Simple Vegan Blueberry Scones
Do you have any recipes that you’ve been making for years because they’re always a big hit? I tend to want to revamp most of mine as my tastes evolve and I learn more about different ingredients, but there are a handful that I make again and again and they never get old. I’ve been making a variation of today’s vegan scone recipe for a handful of years. It started as kumquat scones, then became gluten-free orange scones (similar but less tart), next were Irish soda bread scones, followed by lavender peach-stuffed scones, and now I’m putting a plant-based spin on one of my favorite classics: vegan blueberry scones! It was about time.
This is a great recipe if you’ve ever felt intimidated by baking. It’s 10 basic ingredients and only requires that you whip up a quick vegan buttermilk (just almond milk + lemon juice) and stir everything together in one big bowl. You can mix your blueberry scones by hand and get in a nice little arm workout, or use your stand mixer with the dough hook or paddle attachment. I started out very gently folding in the blueberries by hand so I wouldn’t crush them, but by my second test run I was letting my stand mixer smush them into blueberry-swirled dough. I thought for sure that batch wouldn’t work out because it looked like a total mess going into the oven, and I even debated tossing it altogether. But you know what? It worked! Better too. Those are the blueberry scones you see in the photos, which is really just to say that it’s hard to mess up this recipe.
In addition to being loaded with blueberries, these easy vegan scones are made with coconut oil, scented with lemon zest and vanilla, and drizzled with a quick 2-ingredient glaze. You can skip the glaze to keep the sugar low, or replace the all-purpose flour to make them gluten-free. (I prefer this gluten-free baking blend if you go that route.)
Cheers to bakery-level, vegan blueberry scones at home!
Simple Vegan Blueberry Scones
Simple Vegan Blueberry Scones
Serves: 8 scones
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 25 mins
Total Time: 40 mins
Simple vegan blueberry scones that are studded with juicy blueberries and scented with lemon and vanilla. These blueberry scones are lower fat and lightly sweetened. They're a great (easy!) recipe if you've ever felt intimidated about baking your own scones at home.
Cuisine: Gluten Free, Vegan Servings: 8 scones
Prep Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 25 mins Total Time: 40 mins
Simple vegan blueberry scones that are studded with juicy blueberries and scented with lemon and vanilla. These blueberry scones are lower fat and lightly sweetened. They're a great (easy!) recipe if you've ever felt intimidated about baking your own scones at home.
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 375° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, lightly dust with flour, and set it aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the almond milk and lemon juice to make vegan buttermilk. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the coconut oil, using your hands to pinch it into the flour (pea sized or smaller pieces is ideal). Gently fold the blueberries into the flour mixture.
- Make a well in the center and add in the vegan buttermilk, lemon zest, maple syrup, and vanilla. Stir until a slightly sticky, very thick dough forms. Be careful not to overwork the dough.
- Transfer the dough to your prepared baking sheet. Lightly dust it with flour, then form it into an 8-inch round and cut into 8 parts. Bake for 23-28 minutes, or until golden. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Allow the scones to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the scones cool, make the glaze: In a small mixing bowl, stir together the powdered sugar and almond milk until no lumps remain. Drizzle the scones with the glaze and serve.
Notes [3]
To make this recipe gluten-free, replace the all-purpose flour with an equal amount of gluten-free baking blend. I really like this one from Bob’s Red Mill.
I’ve made these scones a handful of different ways and found them to be adaptable. If you’d prefer not to use all-purpose flour, this recipe also works well with 100% light spelt flour or half light and half whole grain spelt flour. I’ve made these with 100% whole grain spelt and while still tasty, I find them to be too dense.
Recipe adapted from my Lavender Peach-Stuffed Scones.
Copyright © 2020 Amanda Maguire for Pickles & Honey
Those look incredible, Amanda. I love blueberry scones and I used to get them from a vegan bakery down the street but sadly it closed down a couple of years ago. I’m going to have to try this recipe to get my blueberry scone fix. thanks!
Thanks, Sarah! What a bummer that the vegan bakery near you closed, but how lucky were you to have it down the street prior?! I’m jealous! (Boston needs more vegan options) This recipe is super easy though, so now you can get your blueberry scone fix at home. 🙂
Thank you for such a great recipe. Love blueberry desserts and this one looks so delicious and pretty easy to make. Definitely going to try making it soon:)
Thanks for commenting, Jessi! These scones are definitely easy and a great way to enjoy blueberries. Let me know if you give them a try! 🙂
As a really new vegan (still learning here) I am always on the lookout for recipes like this. Not being able to bake like I used to is still a bit of a hurdle but when I see delicious scones like this I am pretty sure there is a future… 🙂 Bookmarked to make later!
You’ve got this, Simone! I remember when I first started baking without eggs and dairy…it was super intimidating. There’s a learning curve for sure, but you’ll get the hang of it in no time. For now, these scones are a great place to start. (they’re very forgiving, promise 🙂 )
These turned out perfect! Thank you for using simple ingredients and making scones doable for all of us non-baking folks. My family loved these!
That icing photo is making me so hungry right now. <3
I hear you—I am all about the icing!
I’m planning to make these for Mother’s Day. My mom loves blueberry scones, so these will be perfect. Thank you for sharing your beautiful recipe!
They look so lovely! Would like to give them a try! How long would they keep in an air tight container?
Thanks!
They’re best if you enjoy them within 2-3 days. They also freeze well too!
These look wonderful! Just wondering if I can use frozen blueberries? Thanks!
I haven’t tried using frozen blueberries, but I would imagine they should work just fine. 🙂
I did, but found it hard to gauge how much liquid. Mine were a bit too soft so took a longer time to cook. Worth waiting for though.
I just made these for the afternoon snack. Let’s just say they never made it to afternoon. 🙂 Soooo delicious- rich from the coconut oil and refreshing from the lemon zest.
Thank you for sharing.
haha Those scones never last very long at our house either! I’m so happy you enjoyed them! 🙂
can i use frozen berries?
Yes!
Can you use almond flour instead?
Maybe…but I haven’t tried it. I would imagine you would need to adjust some of the other ingredients, especially since almond flour doesn’t bind nearly as well as all-purpose flour.
I’ve made these twice now and both times they’ve been a crowd pleaser! I mixed up the flours and did 1.5c white all purpose flour + 1/2c whole wheat flour or almond flour (just because).
Great recipe that is straightforward, truly 1-bowl, and delectable. Thank you!
This is such great feedback. Thank you, Charlotte! I’m curious to try your suggestion of using a little almond flour…I bet that lends a nice flavor too!
These look amazing! I have to follow a very low fat diet for health reasons and I am wondering what you would substitute for the coconut oil? That is unfortunately a no-no for me. Thanks!
Hi Leigh! I haven’t tried making oil-free scones before…I wonder if you might try replacing the oil with non-dairy yogurt?
I just made them….waiting for them to cool and they look AMAZING! I have never made scones before and cannot believe how easy they were.
Just wondering, how can I store them? And how long will they keep?
Yay for scones! I usually store mine in a covered container at room temperature if I think they’ll get eaten within a couple of days (they never last long at our house!), otherwise I would store them in the fridge for up to a week. I think they’d probably freeze well too. 🙂
Mmm, I may try these this snowy upcoming weekend. My husband makes America’s Test Kitchen Berry scones which are delicious but made with butter, and all I taste when I eat them is butter. His are about 400 calories each, too. We always have frozen blueberries on hand, so I can’t wait to try these!
Looks tasty. What oven temperature, though?
Thank you!
375 degrees F. (It’s noted in the first recipe instruction 🙂 )
Thanks so much! I don’t know how I missed it.
Julie
I made these with vegan butter instead of coconut oil and they were delicious. They are not too sweet which I really like.
That’s so great to hear! Yes, I love this recipe with vegan butter instead of coconut oil too. 🙂
I made these and they were amazing. They did not last a day in my family. I wish I could share a picture!
That’s so great to hear, Laurie!
I love this recipe but I thought about using it as a starting base for pumpkin scones. Any suggestions how to substitute out the blueberries for the pumpkin? Thanks!
Hmmm…that’s a good question. I think you could omit the blueberries and not have that impact the scones too much because they don’t add much liquid, but adding pumpkin would definitely change the ratio of wet to dry ingredients. Let me know if you give that a try! It would definitely be trial and error because going from blueberry to pumpkin would be a big change, recipe-wise.
Was really excited to make these. I tried making them twice, but each time the dough was too sticky and pliable to even shape into anything. After the first time, I had another go but experienced the same issue. Hope I can find another recipe for these.
Hi KJ, I’m sorry you’re having trouble with the scones! The dough should actually be on the drier side—almost crumbly. I suspect that for whatever reason your ratio of wet to dry ingredients is a little off. I would either try decreasing the almond milk or increasing the flour. If you find that your dough is too wet, you can always add a tablespoon of flour more at a time. Hope this helps! This is one of our most popular, reader favorite recipes and my go-to scone, so I’m hoping we can troubleshoot this for you. 🙂
First time making these.. followed recipe.. pinching the oil off was nearly impossible and very difficult and frustrating…. and the dough is super crumbly and dry seeming… was hard to cut them without them falling apart.. perhaps I didn’t mix the dough enough??
Hi Danielle, I’m sorry you had trouble with the recipe! Pinching the oil in does take a little time, and depends on the temperature (when it’s a little warmer outside, it’s easier to pinch in). Give it time, or try using a vegan butter (like Earth Balance), which is easier to incorporate. The dough should be on the drier side, but you can always add a splash more milk to bind it if you’re finding it won’t hold its shape. Hope this helps!
Just made these for the first time – thought they were going to be very dry but they turned out perfect! Will definitely make these again 🙂
Yay! The dough is definitely dry and a little crumbly. It’s right on the cusp where you wonder if it’s too dry (I always have a bit of crumbly dough at the bottom of the mixing bowl). But as you said, once baked it’s perfect! 🙂
Hi! Thanks for the recipe. Just wondering if I could omit the lemon zest without impacting the recipe too much? Thanks!
Yes, feel free to omit the zest! 🙂
Hi! Thank you so much for this amazing looking recipe! I was wondering if the lemon zest was to make it more of a lemon blueberry flavor? If so, will it still be good without it? Ok, and lastly, would I have to change the baking time at all if I put turbinado sugar on top?
Thanks 😊 !
Hi Julia, Yes, I like the slight lemony flavor from the zest, but you can feel free to omit it if you’d like. No need to change the baking time if you add turbinado sugar on top. 🙂
Do you have the nutrition info? How many calories per scone?
I entered these in our recipe/calorie calculator and they came out to about 186 calories each with no icing.
These were a huge hit at our backyard teatime get together this afternoon!
I’m so happy to hear that the scones were a hit, Winifred!
Hello, I just went vegan, and I’m not a huge fan of blueberries. Could these be substituted with strawberries or peaches? Thanks, and do you know the best way to get used to coconut yoghurt?
I think chopped strawberries or peaches would be great! You might also enjoy my raspberry scone recipe: https://picklesnhoney.com/vegan-raspberry-scones-white-chocolate/ As far as getting used to coconut yogurt, I would give it time and also try different brands of store-bought, as well as homemade, to see which one you prefer. My friend Erin of Olives for Dinner has a great coconut yogurt recipe: https://olivesfordinner.com/2020/04/homemade-coconut-yogurt.html I also have an easy (and delicious!) cashew yogurt recipe too: https://picklesnhoney.com/vegan-cashew-yogurt-recipe/ Hope this helps!
I made these for Christmas morning since one person was a vegan. They are delicious and the recipe was super easy.
I’m so happy to hear that, Richelle! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. 🙂
These were amazing. So delicious. Not too sweet yet you feel like you are eating a sweet treat. I did not put icing on top because I know they will be gone in a day lol
I didn’t wait for my frozen blueberries to thaw so was mixing a little too much so mine were very coloured.
Thank you 🙏🏽 Now I must try some other recipes of yours.
Thank you, Denise! I’m so happy you loved the scones!
Hi would they still be good if I omitted the maple syrup?
Hi Angel, They will obviously be less sweet but the recipe should work fine. I would replace the maple syrup with an equal amount of extra milk though, just to keep the wet to dry ratio the same.
These turned out amazing! Thank you for sharing this recipe! Can’t wait to try some more!
Thank you, Shannon! I’m so happy you enjoyed the scones!