originally a dessert in Middle Eastern countries. It is made of sesame seed paste also known as tahini and sugar. It has a dense and crumbly texture and sometimes flavored with cocoa powder or vanilla. Some of them also contain nuts like pistachios or walnuts.

Although it calls for very simple ingredients like tahini and sugar, it is not common in Turkey to make it at home. People prefer to buy it either packaged from markets or freshly made from their local halva shops.

As you can guess, local shops sell the best version of it. On the other hand, they can take the store-bought halva to a whole different level with a simple baking method. Check out our baked tahini halva recipe!

On the other hand, people created two variations of halwa that they can easily make at home. One of them is irmik helvasi (semolina halva), which is made with semolina and sugar syrup. The other one is un helvasi (flour halva), which is made with flour and sugar syrup. And we'll be sharing this flour based recipe here.

Both irmik helvasi and un helvasi are mostly served at funerals, but also known as a family dessert. They are grandmother type of desserts, so either of them is a staple at family gatherings. My grandma was really good at making this simple dessert and it always reminds me of her. So I'd like to share this helva recipe in memoriam of my dear grandma.

Interested in Turkish food and want to learn more? Go check out our Turkish delight recipe too!

About The Ingredients

You basically need 4 ingredients to make it: Butter, flour, sugar and water. These are the ingredients for traditional un helva. Nothing else is needed.

You can substitute oil for butter if you are not after a buttery taste but we love it with butter.

On the other hand, it is a quite customizable recipe and younger people are likely to make additions. For example, you can add nuts into it and top it with something like pistachio or cinnamon if you want to enrich your halva.

Instructions

Prepare the syrup first. Combine sugar and water in a pan and bring it to boil. Let it simmer for a few minutes and then remove from the heat.

Melt butter in a large pan and add in flour and nuts if you are using. Stir it well using a wooden spoon and bring it to very low heat and keep stirring until the flour gets golden brown and you feel a toasted aroma. Remove it from the heat.

Pour in the hot syrup when the flour is golden brown and remove from the heat. Keep stirring it as it cools down. You will see it holds together and forms a ball. Traditionally, you can give it an oval shape using a tablespoon or you can just serve it in bowls or on plates. You can top it with coconut flakes, ground pistachio or cinnamon.

Note: We always make this halva with all-purpose flour but I wonder whether a gluten-free flour would work too. Will have to try it. Please share it here if you try it earlier. I'd love to hear the result!

Variation

If you want to take this un helva to a next level, you know what you need: Chocolate! Melt dark chocolate in a heat-proof cup over simmering water. Add this into the halva when you pour the syrup into it and follow the same steps mentioned above. If you are a chocolate fan, I'm sure you will love that version even more.

Turkish Halva vs Persian Halva

Although their methods and the main ingredients are almost the same, these are not exactly the same treats. Unlike Turkish halva, Persian halva has two more flavors: saffron and rosewater. These are added in the syrup while it is boiling.

As for the serving, it is almost a must to serve halva with Turkish coffee or Turkish Tea. It balances the sweetness of the dessert when you drink it without sugar.

FAQs

Is There Dairy In Halva? No, there isn’t dairy in traditional tahini halva. It is basically made of tahini and sugar. On the other hand, the flour based or semolina based version that we make at home include butter. It is not a must though. You can substitute a plant based oil for butter in those recipes.
Is Helva Gluten Free? The one made with tahini and sold packaged at markets is gluten-free. However, there are several variations of it, so you had better read the labels to understand whether it is gluten-free or not. As for the homemade halva recipes like the one we are sharing here, we can clearly say that they are NOT gluten-free because they are made of wheat flour or wheat semolina. That being said, there are gluten-free halva recipes using cornmeal or chickpea flour but never tried them.
Is Halva Vegan? Well, it depends on the type. Sesame seed halva is totally vegan as it is made of tahini and sugar whereas the homemade versions based on flour or semolina contains butter, so they are not vegan. But if you want to make it vegan, just substitute oil for butter.
How Do You Eat It? In Turkish culture, tahini halva is considered as a breakfast food, snack or dessert. It is especially served at fish restaurants to make a sweet end. People say that the sweet tahini flavor is the best treat to have after fish. There is even a special dessert made out of it at these restaurants: Baked Sesame Halva. It loses that crumbly texture and gets melting in your mouth. As for the ones made at home with flour and semolina, you can either eat them as they are or with a dollop of ice cream.

Other Turkish Desserts

As always: If you make this recipe, let us know what you think by rating it and leaving a comment below. And post a pic on Instagram too—tag @give_recipe so we can see!

Sign up for the FREE GiveRecipe Newsletter to get the new recipes into your inbox! And stay in touch with us on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube and Instagram for all the latest updates.

📖 Recipe