Bring the taste of the Caribbean home with this Jamaican Beef Patties recipe.
How to make homemade patty pastry with turmeric and curry powder added to give it that authentic golden colour and tasty crust.

Packed full with the best Jamaican style spicy minced beef patty filling. Cheese is optional.
Make large or mini, easy to prepare ahead of time ready to reheat. Or freeze for a tasty snack another day.
How to make Jamaican Beef Patties from scratch?
These Jamaican Beef Patties are made from scratch with lots of spices and flavour.
Follow along our step by steps to make your own Beef Patties at home.
Continue reading to find out more about Jamaican Beef Patties.
Jump to RecipeOf course, you may jump straight to the recipe card to get started.
What is a Jamaican Patty?
Jamaican patties have a flaky crusted golden pastry, filled with a tasty spicy savoury meat filling.
They originate from Jamaica, influenced by a mix of Cornish, Indian & African cuisines.
What pastry is used for Jamaican Beef Patties?
The pastry used to make Jamaican Beef Patties is really easy to make at home.
It is a basic shortcrust pastry but with the added flavouring of Curry Powder we (use Garam Masala) and Tumeric.
As a result the spices give the patty pastry a beautiful golden colour and a super taste!
How to make pastry for patties?
Patty Pastry is easy to make at home, all you will need is flour, butter, turmeric, curry powder, salt and ice-cold water.
For the best results, use cold butter cut into small cubes.
Simply add all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse together until butter has all rubbed into the flour.
Then slowly bit by bit add the ice-cold water. Pulse through the mix until it forms a large doughy ball.
Top tip, learn from my mistakes and wear gloves during the kneading process to prevent yellow fingernails!
It is especially important to work as quickly as possible now.
Do not handle the dough too much, as it will melt the butter and ruin the pastry texture.
Use your hands to knead together until it has a playdoh like texture! It is ok for it to be sticky.
Finally, cover the pastry and store in the fridge to firm up whilst you make the beef filling.
What is inside a Jamaican Patty?
In this case, our favourite thing to fill Patties with is a spicy minced beef mixture.
Of course, there are plenty of other variations. Such as chicken, vegetables, fish, goat. For an extra treat why not add some cheese to your patty?
We will (time permitted) make some other varieties to share with you too!
How to make Jamaican Beef Patty filling?
Fry onion and the red pepper (bell pepper) gently until soft, then add spring onions (scallions) and mince.
Next, add some spices, we use Garam Masala to add spice to our beef filling.
However, you can use any curry powder blend, it gives a nice warmth to the filling.
Followed, by tumeric & paprika which gives great colour as well as good health, crushed garlic & chilli for extra flavour.
Finally, we added some fresh thyme leaves and beef stock.
During simmering, it will soak up the stock, don't be tempted to add more stock.
It needs to be fairly dry to prevent making the pastry soggy!
How spicy are Jamaican Beef Patties?
You can make as spicy as you like, simply add as many or little chilli peppers as desired?
Following these instructions here will result in a medium spiced filling.
Of course, simply add less or more chilli to make it milder/stronger.
In this case, we used 1 teaspoon of Gia Chilli Puree to add a spicy kick.
This is comparable to 2 medium spiced chillies (Serrano/Birds Eye) or 1 strong (Habaneros/ Scotch Bonnet).
Furthermore, if you use fresh chillies make sure to chop them finely.
How to assemble a patty?
First, roll out the chilled pastry to about 3mm, and cut around a saucer/small plate ours was 170mm/ 6 ยฝ inch.
Re-roll the leftover pastry, you should make 5-6 circles.
Place the pastry circle on baking paper and add 2-3 tablespoon of beef filling in the centre.
Use your finger to dap water around the circle edge.
How to seal the pastry on patty?
Fold the pastry over the filling to line up with the other side.
Next, using a fork, crimp the edges together.
Whisk an egg with 2 tablespoons of water and brush all over the pastry.
How to make mini snack-size versions of Jamaican Beef Patties?
To make mini snack size Jamaican Beef patties, simply use a smaller plate or a cup to cut around instead.
Put less beef filling in each one and cook for 15 minutes instead of 20. Perfect for party food or snacks!
How to cook Jamaican Beef Patties?
Transfer all the prepared beef patties onto a baking tray or a couple of trays if they won't fit?
Bake the patty in a preheated oven for 20 minutes at 180ยฐC fan/ 200ยฐC/ 400ยฐF / Gas Mark 6.
Do I need to put holes in patty crust?
When cooked the heat builds up inside and will make the beef patties balloon slightly as seen in my pictures. I love them like this!
If you prefer them flat simply make a small hole in the top of the pastry before putting in the oven.
Jamaican Beef Patties are best served warm straight from the oven.
What to serve with Jamaican Beef Patties?
No need to serve with anything, they are great by themselves. Another great Jamaican recipe to serve them with is our rice and pea and fried ripe plantain.
Also great with rice salad, coleslaw, shredded red cabbage, corn on the cob, Spicy Potato Wedges or air fried chips.
How to pre-make Jamacian Patty ahead of time?
If you want to make them ahead of time, cook them all off and follow the information below to reheat when you want them.
Storing cooked Jamaican Patties?
Any leftover Patties can be stored in the fridge for 2 days or in the freezer for 2 months.
How to reheat a Jamaican Beef Patty?
From chilled reheat in a preheated oven at 180ยฐC fan/ 200ยฐC/ 400ยฐF / Gas Mark 6 for 10-15 minutes.
Or microwave for about 2 minutes, until piping hot inside.
From frozen reheat in a preheated oven at 180ยฐC fan/ 200ยฐC/ 400ยฐF / Gas Mark 6 for 20-25 minutes.
Or defrost first and follow the from chilled advice above.
๐ Step by Step Recipe
Jamaican Beef Patties
Ingredients
Pastry Ingredients
- 250 grams (2 cups) Plain Flour (All Purpose)
- 115 grams (ยฝ cup) Unsalted Butter
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala - substitute with any blend of curry powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 120 ml (ยฝ cup) Ice Cold Water
Beef Filling
- 1 tablespoon Vegetable oil
- 1 Onion - Finely Chopped
- 1 Red Pepper (bell pepper) - Finely Chopped
- 3 Spring Onions (scallions) - Finely Chopped
- 500 grams (1.2lb) Beef mince
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Puree - 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 teaspoon Chilli Puree - 2 medium chillies (Jalepeno/Serrano) or 1 hot chilli (Habanero/Scotch Bonnet)
- 2 teaspoon Garam Masala - substitute with any blend of curry powder
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Fresh Thyme - substitute ยฝ teaspoon dried thyme
- 190 ml Stock - we used 1 beef stock cube
- Grated Cheese (optional) - to add to filling
Glaze
- 1 Egg
- 2 tablespoon Water
Instructions
Pastry
- Put all Pastry ingredients (except the water) in a food processor and tap the pulse button to slowly incorporate the butter into the flour. If doing by hand rub butter into flour until it represents fine breadcrumbs, try to work as quick as possible to avoid butter melting250 grams (2 cups) Plain Flour (All Purpose), 115 grams (ยฝ cup) Unsalted Butter, 1 teaspoon Turmeric, 1 teaspoon Salt, 1 teaspoon Garam Masala
- Add ice-cold water bit by bit and knead with hands into the dough until it forms a playdoh like texture. (you may need a little less/more water than stated above) Try not to handle to much.120 ml (ยฝ cup) Ice Cold Water
- Place pastry covered in the fridge whilst you create the beef filling.
Beef mince patty filling
- Heat oil in pan and add onions and red peppers sautee for 5 minutes until soft, add spring onions.1 tablespoon Vegetable oil, 1 Onion, 1 Red Pepper (bell pepper), 3 Spring Onions (scallions)
- Add mince, garlic, chilli, paprika, garam masala, turmeric and salt. Stir through until mince has browned1 teaspoon Salt, 500 grams (1.2lb) Beef mince, 1 teaspoon Garlic Puree, 1 teaspoon Chilli Puree, 2 teaspoon Garam Masala, 1 teaspoon Paprika, 1 teaspoon Turmeric, 1 teaspoon Salt
- Finally add dried/fresh thyme and stock. Place lid on and leave to simmer for 15 minutes whilst you cut out pastry.190 ml Stock, 1 teaspoon Fresh Thyme
Create Patties
- Preheat oven to 180ยฐC fan/ 200ยฐC/ 400ยฐF / Gas Mark 6.Remove pastry from fridge, flour surface and roll out very thin.
- Use a saucer/small plate (about 17cm diameter) to cut around the pastry. Re-roll remaining pastry until all used up, you should have 5-6 circles. Or you could use smaller plates and create smaller patties?!
- Now put rolled out circles on to there own bit of parchment paper and add 2-3 tablespoon of beef mixture in the middleGrated Cheese (optional)
- Use finger to dap the outer circle with water
- Fold pastry over the mince and use a fork to crimp the edges together
- Whisk egg with water and brush on pastry to glaze. For a flat pastry fork a hole in the top. For a puffed-up pastry (as I like them) leave out the hole!1 Egg, 2 tablespoon Water
- Place all completed patties on to a tray (or two) and cook in the 180ยฐC fan/ 200ยฐC/ 400ยฐF / Gas Mark 6 oven for 20-25 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Caribbean Recipe Ideas
Hope you enjoy these Jamaican beef patties as much as we do, try our Jamaican ackee and saltfish and rice and peas make a fantastic flavoursome Jamaican side dish.
Please leave us a comment and let us know how you got on?
Spicy Recipes
If you like spicy foods, why not try out our Spicy Chicken Burgers, Chicken Pathia Curry, sea bream with garlic and chilli. Or our fabulous hot chilli sauce.
More Recipes using Pastry
With our recipes, it's easy to make delicious and impressive pastry dishes that are sure to impress your family and friends.
Kaikai's Hub says
Hi, i qm just confused with the units of ingredients. 250grams of flour or 2 cups? Isn't it that 250 grams is equal to 1 cup only? Please advise.
Thank you.
Kaikai's Hub
Luke and Kay says
Hi Kaikai,
To ensure the utmost precision in your measurements, we recommend using scales when measuring flour. For optimal accuracy, a weight of 250 grams or approximately 2 cups of flour should be used.
1 cup flour = approx 120 grams Flour
It seems there might be some confusion arising from the conversion between cups and millilitres for flour, which stands at 1 cup = 250ml.
Warmest Regards,
Felicia McNiff says
You can use a corn tortilla press for the dough 8nstead of rolling and re rolling. Turns out great
Luke and Kay says
Thank you for sharing this fantastic idea! Using a corn tortilla press to handle the dough does sound like a great way to save time and ensure a consistent thickness. We appreciate your input and will certainly consider this method in our future recipes. Thanks again!
Jessika Muir says
I'm mostly curious about the pepper substitution. I can't get the puree locally so do I substitute 2 whole jalapeรฑos or 1 habenero in place of a tsp of the puree. Or do I puree the pepper myself and only use a tsp. Also what about seeds, include them ? Don't?
Thanks !!!!
Luke and Kay says
Thanks for the question Jessika
The choice of chilli pepper and whether to include seeds largely depends on your personal heat tolerance. If you prefer a milder flavor, using 2 jalapeรฑos with seeds removed would be a good option. On the other hand, if you enjoy spicier dishes, you can use a quarter of a habanero pepper, but keep in mind that they are significantly hotter than jalapeรฑos.
Instead of making a puree, you can finely chop the chosen pepper and use it as a substitute for the Chilli puree. This will still provide the desired heat and flavor to your dish. Remember to adjust the amount of chopped chilli pepper according to your taste and heat preference.
Hope you enjoy the recipe and please let us know how it goes ๐
Kingy says
I make these weekly, my family love them. A little tip for anyone like myself who struggles to keep the pastry shape round when lifting onto the paper. I divide the dough up and roll on separate sheets of parchment. Once cut and filled I use the corners of the paper to lift and fold the pastry!
Luke and Kay says
Thank you so much for the generous five-star rating and your excellent advice, Kingy! We are delighted to learn that our Jamaican Beef Patties are so popular with your family that you make them multiple times a week. It is also very helpful to have your tip related to using parchment paper when rolling out the dough โ this sounds like a great way to get perfectly round patties! ๐
Yvonne says
I've made these so many times and they are absolutely delicious and the pastry is on another level, yummy. They remind me of our time in Jamaica. .
Luke and Kay says
Yvonne, we are so thrilled that you enjoyed our Jamaican Beef Patties! We are glad to hear our recipe reminded you of your time in Jamaica and that they satisfy your taste buds. It is always a pleasure to make something that encourages happy memories. Thank you for taking the time to share your wonderful review with us. ๐
Marin says
Do I have to use curry powder? I don't have Jamaican curry powder near me; Is it okay just to use turmeric for the yellow coloring? Thank you
Luke and Kay says
Hi Marin
No, you do not have to use curry powder, and yes you can just use turmeric for the yellow colouring of the pastry ๐
Hope you enjoy the recipe; let us know how it goes.
Maya says
I'm shocked! They came out so well! It's my first time making a pastry and honestly I thought it'd fail๐ . Shows just how good the recipe is and easy to follow!!
Luke and Kay says
Maya, thank you so much for leaving us a review! We are thrilled to hear that the recipe was easy to follow and that your Jamaican Beef Patties came out great. It's fantastic hearing stories of people succeeding in baking with our recipes. A scrumptious batch of patties is such a great accomplishment! ๐
Tracey says
I tried this recipe and is now a regular request from family and friends. Itโs delicious and authentic 10/10 ๐
Luke and Kay says
Thanks for the high praise, Tracey! We are so honoured that you made our Jamaican Beef Patties your go-to recipe when it's time to impress your friends and family. It sounds like our traditional and authentic flavours have earned a place in your kitchen. ๐
Barb says
Best beef paties every time โค๏ธ
Luke and Kay says
Thank you so much for loving our Jamaican beef patty recipe, Barb! We truly appreciate your review and are so pleased that our recipe has achieved the level of deliciousness you've come to expect. ๐
KingTheCharmer says
This recipe was by far the easiest one that I encountered. It was easy to follow, had to make them gluten free but didn't miss a beat. Made a tweak to it, instead of using water I used milk, but this was it. Shell!!!! Look forward to trying other recipes.
Luke and Kay says
Thank you for trying our Jamaican Beef Patties recipe, I'm glad you found it easy to follow and that you were able to make it gluten-free. I'm also happy to hear that you enjoyed it and that you will be trying other recipes. Thank you for your support! ๐
David Heron says
Nice but the pastry is not flaky enough.
Terrymore McBean says
Delicious!!
Kay says
Thank you for trying our Jamaican Beef Patties; they are definitely a fan favourite! We're so happy to hear that you enjoyed them. ๐
ROB Grabko says
Not an easy recipe in terms of time. Perhaps I screwed up by making the dough the night before.I Planned on tripling the recipe but only ended up with 12 which was fine after filling these. I also ended up cutting the discs before cooking rolling and rerolling to get the right number of discs was a pain in the a** Just Like somebody else stated the beef stock didn't evaporate on simmer. Made way more beef mixture then necessary. Believe i could have used almost half of what recipe called for. Ended up putting quarter cup into each with cheese . They taste ok but not like the golden crust ones like I was hoping for. -Rob
Kay says
Hi Rob, thanks for trying out our Jamaican beef patties recipe. We're sorry to hear that it was a bit of a challenge to follow and that the end result wasn't quite what you were hoping for. Thanks for telling us about what went wrong.
It's easier to work with smaller batches of pastry, so the doubling up may have caused a slight problem. We like to add as much filling as possible to ensure each pastry is deliciously filled! You may need some extra time when doubling the recipe so that any added liquids in the beef filling have a full chance to evaporate.
Hope this helps Rob, Enjoy ๐
Melanie says
which supermarkets stock these?
Kay says
Thanks for the question, Melanie
You cant buy these from the supermarket, as they are homemade, but you can get all the ingredients from your local supermarket if you would like to make them using the recipe card on this page ๐
Hope you enjoy the recipe
Kelly says
Wasnโt sure about the beef cube? Had bouillon but didnโt use it. Directions werenโt specific. I left it out for fear of it being to runny. Recipe turned out great. The perfect amount of spice ๐
Luke says
Thanks for trying our Jamaican beef patties, Kelly! I'm glad to hear the recipe turned out great ๐
If you like Caribbean recipes you will like our Ackee and Saltfish its awesome ๐
Daniela says
Keep coming back to this recipe
Kay says
Thank you for your loyalty to our Jamaican Beef Patties recipe, Daniela! It's great to hear that you enjoy it and come back to it often ๐
If you enjoy caribean cusine you might like our Ackee and Saltfish its superb ๐
sharon says
I will try this very soon. thanks
Kay says
Thank you, Sharon ๐
I hope you enjoy our recipe; let us know your thoughts.