Jamaican vegetable patties – these spiced, Caribbean style vegan vegetable pasties are full of flavour and make a great snack or light meal. Eggless and dairy-free.
Jamaican patties are always a staple in our freezer for a quick snack or meal when I don’t feel like cooking. Shop bought ones are acceptable, but homemade is always better so when I’ve got the time I like to make a batch to stash away for lazy/busy days.
One of the consistently most popular recipes on Domestic Gothess is my vegan curried vegetable pasties; they are always a crowd-pleaser! These Jamaican vegetable patties are quite similar but the filling has a very different flavour.
I use ground allspice, scotch bonnet chilli, thyme and coconut milk to give them a very Caribbean style taste, with a few other spices to round out the flavour.
The filling is a mix of vegetables – onion, sweet potato, butternut squash, carrot, tomatoes, cabbage, peas, sweetcorn and broad beans. Feel free to vary the type of vegetables you use to suit. (Keep the tomatoes though, they are needed for the flavour and texture).
Traditionally, Jamaican patties have very golden yellow pastry, this is achieved by adding a bit of turmeric and curry powder to the pastry. You can’t really taste it (maybe very mildly), but it does give them a lovely colour!
How To Make Vegan Jamaican Vegetable Patties:
(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)
*For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.*
To make the pastry, place plain flour, salt, turmeric and curry powder in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add cold, diced vegan block butter and blend until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
With the motor running, gradually drizzle in a little cold water until it starts to clump together into a dough. Bring the dough together with your hands and shape into a disc. Cover and place in the fridge for at least half an hour to chill before rolling.
*If you don’t have a food processor, mix together the flour, salt, turmeric and curry powder in a large bowl. Rub in the cold butter using your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs then gradually mix in the cold water to bring it together.
To make the filling, heat some coconut oil in a large pan over a low heat. Add diced brown onion and cook for about 10 minutes until the onion is soft and translucent, stirring often.
Add finely diced sweet potato, carrot, butternut squash, and tomatoes, shredded cabbage and frozen peas, sweetcorn and broad beans. Cook for another 10 minutes, stirring often, until the vegetables have started to soften.
Add crushed garlic, finely chopped scotch bonnet chilli (deseeded if you don’t want it too hot!), sliced spring onions, ground allspice, ginger, cinnamon, cumin, paprika, turmeric, thyme, salt and white pepper and cook for another minute.
Add full-fat tinned coconut milk (NOT the drinking kind) and simmer for 5-10 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the liquid has reduced; it should be fairly dry so you don’t end up with soggy patties. Allow to cool then refrigerate until cold before you assemble the patties.
Once both the filling and pastry are cold, divide the disc of pastry into 8 even pieces (I cut it into triangles using a sharp knife) and roll each one into a ball.
On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball out into a circle about 3mm thick. Cut round an upturned approx 16cm/6in round plate or saucer with a sharp knife to get a neat circle of dough.
Place a couple of heaped spoonfuls of the filling on one side of the circle, be careful not to add too much or you won’t be able to seal the patty.
Brush a little water around the rim of the pastry and carefully fold it over the filling. Press the edges together with your fingers to seal, then crimp the edge with the tines of a fork. Cut a little slit in the top of the patty for steam to escape.
Once you have rolled out and shaped all 8 of your balls of dough, gather together the trimmings and divide them into two balls. Roll out and shape as before to make two more patties. You might have a bit of filling left over (it is delicious served with rice too so don’t waste it!).
Place the patties on a couple of baking sheets lined with baking parchment and refrigerate for half an hour (or freeze for 20 mins). Chilling the pastry before baking helps to ensure it is crisp.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Brush the tops of the chilled patties with a little dairy-free milk to glaze (I used soy) then bake for 25-30 minutes until golden and bubbling.
Set aside to cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Tips:
- Make sure that you use a vegan block butter for the pastry, NOT the spreadable kind in a tub which has too high a water content for baking. I use Naturli vegan block but Stork block, Vitalite block or Tormor will all also work. In the US, Earth Balance buttery sticks would work.
- Keep your pastry cold. Warm pastry can become tough and greasy, so for the best result make sure you chill it thoroughly after making it and again after you have shaped the patties before you bake them.
- Make sure that the filling is completely cold before assembling the patties to keep the pastry cold.
- You can make both the pastry and filling the day before you assemble and bake the patties. Store both in the fridge.
- Vary the vegetables in the filling to suit what you have to hand.
- These Jamaican vegetable patties are not very spicy, but if you don’t like heat at all you can omit the scotch bonnet chilli. Alternatively, if you like things hot you can add in an extra one!
- The filling is also delicious served with rice if you don’t want to faff with pastry!
If you tried this recipe why not tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess
Jamaican Vegetable Patties (Vegan)
Jamaican vegetable patties - these spiced, Caribbean style vegan vegetable pasties are full of flavour and make a great snack or light meal. Eggless and dairy-free.
Ingredients
Pastry:
- 550 g (4 1/2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1 1/4 tsp curry powder
- 300 g (10.5 oz) vegan block butter (NOT the spreadable kind in a tub) (I use Naturli vegan block) cold and diced
- 3-4 Tbsp ice water
- soy milk for brushing
Filling:
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1 brown onion peeled and finely chopped
- 250 g (1 medium) sweet potato peeled and chopped into small dice
- 1 large carrot chopped into small dice
- 300 g (10.5 oz) butternut squash peeled and chopped into small dice
- 115 g (1 packed cup) finely shredded savoy cabbage
- 2 medium tomatoes diced
- 65 g (1/2 cup) frozen peas
- 65 g (1/2 cup) frozen sweetcorn
- 75 g (heaped 1/2 cup) frozen broad beans
- 3 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
- 1 scotch bonnet chilli deseeded and finely chopped
- 3 spring onions (scallions) thinly sliced
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp white pepper
- 180 ml (3/4 cup) full fat coconut milk (from a tin)
Instructions
-
To make the pastry, place the flour, salt, turmeric and curry powder in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the cold, diced butter and blend until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
-
With the motor running, gradually drizzle in the cold water until it starts to clump together into a dough. You may not need all of the water.
-
Bring the dough together with your hands and shape into a disc. Cover and place in the fridge for at least half an hour.
-
To make the filling, place the coconut oil in a large pan over a low heat. Add the onion and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until it is soft.
-
Add the sweet potato, carrot, butternut squash, cabbage, tomatoes, peas, sweetcorn and broad beans and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring often, until the vegetables have started to soften.
-
Add the garlic, scotch bonnet, spring onions, allspice, ginger, cinnamon, cumin, paprika, turmeric, thyme, salt and white pepper and cook for another minute.
-
Add the coconut milk and simmer for 5-10 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the liquid has reduced. Allow to cool then refrigerate until cold.
-
Once both the filling and pastry are cold, divide the disc of pastry into 8 even pieces and roll each one into a ball.
-
On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball out into a circle about 3mm thick. Cut round an upturned approx 16cm/6in round plate or saucer with a sharp knife to get a neat circle of dough.
-
Place a couple of heaped spoonfuls of the filling on one side of the circle, be careful not to add too much or you won't be able to seal the patty.
-
Brush a little water around the rim of the pastry and fold it over the filling. Press the edges together to seal, then crimp the edge with the tines of a fork. Cut a little slit in the top of the patty for steam to escape.
-
Once you have rolled out and shaped all 8 of your balls of dough, gather together the trimmings and divide them into two balls. Roll out and shape as before to make two more patties. You might have a bit of filling left over.
-
Place the patties on a couple of baking sheets lined with baking parchment and refrigerate for half an hour (or freeze for 20 mins).
-
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Brush the tops of the chilled patties with a little dairy free milk (I used soy) then bake for 25-30 minutes until golden and bubbling.
-
Set aside to cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days.
