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Jamaican · Caribbean

Jamaican beef patties

Non-vegetarian

Golden, turmeric-tinted flaky pastry half-moons filled with spicy minced beef seasoned with Scotch bonnet, thyme and allspice — Jamaica's favourite grab-and-go snack.

Jamaican beef patties is a Jamaican pastry, ready in about 2 hours 35 minutes and made with all-purpose flour, ground beef and fresh red chilli. It serves 10 and is rated intermediate to cook.

Start cooking
Delicious homemade Jamaican patties on a display plate, perfect for lunch or dinner.
Photo: Snappr / Pexels · Pexels License
Prep
45 min
Cook
50 min
Rest
1 h
Total
2 h 35 min
Serves
10
Level
Intermediate
Calories
444

Ingredients

10 patties

For the pastry

For the filling

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Mix the flour, turmeric (opens in a new tab), 1 tsp curry powder (opens in a new tab) and 1 tsp salt. Rub or pulse in the cold butter until like coarse crumbs, then add the ice water a little at a time until the dough just holds together. Wrap and chill 1 hour.

  2. Step 2

    Heat the oil in a frying pan and soften the onion (opens in a new tab), spring onion (opens in a new tab), garlic (opens in a new tab) and Scotch bonnet. Add the beef and cook, breaking it up finely, until browned.

    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Stir in the thyme (opens in a new tab), allspice (opens in a new tab), paprika (opens in a new tab), pepper (opens in a new tab), remaining curry powder (opens in a new tab) and salt, then the stock. Simmer 10 minutes, stir in the breadcrumbs (opens in a new tab) and cook until thick and moist but not wet. Cool completely.

    • 12 min
    • medium-low heat

  4. Step 4

    Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 200 °C. Roll the pastry 3 mm thick and cut ten 15 cm circles. Spoon filling onto one half of each, fold over, and crimp the edges firmly with a fork. Brush with egg (opens in a new tab) if you like.

  5. Step 5

    Bake until golden and crisp, 25–30 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before eating — the filling is very hot.

About this dish

Origin
Jamaica · Well documentedA descendant of the British Cornish pasty, transformed with Caribbean spices.Also popular in Canada, United Kingdom, United StatesMore food from Jamaica
Dish
Lunch · Snack · Pastries · Street food
Cooking method
Oven-baked, Sautéed
Taste
spicy (chilli heat), savoury, buttery, aromatic / warmly spiced
Diet
No nut ingredients
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Calorie-conscious
Without the optional extras: Egg-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Freezer-friendly · Make-ahead · Portable / lunchbox · Street food
Cook more with
All-purpose flour · Ground beef · Fresh red chilli · Turmeric · Curry powder · Unsalted butter
Techniques
Baking · Sautéing · Simmering

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Milkfrom unsalted butter, breadcrumbs
  • Contains, can be adapted: Eggsfrom egg
  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour, breadcrumbs
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour, breadcrumbs
  • May contain: Soyfrom breadcrumbs
  • May contain: Sesamefrom breadcrumbs
  • May contain: Mustardfrom curry powder
  • May contain: Celeryfrom curry powder, beef stock

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

444 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 176 g · recipe makes 10

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 14%
  • Carbohydrate 34%
  • Fat 53%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy444 kcal252 kcal
Protein15.2 g8.6 g
Carbohydrate37.1 g21.1 g
Net carbohydrate34.9 g19.8 g
Sugars1.2 g0.7 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre2.2 g1.3 g
Fat25.9 g14.7 g
Saturated fat13.2 g7.5 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol77 mg44 mg
Sodium591 mg335 mg
Salt equivalent1.5 g0.8 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
309 mg
Calcium
47 mg
Iron
3.8 mg
Magnesium
28 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
147 µg
Vitamin C
3 mg
Vitamin D
0.1 µg
Vitamin B12
1.1 µg
Folate (DFE)
135 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: egg.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • The filling must be completely cold before you fill the pastry, or the butter melts and the crust turns tough.

Common mistakes

  • Overfilling — the patties burst open in the oven.

Serve with

  • In Jamaica patties are often eaten tucked inside coco bread.

Food safety

  • Brown the beef until no pink remains.
  • Cool the filling in the fridge before filling the pastry, and reheat patties until piping hot (74 °C).

Storage

  • Refrigerate baked patties 3 days, or freeze baked or unbaked for 3 months.

Reheating

  • Reheat in a 180 °C oven for 12–15 minutes (from frozen, 25 minutes).

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

  • Egg, beaten, for glazing (optional)1 piece · 50 g
Used in step 4

Masalas in this recipe

Make the masala first, then come back to finish the dish.

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

  1. Mix and knead · about 50 min

    Knead until smooth and soft; it should feel like an earlobe.

  2. Rest · about 1 h

    Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.

  3. Bake · about 28 min at 200 °C

    Puffed with golden-brown spots on both sides.

  4. Cool · about 5 min

    Cool on a rack before slicing — the crumb is still setting; cutting hot bread makes it gummy.

  5. Start to finish: about 2 h 23 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

If something goes wrong

  • Pale crust

    Likely causes

    • Oven too cool
    • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
    • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

    What to do

    • Check the oven with a thermometer
    • Brush with egg wash or milk
    • Shorten the fermentation
  • Burnt bottom

    Likely causes

    • Tray too close to the heat
    • Dark tray absorbs more heat
    • Too much sugar in the dough

    What to do

    • Bake on the middle shelf
    • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
    • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
  • Crust too hard or thick

    Likely causes

    • Baked too long at too low a temperature
    • No steam at the start

    What to do

    • Bake hotter for a shorter time
    • Add steam for the first 15 minutes (tray of boiling water, or a covered Dutch oven)
    • Cool under a tea towel for a softer crust

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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