Vegan jam roly-poly - this easy classic British pudding of suet pastry rolled up with jam and steamed in the oven is hearty and comforting, the perfect nostalgic dessert for cold days!

Serve with lashings of custard for the ultimate retro school dinner pudding!

Close up of slices of vegan jam roly-poly.

Jam roly-poly is one of those traditional, comforting, stick-to-your-ribs British puddings that are so welcome when it is cold out.

This vegan version is really easy to make with relatively basic ingredients; and whats not to love about hearty pastry and sweet jam! Especially served with loads of custard!

What Is Jam Roly-Poly?:

Jam roly-poly is a traditional British pudding which was likely first created in the early 19th century.

It was often served for pudding at school dinners (and may still be!), so for many people it is a childhood favourite.

It consists of a suet pastry which is rolled out, spread with jam and rolled up, much like a Swiss roll, before being steamed, baked or boiled.

Suet pastry isn't crisp like other kinds of pastry, it has more of a dumpling-like texture, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.

Originally roly-poly was boiled or steamed in a shirt sleeve, which may have been the origin of it's alternative, less appealing, names of dead man's arm, dead man's leg or shirt-sleeve pudding.

Jam roly-poly is super easy to veganise as it doesn't contain egg so only requires a couple of direct ingredient swaps.

What Do I Need To make Vegan Jam Roly-Poly?:

Vegetable suet: Traditionally, jam roly-poly is made with beef suet. Vegetable suet is easily available in pretty much all supermarkets in the UK and is an easy direct replacement. Atora is the most common brand but you can also find other brands online.

There isn't a direct substitute for the suet unfortunately. If you really can't get hold of it then I would use either coconut oil or vegetable shortening (such as Trex or Crisco). Rub it in along with the butter but make sure that there are still some small lumps of fat.

Vegan block butter: The flavour of the pudding is greatly improved by using a bit of butter as well as the suet. I use Naturli vegan block or Flora plant butter.

Self-raising flour: Self raising flour is best here but if you can't get hold of it you could try adding 2 teaspoons of baking powder to plain flour instead.

Caster sugar: Either caster or granulated sugar is fine. This isn't an overly sweet pastry but it does need a little bit of sugar.

Milk: Any kind of unsweetened non-dairy milk will work (except tinned coconut), but I like soy best as it has the highest protein content and a neutral flavour.

Vanilla extract: This is optional but I like to add a bit of vanilla to the pastry.

Jam: You can use any kind of jam you like but traditionally it would be a red one such as raspberry or strawberry.

Two slices of vegan jam roly-poly on a glass plate with custard.

How To Make Vegan Jam Roly-Poly:

(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)

Preheat the oven and place a roasting tin full of boiling water on the bottom shelf, with an oven rack directly above it.

Cut a large piece of baking parchment and one of tin foil; grease the parchment with butter and place it on top of the foil.

Mix the self-raising flour and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Add the cold butter and rub it in using your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Step 1, rubbing the butter into the flour.

Stir in the suet and sugar.

Add the vanilla extract and most of the milk. Stir to form a soft but not too sticky dough, adding the rest of the milk as necessary.

Step 3, the pastry with wet ingredients added.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly until it is smooth.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface to a rectangle about 25 x 32 cm. Spread jam all over the dough, leaving a 1.5 cm border.

Step 5, the rolled out pastry topped with jam.

Roll the dough up gently from one of the short edges.

Brush the join with water and press gently to seal. Pinch the ends to seal.

Place the roll seam side down on the greaseproof paper.

Step 8, the roly-poly on the greaseproof paper.

Loosely roll it up inside the paper and foil, leaving plenty of room for the pudding to expand as it bakes. Twist the ends like a cracker to seal it.

Place the parcel directly on the rack above the roasting tin and bake for 1 hour.

Leave to cool in the foil for 5-10 minutes, then unwrap and serve warm.

Vegan jam roly-poly on a plate with a jug of custard and a bowl of jam.

Top Tips:

All of my recipes are developed using grams, and as with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!

Don't worry if your roly-poly splits or oozes some jam as it cooks, that's totally normal. You can minimise splitting by not rolling it up or wrapping it too tightly, it needs some room to expand as it cooks.

Jam roly-poly is best served with plenty of custard! Cream or ice cream are also acceptable.

Jam is the most traditional filling, but feel free to experiment! I reckon lemon curd or mincemeat would work really well.

Can I Freeze It?:

Yes, once it is baked and cooled wrap it up well and pop in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow to defrost at room temperature then heat it up in the oven before serving; 10-12 minutes at 180°C should do it. Re-wrap it it foil before re-heating it to prevent it from drying out.

More Classic British Puddings:

Slices of vegan jam roly-poly on a plate.

If you tried this recipe let me know how it went! Rate it, leave a comment or tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess

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5 from 2 votes