By Jamaican Meat Pie (aka Jamaican Beef Patty) is a popular appetizer in Jamaica and other areas of the Caribbean. It is a flaky and flavorful yellow crust filled with a spicy/savory meat filling.
Jamaican Patty
The Jamaican Meat pie is quite different from the Nigerian Meat pie, but I can say that I love them both for different things. The Jamaican patties are so flaky, turmeric colored and the Meat filling is highly seasoned. In the case of the Nigerian Meat pie, the crust is a little richer and softer.
In Jamaica, Meat pies are often served with coco bread which is a form of sandwich bread, that is starchy and slightly sweet.
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Can I freeze Jamaican Patties?
Jamaican Patties freeze so well. Put any leftover pies in a ziplock bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
By the way, if you like to know how I make my Ground beef (Minced Meat) from scratch click here, it’s super easy.
You might also want to try out our favorite Jamaican Recipes:
- Delicious Jamaican Rice And Peas
- Jamaican Jerk Chicken
- Jamaican Oxtail Stew
- Creamy Jamaican Cornmeal Porridge
- Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
- Deliciously Simple Jamaican Callaloo Recipe
Watch how to make the Jamaican beef patty recipe on youtube here:
Jamaican Meat Pie (Jamaican Beef Patty)
Ingredients
FOR THE JAMAICAN MEAT PIE CRUST
- 4 Cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup Butter 2 sticks, cold
- 14 Tbsp water
- 1 Tbs Turmeric
- 2 Tsp Sugar
- 1 Tsp Salt
FOR THE JAMAICAN MEAT PIE FILLING:
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 Tbs Vegetable oil
- 1/2 Cup Onion diced
- 2 Tsp Garlic minced
- 1/2 Tsp black pepper
- 1/4 Tsp Thyme
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1/2 Tsp paprika
- 1/4 cup Green Onion
- 1 scotch bonnet seeded and finely diced
- 1 Stock cube Bouillon cube
- 1/4 Cup unseasoned Breadcrumbs
- Salt to taste
FOR FINAL ASSEMBLING
- 1 large Egg
- 2 Tablespoon water
Instructions
DIRECTIONS FOR THE PASTRY DOUGH:
- Start by pulsing the flour, Butter, Turmeric, Salt, and Sugar in a food processor until it’s well combined and the flour appears crumbly.
- Gradually introduce the water a little at a time and pulse process it, till it comes together as a ball.
- Wrap the dough with a plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes (the longer the better) while you prepare the filling.
DIRECTIONS FOR THE PIE FILLING:
- Add the oil in a Pan. Once it’s hot, add the Onion, Green Onion, diced Habanero, and minced garlic. Then stir-fry until the onion becomes translucent.
- Add the ground beef and break up the clump with a wooden spoon. Then brown the meat on medium heat for about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir in the breadcrumbs and season with Salt, Bouillon cube, black pepper, Thyme, Curry powder, allspice, and Paprika.
- Add 1 cup of water to the meat. Then allow it to simmer for about 10 minutes until the liquid is almost evaporated. Add more water, stock or adjust the seasoning if necessary.
- Remove from heat and allow it to cool down to room temperature before using it.
FOR FINAL ASSEMBLING OF THE JAMAICAN BEEF PATTY:
- Divide the dough into two parts, keep one half in the fridge while you work on the other half.
- Roll out the dough thinly with a rolling pin and use a pie cutter or any circular object to cut out the circles (the first half should yield about 5 to 6 circles).
- Scoop in about 2 tablespoons of the filling on each cut-out pie, then dip a finger inside the water and moisten the edge of the circular pastry all around.
- Fold it into a half-moon and seal it up by crimping the edge with a fork. If the fork is a little sticky, just dip it in water before crimping the pies.
- Repeat steps 1 to 3 for the second half then place the meat pies inside a tray lined with parchment paper and brush each Meat pie with the egg wash.
- Bake inside a 375°F preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or till the top crust is firm and golden brown.
- Allow to cool on a wire rack and serve warm.
- ∗∗∗This recipe should yield about 15 Pieces of pies.
Notes
- The quantity of water used for these pie pastry might vary a little bit depending on the moisture and humidity in your location so it is a good idea to have a little more cold water than the required quantity at hand just in case you might need more.
- Knead your dough more and more, will make it comes out less flakier, so it’s advised to stop kneading the dough once all the ingredients have been combined. This should take less than 2 minutes.
- It’s best to pop the Meat pies in the oven while it is still very cold. If you are slow in filling the pies, and the pastries have reached room temperature, it is best to put them in the fridge for at least 15 minutes before baking.
- Let your pie filling come to room temperature(or almost) before filing the pastries, this is important so as not to ruin the pastry.
Nutrition
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If you make these Jamaican Patties, I’d love to see pictures of your creations on Instagram or Facebook. #cheflolaskitchen
I’ve made this recipe for years for my family. Never bothered to look for any other Jamaican meat pie recipes. I look forward to trying more of Chef Lolas recipes!
Wow Jennifer, that means so much, thank you 😊 I’m honored this has been your go-to for years. Can’t wait for you to try more recipes❤️
Made these a few months ago and loved them. Am making another batch now. I freeze them uncooked on cookie sheets, then pop into freezer bags. I bake straight from frozen–delicious! I’m thinking sometime I’ll make with half lamb/half beef. Thank you, Chef Lola!
This makes me so happy to read 😊
I love your freezing method, that’s such a smart way to always have them ready. Baking straight from frozen is perfect 👍
The half lamb, half beef idea sounds amazing too, it’ll add even more depth of flavor. Thank you so much for sharing your experience and for trusting my recipe. Enjoy your new batch, and happy cooking🤗
Amazing recipe!
I made double the amount of meat as I like a well stuffed pie! I also portioned the dough into 10 equal balls and used a tortilla press to form the dough. Worked like a champ!
Outstanding recipe. Thank you!
That sounds amazing SB, I love that you doubled the filling and used a tortilla press, great idea! I’m so glad the recipe worked well for you. Thank you for the wonderful feedback 😊❤️
Your Jamaican Meat Pies look delicious. I am going to make them tomorrow so we have have them over Christmas for a snack with a salad. Lola did you cut your circles 5″.
Thank you kindly.
I absolutely love this recipe! My family raves over it when I make them. Thank you so so much ❤️🌹😉
Thank you,Kristal. Keep enjoying it.
Thank you for so many of your recipes, easy and delicious and just a little different.
Thank you, Laurie.
How big Do you cut the circles of dough?
Ok, i have used your recipe for the last 5 years. I love it and always get rave reviews!!even our one friend,who’s mom is from Jamaica, said it tastes almost exactly l7ke hers!!!:) thank you so much
So lovely. Thanks for the feedback, Michelle.
I had to move away from my neighborhood with a wonderful Caribbean take out place just blocks away. I miss it so much. There are none in my new city that I can easily get to. Glad I found your site. This recipe is amazing, like the pies from the restaurant. Thank you for sharing it. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes. Kind regards!
Thank you, Maxwell. I hope you are enjoying your new place,😀. Great to know that it tastes just like the restaurant version. I have more Caribbean recipes you should try. Check and keep enjoying them. 😍
To me you can refrigerate the meat pie and microwave it before eating
If you have tried it and it works for you, that’s great. Perhaps you can share some tips here in the comment. I would love to hear from you again, Joshthebest.
Great recipe. Easy to follow. I have made these twice, back to back days! A winner!
Thank you for the feedback.
This is sooooo good! Thank you!
Made this recipe at least a dozen times now – we love it!! One of our favourite go-to recipes!
That’s so good to hear Jessica. 😊😊😊😊😊😊
Wow I love it
Can I just omit the onions/green onions and substitute? I have allergies to this herb. Thanks.
Yes, you can.
Brilliant, Delish and just BRILLIANT!!!
Easy peasy… great recipe
Thanks
Thank you 🙂
Oh my god! These are fantastic! The dough is nice and flaky and the filling is awesome! These are better than any grocery store kind. Thank you for the fabulous recipe!
Glad the recipe turned out well for you and thank you for the awesome feedback!
Thank you for the recipe and the notes section. I did put the meat in the food processor to get the texture I remember them as a child. Absolutely perfect. Thank you
This recipe is awesome. I’ve made the patties three times so far and no complaints! Yields the perfect amount of pastry for assembly and they are just as good warmed up the following few days.
These are perfect! We moved to the west coast and miss our Jamaican restaurants of NY! Thank you for the easy recipe and great flavors!!
can you tell me PLEASE the Grams of Butter… We don’t have sticks in my country 1 cup is 227 grams ??..
Hi Socrates, there is a metric link below the list of ingredients in the recipe box. When you click on it, you will find the conversion.
I made these yesterday and oh so good! Thank you so much for sharing. The best part for me was the dough. Oh my gosh! It came together beautifully, flaky and has a nice bite to it once baked. I even reheated one this morning and it is still perfect.
Sounds like you did it justice! *I’m so glad it was a hit Diane! Thanks for letting me know!! ❤️❤️❤️
I ate countless Jamaican beef patties when I was a kid until the family bakery that I got them from closed. Finally, so many years later I decided to make them using your recipe and it seems I have not lost my love for them! Thank you for the terrific recipe. The patties are delicious and easy and I would be proud to serve them to friends.
Hi,
Can you tell me if you use beef bouillon or chicken in the meat mixture?
Hi! Can I assemble these and let them sit in the fridge overnight and cook them the next day? Or would you recommend to completely cook them after making them?
You can refrigerate the dough overnight but I will suggest you don’t assemble them overnight. If you like, you can bake them and warm them the next day. They heat up pretty well.
What a great teacher you are!! Your instructions were very precise. Just made these. Came out great!! Keep doing what you do. God bless!!!
Aww…thanks for the nice compliment Dee. I’m glad the recipe worked out well for you!
Hi,
Please how much is the food processor and where can I get it
Thanks
Hi Toluwalogo, you can check Jumia.com or Amazon.com for a good food processor.
Please can you recommend any for a starter
I made this with meatless crumbles for a vegan twist. This recipe was on point. No one could tell the difference between real beef and my meatless meat crumbles. The crust was beautifully golden and flaky to perfection. I did have to add more water than what the recipe called for to make it more malleable. I put the spices in as listed and the flavor was amazing! My husband’s family is from Jamaica so this really made my husband happy 🙂 Thank you for sharing!
This is great! Thank you for coming back with this amazing feedback. I love the way you added your own touch to the pie filling.
my dough was to tough? maybe not enough water? not use to making dough
Sorry to hear that Karen. If you use the Cup measurement there are chances of making little errors. Next time, you can just add one or two more tablespoons of water until you achieve the desired dough consistency.
Thank you for the recipe Lola. I am lucky to live in Florida where I can get these made authentically like your look. Is there a way or method you could recommend that I could make them and freeze them for a later snack?
You are welcome, Raymond. Yes! they freeze so well. Just put them in a Ziploc or keep them tightly wrapped and store in the freezer. Simply thaw for about 15 t0 30 minutes and microwave or warm in the oven. It will taste as fresh as you just made them.
Thank you Lola. They truly were a delightful treat that I will show off at our next family get together. I like hearing “PopPop can cook!”
You are welcome, Raymond. ”PopPop can cook” – that will be the best part of the get-together! 😂😂😂
thank you so much for the video and the recipe! Can’t wait to try. In your recipe, you have Tbs so I assume Tablespoon. You also have both tsp. and Tsp. They are both teaspoon, right? Sometimes a capital T means tablespoon to some cooks and I just want to get it right. Thanks!
You are welcome, Judy … Yes, tsp. and Tsp is teaspoon while Tbs is tablespoon
Great combination of flavors in these little hand held pies. Definitely a fun and tasty recipe to put on the to do list.
Such a fun recipe! I didn’t know much about Jamacian cooking so this recipe was really interesting! Thanks for sharing
I love all the warm spices you use for the filling. It sounds amazing, and I can’t wait to try it!
Looks so delicious and unique! I don’t think I ever tasted anything similar. Can’t wait to try this recipe ♥
I have never had a Jamaican Meat Pie but reading through the list of ingredients I know I would enjoy one! Carbs and protein all in one tasty little package!
I had this the other day in shop and was looking for a recipe to make it at home! Your recipe looks so easy and I’m going to try it this weekend.
We loved these! Came out beautifully! Thank you for both the video and recipe it helped!
Could I use coconut oil instead of butter for this dough recipe and if so how much would I need to use
Hi Kathy, I am yet to try using coconut oil in my patties but I guess it should work. I will suggest you use the coconut milk in it’s solid state, if possible, keep it in the fridge for few hours before using it. You can use the same quantity as that of butter in the recipe.
Thank you Lola it worked out pretty good for my first time making the crust next time I hope to have butter in the house so I can try it with your exact recipe the filling was excellent everyone loved them thank you again for all your help 😊
You’re welcome Kathy! I’m glad to hear how much you love the recipe! Thanks for sharing your excellent review!
Lola You are a Blessing, thank you for all your help and delicious recipes 😊
You are welcome Kathy. 🙂
Just wondering about the calorie count? 5000 seems awfully high. Is that for the whole batch?
I’m sorry Kari, this came quite late. I made a mistake. I have since corrected it.
great recipe, and simple illustrations. but you did tell us when to use the butter that was listed as part of the ingredients to use. thanks
Thanks for pointing that out Hennry, I added it together with the other dry ingredients inside the food processor….I’ve also adjusted it on the recipe.
Thanks for pointing that out Hennry, I added it together with the other dry ingredients inside the food processor….I’ve also adjusted it on the recipe.
@Lola Osinkolu,
Hi i just want to know bouillon cube what’s kind beef? Let me know thanks!
Chicken bouillon
great recipe, and simple illustrations. but you did tell us when to use the butter that was listed as part of the ingredients to use. thanks