Jamaican Patties

Here’s a classic homemade Jamaican Beef Patty recipe — flaky, golden crust with a warmly spiced filling 🌶️

(You can easily swap the beef for chicken, turkey, or veggies.)

🇯🇲 Jamaican Beef Patties

🥟 Pastry Dough (the flaky yellow crust)

Ingredients

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp turmeric (for color — traditional and important)

½ cup cold unsalted butter, cubed

½ cup cold shortening (or all butter if preferred)

½–¾ cup ice-cold water

Instructions

Whisk flour, salt, sugar, and turmeric.

Cut in butter and shortening until pea-sized crumbs form.

Add cold water a little at a time until dough just comes together.

Form into a disk, wrap, and chill at least 30 minutes.

🌶️ Beef Filling

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef

1 tbsp oil

1 small onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1–2 tsp Jamaican curry powder

1 tsp paprika

½ tsp allspice

½–1 tsp thyme (dried or fresh)

1 Scotch bonnet or habanero pepper, minced (optional, to taste)

½ cup beef broth

2 tbsp breadcrumbs or crushed saltines

Salt & black pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.

Sauté onion until soft, then add garlic and pepper.

Add ground beef and cook until browned.

Stir in curry powder, paprika, allspice, thyme, salt, and pepper.

Add broth and breadcrumbs; simmer until thick but moist.

Let filling cool completely.

🥟 Assemble the Patties

Roll chilled dough to about ⅛-inch thick.

Cut circles (6–7 inches across).

Place 2–3 tbsp filling on one half.

Fold over, press edges, and crimp with a fork.

Brush with egg wash if desired.

🔥 Bake

Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 25–30 minutes

Until golden and flaky

✅ Tips for Authentic Flavor

Curry powder + turmeric = signature patty taste

Chill dough and filling for best flakiness

Patties freeze beautifully (bake from frozen +5–8 min)