Name: Authentic Jamaican Patty Recipe (Flaky Beef Patties)
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 450 g Plain Flour; 227 g Butter (Block Butter); 1 tbsp Curry Powder; 1 tbsp Turmeric; 1 tsp Salt; 1 tbsp Baking Powder; 300 ml Milk; 1 Egg (For Egg Wash); 500 g Minced Beef (Ground Beef); 1 Onion; 3 Spring Onions; 2 Garlic Cloves; To Taste Ginger; To Taste Scotch Bonnet (Or Other Chillies ); 2 tbsp Smoked Paprika; 2 tbsp Onion Powder; 2 tbsp All Purpose Seasoning; 2 tbsp Garlic Powder (Or Granules ); 2 tbsp Black Pepper; To Taste Thyme; 2 tbsp Ketchup; 2 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce; 1 tbsp Browning Sauce (Optional )

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Homemade Jamaican Beef Patties

These authentic Jamaican beef patties are so easy to make, taste so good and are the perfect on the go snack. You won’t be able to resist this as it’s packed full of flavour and spice!

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4.88 from 8 votes

Who doesn’t love a Jamaican beef patty? I certainly do! This savoury Caribbean treat is completely irresistible. It’s a snack I grew up eating, I would always buy it from my local Jamaican takeaway for the most delicious, authentic and original patties.

They taste so good, and you can make these beef patties at home, it’s so easy to do with this recipe! I’ve learnt how to make it from an old Jamaican colleague of mine, and I’ve been making them ever since!

Both the beef filling and pastry is pretty easy to make, and I’ve developed this recipe to get a distinctively yellow colour on the patties every single time.

What Is A Jamaican Patty?

If you’ve never tried a Jamaican patty before, then you’re really in for a treat! Caribbean patties are a type of fast food in Jamaica, and you can almost certainly get them in any UK Jamaican takeaway shop.

My favourite part of the patty is its golden, buttery and flaky pastry. That being said, I’m a sucker for a spicy and tasty beef or lamb filling too.

The type of filling inside the patty varies, some popular flavours are beef, lamb, saltfish and a veggie version. With this recipe, I’ll show you how to make a ground beef filling, though the pastry remains the same no matter what filling you use.

Recipe Ingredients

Below I’ve listed the ingredients I used:

The Pastry Dough: The pastry is made from plain flour, butter, curry powder, turmeric, salt, baking powder and milk. An egg is used to help seal and egg wash the pastry.
The Beef Filling: The filling is made with ground beef, onions, spring onions, garlic, ginger, scotch bonnet and an array of seasonings and flavourings. You can find the full list on the recipe card.

Pastry Dough & Yellow Colour

To make the buttery and flaky Jamaican pastry dough, I used shortcrust pastry. It can look a little bit scary to make, but trust me, it’s actually pretty easy.

If you have a food processor, then making the dough will be very simple and done in a matter of seconds. I made the dough by hand which you’ll see in my video and pictures below.

If you’re wondering where the yellow colour comes from, it’s from the addition of turmeric and curry powder. You don’t have to add both turmeric and curry powder, both individually provide the distinctive yellow sunshine glow.

I like to add a mixture because I find adding turmeric alone can make the pastry taste slightly bitter (but that’s just me).

How To Make Authentic Jamaican Patties

Here’s a summary of how I make these Jamaican beef patties. You can get the full recipe instructions on the recipe card below:

Making The Pastry

Step One:

I pour plain flour into a large mixing bowl and add a tablespoon each of curry powder, turmeric, baking powder and a teaspoon of salt. Then I mix everything together until it’s evenly distributed.

Once mixed, I add cubes of butter into the mixing bowl and rub-in until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Step Two:

I pour half of the milk into the mixture and mix it together before pouring the remaining half bit-by-bit mixing each time.

Using my hands, I bring the dough together. Then place it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, in this time I prepare the filling.

Top Tip: It’s so important to work quickly with the dough and not to handle it with your hands too much. You don’t want to melt the dough as you’ll get less of a flaky texture.

Making The Beef Filling

Step Three:

I pour the minced (grounded) beef into a large mixing bowl and add a tablespoon of smoked paprika, onion powder, all purpose seasoning, garlic powder and black pepper. Then I mix it together until evenly distributed.

Step Four:

Frying garlic, spring onions, scotch bonnet

Oil is added to a pan heated on a high heat. The garlic, onions, spring onions, ginger, thyme and scotch bonnet are fried for 2 to 3 minutes.

Step Five:

I add the minced beef meat into the frying pan and stir continuously, then I add a tablespoon of smoked paprika, onion powder, all purpose seasoning, garlic powder and black pepper.

I continue frying for 2 to 3 minutes before adding 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, ketchup and a tablespoon of browning sauce.

It’s left to simmer for 5 minutes with the lid on, then I continue to stir it for 2 to 3 minutes breaking any clumps with the back of my wooden spoon.

Top Tip: Browning sauce is used to help create the traditional dark brown filling colour; you don’t have to add it in if you don’t want too.

Assembling A Patty

Step Six:

Adding beef filling in the lower centre of patty dough

I flour my work surface and roll out the pastry using a rolling pin, cut out circle shapes using a bowl (or plate). I add 2 to 3 tablespoons of the beef filling to the lower centre of the pastry.

The edge of one half of the pastry is coated with an egg wash before being folded over. I press the edges together with my fingers then use a fork dipped in flour to create the authentic patty crimped edges.

In case you’re wondering, I used a bowl with an 18″ diameter to cut out circle shapes.

Step Seven:

Coat the pastry with an egg wash and bake it in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

My Top Tips

Careful With Turmeric: Turmeric is well known for staining! Avoid wearing white or super light colours when using turmeric as it can easily stain your clothes (yes, this has happened to me!).

Use Cold Butter: Keep your butter cold, cold, cold – the colder the better. I like to keep my butter in the fridge until I need it, so that it can be as cold as possible. This will help give the pastry a flaky texture.

Flour Your Cutter: Whatever you use to make circle shapes in your pastry, make sure you flour it before using it. This will help to prevent the pastry sticking to it.

Want A Smooth Paste? Some Jamaican patty fillings can be quite paste-like, to create this effect simply blend the mixture for just a few seconds. Careful not to blend it for too long, you don’t want it to be a super smooth paste!

What Do You Serve With Jamaican Beef Patties?

Whenever I’m eating a beef patty, 9 times out of 10 I’ll probably be eating it as a snack alone. But if you want to make more of a filling meal, you can fry some plantain or serve it alongside macaroni cheese.

Patties can be turned into a sandwich by sandwiching it with coco bread or hardo bread – yes, it’s a delicious and hearty combo! However, for more of a basic side, you can’t go wrong with chips.

How To Store And Reheat Jamaican Patties

Patties are best eaten fresh, but you can keep them in the fridge for up to 2 to 3 days stored in an airtight container. Reheat in the microwave until it’s piping hot throughout, you can also reheat it in the oven for around 15 minutes at 180°C.

To freeze them, I leave them to cool down before placing it in the freezer for up to 2 months. To reheat from frozen, leave the patties to defrost before placing in the oven or microwave. If you are heating the patties from frozen, then it’s best to heat in the oven for at least 25 minutes.

How To Make Ahead Of Time

To make these Caribbean patties ahead of time, I simply make the recipe up to 3 days in advance and reheat it in the oven or microwave when I’m ready to eat it.

I sometimes also make the pastry in advance and freeze it for later use. When I’m ready to make this dish, I defrost the pastry in the fridge overnight. Once the pastry has defrosted, I go on to make the filling.

Equipment Needed

Below is a few vital equipment needed to make these beef patties:

Baking Tray: Needed to bake the Jamaican patties in the oven.
Mixing Bowls: To make the Jamaican patty dough and to mix the beef mince with seasonings.
Basting Brush: To seal the patties with an egg wash before crimping it with a fork and to do the egg wash.
Food Processor: You can use a food processor to make the pastry or do it by hand. If you use a food processor, simply add all the ingredients apart from milk and blend until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Then add milk (or water) little by little until a dough has formed.
Parchment Paper: To line your baking tray and to prevent the patties from sticking to the trays.

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