Jamaican Beef Patties

Back in high school, my absolute favourite lunch option was the Jamaican patties they sold down the road at 7-Eleven.

In the years that followed, I got better acquainted with the Jamaican Beef Patty - A spicy beef hand pie, with a bright yellow, flaky crust. I’d order the Caribbean fast food every year at Folklorama - SO much better than the 7-Eleven meat pies!

When living in the USA, we didn’t have regular access to the good stuff, and only SPORADIC access to the 7-Eleven type ones... so I eventually started making my own Traditional Jamaican Beef Patties.

When I learned I had a gluten allergy, the thought of never again being able to enjoy that buttery pastry shell - and that well-seasoned beef filling again - was one of the first things I mourned!

Being gluten-free doesn't mean having to forgo patties, though! I eventually landed on a gluten free version of my own pastry, that did justice to the source material.

These Jamaican Beef Patties are flaky, spicy, & delicious. A really great recipe - you won't miss the gluten.

When asking Porter if anything needed to be changed, his only feedback was that it doesn’t make enough, I should at LEAST quadruple the batch, because he’s going to inhale it.

Mind you, he’s not gluten free.

When recently going through the familar “never going to be able to...” mourning again - and developing my Keto Jamaican Beef Patties as a result - I decided it’s probably time to share my gluten free Jamaican patties recipe.

... and here we are.

Let’s get to that recipe, so you’ll be able to make your own delicious patties!

Ingredients

So, there’s a bit of a laundry list of ingredients on this recipe. Part of that is for the crust, to make sure it looks and acts like a proper Jamaican patties pastry dough SHOULD.

The rest is the filling. Sorry, but great flavour usually comes with great ingredient lists, LOL. It’s worth it, I promise. Also, most of these items should be easy to find in any larger grocery store.

Anyway, some ingredient notes for you:

Gluten Free Flour Mixture

As with all of my gluten free baking recipes, I use a combination of a few flours and starches - specific to each recipe - chosen specifically for their flavours and properties.

For the best results, I don’t recommend swapping any of the following ingredients out, or changing their proportions:

Light Buckwheat Flour
Sorghum Flour
White Rice Flour
Corn Starch
Tapioca Starch
Xanthan Gum

This recipe was formulated around these flours and proportions, anything else won’t behave the same or produce the same results.

Lard

My gluten free flaky dough recipe was inspired by my Great Uncle Tom’s famous pie crust recipe.

Tom always recommended using Tenderflake brand lard, which is apparently only available in Canada.

Vegetable shortening can be substituted in this gluten free Jamaican patty pastry if lard cannot be obtained, but is definitely not *preferable* to lard.

Lean Ground Meat

Traditionally, these are made with a ground beef filling, but you can definitely make a curry chicken filling, just as easily!

I recommend using lean ground beef, lean ground chicken, or lean ground turkey. One of these days, I’ll try a batch using Beyond Meat - I bet it would work just fine!

Scotch Bonnet Peppers

Scotch bonnet chiles are a hot pepper Jamaican food - Caribbean food in general, really.

We generally use 1-3 peppers, you can use as few or as many as you’d like.

If you’re unable to find Scotch Bonnet peppers, feel free to substitute habanero peppers.

For a spicier patty, leave the pith / ribs and seeds in, when cutting them up.

Spices

This recipe uses the following spices:

Jamaican Curry Powder
Turmeric Powder
Ground Black Pepper
Dried Thyme
Allspice
Ground Cloves

The curry powder and turmeric are used in both the filling and the pastry - it’s what gives the crust that beautiful yellow color.

As for the Jamaican curry powder, feel free to substitute regular curry powder if you need to. It’s a bit different, but most people won’t be able to tell the difference.

Milk

You can use whatever kind of milk you usually have on hand. When I started making homemade Jamaican patties, I used regular 2% milk.

These days, I tend to use unsweetened almond milk, as that’s what we have on hand.

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you will need:

Large Onion
1 Large egg*
Vinegar
Salt
Baking powder
Broth **

* This recipe doesn’t use an egg wash. If you want to do one, you’ll need an extra egg, plus a Tablespoon of water to whisk it with.

** If you’re making Jamaican beef patties, use beef broth. If you’re making Jamaican chicken patties, use chicken broth.

How to Make Gluten Free Jamaican Beef Patties

The full recipe is in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. Here is a pictorial walk through with detailed instructions:

Gluten Free Patty Crust

Whisk cold water, egg, and vinegar together, set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together flours, starches, curry, turmeric, xanthan gum, salt, and baking powder until well combined.

Add lard to the large mixing bowl, cut into the dry ingredients mixture with a pastry cutter or fork gently, until it resembles gravel.

Pour in the wet ingredients, mixing with a fork until just combined.

For best results, don’t over handle it! In my uncle Tom’s words, “Mix it with kindness”! If you overhandle it, it won’t end up flaky.

Patty Filling

In a large skillet, saute the onion and Scotch bonnet pepper together until onion is translucent and soft.

Add the spices, stir until well distributed.

Add in the ground beef (we used ground chicken for this batch!) and milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring / mashing until mixture looks relatively uniform.

Add beef broth (chicken broth, in this case), continue to cook – stirring often – until most of the liquid has cooked off, leaving a somewhat wet paste.

Cool to room temperature.

To Assemble the Patties

Preheat oven to 400 F, line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper

Lightly flour your work surface with more light buckwheat flour. Roll dough out to just under ⅜" thick, then cut into 6" rounds or squares. I usually lightly roll each square to elongate it slightly.

Note: Alternatively, divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, and roll each out to 6-7"

Center about 3 cup of filling on each full sized crust, then moisten edges of each crust with a little water.

Fold each crust in half, pushing as much air as you can, as you go. Press edges closed, then “crimp” by pressing down gently with the tines of a fork.

Place finished pastries in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets.

Prick the top of each with a fork several times

Bake patties until golden brown - about 17-20 minutes. Serve hot, with lots of Jamaican hot sauce!

Leftovers

Once cooled to almost room temperature, leftovers can be wrapped in plastic wrap (or transferred to an airtight container) and either stored in the fridge for up to 3 days, or frozen.

Best when reheated in an air fryer or toaster oven, but 45 seconds in a microwave works as well (it just won’t be as crispy).

More Gluten-Free International Recipes

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Gluten Free Paneer Pakora
Gluten-Free Paska
Gluten Free Perogies
Gluten-Free Piroshki
Gluten Free Ramen Recipe
Gluten-Free Samosa Recipe
Gluten Free Sopaipillas Pasadas
Gluten-Free Tempura