How to Make Jamaican Patties from Scratch

My husband just loves Jamaican patties and I really like them too. It seemed like making them would take too much time and effort so I was hesitant to attempt it.

I know you can purchase Jamaican beef patties at the local grocery or Caribbean store for a low cost and zero effort, but they are not the healthiest option when picking them up from the frozen food section.

Frankly nothing beats the taste of homemade, unless you are actually visiting Jamaica. Then by all means have an authentic Jamaican patty!

The Jamaican Beef Patty Recipe:

Don’t let the multiple step process of a jamaican patty recipe intimidate you! Here is the step by step tutorial of how to make jamaican patties.

The Dough

Then there’s the dough that turns into a nice flaky-pastry and is oh so good! Just follow our instructions and tips such as using ice cold butter, and you will achieve the same results!

Some people wonder why the dough for Jamaican patties is yellow? The answer to that is the spice called turmeric. Ground turmeric is a key ingredient in the dough, causing it to turn yellow in color.

The Beef Filling

The seasoning in the beef patty filling is full of aromatic spices that make the ground beef so flavorful! I like to pack these patties with a lot more of the meat filling than you would likely have with the store bought ones. You can also control the amount of spice you add to this dish by adjusting the amount of hot peppers used.

So back to my comment about them taking a long time to make, it really wasn’t bad at all. In fact I strongly recommend making the beef filling one day in advance as the filling needs to be completely cooled down in order to assemble them, and who has time for that (I learned the hard way on my first attempt at these!) The filling doesn’t take very long to make – just 45 minutes and this includes cooking time.

Baking Tools

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Rolling pin

Baking sheets

Looking for some more comfort food recipes? Check these out:

Simple Beef Nachos with Doritos

Creamy Chicken Alfredo Casserole

Easy Italian Sloppy Joes

These Jamaican patties are packed with flavor that the entire family will enjoy!

Serving: 8 Patties

Prep Time: 1 day to make the filling in advance and 1 hour for making the dough and assembling

Bake Time: 25 – 30 minutes

Ingredients for the Beef Filling:

1 1/3 cup finely chopped spring onion (these are stronger in flavor than scallions but scallions can be used as a substitute if you prefer)

2/3 cup chopped yellow onion

½ tsp of ground thyme

4 tsp paprika

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp ground allspice

2 garlic cloves minced

1-2 scotch bonnet pepper minced – if you don’t like it spicy you can reduce the amount or omit altogether

1 (3/4 Inch) chunk of ginger

2 tsp oil

2 lbs ground beef

2/3 cup bread crumbs

2/3 cup beef or vegetable broth

2 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1. Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium heat and add the vegetable mixture. Cook until soft, 3-5 minutes.

2. Put up the heat to medium-high and add the ground beef and cook until brown 3-5 minutes.

3. Add breadcrumbs, broth, salt and pepper, to the meat and vegetable mixture and continue to cook on medium heat until it has thickened around 15-20 minutes.

4. Once thickened nicely, cool completely.

Ingredients for the Dough:

4 cups all-purpose flour

6 tsp sugar

4 ½ tsp turmeric

2 tsp curry powder

1 & 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup cold crisco vegetable shortening

1 cup ice cold butter cut into very small pieces (I like to freeze it and grate it on a cheese grater for best results)

2/3 cup ice cold water

1 Tbsp white vinegar

1 large egg

Directions for Making the Dough:

1. In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, turmeric, curry powder, salt and baking powder.

2. Use a fork to mix in shortening to the flour mixture until pea size crumbs form.

3. Add cold butter and cut into the flour and shortening mixture, careful not to mash it too much.

4. In a separate bowl, combine vinegar and egg with 2/3 cup COLD water

5. Using a large spoon gradually mix the water egg mixture into the flour until a soft dough forms. You can add in more water, a tablespoon at a time until a soft dough is achieved.

6. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Assembling the Beef Patties:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper

2. After the dough comes out of the fridge, knead it and form it into a log

3. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces

4. Roll out each ball of dough into an 8″ circle

5. Fold each circle onto itself to form a semi circle and then keep folding it over 4 to 5 times. This will create layers and pockets of butter in the dough that will steam while cooking and create a delicious flakey pastry dough.

6. After the dough is folded, roll it out into the initial 8″ circle again. I like to separate each patty between parchment paper so they don’t stick together.

7. Fill each circle with 1/3 cup of filling, fold over and use a fork to seal the edges together.

8. Bake in your pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes, cool slightly and enjoy!

Image credit: © Blurr from Getty Images Signature via canva.com

A coloring page and activity sheets related to the recipe found below can be printed for free. The activities included in the bundle are:

1. Ingredients word search
2. Ingredients word unscramble
3. Word maker using the words JAMAICAN PATTIES
4. Kitchen scavenger hunt
5. Color by numbers page
6. Cryptogram joke
7. Scavenger hunt with a different theme

Yield: 8 Jamaican Beef Patties

How to Make Jamaican Patties from Scratch

Print

Authentic Jamaican beef patty recipe with a flaky dough crust and flavorful ground beef filling.

Prep Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cup chopped spring onion
• 2/3 cup chopped yellow onion
• ½ tsp of ground thyme
• 4 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp ground All Spice
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1-2 Scotch Bonnet pepper minced - if you don't like it spicy you can omit
• 1 (3/4 Inch) chunk of ginger
• 2 tsp oil
• 2 lbs ground beef
• 2/3 cup bread crumbs
• 2/3 cup beef or vegetable broth
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Ingredients for the Dough

• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 6 tsp sugar
• 4 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup cold Crisco vegetable shortening
• 1 Cup Ice cold butter cut into very small pieces (I like to freeze it and grate it on a cheese grated for best result)
• 2/3 cup ice cold water
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 large egg

Instructions

Directions for the Filling:

1. Combine chopped onions, thyme, paprika, garlic powder and cloves, onion powder, all spice, ginger, and scotch bonnet pepper (optional) in the food processor or blender – pulse until minced

2. Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium heat, add the vegetable mixture and cook until soft, 3-5 minutes

3. Turn up the heat to medium high and add the ground beef and cook until brown 3-5 minutes

4. Add breadcrumbs, broth, salt and pepper, to the meat and vegetable mixture and continue to cook on medium heat until it has thickened, 15-20 minutes

Directions for the Dough

1. In Large bowl, combine flour, sugar, turmeric, curry powder, salt and baking powder

2. Use a fork to mix in shortening to the flour mixture until pea size crumbs form.

3. Add Cold butter, cut into the flour shortening mixture, careful not to mash it too much

4. In a separate bowl, combine vinegar and egg with 2/3 cup COLD water

5. Using a large spoon gradually mix the water egg mixture into the flour until a soft dough forms. You can add in more water, a tablespoon at a time until a soft dough is achieved

6. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes

Directions for Assembling the Patties:

1. Pre Heat oven to 375 Degrees F and line a backing sheet with parchment paper

2. After the dough comes out of the fridge kneed it and form it into a log and divided the dough into 8 equal pieces

3. Roll each dough out into an 8" circle, fold each circle onto itself 4- 5 times (this will create layers and pockets of butter in the dough that will steam while cooking and
create delicious flakey pastry dough!)

4. After folded onto itself roll out into the initial 8" circle again

5. Fill each circle with 1/3 cup of filling, fold over and use a fork to seal the edges together

6. Bake in your preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, cool slightly and enjoy!