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BLANK » Recipe Index » Caribbean Dishes

Jamaican Turkey Patties (Gluten Free)

November 19, 2022 by Charla 9 Comments

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Bring a taste of Jamaica to your household with this delicious Jamaican turkey patty recipe. This recipe is made from scratch using my homemade gluten free flour blend to make the signature flakey pastry. With a generously seasoned and tasty ground turkey filling. Definitely a must try recipe for the holiday season!

two patties on a blue plate

**Are you looking for some exclusive Caribbean recipes for Christmas? If so, don't forget to check out my seasonal e-book entitled "2 patties on a plate and one broken

What is a patty?

In short, a patty is a semicircular savoury pastry with some filling. The pastry is made from whole wheat flour, salt, butter and/or shortening and sometimes made with suet.

The shell is very flakey with a distinctive yellow hue from the turmeric although some people use both turmeric and curry powder.

I would say upon appearance a patty resembles a savoury turnover.

In terms of the filling, it can be quite varied with anything from callaloo, saltfish, beef, beef and cheese, lamb, mutton, chicken, mixed vegetables, shrimp and so fourth.

The filling in the meat patty is typically ground, some people even puree their filling for a finer consistency.

It's not uncommon to see a patty sandwiched between some coco bread.

Other Caribbean islands, such as the Virgin Islands make their own version of patty (known as a pate) and the spanish speaking islands refer to theirs as empanadas.

The Jamaican patty has a long standing history in Jamaica, but has been influenced by the British (Cornish immigrants), Indian indentured labourers and African slaves.

Outside of Jamaica and the Caribbean, patties are common in countries which have a large Jamaican dispora such a Canada, United  States and England.

Most people prefer to purchase a patty from a restaurant, takeway or supermarket as opposed to making it from scratch.

Homemade patty

Although making a patty might seem straight forward their is a science to it. In order to perfect it, you really have to know what it tastes like.

I've had my fair share of patty in Jamaica and without sounding biased nothing beats a Jamaican patty, trust me, it's the real deal. 

There is long standing debate in terms of who makes the best patty, Juici vs Tastee (these are brands btw). I love them both, but Juici patties take the lead (only by a small percentage).

Anyway, the key thing to make a good patty is the pastry, if you can nail that you're off to a good start.

staked patty with the filling showing

Making gluten free patty

Of course, being a gluten free blogger makes this 10 times more difficult. However, I was up for the challenge and started doing a bit of trial and error with my homemade gluten free flour blend.

I found that my GF flour blend works best when using vegetable shortening, dairy free butter and suet. I used gluten free vegetable suet not the beef suet that's made from animal fat.

The results are very close to the storebrought patty in terms of the flakiness, but keep in mind this recipe is a gluten free version so don't expect a direct immitation.

I like to use both turmeric for the yellow tint and curry powder to yield abit of flavour. Both ingredients work well together without altering the taste of the pastry.

I cannot emphasize just how important it is to use COLD ingredients for the pastry.

Excluding the flour and spices, I store the dairy free butter, vegetable suet and vegetable shortening in the freezer to ensure they are completely cold. I also use ice cold water to form a pliable dough

It is absolutely crucial that you keep your base ingredients (as mentioned) cold because this guarantees a flakey pastry, along with folding and layering the dough with butter.

If you want a patty that is a close to the original then I highly recommend following ALL of these steps to avoid any disappointment.

The filling follows a very similar format to the beef patty, using ground meat and various seasoning. I also like to add browning sauce to yield a dark-ish hue to the meat.

The steps

Steps 1-6 forming the dough to make a patty
  • In a large mixing bowl, add the gluten free flour, curry powder, turmeric, pink salt then mix to combine.
  • Add the vegetable suet and vegetable shortening to the bowl.
  • Use either your hands or a dough blender to mix the suet and shortening together with the dry ingredients.
  • Slowly add enough ice water, using your hands to make a pliable dough ball.
  • Wrap the dough in plastic wrap/cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Steps 7-12 seasoning the ground turkey
  • While the dough is being chilled, prepare the filling.
  • Add olive oil to a skillet, on medium heat then saute the onion, scallion and garlic until transculent.
  • Add the ground turkey and sear the meat for several minutes.
  • After several minutes, add your seasoning - all purpose seasoning, paprika, thyme, sage, black pepper, scotch bonnet and then stir.
  • Add the soy(a) sauce, tomato paste and browning sauce and mix until everything is evenly distributed.
Steps 13-16 adding breadcrumbs, browning and water to the filling
  • Finally add the gluten free breadcrumbs, stir to combine with the turkey meat.
  • Add about ½ cup of warm water, to prevent the meat from being too dry.
  • Allow the meat to simmer on low-medium heat for roughly 15 minutes, stirring frequently and adding additional water, if needed to keep the meat moist.
  • Once the meat is cooked, do a taste test and add pink salt if needed.
  • Remove the skillet from the stove and set aside to cool down.
Steps 17-22 laminating the dough with dairy free butter
  • On an even surface, lightly dust some parchment paper with GF flour.
  • Unwrap the dough and roll it out into a long rectangle about ¼ inch in thickness. The dough may crack alittle but use your hands to smooth out any cracks and mould the dough (if necessary) into the desired shape.
  • Layer the top of the dough by ⅔ with some grated butter.
  • Fold over the top of the dough by just over ⅓ then fold over the other half so it looks like an envelope.
  • Pinch the ends to seal in the butter and turn it vertically.
  •  Gently roll the dough into another long rectangle.
  • Fold the top half and then fold the bottom so it looks like a folded letter.
  • Wrap the dough in plastic wrap/cling film and chill for 30 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 180C/356F/gas mark 4.
  • Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
Steps 23-28 shaping the dough and cutting the patty
  • Unwrap the dough and roll it out again into a long rectangle on a lightly dusted surface with parchment paper.
  • Use a pizza cutter or a knife to slice directly down the centre.
  • Slice horizontally to create individual rectangles.
  • Fill one half of each rectangle with 2-4 tablespoons of the turkey filling (the amount of filling with depend on the size of your patty).
  • Over lap the pastry dough then trim and round off the edges with a ravoli cutter (or use a pizza cutter and the tines of a fork if you don't have a ravoli cutter).
  • Gently press down on the outer edge to seal the seam and then place the patty on a baking tray.
  • Repeat the above 3 steps with the remaining dough.
  • Bake in the oven for roughly 20 minutes or until the patty is lightly brown.

Notes and tips

  • It is very important that the fats and water are ice cold to create flaky pastry.
  • Don't skip the resting time. It is crucial for the butter to remain cold so it is easier to roll out again and to optimise flakiness, especially with gluten free flour which needs a helping hand.
  • Some vegetable suet contain gluten, be sure to check the label to ensure it is gluten free.
  • If you are using store bought browning then you will only need 1 teaspoon of it.
  • It is normal to see some cracks in the dough when you are rolling it, just use your hands to smooth them out.
  • Grate the butter ahead of time (you will need about 1 cup's worth) but keep it in the freezer so it remains extra cold until you need it.
  • You can save a lot of time by preparing the dough and/or the filling (keep both refrigerated).
  • When rolling out the dough it is important to keep the surface lightly dusted at all times to prevent sticking.
  • Any leftover filling and be refrigerated for 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
  • The amount of patties you will get is subjective to the size and shape, the bigger the patty the less you will have. Mine were quite big for I made a total of 4.
  • Any leftover patty can be refrigerated (in an airtight container) for up to 2 days. 
  • To re-heat, wrap them in aluminium foil, tightly and heat up in the oven.
hands holding up the patty

More gluten free recipes to try

  • Gluten Free Roti
  • Gluten Free Naan Bread
  • Gluten Free Dinner Rolls
  • Vegan Empanadas

Turkey recipes to try

  • Turkey Stock
  • Turkey Neck Soup
  • Slow Cooker Turkey Crown
  • Slow Cooker Ground Turkey
  • Jamaican Brown Stew Turkey Neck
  • Leftover Turkey Fried Rice
  • Caribbean Turkey Steaks

**Don't forget to comment below and star rate if you have tried my recipes. Let's be friends and engage on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram I also like to pin on Pinterest, where you can find more amazing recipes.**

2 patties on a plate

Jamaican Turkey Patties (Gluten Free)

Bring a taste of Jamaica to your household with this delicious Jamaican turkey patty recipe. This recipe is made from scratch using my homemade gluten free flour blend to make the signature flakey pastry. With a generously seasoned and tasty ground turkey filling. Definitely a must try recipe for the holiday season!
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Appetiser
Cuisine: Jamaican
Prep Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes
Total Time: 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 591kcal
Author: Charla

Ingredients

To make the dough

  • 3½ cups my GF flour blend (440g)
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder (7g)
  • 1 tablespoon turmeric (6g)
  • 1 teaspoon pink salt (6g)
  • ½ cup vegetable shortening (102g) grated or in small pieces, frozen
  • ½ cup GF vegetable suet (118g) frozen, in small pieces
  • ice cold water (as needed)
  • additional grated frozen dairy free butter for layering the dough

For the filling

  • 2 tablespoon olive oil (28g)
  • 1 small onion minced
  • 2 scallion minced
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 lb ground turkey (455g)
  • 2 tablespoon all purpose seasoning (30g)
  • 2 teaspoon paprika (4g)
  • 2 teaspoon thyme (4g) dried or fresh
  • 1 tsp sage (5g) dried
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper (2g)
  • ¼ teaspoon scotch bonnet pepper powder (1.5g) or half of a scotch bonnet
  • 1 tablespoon soy(a) sauce (18g)
  • 2 tablespoon homemade browning sauce (30g) only use this amount if you are using my homemade recipe, other wise use 1½ tsp.
  • 2 tablespoon tomato paste (32g)
  • ½ cup gluten free breadcrumbs (45g)
  • warm water (roughly ½ cup)
  • pink salt to taste

Instructions

To make the dough

  • In a large mixing bowl, add the gluten free flour, curry powder, turmeric, pink salt then mix to combine.
  • Add the vegetable suet and vegetable shortening to the bowl.
  • Use either your hands or a dough blender to mix the suet and shortening together with the dry ingredients.
  • Slowly add enough ice water, using your hands to make a pliable dough ball.
  • Wrap the dough in plastic wrap/cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

To make the filling

  • While the dough is being chilled, prepare the filling.
  • Add olive oil to a skillet, on medium heat then saute the onion, scallion and garlic until transculent.
  • Add the ground turkey and sear the meat for several minutes.
  • After several minutes, add your seasoning - all purpose seasoning, paprika, thyme, sage, black pepper, scotch bonnet and then stir.
  • Add the soy(a) sauce, tomato paste and browning sauce and mix until everything is evenly distributed.
  • Finally add the gluten free breadcrumbs, stir to combine with the turkey meat.
  • Add about ½ cup of warm water, to prevent the meat from being too dry.
  • Allow the meat to simmer on low-medium heat for roughly 15 minutes, stirring frequently and adding additional water, if needed to keep the meat moist.
  • Once the meat is cooked, do a taste test and add pink salt if needed
  • Remove the skillet from the stove and set aside to cool down.

To layer and fold the dough

  • On an even surface, lightly dust some parchment paper with GF flour.
  • Unwrap the dough and roll it out into a long rectangle about ¼ inch in thickness. The dough may crack alittle but use your hands to smooth out any cracks and mould the dough (if necessary) into the desired shape.
  • Layer the top of the dough by ⅔ with some grated butter.
  • Fold over the top of the dough by just over ⅓ then fold over the other half so it looks like an envelope.
  • Pinch the ends to seal in the butter and turn it vertically. 
  • Gently roll the dough into another long rectangle.
  • Fold the top half and then fold the bottom so it looks like a folded letter.
  • Wrap the dough in plastic wrap/cling film and chill for 30 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 180C/356F/gas mark 4.
  • Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
  • Unwrap the dough and roll it out again into a long rectangle on a lightly dusted surface with parchment paper.

To assemble the patties

  • Use a pizza cutter or a knife to slice directly down the centre.
  • Slice horizontally to create individual rectangles.
  • Fill one half of each rectangle with 2-4 tablespoons of the turkey filling (the amount of filling with depend on the size of your patty).
  • Over lap the pastry dough then trim and round off the edges with a ravoli cutter (or use a pizza cutter and the tines of a fork if you don't have a ravoli cutter).
  • Gently press down on the outer edge to seal the seam and then place the patty on a baking tray.
  • Repeat the above 3 steps with the remaining dough.
  • Bake in the oven for roughly 20 minutes or until the patty is lightly brown.

Notes

  • It is very important that the fats and water are ice cold to create flaky pastry.
  • Don't skip the resting time. It is crucial for the butter to remain cold so it is easier to roll out again and to optimise flakiness, especially with gluten free flour which needs a helping hand.
  • Some vegetable suet contain gluten, be sure to check the label to ensure it is gluten free.
  • If you are using store bought browning then you will only need 1 teaspoon of it.
  • It is normal to see some cracks in the dough when you are rolling it, just use your hands to smooth them out.
  • Grate the butter ahead of time (you will need about 1 cup's worth) but keep it in the freezer so it remains extra cold until you need it.
  • You can save a lot of time by preparing the dough and/or the filling (keep both refrigerated).
  • When rolling out the dough it is important to keep the surface lightly dusted at all times to prevent sticking.
  • Any leftover filling and be refrigerated for 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
  • The amount of patties you will get is subjective to the size and shape, the bigger the patty the less you will have. Mine were quite big for I made a total of 4.
  • Any leftover patty can be refrigerated (in an airtight container) for up to 2 days. 
  • To re-heat, wrap them in aluminium foil, tightly and heat up in the oven.

Nutrition

Calories: 591kcal | Carbohydrates: 67g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 42mg | Sodium: 651mg | Potassium: 467mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 598IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 158mg | Iron: 6mg
Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @ThatGirlCooksHealthy or tag #ThatGirlCooksHealthy!

More Caribbean Dishes

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    Homemade Mauby Drink (Caribbean Bark Beverage)
  • 2 snapper with yuca and oranges garnished
    Baked Snapper (Mojo Style)
  • 2 sea bream on a platter
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  • 2 cups and a bowl of souse
    Chicken Foot Souse

About Charla

I'm Charla. Caribbean foodie & Certified Health Coach. Welcome to the heaven of gluten and dairy free recipes as well as modernised healthier alternatives to some of your favourite Caribbean recipes.

Comments

  1. Joy Thomas says

    May 25, 2024 at 8:24 pm

    Hi Charla, where do you buy your vegetable shortening from? I really want to make patties, but the price I am finding for the shortening is quite expensive. Thanks

    Reply
    • Charla says

      May 27, 2024 at 5:43 am

      Hi Joy, Sainsburys (if you're in the uk) do it for the cheapest price which is £2.50. I hope that helps!

      Reply
      • Joy Thomas says

        June 13, 2024 at 10:28 am

        Wonderful, thanks for your response, and yes I'm in the UK

        Reply
  2. Catherine says

    December 03, 2023 at 3:25 pm

    5 stars
    i haven’t tried this but I’m thankful to have found your website and have subscribed- we are gluten intolerant but being Jamaican , my husband’ needs dumpling ‘ in soup ! also going to make your gf blend for fried dumpling looking forward to trying patties and boiled or fried dumpling and more
    best regards
    Catherine 🇬🇧

    Reply
    • Charla says

      December 03, 2023 at 4:08 pm

      Hi Catherine and welcome! Thank you for subscribing to my website. Let me know if you need any further assistance with any of the recipes (email is best). I recommend watching the video on how to make the fried dumpling too, if you get a chance.

      Reply
  3. Cass says

    September 01, 2023 at 11:56 am

    5 stars
    I am excited to attempt this masterpiece. I have celiac and as a Jamaican, pattys are the hardest thing to be without. Every few months I wake up in a cold sweat and Google “gluten free beef pattys” and this morning you popped up lol. I’m so happy there are more gf party lovers out there so maybe someone will open a shop and make our lives easier. Cheers!

    Reply
    • Charla says

      September 01, 2023 at 3:41 pm

      Hi Cass, Thanks for the feedback. Gluten free patties are no joke, extremely difficult to make but I tried my very best to make them taste good as well as make the texture as flaky as possible. Of course nothing beats the real thing, let me know if you need any assistance.

      Reply
  4. Beverley says

    March 08, 2023 at 9:57 am

    Thank you. I have read through the steps for your turkey patty but there are no ingredients list. How much flour to fat etc

    Reply
    • Charla says

      March 08, 2023 at 11:18 am

      Hi Beverley, The recipe card (instructions with the steps and quantity) is towards the bottom of the page. You should see a section of writing that is in a teal coloured box. Everything you need in terms of how to make the recipe is in that section. Let me know if you are still experiencing any problems on your end?

      Reply
5 from 2 votes

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a picture of Charla

Hey, I'm Charla!

I'm an avid Caribbean foodie. Welcome to the haven of gluten and dairy free recipes as well as modernised healthier alternatives to some of your favourite Caribbean recipes.

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