Pefect Vegan Lemon Blueberry Scones (Gluten Free and Sugar Free Options)

The perfect blend of crumbly on the outside and soft on the inside, these vegan lemon blueberry scones are bursting with blueberries, bright lemon zest, and a sweet lemon glaze over the top!

I have a confession – I am obsessed with tea party foods.  Cucumber sandwiches, mini pastries, pretty much anything that can be served on a tiered tray.  My first time baking scones was for a friend’s tea party themed baby shower, and I was immediately hooked.  I’ve always been a scone fan, but there really is nothing that compares to having them warm, right out of the oven. 

These vegan lemon blueberry scones are packed with blueberries, and I love adding lemon zest and a lemon glaze for an extra bright pop of flavor, but you can absolutely leave that out if you’re not a lemon fan.  (Though if you haven’t tried a blueberry & lemon flavor combination before, just trust me here and give it a shot.)

Whether you are making these for breakfast, an afternoon snack, A TEA PARTY!, or anything else, get ready to try your new favorite berry treat!

How To Make Them:

The base of these vegan lemon blueberry scones – aka all the ingredients minus the blueberries and lemon – is my go-to for vegan scone baking.  Using coconut oil as the fat and coconut milk as the “dairy” is the combination I have found to be best after many trials with vegan butter and other non-dairy milks such as soy and almond.  That being said, they work well with substitutions, so don’t fear if you don’t have the exact ingredients laying around but you have a hankering for these scones!

The first thing to do here is to make the flax egg, since it needs a few minutes to set.  If you have not done this before, it’s so simple!  Measure out one tablespoon of ground flaxseed, and mix it with 2.5 tablespoons of water.  Set aside for 5-10 minutes, you will know it’s ready because it will take on more of a gel-like consistency rather than water. 

While the flax egg is setting, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, and granulated sugar (see the Ingredients Needed section to learn how to make these sugar free!) in a bowl.  Then you will add in the coconut oil and use a pastry cutter or forks or your hands to mix all the dry ingredients into the oil until it resembles big soft crumbs.  The oil should be mushy, the consistency of softened butter.  If it is rock solid, throw it in the microwave for a couple seconds.  If it is melted, you may need to freeze it.  Use the photos as a guide! Below are the dry ingredients with the coconut oil on top, and then when it’s mixed in.

Add in the wet ingredients..

Once you’ve got your dry ingredients mixed with the coconut oil, add in the coconut milk, flax egg, and vanilla extract. 

*Important note!  I said this above and will say it again, but if you need to swap out the coconut oil for vegan butter, and/or the coconut milk for another type of non-dairy milk, the recipe will be okay!  I find the coconut oil & milk to yield the best results for texture and flavor, but if you don’t have either on hand, do not give up.

When the wet ingredients are mixed in, the dough will be thick and sticky.  Add in lemon zest if you are using it as well as the blueberries, and combine together as best as possible without bursting all the blueberries (I am not great at the “not bursting the blueberries” part, personally).  If you are using frozen blueberries, do not thaw them!  Mix into the dough while still frozen.

Time to chill the dough..

Move the dough onto a parchment paper lined plate or pan and press it into a disc shape, around 8 inches in diameter and an inch or so thick.  Move this into the fridge to chill for an hour.  If you are in a rush, the freezer for 30 minutes will work fine.

When the hour is up, remove the dough from the fridge and cut into 8 equal sized wedges using a pizza cutter or knife, then move onto a parchment paper lined pan and separate by an inch or two to give each piece room to expand.  Note – if you had the dough on a pan in the fridge, do not use this pan to actually bake them!  They won’t bake as well if the pan is cold when it goes into the oven.

If you like a sugar crusted top on your scones, you can brush some extra coconut milk onto the tops of each scone, then sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

Bake time!

Pop them into a 400 degree oven for 25-28 minutes.  The longer they stay, the more golden brown they will get on the edges.  If you want to make an icing to drizzle over the tops, mix together powdered sugar with either non-dairy milk for a sweet icing, or lemon juice for a lemony tart icing. Also depending on how thick or thin you like your glaze, you may want to add more liquid or more powdered sugar.

Then time to eat your delicious vegan lemon blueberry scones!! Nutritional info can be found in the Notes section below the recipe instructions.

Storage:

After they have cooled, seal in an air-tight container and store at room temperature.  They will last 2-4 days.  

Pro Tips & Tools:

• Make sure you are measuring your flour either by weight or using the spoon and level method.  Do not scoop directly from the container, as you will wind up with too much! This is so important! If you want to buy a pre-made gluten free flour blend, make sure it’s King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour, it is BY FAR the best one for my recipes, NOT Bob’s Red Mills or any others. If you want to make a homemade blend, here is a link to the one I use.
• Make sure you measure your liquid ingredients using liquid measuring cups.  This will ensure accuracy!  I love this set.
• If you don’t use coconut milk often, make sure you use a good canned option.  This one is my personal favorite and I always keep a few cans in the pantry for “emergencies”.
• If you are using frozen blueberries, do not thaw them!  Mix them into the dough while still frozen.
• Be a lemon master! Get the finest zest using this microplane, and get the most juice out of them using this juicer.

Ingredients Needed:

• Flour – Make sure you are measuring your flour either by weight or using the spoon and level method.  Do not scoop directly from the container, as you will wind up with too much! This is so important! If you want to buy a pre-made gluten free flour blend, make sure it’s King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour, it is BY FAR the best one for my recipes, NOT Bob’s Red Mills or any others. If you want to make a homemade blend, here is a link to the one I use.
• Baking powder – I recommend using baking powder that has no added aluminum. This one is my go-to.
• Granulated sugar – If you want to make these sugar free, I love using this Monkfruit Sweetener in place of granulated sugar.
• Salt
• Coconut oil – if you do not have coconut oil, you can substitute for vegan butter
• Coconut milk – ideally, use a great canned coconut milk, but if you do not have coconut milk, you can substitute for the non-dairy milk of your choice
• Ground flaxseed + water – for the flax egg
• Vanilla extract
• Blueberries – fresh or frozen.  If using frozen ones, do not thaw!
• Lemon zest + lemon juice – optional, if you are including lemon zest into the scones and making a lemon glaze for the tops
• Powdered sugar – optional, if you are making a glaze for the tops. If you want to do the glaze sugar free, you can use this Monkfruit Powdered Sweetener in place of powdered sugar.

What To Bake Next:

• Want more lemon and blueberry goodness? Try this Vegan Blueberry Lemon Cake with Lemon Curd Filling, these Vegan Blueberry Muffins, or these Vegan Lemon Poppyseed Muffins.
• Want more fun breakfast options? Try these Vegan Banana Pancakes, or these Vegan Copycat Entenmann’s Donuts.
• Have extra lemons to use up? Try these Vegan Lemon Bars, or this Vegan Lemon Pound Cake. Or just want more fruit in general? Try these Vegan Raspberry Crumble Bars.