Vegan Scones Recipe

June 30, 2021

white glaze being drizzled onto a blueberry scone

These Vegan Scones are the perfect scone texture! They are delicious, flaky and moist with a sweet taste. They’re great for all occasions from tea to parties to brunch and so much more. They’re so easy, and use regular everyday ingredients!

This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill! Thanks for supporting the brands that support Jessica in the Kitchen! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

The Best Vegan Scones

Oh, the joy of a good scone. That perfect sweet treat with the flaky and moist texture that complimented any tea or coffee I loved so much before going vegan. I knew that I wanted that exact same taste and texture in a vegan version, and got hard at work (I mean, taste testing is hard work, but someone’s gotta do it right?!). I’m so happy to say that I accomplished it in these scones! It uses the easiest ingredients, and I know you’ll just love it!

Notes on the Ingredients

Vegan buttermilk – this combination of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice and a vegan milk creates a nice curdled buttermilk substitute that helps to give these scones a great tang and texture. I prefer soy milk, but any vegan milk works. You want this cold

vanilla extract – adds a great flavour. You can sub other extracts depending on the flavour of scones that you’re aiming for!

Bob’s Red Mill Unbleached White All Purpose Flour – this is my go to flour for these scones and my baked goods. The texture is spot on (thanks to the combination of unbleached, enriched flour and malted barley) and combines so great with all the other dry and wet ingredients. I love to sift my flour first for a great rise. It also has a 10-12% protein content, so it’s excellent for yeasted breads like my no-knead dutch oven bread too, and even my pizza crust. You’ll definitely be reaching for this flour for all your baked needs!

sugar – unlike biscuits, scones have an added sugar for that sweet flavour. If you prefer an only slightly sweetened scone, you could cut the sugar in half. You can use any kind of granulated (grain) sugar, I prefer cane sugar since it also adds a beautiful golden colour.

baking powder and baking soda – I use a combination here for a great rise but also a beautiful flaky texture. Don’t substitute one for the other.

sea salt – as always, if you’re using table salt, use way less since it’s almost double that you’re adding. I highly recommend sea salt for all my recipes!

very cold vegan butter – it is crucial that your vegan butter is cold (and preferably unsalted) for the best texture! It’s okay if it’s salted, still add the sea salt above.

Blueberries – you can enjoy these plain, with fruit, or with other additions like flavours such as lavender, etc.

Lemon Glaze – the lemon glaze adds a beautiful flavour contrast that is sweet and slightly tangy in the best way. It uses a combination of ingredients above as well as powdered sugar. Always sift your powdered sugar to avoid clumps.

How to Make the Best Vegan Scones (Step by Step Instructions)

In a small bowl or jar, add the apple cider vinegar, milk and vanilla extract together and stir to combine. It will curdle (to make your vegan buttermilk). Set aside.

whisk in a glass bowl of apple cider vinegar and vegan milk mixed together to make buttermilk substitute

In a separate bowl, whisk the Bob’s Red Mill Unbleached White All Purpose Flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt until thoroughly combined. Add in the cold vegan butter by cutting into chunks, or by grating the butter into the flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter, fork or just your hands, mix everything together until it resembles coarse crumbs/sand.

whisk in a glass bowl of scone dry ingredients mixed together

scone ingredients including butter crumbles in a glass bowl

Make a well and add in the buttermilk mixture and the blueberries, folding gently and stirring gently with a wooden spoon. You want a dough that looks shaggy; it should not be dry, and should not be very wet but it might be slightly sticky.

spatula in a bowl of blueberries mixed into scone dough

Flour a surface, dust your hands with flour, and turn out the dough onto the surface. Form the dough into an 8 inch flat circle or disc. Using a knife or a bench scraper, cut the circle into 8 even wedges. Place the wedges at least 2 inches apart, evenly spaced out on parchment paper on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with some extra coarse sugar on top if desired.

8 scone dough pieces on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet

Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C. Place the scones in your fridge (still on your lined parchment paper on the baking sheet) while the oven preheats or even longer. You want to ensure that your dough is very cold.

Once preheated, place the scones into the oven. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes until golden and fluffy.

a close up of an unbaked scone piece with coarse sugar sprinkled over

Remove from the oven. Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then move to a wire rack. Mix together glaze ingredients and drizzle the lemon glaze over the warm scones. Allow to cool completely and enjoy, or sneak one still warm (my favourite!). Enjoy!

baked blueberry scones with a bowl of lemon glaze and blueberries

Tips for Making the Best Scones

Cold Butter & Cold Ingredients: like I mentioned above, cold butter is crucial for flaky, perfect texture vegan scones. If you’re making this and you realise you forgot this step, you want to pause and do it; it’s that important. Else you’ll likely get flat, non flaky scones. I prefer to put it in the freezer first cause it won’t freeze, but it’ll add the perfect flaky texture that we want to the dry ingredients. If your other ingredients are also cold, this helps too!
Get the Right Flour/Butter Texture: I call this coarse, sandy crumbs. Another way to say it is that the butter should be broken down into the dry ingredients, but not all the way. Rather than a smooth paste or evenly-textured mix, you should have bits of flour-coated butter from the size of a poppy seed, up to the size of a corn kernel.
Get the Right Dough Texture: Don’t overwork the dough. You want to gently stir and fold until it just starts to come together. You want it not too dry, and not too wet either – just like the photo above.
Keep Going Back to the Freezer: if you’re making this in a hot kitchen, chances are your dough will keep getting soft. A quick placing of it in the fridge or freezer while the oven preheats will help to combat it!

four stacked blueberry scones with a bag of Bob's Red Mill flour behind it

How Store & Freeze Scones

Leftover scones can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. Wrap them tightly in plastic wrap to keep them as fresh as possible. They are tastiest if you reheat them or toast them before serving!

Place leftovers in freezer bags and push as much air out as possible before sealing. If you can individually wrap the scones in plastic wrap before sealing them in freezer bags, they will keep even better. Store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw completely before serving.

Can I make scones gluten free?

I haven’t tried making these vegan scones gluten free personally, but you definitely can! I would recommend using the Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour and swapping it weight for weight.

birds eye view close up of a glaze drizzled scone

Enjoy friends! If you make these Vegan Scones, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love it if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!