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Home > Vegan Recipes

Vegan Cheese Scones (Cheddar and Chive)

11/9/21 by Nicole | 4 Comments

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5 from 3 votes. Leave a review!

These vegan cheese scones are buttery, flaky, soft and ultra-delicious. Made with chives and shredded vegan cheese, this tasty pastry is something you don’t want to miss! Plus, you can customize this scone recipe with a variety of add-ins.

Top view of a circle of triangular scones, half on a wood board and half on grey marble. Small wood dish of butter, a butter knife and additional scone below the circle with some lemon slices, parsley and a dish of cheese shreds decorating the top right corner of image.

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Are Scones Vegan?

Traditional scones are not vegan as they often contain butter, other dairy ingredients and eggs. However, with a few simple substitutions, scones can be made vegan quite easily!

Start by replacing milk with a plant-based alternative. Then, replace eggs with ground flaxseeds. Vegan butter is often easy to find and an ideal replacement!

You don’t have to miss out on tasty baked goods just because you’re vegan. This recipe shows you how to make quick and relatively easy cheese and chive scones.

Stack of 4 cheese scones on a small wood board with the top scone ripped open. Blurry scone in front left corner of image with a blurry white and blue striped towel in the back.

Vegan Cheese Scone Ingredients

This recipe follows typical non-vegan scone instructions, with vegan substitutions for dairy products and eggs. These are not dry, hard scones; they’re much more like a biscuit because of their soft, buttery and flaky texture.

To make this recipe you need:

  • All-purpose flour: This basic white flour creates light, soft scones.
  • Salt: Since these are savory scones, salt brings out flavors from other ingredients and makes sure the scones don’t taste too sweet.
  • Baking powder: Baking powder is essential for the scones to rise and become light and flaky.
  • Vegan butter: Use a good vegan butter substitute for this recipe. Margarine won’t work, so select a vegan butter that’s hard when cold. For best results, freeze your butter before using!
  • Ground flaxseed: When mixed with water, ground flaxseed creates a lovely gel that adds moisture and helps hold the scone dough together. It’s a fantastic egg replacement. You can also use ground chia seeds.
  • Lemon juice: Some lemon juice brightens the final product with fresh flavor and acid. You could use other citrus fruits for different flavor results or replace with 1 teaspoon of your favorite vinegar (white or apple cider work well).
  • Soy milk: Soy milk is a great replacement for dairy milk in scones as it contains fat and protein. These are important to create the perfect texture. I haven’t tested this recipe with other plant-based milk alternatives, but they should work.
  • Sugar: Despite this being a savory vegan scone recipe, you’ll need some sugar. Sugar acts as a wet ingredient, providing moisture and softness to the scones. Don’t worry, the scones don’t taste sweet once balanced by salt, vegan cheese and chives!
  • Vegan cheese shreds: This is the key ingredient for vegan cheese scones! Use any shredded vegan cheese; it doesn’t even need to melt that well if you enjoy the flavor.
  • Chives: Chives are optional for this recipe but add tasty flavor and some pretty green color!
Top view of an arrangement of ingredients in glass and wood bowls. From top left going right then down: flour, water, lemon juice, soy milk, ground flaxseed, chopped chives, shredded vegan cheddar, baking powder, sugar, stick of butter, salt.

How to Make Vegan Cheddar Scones

Making cheese scones vegan is a simple process but may intimidate people who’ve never cut butter into flour or made a biscuit recipe before. Just read the detailed directions below and you have no problems!

Step 1: Freeze Vegan Butter

Start this recipe by placing ½ a cup (one stick) of vegan butter into your freezer. Freeze it for at least 2 hours (but overnight is best).

The key to flaky scones is using frozen grated butter. Colder butter creates better texture.

Although frozen butter is too hard to cut into flour using a fork, knife, or pastry cutter, grating it with a box grater works perfectly.

Step 2: Make Flaxseed “Egg”

When your butter has frozen, you’re ready to start making scones!

Create a flaxseed “egg” by stirring ground flaxseed with lemon juice and water. Set this mixture aside.

Top view of a small bowl sitting on a folded grey towel. Bowl filled with water and ground flaxseed being stirred.

Step 3: Mix Dry Ingredients

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking powder.

Use the scoop-and-level method for measuring flour. Spoon flour into a measuring cup until it’s slightly heaping over the edges, then take the back edge of a knife (or another flat surface) and scrape off any excess flour. This creates a perfectly measured unpacked cup!

Top view of a hand mixing flour and other dry ingredients in a large glass mixing bowl.

Step 4: Cut in Butter

Once your ½ cup of butter is frozen, use a box grater to carefully grate all but 2 tablespoons into the flour mixture. You’ll use the extra 2 tablespoons to melt some butter on top of the scones. I buy vegan butter in a stick so it’s easy to freeze, grate and leave a 2 tablespoon-long piece to melt.

Top view of a box grater being held over a plate while a hand grates butter.

My video shows an alternate method to grate the butter first, then measure ½ cup of grated butter. This is an option, but it’s easier to grate butter directly into the flour rather than packing it into a measuring cup.

As grated butter falls into the flour, toss it around so each piece is well coated. You want butter evenly mixed throughout the flour.

Top view of a large glass mixing bowl filled with flour and grated butter pieces. A hand holding a fork is mixing the butter into the flour.

If you have a pastry cutter, you could use this with regular, cold butter (rather than freezing it). Aim for large pea-sized butter pieces evenly mixed through the flour.

I find using a pasty cutter more difficult than grating frozen butter. Grating butter results in evenly sized pieces which create a softer, flakier scone texture.

Also, the colder your butter is when going into an oven, the fluffier and flakier your scones will be! Starting with frozen butter helps make sure it’s still cold by the time you place the scones in an oven.

Step 5: Create Dough

Add the flaxseed “egg”, soy milk and sugar to your flour-butter mix. Stir together until mostly combined.

Side by side images both showing top down view of a large glass mixing bowl. Left has dry flour covered with soy milk and flaxseed "egg". Right shows partially formed dough being mixed with a spoon.

When the dough is mostly mixed, but there’s still some dry flour, toss in shredded vegan cheese and chopped chives. Continue stirring until the cheese and chives are spread evenly and there’s no dry flour. Stop stirring at this point; don’t overmix!

Top view of a large glass bowl filled with cheese and chive scone dough being mixed with a spoon.

Step 6: Shape Scones

Add a generous layer of flour onto your countertop, then place the scone dough onto this flour.

Sprinkle some additional flour on top of the dough and roll it out to 1 inch (about 2.5 cm) thick. You could also simply press the dough with your hands to get to this thickness.

Top view of a ball of scone dough on a floured countertop with hands pressing down the dough into a flat disk.

Cut into 8 large or 10 medium scones.

Top view of a countertop with a circle of scone dough on it. A hand holding a knife is slicing the dough.

Transfer cut scones onto a parchment paper (or silicone mat) lined baking tray, then melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of vegan butter and brush across each scone.

Topping with this extra melted butter is optional.

Top view of baking tray covered with parchment paper and triangular scones on it. A hand is brushing melted butter onto a scone with a teal-colored pastry brush.

Step 7: Bake and Serve

Preheat your oven to 350 °F.

Sometimes you can put food into the oven before it’s hot, but this doesn’t work for scones. You must fully heat the oven before placing the scones in.

This helps the butter melt right away. As the butter melts and becomes hotter, its water content evaporates and creates all those soft, flaky layers!

Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Scones don’t brown much, so don’t wait for that or you’ll overcook them. They should feel firm outside, but still soft enough to dent with slight pressure.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before eating!

Top view of a small wood board with 4 triangular scones on it, surrounded by additional scones, parsley, a butter knife and small wood dishes of butter and vegan cheese shreds.

Scone Variations

This scone dough is extremely versatile and can create several vegan scone variations. Include up to 1 ½ cups of add-ins (total)!

You can choose additional savory ingredients like vegan ham, jalapeno peppers, vegan cheeses, green onion, nutritional yeast (no more than 2 tablespoons) or vegan bacon bits.

If you want a sweet scone, add diced dates, blueberries, dry fruit or whatever else you’d enjoy in a soft, buttery scone. Cranberry orange scones would be delicious, or check out my recipe for vegan blueberry lemon scones!

Close up of a stack of two halves of a flaky cheese and chive scone, showing the fluffy inside texture. Blurry background.

Refrigerate and Freeze these Dairy Free Scones

Let leftover scones cool to room temperature before transferring to an airtight container. Refrigerate the scones for up to a week, or store on your countertop for up to 2 days.

You can also freeze this recipe. Once your scones cool to room temperature, transfer to a freezer safe container or bag and freeze for up to 4 months. Let the scones thaw in your fridge before serving.

To reheat scones, use a microwave or oven (set at 350 °F until the scones are warmed through). Scones are best served warm, so I recommend reheating if they’ve been in your fridge or freezer.

Arrangement of triangular cheese and chive scones on a counter top with a small wood board. Image decorated with small wood dishes of butter, cheese and chopped chives, a blue and white striped towel and some parsley.

If you make this recipe, please rate and comment below to help others benefit from your experience!

Square cropped close up of the top view of a circle of triangular scones, half on a wood board and half on grey marble.

Vegan Cheese Scones (Cheddar + Chive)

This vegan cheese scones recipe is quick to make and creates a fluffy, flaky scone. They’re eggless and dairy free, but still offer a perfect buttery flavor and soft texture.
5 from 3 votes. Leave a review!
Prevent screen going dark
Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Total Time 35 mins
Servings 8 Large Scones
Calories 269 kcal
Cuisine Vegan

Equipment

  • Large mixing bowl
  • Measuring cups and spoons
  • Box grater
  • Baking tray
  • Silicone baking mat (or parchment paper)
  • Rolling pin (optional)
  • Knife
  • Spatula
  • Pastry brush (optional)

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour (250 g)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ cup vegan butter , frozen, divided (115 g)
  • 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed (12 g)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 5 tablespoons water
  • ½ cup soy milk (or other plant-based milk)
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (10 g)
  • 1 cup vegan cheese shreds (82 g)
  • ¼ cup chives , finely chopped
Prevent screen going dark

Instructions

Step 1: Freeze Butter

  • Before starting this recipe, freeze some vegan butter (for at least 2 hours).
    ½ cup vegan butter

Step 2: Make Flaxseed “Egg”

  • Mix ground flaxseed with lemon juice and water. Set aside. This creates a “flax egg”.
    2 tablespoons ground flaxseed, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 5 tablespoons water

Step 3: Mix Dry Ingredients

  • In a large bowl, whisk all-purpose flour, salt and baking powder.
    2 cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon baking powder

Step 4: Cut in Butter

  • Remove the butter from your freezer and use the large side of a box grater to grate it into the flour mixture. Grate until you have 2 tablespoon (per batch of 8 scones) of butter remaining (about 40 g) – you’ll melt this portion later.
    ½ cup vegan butter
  • As you grate, toss shreds of butter in flour so each piece of butter is well coated.
  • Once you’ve grated all the butter, make sure it’s evenly mixed through the flour.

Step 5: Create Dough

  • Next, add the prepared flax egg to your mixing bowl with soy milk and sugar. Stir until mostly combined with a few dry areas of flour remaining.
    ½ cup soy milk, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • Now, add vegan cheese shreds and chopped chives.
    1 cup vegan cheese shreds, ¼ cup chives
  • Stir the dough until it’s completely mixed, with no dry or wet clumps. Stop stirring as soon as it’s mixed (work the dough as little as possible).

Step 6: Shape Scones

  • Generously flour a surface (such as a countertop), then add your dough. Lightly flour the top of your dough.
  • Roll the dough into a circle that’s 1-inch thick. You can also lightly press the dough if you don’t have a rolling pin (just try to touch the dough as little as possible).
  • Cut into 8 large or 10 medium-sized scones.

Step 7: Bake and Serve

  • Preheat your oven to 350 °F. The oven must reach its full temperature before you insert the scones.
  • Prep a baking tray by covering it with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
  • Transfer the cut scones onto your baking tray (use a spatula to lift them on).
  • Melt the remaining vegan butter and brush onto each scone. This step is optional.
  • Bake for 15 minutes. The scones should feel firm but easy to dent with slight pressure. They will not brown.
  • Allow to cool slightly before you serve.

Video

Notes

Accuracy of nutrition information cannot be guaranteed (certain ingredients may not have all nutrients listed in the database); amounts may vary (and will vary depending on brands of ingredients used); all nutrition fact values rounded to the nearest whole number.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 Large scone (⅛ of recipe)Calories: 269 kcalCarbohydrates: 29 gProtein: 5 gFat: 15 gSaturated Fat: 3 gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4 gMonounsaturated Fat: 7 gSodium: 521 mgPotassium: 73 mgFiber: 2 gSugar: 2 gVitamin A: 97 IUVitamin C: 2 mgCalcium: 225 mgIron: 2 mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

More Vegan Snack Recipes

Like this recipe? You should also try:

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    Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies (Soft and Chewy)
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    Apple Pie Baked Oats Recipe
  • Close up of plate filled with cucumber rollups filled with pistachio and avocado.
    Vegan Cucumber Roll Ups (Avocado + Pistachio Filling)
  • Close up of cut loaf of banana bread on cooling rack.
    5 Ingredient Vegan Banana Bread Recipe

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.


Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mark

    November 26, 2021 at 9:35 am

    Can you use gluten free flour…like rice maybe? I can’t eat certain things due to illness. I can eat all of this but the flour.

    Reply
    • Nicole Stevens

      November 29, 2021 at 10:52 am

      Hi Mark - I've never tried this with gluten free flour. I would guess a gluten-free all purpose flour could work but the texture may be different and I can't guarantee it'll work. Sorry I can't be more helpful.

      Reply
  2. Bhavana

    April 27, 2021 at 12:48 am

    Why the measurement r in cups & why not in gems or oz it easy to bake and we will never go wrong

    Reply
    • Nicole Stevens

      April 27, 2021 at 9:09 am

      Where I live, it's standard to use cups in baking. I know most other countries use weight and I hope to add those measurements to my recipes at some point!

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Nicole! As a vegan Registered Dietitian, I empower vegans to live a balanced life and gain confidence in the kitchen.

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