Jamaican Lentil Patties (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
Jamaican lentil patties (gluten-free, vegan) would be considered Jamaican fast food. I used lentils instead of ground meat and placed them in a gluten-free and vegan crust. The taste is right on and very flavorful. I added curry powder to the crust for that signature golden color.
Note updated Nov. 15, 2017: I have worked hard on this recipe. Initially, I wanted to use only ingredients that can be found worldwide, but this is the best version so far with a gluten-free crust that comes together; just last night, I had a close friend who is also Jamaican try it, and she was blown away by the results and wanted the recipe. I used Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Spread, which gave the dough a buttery flavor.
By all means, use your favorite crust with this recipe, the filling is the best vegan filling you will ever find!!! I have also seen amazing photos and reviews of this recipe using regular all-purpose flour in Facebook Groups and on Pinterest.
Don’t expect this gluten-free crust to be super flaky like traditional all-purpose flour crust, gluten-free dough lacks gluten, the elasticity that makes dough stretchy. So scientifically speaking, it is impossible to be as flaky.
Check out more about the history of Jamaican patties here
How To Make Jamaican Patties With Lentils
I have been meaning to do a step-by-step recipe on how I make my vegan and gluten-free version of my Jamaican Lentil Patties. Working with gluten-free dough is pretty tricky because you are working with a dough that has less elasticity than regular wheat flour dough.
Making gluten-free dough is not the same as using regular flour, but it can be pretty close! I don’t add xanthan gum to my dough but you can add 1 teaspoon to the recipe.
I rolled the dough in a circle in between parchment papers, then I added the seasoned lentils Fold the dough in half over the lentil filling with the parchment paper.
It is so much easier to work with the dough when it is placed between sheets of parchment paper and rolled using a rolling pin. Remove the top sheet, add the filling and fold the bottom sheet over, as shown above, Seal edges and crimp with a fork, as shown below.
I love to use ground flaxseeds as an egg substitute and oat flour as gluten-free flour. You can substitute with brown rice flour, sorghum flour, or millet flour. I also added tapioca starch and potato starch as binder. Obviously, these patties are not the same as traditional beef patties but they are the best and most flavorful you will find that are gluten-free and vegan.
Note
I know I’m repeating myself, if you aren’t on a gluten-free diet, just substitute the crust with your favorite crust, puff pastry or even pie crust. If you don’t have potato starch, you can blend the liquid in the recipe with potato. The filling is so flavorful it is truly worth it.
If you are on a gluten-free and vegan diet, I know you can relate to me because there are so many of your favorite recipes that you have to give up due to agonizing reactions to gluten. So I’m excited to experiment with recipes that you can still enjoy. For people who have reactions to even gluten-free oats, use a combination of brown rice flour, sorghum flour, tapioca starch, and potato starch as a substitute.
Updated: February 2019: I have since experimented and found this crust in my Jamaican Callaloo Patties to be flakier and more like traditional Jamaican patty crust, however, it has a higher fat content, so it is not for anyone who is on any dietary restrictions.
I have lots of fun “vegan-izing” traditional Jamaican dishes, you can check out some of my favorites:
- Jamaican Stewed Peas With Dumplings
- Jamaican Spicy Potato Curry
- Jamaican Lentil Patties
- Jamaican Pumpkin Soup (Pureed)
- Jamaican Banana Fritters
- Jamaican Sweet Potato Pudding
- Jamaican Gungo Peas Soup
- Jamaican Vegan Rundown Recipe
- Jamaican Cornmeal Porridge Bowl
- Vegan Ackee
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Jamaican Lentil Patties (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
Equipment
- Parchment Paper
- Rolling Pin
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
For The Filling
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1/2 cup onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 spring onion
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground paprika
- Pinch allspice
- 1/2 cup brown lentils
- 2 cups vegetable broth or water
- 1 tablespoon Bragg liquid aminos Tamari sauce, or coconut aminos
- 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper optional
- Salt to taste
For The Crust
- 2 cups oat flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour
- 1/4 cup potato starch
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1/2 cup Vegan Butter (I used Earth Balance)
Instructions
To Prepare The Filling
- Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, spring onion, and garlic and saute stirring constantly until onion is soft. About 3 minutes.
- Add thyme, turmeric, paprika, cumin, allspice, lentil and stir to coat.
- Add water or broth and bring to boil. Cover saucepan and reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated and lentils are tender.
- Stir in liquid aminos, cayenne pepper and salt to taste. Remove from heat and allow to cool while preparing the crust.
- Preheat oven 400°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
To Prepare The Crust
- Preheat oven 400°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine oat flour. flax seed meal, tapioca starch, potato starch, baking powder, sea salt, and curry powder
- Stir in vegan butter until the dough resembles crumbs. Stir in almond milk and use hand to form a dough ball.
- Further divide ball into 8 smaller balls. Roll out each ball in between 2 parchment paper sheets using a rolling pin, about a 4-inch circle.
- Remove top layer sheet, add 1 tablespoon of lentil filling on one half of circle, making sure to leave edges clear. Fold over the other half, by folding parchment paper and seal crimping edges with a fork.
- Transfer to baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Hi Michelle,
I intend on making this for my holiday party and am wondering if I can make the dough and mixture 2 Days ahead and then combine and bake the day of. Would it be ok to do this way? Thank you!!
Yes you can and just keep them in the refrigerator, just remove the dough ahead of time to soften a bit so it can roll out easier.
If not GF, can I just use regular flour? This looks so yummy but don’t have any of those special flours/binders.
Tally, yes you can I didn’t use regular flour but that ratio of fat to flour should work great!
If I were to use regular flour, would I still need the Potato starch? Thank you, this looks amazing!
Aimee, you should be fine without potato starch, I just haven’t tried it myself but traditionally regular flour worked without potato starch.
This looks great & I can’t wait to try it. I appreciate the tips & tricks that can translate to other recipes!
Thank you Viva, you are welcome and I hope you love it!
I can’t wait to try these! A tweak I found to be helpful making any kind of GF hand pies or dumplings that need to be folded: instead of making one circle, folding it in half, and crimping it, I make two smaller circles and crimp all the way around so I don’t have to worry about the dough cracking! It works for pirogues, pasties, and calzones! I’m making this next weekend when my daughter is home from college!
Kairi, thank you for your tip, gluten-free dough can be tricky at times, hope you enjoy it!
Love the looks, can’t wait to try it out!!
Thank you Emma, hope you love!
I’m not understanding why 2 types if flours? Is it a must for the tapioca flour?
Jull, you can try it with one flour but I find with gluten-free baking the adding the second flour, balances out the distinct starchy flavor of the tapioca starch. You see they are both starches and not flour in the true sense.
The filling is out of this world so I recommend that you switch out the crust for your favorite, I eat gluten-free/vegan all the time and this is the closest to the original crust texture I have come up with so far and I have been experimenting for years.
Thank you!
Just wondering if potato starch can be substituted as nightshades are forbidden for me. If it is used as a binder do you know what else would work?
Hello Shirley, you could substitute organic cornstarch for the potato starch. Hope you enjoy!
How about using arrowroot instead?
Great substitute Marcia
Do you think the filling could be blended to be made like a paste or smooth and not chunky. My husband used to love these but since becoming vegan he hasn’t found anything similar to this.
Jessica, absolutely you could blend it or cook the lentils until very mushy! Hope you both enjoy!
Hi Michelle! My mom made this last week and it was delicious! The lentils, themselves, were so well seasoned my mom ate them on their own with another meal! Thanks for sharing with us healthy delicious vegan recipes!
5 Stars!
Thank you Camille for your feedback, I’m so happy you and your mom enjoyed them.
I have been eyeing your recipes for the past 2 weeks I will be making this one and a few others next week and definitely post I know in my heart I will be happy I plan on this one and the rice and peas and curry potatoes and chickpeas for sure I will update you
Kenya, that’s wonderful I’m looking forward to your feedback!