Homemade scones always seemed super intimidating to me. I’m not a big baker so the thought of making buttery soft and savoury scones seemed like an impossible task. And then making them gluten-free too, forget it! But once I played around with making scones, I was hooked. I realized how easy they are to make and beyond that, how delicious homemade, from-scratch scones taste. These gluten free pumpkin scones are not you typical scone. They’re like a buttery soft scone/biscuit hybrid and I’m obsessed with them. If you’re like me and much more of a savoury person rather than sweet, then you’ll wanna make these easy gluten free scones.

These gluten free cheese scones are everything you want in a savoury scone recipe. Soft, buttery and full of all the fall flavours you’re looking for. Seriously, is there anything better than pumpkin and sage together?! Well yes, pumpkin, sage and butter. So even if you don’t think of yourself as a baker, you can make these scones, trust me.

Why You’ll Love These Gluten-Free Pumpkin Scones

Easy to make and you only need two bowls
Soft, buttery and so so delicious (you won’t believe they’re gluten-free)
Made with tons of savoury ingredients like pumpkin, sage, butter and cheese
Your kitchen will smell amazingggg after baking them
No fancy ingredients required, or multiple flours needed

Ingredients

To make these healthy gluten free pumpkin scones, here’s everything you’ll need.

Greek yogurt
1 egg (large)
unsweetened almond milk (or regular whole milk)
raw apple cider vinegar
all purpose gluten-free flour
baking powder
kosher salt
unsalted butter
pumpkin purée
shredded cheddar cheese
fresh sage
avocado oil spray (or oil for greasing)
flaky salt (for topping)

How to Make Gluten Free Pumpkin Scones

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the yogurt, egg, milk and vinegar and set that aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry cutter (or a fork), cut the cold butter into the flour until only small pieces remain. Try to work quickly to avoid the butter becoming too soft.

Add the pumpkin purée, and the wet ingredients and combine with a spatula until just combined and no flour lumps remains. Fold in the cheese and sage until combined.

Let the mixture sit while covered at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Grease a ⅓ measuring cup with a spray of avocado oil and use the cup to scoop the batter onto the prepared baking sheet. Place the scones somewhat close together in the center of the baking sheet (about 2-inches apart).

Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake for 20 to 24 minutes, rotating halfway through. Let cool on the baking sheet for five to ten minutes before removing and placing on a wire rack to cool.

When ready to eat, slather with some of the sage butter and enjoy warm.

Substitutions

Gluten-free flour: for this recipe, I recommend using Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour. I haven’t tried with regular all purpose flour, but I’m sure it would work if you don’t need these to be gluten-free. I strongly recommend using a gluten-free rice based flour mix. Almond flour WILL NOT work the same.
Almond milk: use regular 2% milk instead.
Cheddar cheese: use your favourite dairy-free shredded cheese instead.
Butter: use a high quality dairy-free butter if needed.
Apple cider vinegar: use fresh lemon juice.
No sage: use fresh thyme instead, but reduce the amount to 1-2 teaspoons only.
Pumpkin purée: you can substitute with puréed butternut squash or puréed sweet potato.

Tips For Baking the Best Gluten Free Scones

Measure the flour: weighing your ingredients is the best method for measuring things accurately and to ensure the same results. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, the best way to measure flour is to fluff the flour first and then spoon it into your measuring cup and use the back of a knife to level off the flour (aka the spoon and level method). Do not scoop the flour directly into your measuring cup or pack the flour in and/or tap it to get more flour in. This will result in extra flour being used, which will make your baked goods dry, puffy and crumbly.
Don’t over mix: when mixing the wet ingredients into the dry, don’t over mix. Mix until just combined and no flour lumps remain.
Let the dough rest: it only needs about 15 minutes, but letting the dough rest allows everything to blend together and it makes it easier to handle.
Bake them closer together: this creates softer and more tender scones as the steam from them being closer together helps.
Freshly grated cheese: freshly grated cheddar cheese melts better than the bagged stuff.
Blot the pumpkin: this helps remove excess liquid, just blot the pumpkin with paper towel before adding it into the dough.
Use cold butter: cold butter is the trick to getting delicious scones that aren’t dry and more biscuit like. Keep it cubed and in the fridge until you’re ready to cut it into the flour.
Serve with sage butter: although they’re delicious on their own, I love adding some sage butter on top and letting it melt into the scones. Pure heaven!

How to Store

After baking, you can leave the gluten free scones at room temperature, covered for one day.

After that, move them to a plastic bag or a sealed container in the fridge.

They won’t stay soft beyond the first day, so to get them soft again, you can reheat in the microwave for about 30-45 seconds. Or you can place them in the oven at a low temperature until warmed through, about five to ten minutes.

To freeze: place them in a sealed freezer safe plastic bag for up to three months. You can wrap them individually in plastic wrap to keep them fresher and avoid any air from getting in.

Freeze uncooked scones: you can also prep the scones right up until baking and store them in the freezer. To do this, place the uncooked scones on a parchment lined baking tray and freeze for about 30 minutes. Then remove and place in a freezer safe plastic bag. You can bake them from frozen, they may need additional time, so watch them to be sure.

Are these scones or biscuits?

Because these are so savoury and not sweet, they’re more like a biscuit. However because they’re made with an egg and aren’t as flaky as a biscuit, they are definitely scones as biscuits don’t typically have eggs in them.

But if you’re like me and thought scones are always dry and crumbly, you’re in for a treat with these.

They’re like a scone-biscuit hybrid I guess. But honestly, these easy, healthy and savory pumpkin scones are just damn tasty. I think you’re gonna love them.

If you’re on the fence about scones, I hope these savory gluten-free pumpkin scones will change your mind.

Other Baking Recipes to Try

If you make these gluten free pumpkin scones, I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to tag me on Instagram, and/or leave a comment, rating or review below.

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