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I’ve been thinking about vegan scones lately.
Way back before I was vegan, scones were heavy hitters in my sweet breakfast rotation. They were also often gifted to loved ones as a nice treat. One which was always met with thanks and sounds of satisfaction and anticipation.
Everyone, including me, loved them! My mom even demanded I surrender the recipe to her. The obedient daughter that I am, I wrote the recipe down on a piece of notepaper and stuck it to her refrigerator, where it stayed for easy access for probably over 10 years.
Recently, I started to wonder something. Could I veganize my old recipe? Would it perfectly translate into a vegan scones recipe by just swapping the butter for vegan butter and the cream for vegan cream?
Today, I got my answer. Today I created the perfect recipe for vegan scones!
So, I’m ecstatic to share this unbelievable vegan scone recipe with you. The scones are sweet, tender, buttery, and downright delectable.
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Want more vegan breakfast recipes – check out my vegan pancakes, vegan breakfast burrito, and vegan apple banana bread recipes too!
What are Scones?
Lest I not offend anyone, let’s talk about what scones actually are.
Chances are, you’ve decided what a scone is based on where you live in the world. The British have a lovely fluffy and somewhat bread like scone that they enjoy with clotted cream and jam. I was quite obsessed with these when I lived in London – I wasn’t vegan at the time. I even have fond memories of enjoying them in a hospitality tent at Wimbledon with champaign (and of course clotted cream and jam).
British scones have a very different texture than American style scones, which I believe comes from the inclusion of eggs.
The scones you’ll find in the United States are more like a sweet Southern biscuit. They’re crumbly, flaky, buttery, and a bit sweet. They break apart, rather than tear apart. They don’t include eggs (making it easier to veganize in my opinion) but do rely on lots of butter and cream for texture and flavor.
My preference? Either, but if I’m baking them I’m going for the American style scones, which the below recipe is for.
Best Vegan Butter for Vegan Scones
My favorite vegan butter for these vegan scones is Naturli’ Vegan Butter Block. This stuff is unbelievable. It’s solid like real butter and tastes as decadent. It’s perfect for baking. It’s also organic and made with shea, coconut, and rapeseed oil, and almond butter. It’s fantabulous.
If you can’t get your hands on it, I also love to bake with Asan Bio margarine. If you can’t find either then opt for the hardest, most butter like vegan butter you can find. We want a low water content and high fat content for these vegan scones.
Best Vegan Cream for Vegan Scones
When I was trying to veganize my original recipe I thought long and hard about which plant based cream to use in the recipe. Ultimately, I went with an oat based cream and it worked perfectly.
The flavor is neutral and the texture is thick. If you can’t find oat cream, and you’re not allergic to nuts, try an almond cream. Alternatively, you could use soy or coconut if those are your only options.
Variations – Plain, Strawberry & Cream, Blueberry Lemon, Maple, Zesty Lemon
These vegan scones are delicious plain. You can eat them hot out of the oven as is, or spoon over some of your favorite jam and a slather of soft vegan butter.
If you want to give them a little extra oomph, here are a few ideas.
Strawberry & Cream
Before adding the wet ingredients to the flour, sugar, butter mixture throw in a cup of diced strawberries. Finish the recipe as directed.
For the glaze I just mix some powdered sugar, vanilla extract and some plant based cream together. It makes the perfect sweet and creamy concoction to drizzle on top.
Blueberry & Lemon
Before adding the wet ingredients to the flour, sugar, butter mixture throw in a cup of fresh or frozen blueberries. Finish the recipe as directed.
For the glaze I just mix some powdered sugar, the zest of one lemon, and some plant based cream together. Is there a better combination than blueberry and lemon? I think not!
Maple Pecan
Before adding the wet ingredients to the flour, sugar, butter mixture throw in a cup of chopped pecans. Finish the recipe as directed.
While they are cooling mix together powdered sugar, maple syrup, and plant based cream. Then dip the cooled scones in the maple mixture. This one is going to blow your mind! Promise.
Zesty Lemon
If you’re a purist but want your vegan scones to have a little kick then add the zest of one lemon to the wet ingredients before mixing them into the dry ingredients. Then create a glaze using powdered sugar and lemon juice. Drizzle it over the cooled plain scones and you have a mouth puckering, yet insanely tasty, scone!
Other Combinations for these Vegan Scones
You can add virtually anything you want to these scones. Cinnamon apples, ginger and pears, chocolate chips, raspberries, or maple and pecans to name a few options.
Seriously, follow your heart…er tastebuds and go wild!
Enjoying These Vegan Scones
These vegan scones are perfect for any day of the week for breakfast or brunch. They’re also fantastic for a sweet afternoon snack.
They go exceptionally well with coffee, but they’re also fantastic with tea.
Do They Freeze?
Yup!
This vegan scone recipe freezes exceptionally well.
Once you have cut the scone dough into rounds or triangles, wrap them individually in baking paper.
Then, place them in a freezer bag and seal it. Lay flat in the freezer and freeze.
When you’re ready to bake them remove from the freezer and place on a lined baking tray. Leave at least an inch of space between each scone. Bake in a preheated oven at 400° f (175° c) for 15 – 20 minutes or until golden brown and baked in the center (toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean).
How Long Do the Baked Vegan Scones Last?
In my house, vegan scones last only a few hours. Seriously, they disappear fast!
That said, if you don’t have a sweet tooth then these scones will be nice for about a day. They are best fresh out of the oven, however. So, if you don’t plan to enjoy them quickly then freeze them as directed above.
Vegan Scone Recipe
Print Recipe
Vegan Scones - 5 Ways (Blueberry Lemon, Strawberry & Cream, Maple, Zesty Lemon & Plain)
Vegan scone recipe that is quick, easy, and versatile! The perfect vegan breakfast or brunch recipe!
Prep Time15 minutes mins
Cook Time15 minutes mins
Course: Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: vegan blueberry lemone scones, vegan blueberry scones, vegan lemon scones, vegan maple scones, Vegan scone recipe, Vegan Scones, vegan strawberry scones
Servings: 8 Scones
Author: Randi Delano, Creator & Owner
Ingredients
Scones
- 2 C All Purpose Flour (323 g)
- 1/3 C Granulated Sugar (75 g)
- 2 tsp Baking Powder (10 ml)
- 5 tbsp Vegan Butter (71 g) Very Cold & Cubed
- 3/4 - 1 C Plant Based Cream (177 - 237 ml) Very Cold. See note.
- 2 tsp Lemon Juice or Apple Cider Vinegar (10 ml)
Glaze
- 1 C Powdered Sugar, sifted (140 g)
- 3-4 tsp Plant Milk or Plant Cream
Optional Ingredients
- 1 C Diced Strawberries
- 1 C Blueberries
- 1 tsp Maple Syrup
- 1 tsp Lemon Juice
- Zest of One Lemon
- 1 C Chopped Pecans
Instructions
Scones
Mix together in a large bowl the flour, sugar, and baking powder.
Add the cubed vegan butter to the flour mixture. Incorporate the butter into the flour mixture using your hands or a pastry cutter.
You want to break the butter into small pieces while rubbing it through the flour.
Work quickly so the butter does not melt.
Stop when the butter is incorporated and the mixture resembles cornmeal in texture.
Mix the cream and lemon juice.
Add 1/2 cup of cream and mix. If the mixture is dry after mixing, add more cream until the mixture forms a sticky but not soppy dough.
Reserve any leftover cream/lemon juice for the optional glaze.
Pour the scone dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.
Sprinkle the dough with a light dusting of flour. Roll the dough into a uniform disk until the dough is 1 inch thick in all places.
For triangle scones, with a long knife or a bench scraper cut the dough in half horizontally, then in half vertically. Then cut each wedge in half (from the outside toward the center).
For round scones, use a 3 1/4 in (8 cm) round cookie cutter to cut out circles in the dough. Once you've cut as many pieces out of the dough, shape the remaining dough into a round piece.
Place the scones on a lined baking tray. Leave at least an inch of space between each scone.
Bake in the oven at 415° f (210° c) for 12-15 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Relocate to a cooling rack and cool completely if glazing.
You can eat the hot out of the oven if you are not glazing them.
Glaze
Add the sifted powdered sugar to a medium size bowl. Slowly incorporate the plant milk or cream until the sugar melts into a stiff glaze.
Drizzle over the vegan scones when they are completely cooled.
See notes for various flavor combinations.
Notes
Addins
If you're adding fruit, nuts, or chocolate chips to your scones (see article above) then add the add-in ingredient to the flour mixture before adding the wet ingredients.
Then proceed as instructed above.
Glazes
- Maple Pecan - Add 1 tsp maple syrup to 1 cup sifted powdered sugar and mix. If the mixture is too thick add a few drops of plant based milk or cream at a time until it is the desired consistency (I like mine thick).
- Zesty Lemon Glaze - Add 1 tsp lemon juice to 1 cup sifted powdered sugar and mix. If the mixture is too thick add a few drops of plant based milk or cream at a time until it is the desired consistency.
- Creamy Vanilla Glaze - Add 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract to cup sifted powdered sugar and mix. Add a few drops of plant based milk or cream at a time until it is the desired consistency.
- Blueberry Lemon Glaze - Add the zest of one lemon to 1 cup sifted powdered sugar and mix. Add a few drops of plant based milk or cream at a time until it is the desired consistency.
Note: These scones freeze exceptionally well. Once you have cut the scone dough, wrap them individually in baking paper.
Then, place them in a freezer bag and seal it. Lay flat in the freezer and freeze.
When you're ready to bake them remove from the freezer and place on a lined baking tray. Leave at least an inch of space between each scone.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400° f (175° c) for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden brown and baked in the center (toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean).
Plant Cream Note
You can use any plant cream you like. I have used almond, oat, and most recently full fat coconut cream. They all work.
