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These sweet Chocolate Chip Gluten-Free Sourdough Discard Scones are the perfect use for your gluten-free sourdough discard! They’re dairy-free and vegan, and make for a delicious gluten-free breakfast or snack.
Craving savory scones? Try this recipe for Savory Gluten-Free Sourdough Scones!
Hello, sourdough friends new and old! I’m so happy you’re here for another gluten-free sourdough recipe. If you’ve been making gluten-free sourdough bread for any period of time, or even just building your own gluten-free sourdough starter, then you know that sourdough discard is part of the process.
Sourdough discard is the part of your sourdough starter that you remove when you feed your starter to ensure it doesn’t get overwhelmingly large. Though it’s called the “discard” because you’re removing it, I sure don’t like to actually discard it, especially not when there are SO many delicious sourdough discard recipes you can make! A few of my favorites are:
- Gluten-Free Sourdough Discard Crackers
- The Best Gluten-Free Sourdough Pizza
- Gluten-Free Sourdough Focaccia
- Cinnamon Sugar Gluten-Free Sourdough Crackers
- Gluten-Free Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
And the newest favorite to be added to the list is definitely these Chocolate Chip Gluten-Free Sourdough Discard Scones!
How to make gluten-free sourdough discard scones
The ingredients you’ll need to make these scones are as follows:
- Blanched Almond Flour
- Arrowroot or Tapioca Flour: this starchy flour helps add lightness and crispness to the scones.
- Coconut Sugar: feel free to use any granulated sweetener here, but avoid using a liquid sweetener as it will throw off the balance of dry to wet ingredients.
- Baking Powder & Salt
- Cinnamon: optional, you can substitute other favorite spices if desired or leave it out.
- Refined Coconut Oil or Butter: make sure to use coconut oil or vegan butter to keep dairy free.
- Gluten-Free Sourdough Discard: see Notes in the recipe card for details on this!
- Milk of Choice: I used oat milk, but any milk, dairy-free or not, will work depending on your preferences and needs.
- Mix-Ins: I used chocolate chips, but there’s tons of options! I suggest some options below.
To make the scones, start by combining all of the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk together.
Add in the chilled fat of your choice, cut into small pieces. Work it into the dry ingredients using a pastry blender or two forks until it’s in pea-sized bits, but not fully incorporated.
Mix together the sourdough discard and milk, and mix into the dry ingredients delicately to bring the dough together. Fold in your mix-ins of choice.
Press the dough into an 8″ circle, refrigerate for an hour, and then cut into wedges. Coat with sugar if desired, and then bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Devour while warm!
Other scone mix-ins you can use
Not a chocolate chip fan? No worries! These other options for adding flavor to your sourdough discard scones are great too, just make sure the amount stays close to ½ cup.
- Pecans or other favorite nut, toasted is even better!
- Blueberries for sourdough blueberry scones, adding lemon zest would be great here too.
- Dried fruit like cranberries or raisins.
- Extracts like vanilla, mint, orange, lemon, almond, etc.
- Zest of your favorite citrus, like lemon, orange, lime, etc.
Tips for the best gluten-free scones
- Don’t overwork the fat! The little bits of coconut oil or butter help add lightness and tenderness to the scones.
- Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar before baking for a crispy, sugary topping.
- Don’t add too many mix-ins or they won’t hold together as well.
- Use a kitchen scale for the most accurate results.
- If your sourdough discard is super liquid-y, don’t add all of the milk at once. Add as needed to bring the scones together.
Tips for storing and freezing scones
To freeze before baking: after making the chocolate chip scone dough and wrapping in a round, you can either freeze the dough in the circle, or you can cut the scones and garnish. After cutting and garnishing, place the scones on a baking sheet and freeze until firm. Then transfer to a ziplock bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 6 months. To bake, bake straight from frozen, following the directions as instructed, but adding about 3 to 5 minutes onto the baking time.
To freeze after baking: after baking, but before glazing, place the scones on a baking sheet and freeze until firm. Then transfer to a ziplock back or airtight container and freeze for up to 6 months. To reheat, bake at 300°F for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until thawed and warmed.
Storing baked scones: store the baked scones in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the fridge for up to a week.
More fabulous gluten-free scone recipes:
- Savory Gluten-Free Sourdough Scones
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Scones
- Easy Gluten-Free Cinnamon Sugar Scones
- Gluten-Free Lemon Blueberry Scones
- Vegan Gluten-Free Pumpkin Scones
- 15+ Gluten-Free Scone Recipes
Chocolate Chip Gluten-Free Sourdough Discard Scones
Ingredients
- 1¾ cup (174g) blanched almond flour
- ⅔ cup (85g) tapioca flour, or arrowroot flour
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar
- 1¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon, optional
- ⅓ cup (66g) refined coconut oil, or butter of choice (vegan if needed), firm
- ½ cup (125g) gluten-free sourdough discard, see Notes
- ¼ cup milk of choice, I used oat milk
- ½ cup chocolate chips, optional, you can substitute with your favorite sweet mix-in!
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the blanched almond flour, arrowroot flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk together.1¾ cup (174g) blanched almond flour, ⅔ cup (85g) tapioca flour, ⅓ cup coconut sugar, 1¼ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon sea salt, ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- Add in the coconut oil or butter and use a pastry blender or fork to work the fat into the dry ingredients until small, pea-sized bits of fat remain. You don’t want it to be fully incorporated.⅓ cup (66g) refined coconut oil
- Whisk together the dairy-free milk and starter, and then add to the dry ingredients and stir or pulse until completely combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.½ cup (125g) gluten-free sourdough discard, ¼ cup milk of choice, ½ cup chocolate chips
- Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet and dust with arrowroot flour. Put the dough on top of the parchment, dust with more arrowroot flour, and press into a circle, about 8” across. Place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours to chill. If leaving in the refrigerator for more than a few hours, I recommend wrapping the dough in plastic wrap so it doesn’t dry out.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375°F. Cut the circle into 8 scones and separate from each other so they’re not touching. Use a pastry brush to brush the top of the scones with a small amount of dairy-free milk. Sprinkle each scone with sugar if desired. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Serve warm and store any extras in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Notes
- Don’t use discard that is from a super new starter – it should be smelling good and at least a week old. The starter does not need to be active and should be fed with about 100% hydration.
- If it seems super liquid-y, hold off on adding all the milk to the recipe and add as needed. You don’t want the dough to be too wet.
I’m not new to sourdough as I maintained a regular sourdough about 15 years ago (before health issues grew worse). But I am new to GF sourdough. I used this recipe first even when my starter was new and it was still awesome! My husband doesn’t always care for my GF recipes, but he said I could make these every 3 days! I absolutely love the cinnamon! I used Lily’s dark choc chips & Nutiva shortening. I tried to make them a bit sour so I added the ingredients (except for fat and baking powder) to see if I could “ferment” them more. After I did this, then I realized I was supposed to add the fat. The mixture was already in course meal and adding the fat was super easy and took about 1/2 the time. They were still just as delicious although I don’t know if they were more “sour”. The crumb is so delicate and has the consistency of SCONES. My husband hates how things are called scones, but aren’t scone-like. I’ve now had 3 gluten eaters and all have raved over this! Next is to try my Lily’s salted caramel chips and making cherry orange for the holidays. This is a SO simple, easy and perfect every time recipe! Can’t wait to try the other discard recipes!
So glad you’re loving this recipe, Mindy!! Thank you so much for the thoughtful review. Your flavor ideas sound so good!
I’m allergic to almonds and many other nuts except walnuts, pinenuts, peanuts and hazelnuts. What would you recommend as an alternative for these scones?
Hazelnut flour, sunflower seed flour, or tigernut flour would be a great replacement!
I have also had success in making 12 of these per recipe instead of 8 (sometimes you have to use a little patch work after slicing & I’ve found covering it with plastic and a longer fridge time makes slicing easier). I have done a bunch of flavor variations which were fabulous as well. First I substituted Lily’s salted caramel chips for the chocolate chips and they were amazing (still using 2 t of cinnamon). Then I did a dried cherry (still 1/2 cup) with fresh orange zest from one orange (1T) and 1 teaspoon of cardamom for the cinnamon (next time I will do the 2 teaspoons). But they were great! And having always loved a chocolate cherry combo, I added Lily’s chocolate chips and dried cherries (combined to measure 1/2 cup) with the 1 teaspoon cardamom in place of cinnamon (again next time I’m going to use the 2 teaspoons). I’ve now had about a dozen gluten eaters LOVE everything I’ve made here on your site (scones, bread, crackers, etc.)
I do have a question though Rachael – years ago we bought rolls at a bakery (no longer there) that made holiday rolls with fresh cranberries and orange that were delicious! I see that you have a roll recipe and I wanted to do this combination. I only have frozen cranberries. I wanted your opinion about using the frozen cranberries and orange zest combination in this scone recipe as well. I didn’t want to mess up any water ratios so I’ve only been using dried ingredients. Would you thaw the cranberries first? I didn’t see anywhere on your recipes about including fresh berries (blueberry, cranberry, etc.) in bread or scones. Thanks so much!!! (I will post a review on the bread recipe as well)!
Hi, I baked the required time but my scones were not cooked inside??
Hi Jill, hard for me to know what happened without more info. Is your oven running the correct temp? Were they too thick? Did you change any ingredients? There’s a lot of factors.
Love them! Thank you so much! They are soft, delicate and balanced in flavor
Glad you loved them!
Heyy, i tried out your recipe today but my scones turned out gummy and sticky. The texture turned out really weird and not how it was supposed to be. But the taste is still very good and tasty.❤️
When i made it, the batter was too dry so i gave more milk and discard. Other than that i followed exactly the recipe.
Can you tell me what i did wrong?
Hi Lakeysha, did you try bringing the dough together with your hands before adding more moisture? Adding extra liquid can definitely make a recipe turn out gummy and sticky because it’s more than was intended. Did you change anything else about the recipe?
Thank you Rachel!! I did not try to use my hands, I’ll probably try it next time and use correct amount of liquid. Thank you so much for helping me!
Made your scones today! The recipe was very user friendly and the scones turned out to be the most delicious I’ve ever made. Thank you❤️
So happy you’re loving them, Gretchen! Thanks for the feedback and review :)
If not using discard but regular gluten free sourdough that I feed is the amount the same as if it were discard?
Yes you can use the same amount!
Hi! Wondering if coconut oil or butter can be substituted with olive or avocado oil? My son is allergic to coconut and most vegan butters.
I wouldn’t recommend it, the solid fat makes these scones flaky and fluffy. I would recommend something that is solid when cold/or at room temperature for the best results!
I just want to say instead of milk I added 2 ripe bananas, I did allergen free chocolate chips, 1/4 cup tapioca flour and 1 1/2 cups of 1:1 flour and these turned out amazing! I am not a big gluten free fan but I have had my gluten free starter for a while for family and friends! This is the best gluten free recipe so far!
So glad to hear you’re enjoying it and that it worked with bananas instead of milk! Sounds like a yummy banana bread scone :)