Gluten-Free Vegan Blueberry Scones made with 5 basic ingredients! This easy scone recipe requires hardly any time to prepare and no baking experience!
This scone recipe…
It’s the lowest maintenance homemade scone recipe you’ll ever make!
Gluten-free vegan scones are quite possibly my proudest invention in the history of this blog.
It all began with my Vegan Raspberry Scones six years ago.
One afternoon, I took it upon myself to create a butter-free scone using full-fat coconut milk and gluten-free flour. I wasn’t sure whether or not it would work, but alas, an amazing scone recipe was born!
I’ve posted numerous renditions and have even made grain-free Paleo scones as well! Just take a gander at my Paleo Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Scones, Vegan Strawberry Scones, or Paleo Pecan Chocolate Chip Scones.
What I love about this approach to homemade scones is how stinking simple the scone dough is to prepare.
With regular scones, you must use chilled butter, and cut said pieces of cold butter into the flour with a pastry cutter. The dough also needs to be refrigerated for hour or so before baking.
This recipe? Dump all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, stir, make scone shapes, bake!
The best part is the texture of these gluten-free butter-less scones is remarkably similar to regular scones. They don’t have that iconic butter flavor but they have that amazing crisp on the outside and soft flaky inside.
The most complicated part about this recipe is forming the dough into a disc to cut the triangular scone shapes. If you don’t feel scones must be triangular, you can easily go free-form and make drop scones, you rebel, you.
This is a great recipe if this is your first time baking scones because we don’t need any fancy equipment like a stand mixer or pastry blender.
You don’t need any baking experience to have great success with these tender scones.
Ingredients for Vegan Blueberry Scones:
Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour: I use a gluten-free flour blend (specifically, Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free 1-to-1 baking flour) to make these scones. Do note that different brands of gluten-free flour have different absorbencies.
The good news is, this recipe is incredibly versatile. If your dough is too dry you can simply add a small amount of additional coconut milk until the consistency is right.
If your dough is sticky or too wet (doesn’t come together in a ball easily), you can simply add more flour until a workable dough forms. It is normal for the dough to stick to your hands a bit bit it shouldn’t be overly sticky.
Full Fat Canned Coconut Milk: Canned coconut milk takes the place of butter in these scones. It’s fat content ensures the scones are moist and fluffy and bold together perfectly. Be sure you use full-fat canned coconut milk (not light or coconut milk from a carton), or else the fat content will not be high enough.
If you don’t follow a dairy-free diet, you can replace the canned coconut milk with heavy cream.
Baking Powder: This ingredient is crucial in giving the scones that iconic crispy outside and keeps them held together. Don’t skip it, even if your flour blend contains xanthan gum and/or baking powder.
Raw Cane Sugar or Coconut Sugar: The sweetener portion of the recipe. You can use raw cane sugar, regular cane sugar, brown sugar, maple sugar, coconut sugar or a sugar-free sweetener.
One of the amazing parts about these easy blueberry scones is you can play with the sweetness according to your palate.
For only lightly sweet scones, use 3 tablespoons of your sweetener of choice. For sweet scones, go up to ½ cup.
I’ve made scones using anything from 3 tablespoons to ½ cup and find they all turn out amazing! I like mine less sweet so that I can warm them up with butter and a bit of pure maple syrup or jam.
Sea salt: That magical flavor enhancer! Be sure you don’t skip it!
Fresh Blueberries: The star of the show is juicy blueberries! Use either fresh or frozen blueberries for these scones. I buy fresh blueberries then freeze them before adding them to the dough.
I find this makes incorporating them into the dough easier, because there is less breakage of the berries.
Optional Additions:
- Vanilla Extract: While it is not necessary, adding 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract brings warmth and complex flavor to the scones.
- Ground Cinnamon: If you love warmly-spiced treats, consider adding 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
- Lemon Zest: Looking for a lemon blueberry adventure? Add 1 tablespoon of lemon zest and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to add lemon flavor to the scones.
- Chocolate Chips: The combination of chocolate chips and blueberries is always a win! Consider adding ½ to ⅔ cup of chocolate chips.
Now that we’re familiar with the basic ingredients, let’s make the best blueberry scones!
How to Make Vegan Blueberry Scones:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Add the gluten-free all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder and sea salt to a large bowl and stir well to combine.
Pour in the coconut milk and stir well until a thick dough forms. If the dough is overly sticky and doesn’t come together in a ball easily, add more flour (3 tablespoons at a time), until a thick dough forms. On the other hand, if the dough is too dry, add more coconut milk, 2 tablespoons at a time, until the dough absorbs all of the flour and forms a ball easily.
Add in the blueberries and use your hands to gently incorporate them into the dough. It’s normal for them to break open and make the dough more moist…just go with the flow 😉
Form a round disc out of the dough and place it on a floured cutting board or a lightly floured surface. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 8 equal-sized triangles. If any blueberries pop out of the dough, you can gently poke them back in.
Place the triangles on the parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until the scones are golden brown and the blueberries are bubbly.
Remove scones from the oven and allow them to cool before serving.
If desired, make a glaze using powdered sugar and water. Make a lemon glaze using lemon juice instead of water and a little lemon zest. Make a sugar-free glaze by melting ⅓ cup of coconut butter in the microwave for 20 to 60 seconds.
And that’s it! A marvelous blueberry scones recipe reminiscent of your favorite coffee shop.
Bake them the next time you’re craving a tasty baked treat or are serving guests for a special occasion.
How to Store Scones:
Store scones at room temperature in an airtight container or zip lock bag for up to 2 days. Beyond a couple of days, transfer the blueberry scones to the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Scone freeze very well! Simply freeze them in a large ziplock bag or a freezer bag for up to 3 months.
To reheat the scones, microwave for 10 to 30 seconds or until warm. You can also use a toaster oven to reheat scones.
How to Make an Egg Wash:
If you like the glossy finish that comes with an egg wash, feel free to use one here. Simply whisk one egg with 1 tablespoon of water to create an egg wash. Brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash.
If desired, sprinkle coarse sugar over the top of the scones too. As an alternative, you can brush the scones with melted butter (or vegan butter like Earth Balance butter) a few minutes before they are finished baking.
This step is entirely optional and I never do it with scones. It adds a crispy nuance to the outsides of the scones and makes them golden brown.
I find these scones taste best when they are fresh out of the oven. This is one those easy recipes that instantly becomes a household staple for weekend breakfast, brunch, or special occasions.
You can use this as your master scone recipe for all your gluten-free scones. Simply change it up with various add ins like fresh produce, nuts, chocolate, or extracts and different glazes to make a variety of flavors.
Looking for more dairy-free, egg-free vegan baked treats? Try out these reader favorites.
More Vegan Recipes:
- Vegan Apple Scones
- 6-Ingredient Peanut Butter Chickpea Cookies
- Double Chocolate Vegan Black Bean Cookies
- Paleo Pecan Pie Bars
- Vegan Strawberry Cobbler
Homemade blueberry scones for all occasions!
Vegan Blueberry Scones (Gluten-Free)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups (300g) gluten-free all-purpose flour*
- 1/2 cup (100g) raw cane sugar or coconut sugar**
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 ¼ cups (296ml, 10oz) full-fat canned coconut milk
- 1 cup (150g) fresh or frozen blueberries***
Optional Add Ins:
- 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the gluten-free all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder and sea salt to a mixing bowl and stir well to combine.
- Pour in the coconut milk and stir well until a thick dough forms. Note: If the dough is overly sticky and doesn’t come together in a ball easily, add more flour (3 tablespoons at a time), until a thick dough forms. On the other hand, if the dough is too dry, add more coconut milk, 2 tablespoons at a time, until the dough absorbs all of the flour and forms a ball easily.
- Add in the blueberries and use your hands to gently incorporate them into the dough. It’s normal for them to break open and make the dough more moist…just go with the flow 😉
- Form a round disc out of the dough and place it on a cutting board. Use a knife to cut the dough into 8 equal-sized triangles. If any blueberries pop out of the dough, you can gently poke them back in.
- Place the triangles on the parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until the scones are golden brown and the blueberries are bubbly.
- Remove scones from the oven and allow them to cool before serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Honestly delicious!
Yaaay, I’m happy you enjoy the scones, James! xo
Really good and easy. I added the vanilla and extra flour as suggested.
Thanks for sharing, Karen!
This was my first ever attempt at making scones. My hopes weren’t high. Gluten free baking is so finicky and never works out for me unless it’s a box mix. Let me just say this was the best scone I’ve ever had. I made a lemon glaze with lemon zest. The only hiccup was it was definitely not done in the estimated bake time. It actually took twice as long. Thank you so much for this recipe!!!
Aww My pleasure, Roseanna! I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe and that it exceeded your expectations – this is always such great news to hear! Many thanks for sharing your experience! xo
Hi! These look delicious and I’m super excited to try them. Could I use cranberries instead of blueberries? Could I add nuts? Thank you!
Hi Mia! You can definitely use cranberries instead of blueberries! Because cranberries are very tart, I would definitely drizzle the scones with the powdered sugar glaze to offset some of the sour flavor. Nuts are a great addition too! I would add 2/3 cup of chopped raw nuts like walnuts or pecans. Hope you enjoy! xo