These vegan lemon blueberry scones are topped with a tasty lemon glaze, creating deliciously fluffy, soft and buttery scones. They’re great for breakfast, a snack or dessert!
Made in one bowl, this recipe is simple to prepare when you want a citrusy, fresh tasting baked good that’s perfectly sweet. It’s great to take on the go or freeze some for later.
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Are Blueberry Scones Vegan?
Most scone recipes require butter, milk and eggs meaning they are not vegan. However, it’s simple to replace those ingredients with a vegan alternative and create flaky, soft scones that are packed with blueberry and lemon flavor!
This recipe uses a vegan butter alternative, plant-based milk and flaxseed “egg” to create buttery scones that melt-in-your mouth. They’re even non-vegan approved!
Ingredients for Dairy Free Blueberry Scones
The ingredients for this recipe should be easy to find; they’re ones that I regularly keep on hand.
he only “specialty” ingredient is a good vegan butter substitute (margarine won’t work). This ingredient is becoming easier to find, and if you buy vegan butter in sticks it makes measuring super quick!
- All-purpose flour: For soft, fluffy and melt-in-your mouth scones, all-purpose flour is the way to go! It has a fine texture that creates a delicious, “light” scone.
- Baking powder: Use baking powder to give these scones a great lift.
- Salt: Some salt helps bring out the flavors of other ingredients.
- Vegan butter: Frozen, grated butter is the easiest way to create fluffy and flaky scones. Grate your butter directly into flour, coating each shred. Once cold butter hits your oven’s heat, it’ll melt, creating pockets between layers of dough. This forms all the flaky layers scones are known for!
- Ground flaxseed: These vegan scones use ground flaxseed instead of eggs. When mixed with liquid, it forms a gel that works as an egg replacement in many vegan baking recipes.
- Lemon juice and zest: Lemon is a delicious citrus choice to perfectly compliment your blueberry flavor. Its juice makes a flaxseed “egg”, and you'll add the zest directly into your dough for tons of flavor. Experiment with any citrus you like; orange would be delicious with blueberries too. Use extra lemon juice to create lemon glaze (optional, but super delicious).
- Sugar: Sugar adds sweetness while enhancing the flavors of your lemon and blueberries! I’ve made this recipe and accidentally forgot the sugar; the scones were less sweet but the texture was sill perfect, so this ingredient is technically optional.
- Vanilla extract: Nothing enhances flavor in baking recipes quite like vanilla!
- Plant-based milk: I use soy milk, but any plant-based milk should work to help form scone dough.
- Blueberries: As the star ingredient, you’ll need a full cup of blueberries! I’ve tested this recipe with fresh, frozen and dried blueberries. Fresh and frozen had the best flavor, but frozen blueberries turn the dough purple. You could experiment with other small pieces of fruit or other dried fruits (cranberries would be tasty).
- Icing sugar: Also called powdered sugar or confectioners’ sugar, this finely ground sugar is perfect for making icing or, for this recipe, lemon glaze! Glaze is optional but super delicious when drizzled over the lemon blueberry scones.
How to Make Vegan Lemon Blueberry Scones
This recipe is easy enough to make. The most important and “challenging” step is to grate your butter into flour, which creates deliciously flaky layers.
Step 1: Step 1: Make Flaxseed “Egg”
To start, mix your ground flaxseed with some lemon juice and water. Stir then set to the side while you work on the next steps.
I typically make flaxseed eggs with water, but for this recipe I use mostly lemon juice to boost the delicious lemon flavor!
Step 2: Whisk Dry Ingredients
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
When measuring flour for baking recipes, use a spoon to gently scoop flour into your measuring cup then scrape off any extra using a flat edge (like the back of a knife). This technique creates the best, most consistent results.
Step 3: Grate in Frozen Vegan Butter
Measure ½ a cup of vegan butter (one stick) and freeze it (best to have frozen before starting the recipe). Remove 2 tablespoons of butter from the ½ cup and set that aside for later.
For unbelievably flaky, soft and fluffy scones, you need small pieces of butter that are coated in flour.
If you have a pastry cutter or other way to cut butter into flour, you can certainly do that. Just keep the butter as cold as possible for best results. I find it easiest to shred a frozen stick of butter with a box grater.
After a few grates, stop and toss the butter pieces in flour so they’re all coated. Continue to grate and toss with flour until all the butter is incorporated.
Starting with frozen butter helps ensure the butter is still cold when it gets into the hot oven. This is important for creating tender scones!
Step 4: Add Liquid Ingredients and Form Dough
When the butter is fully grated and coated in flour, add the remaining liquid ingredients to form your scone dough.
Start by adding the flaxseed egg, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla extract and plant-based milk to the flour. I like to mix vanilla extract into my soy milk before adding so it incorporates more evenly.
Stir this mixture until dough starts to form. At this point, add blueberries and use your hand to gently knead the dough.
Try to work quickly because the heat of your hand will soften the butter. Stop when the dough is just mixed, meaning there aren’t any dry clumps and the blueberries are mixed through.
Step 5: Shape Scones and Prep for Baking
Dust your countertop with some extra flour and turn out the scone dough onto this flour. You can use a rolling pin to flatten the dough, or simply press with your hand to achieve a 1-inch thick circle.
Cut your scones into 10-12 triangles. Place the cut scones onto a baking tray lined with either parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Now it’s time to use the 2 tablespoons of butter saved from earlier (the portion removed before grating). Melt this butter and brush it over the tops of the scones.
Adding melted butter to the top is optional but adds a delicious flavor to the scones!
Step 6: Bake, Glaze and Serve
Place the scones into an oven that’s fully preheated to 350 °F. The scones take about 18 minutes to bake and should be very slightly golden brown on the bottom when done.
Once out of the oven, carefully transfer the blueberry scones to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely before glazing.
To prep the glaze, simply mix icing sugar with lemon juice until you have a smooth glaze with no clumps of icing sugar.
Use a spoon to drizzle this over the cooked and cooled scones for a delicious boost of lemon flavor!
I Forgot to Add the Flax Egg and Mixed the Dough: Now What?
Our first time filming this recipe, I sat the flax egg aside and made the rest of the recipe without adding in the flax.
I literally said “this can’t be enough liquid” as I started mixing the dough, and it wasn’t. Trying to salvage the dough and adding the flax egg too late created a mushy mess.
I refuse to waste food, so I dumped this mushy dough into a dish and baked until cooked through the center. It turned out great! The flavor was there, and the texture was quite good (denser but that’s because I overworked the dough by then).
I’ve included this experience in case you make the same mistake! Let me know in the comments if you’ve ever set a flax egg to the side then forgot to add it (this was not my first time, sadly).
How to Refrigerate and Freeze Scones
Leftover scones, once cooled completely, should be stored in an airtight container. They’ll be fine on your kitchen counter for about 2 days or refrigerated for up to a week.
These scones also freeze easily. If you want to freeze, don’t add the glaze until they’re out of the freezer and ready to eat. Freeze in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 2 months.
Thaw scones in the fridge overnight or using a defrost setting on your microwave.
If you make this recipe, please rate and comment below to help others benefit from your experience!
Vegan Blueberry Scones with Lemon
Equipment
- Rolling pin (optional)
- Silicone baking mat (or parchment paper)
Ingredients
Scones
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons vegan butter , frozen (1 stick minus 2 tablespoon to brush on tops)
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons water
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup plant-based milk (I use unsweetened, unflavored soy)
- 1 cup blueberries (fresh, frozen or dried)
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter , melted (to brush tops)
Glaze
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
Step 1: Make Flaxseed “Egg”
- In a small bowl, stir together ground flaxseed with lemon juice and water. Set aside.2 tablespoons ground flaxseed, 4 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons water
Step 2: Whisk Dry Ingredients
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, ⅛ teaspoon salt
Step 3: Grate in Frozen Vegan Butter
- Measure out your vegan butter. If using a stick of butter, it may be helpful to cut it and reserve some for later in a small dish.6 tablespoons vegan butter
- Grate the remaining butter into your flour mixture, stopping occasionally to toss butter shreds in the flour to coat them.
- Continue until all the butter is grated and lightly coated with flour. It should be evenly mixed throughout, creating a crumbly mixture.
Step 4: Add Liquid Ingredients and Form Dough
- Next, add the prepared flaxseed “egg”, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla extract and plant-based milk to your butter-flour mixture.¼ cup sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon zest, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ cup plant-based milk
- Stir until a ball of dough starts to form and you can no longer stir. At this point, use your hand to gently “knead” the dough together. Mix with your hand until the flour is combined with the liquid ingredients rather than firmly kneading it.
- Add blueberries to the dough and work them through until evenly distributed.1 cup blueberries
Step 5: Shape Scones and Prep for Baking
- Prep a baking tray by covering it with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
- Generously flour your countertop and turn out the dough. Shape into a circle and flatten out so you have a 1-inch (2 cm) thick disk of dough. Use a rolling pin if you like.
- Cut the dough into 10-12 triangles and carefully transfer them to your prepared baking tray.
- Melt the butter reserved from earlier and brush on the tops of your scones. This step is optional.2 tablespoons vegan butter
Step 6: Bake, Glaze and Serve
- Place the scones into your preheated oven and bake for 18 minutes.
- Once out of the oven, carefully transfer your scones to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool.
- If glazing, prepare glaze by mixing icing sugar with lemon juice. Stir until you have a smooth mixture with no clumps.1 cup icing sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Allow the scones to cool completely before glazing.
- To glaze, use a spoon to drizzle some back and forth across the tops of the scones. You could also use a knife to spread a thicker layer of glaze.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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About Nicole Stevens
Nicole is a vegan Registered Dietitian (RD) and founder of Lettuce Veg Out.
She helps people thrive on a vegan diet with balanced recipes and easy-to-understand nutrition science.
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