Jamaican Beef Patties – Thin, flaky and buttery yellow crust with a mighty seasoned curried beef filling. Make a big batch because these Jamaican beef patties will disappear fast!
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Recipe and photos were updated on 2/3/2018.
Melt in your mouth easy Jamaican beef patties seasoned with a good dose of curry in the flaky yellow crust and in the beef filling. The beef patties crusts are flaky and buttery. The ground beef filling is grounded just right and seasoned with peppers, curry, onions, garlic, green onions, thyme, paprika and soy sauce. Just so damn good! These patties are great for parties. Your guest may just fight over the last beef patty. Pinterest fans love this recipe!
When I was a kid, my Jamaican neighbors invited my siblings and me over for a party. That party was the first time I tasted homemade Jamaican beef patties. Those beef patties were so delicious! Ever since then, I’ve been in love with them. In the past, I used to get beef patties from Jamaican restaurants, the supermarket or a friends house. These days I make them homemade. I love making these beef patties. The smell of curry in these beef patties is amazing. I grew up with friends from the Caribbean and their parents cooked with curry religiously. I was always excited to be invited over for a meal.
These Jamaican beef patties are a perfect little grab and go hand food. Perfect to make for lunch/dinner with a salad or a snack and they freeze great too. You can make these beef patties ahead of time as well, just make them up until they are ready to be baked. If you are not ready to bake them, put them on a sheet pan and place them in the freezer. Once the patties firm up, place them in a Ziploc bag. When you are ready to bake the beef patties, Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the beef patties on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake 25 minutes or until golden.
Make sure you make the homemade crust and not the store-bought kind. You won’t achieve the same flaky crust or flavor with the store brands. I ate 5 of these Jamaican beef patties in a row. They are that good! I always use a scotch bonnet pepper but if I can’t find it then I’ll use a habanero pepper. Either one is just fine. If you aren’t a fan a spicy food, leave out the pepper or use half of the peppers and remove the seeds.
If you are not a fan of curry then this recipe may not be for you. You can probably leave out the curry or add whatever seasonings you like but I truly believe you will love it in this recipe.
Quick tip: If you are not experienced with making dough you can purchase an empanada maker. It makes perfect neat patties fast. I didn’t have one when I made these patties but I ended up buying one because. I was able to make my patties so much faster and neater. I purchased this ONE. Just make sure you don’t fill the empanada maker with too much filling. Cover the empanada maker in a bit of flour so the dough doesn’t stick to it. You can trim the excess dough that will hang once you close the empanada maker.
I hope you can try out these Jamaican beef patties. I’m sure they will be a hit with you and your family and friends.
This recipe can also be substituted with Chicken, pork, sausage, etc.
If you like this recipe you may also like: The Best Meatloaf Recipe, Salisbury Steak with Onion Gravy, Taco Spaghetti, Cheesy Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread Tamale Pie, Enfrijoladas
- 2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1/4 cup cold shortening
- 1/2 cup ice cold unsalted butter diced into cubes
- 1 1/2 cup or less water See notes
- 1.5 lb ground beef 85% Lean or less
- 1/2 tsp Better Than Bouillon Base
- 1/4 cup water
- Salt for taste
- Pepper for taste
- 1 1/4 tsp minced, habanero or scotch bonnet is fine
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil or more if needed
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 small pinch cayenne pepper
- 4 small pinches smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp ground thyme or fresh
- 1 red onion diced
- 2 tbsp sliced green onions
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 egg beaten
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, add the flour, curry and salt and sugar and mix. Using a pastry blender or fork, cut in the cold butter and shortening. Keep blending in the butter it resembles the size of small peas. Add the water and stir until flour turns into a ball. Form a ball of dough using your hands. The dough should be sticky but not too sticky.
- Place the dough into a large glass bowl and dust lightly with flour. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. Cut the pastry into 8 equal parts. Flatten into a 6 inch circle. Use a bowl to make perfect round circles.
In a large skillet over medium heat add 1 tablespoon of o vegetable oil. Saute the onions until softened about 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic. Cook until garlic is fragrant. Set stove to medium-high heat.
Add ground beef, peppers, soy sauce and all the seasonings. Using a wooden spoon chop up the beef as the beef cooks. Alternatively, you can cook the beef first then drain then add the seasonings if you like.
Make sure the beef isn't chunky. No big chunks of beef allowed. Cook until browned. Drain most of the liquid from the meat leaving about two tablespoons of fat in the skillet. Return skillet to the stove and add water let it come to a quick boil add the beef base mix well then add flour. Mix well. The mixture should be a bit moist.
Let the beef cool for about 30 minutes.
Add equal amounts of the beef filling to the half side of each circle of dough, leaving some room free around the edges. Brush egg wash around the edges of the flattened dough. (This will help seal the dough) Fold and seal using a fork to crimp the edges.
You can use a butter knife and gently press the ends of the crimped dough to make it look neat. Poke a couple holes into the top of the patty. Add them to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Brush each patty with the beaten egg. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Serve hot or warm.
- If you have issues working with dough try purchasing an empanada maker. It will make perfect patties and it will save you so much time! Read the post for usage tips.
- Gradually add water to the dough. You may not have to add the entire 1 1/2 cup of water. Start with 1/4 cup of water then add a tablespoon more at a time. If the dough is dry add more water if its too wet then add a bit more flour.
Make ahead and freeze.
Make the beef patties up them up until they are ready to be baked. If you are not ready to bake them, put them on a sheet pan and place them in the freezer. Once the patties firm up, place them in a ziploc bag.
When you are ready to bake the beef patties, Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the beef patties on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake 25 minutes or until golden.
Frozen beef patties: Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Freeze up to three months . Do not thaw the beef patties just bake as soon as you take it out the freezer. Bake 20-25 minute or until the crust is golden.
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I just made these and they are amazing! I followed the recipe exactly as presented. My husband ate 2 for supper and almost went for a third (and they aren’t small in size!). Can’t wait to make these for parties! Thank you!
Allison, I don’t blame your husband. They are delicious and quite addictive! Glad y’all like it! Thank you! 🙂
OH my … my comment has nothing to do with your recipe … but your writing … I didn’t get past “my Jamaican neighbours invited my siblings and me …” … and I was blown away!
“my siblings and me” is absolutely correct! not ‘my siblings and I’, not ‘myself and my siblings’ … no …”my siblings and me” is the correct grammatical way to mention yourself in this sentence. It is such a relief after listening to so many people misuse “I” and “myself”
Thank you for paying attention to your teachers and for having teachers/family who knew grammar to teach it properly.
my grammar rant … now I’ll finish reading!
Hi Elizabeth, I’m not the best but I try. Most of the grammar we were taught in school, doesn’t apply when it comes to blogging! Proper punctuation and correct spelling is still a requirement though. Thank you! 🙂
What type of bouillon cube beef or chicken
Beef or chicken both work, however, I usually use beef base.
This is completely new to me and I love it specially because it is baked. Love the perfectly baked patties. The colour is just wanting me to make it now and that filling sounds delicious with that flaky pastry.. A must try for sure.
I just scored a 1::1 bag of gluten-free baking flour. I wonder how well it would work in making the dough for these patties! I’m definitely going to give it a whirl, and it that fails I’ll just eat the filling right out of a bowl! 😉
Krista Price
The filling is so delicious alone as well. A food blogger tried this recipe but made it low carb by only using the filling. I think she mixed it with cauliflower rice or maybe it was regular rice but it sounded amazing! Thank you Krista!
YUJM! These Jamaican beef patties look amazing! The buttery yellow crust looks like perfection and I can’t wait to make these for my friends and family.
Kelly Anthony
These Jamaican beef patties look so yummy! They kind of remind me of British Cornish pasties but spicy!
Jacqueline Debono
I love the color of the pastry and this recipe is full of some amazing flavors. This is a must try recipe.
I love the color too. Gorgeous and also very very good! Thank you Jere!
Wow! These beef patties are nothing but excellent. And that crust is so perfectly flaky. I need to make an extra batch because this will be everyone’s favorite, for sure!
Definitely something I would like to try. I’m not too crazy about very hot chilli flavours. Is the chilli very strong in this ratio?
Alicia
No it’s not very spicy at all but you can adjust the seasoning to your preference. Thanks Alicia!
How fortunate you were to have Jamaican neighbors! I bet the food was amazing. I really dig the flaky crust on these patties — total perfection! I can’t wait to give these a whirl.
These look awesome! Seriously! They might not be your typical breakfast food but they would be great to grab & go for the family!
Oh I have had these for breakfast plenty of times! lol. Thank you Anna!
Beef patties are the ultimate comfort food for sure, I love them with a nice cold beer also! Will have to try your version.
Thank you Michelle!!! 🙂
Imagine having Caribbean neighbors! I love the look of these beef patties, they look so flaky and perfectly cooked. By the looks of the ingredients list, I think this looks fabulously seasoned too! Yum!