Gluten-Free Vegan Maple Pecan Scones
These Gluten-Free Vegan Maple Pecan Scones are tender on the inside with a crunchy, golden crust! Sweetened with a bit of maple syrup and studded with toasted pecans, these scones are delicious for breakfast, brunch, or as a mid-day snack. Thanks to Bob’s Red Mill for sponsoring this post.
Alright y’all – I think I have a new obsession with SCONES. I started with these Chocolate Chip Scones last week and now I’m insatiable. I want to make ALL the flavors, add all the mix-ins, and then snack on them all. day. long.
I figured out a way to make the scones without gluten, dairy, or refined sugars…which if you know scones, is pretty much all they’re made of. Typically, you make scones from by cutting butter into a flour-sugar mixture and then adding heavy cream and eggs. Not exactly gluten-free and vegan.
But! After many tests, I figured it out, and you, my friend, don’t have to do all that work because I did it for ya. The result is (I’d say) just as delicious as the flaky scones you remember. OR, maybe you’re one of the unlucky people who always had dry, crumbly, tasteless scones, in which case, you are in for a TREAT.
A note about Scones:
Be mindful – these Maple Pecan Scones are Americanized scones. British scones, which are the “OG” scone, are traditionally small, not too sweet, on the crumbly side, and usually, they don’t have any mix-ins. These are the scones you’ll see served with tea at a British High Tea, and they’re delicious.
These Maple Pecan Scones are big boys, with mix-ins, a softer texture, and a sweeter flavor. They’re both great in their own right, but I wanted to clarify in case you’re looking for a British version :D
How to make Maple Pecan Scones
One of the main tricks to making gluten-free & grain-free baked goods taste as good as their gluten-filled counterparts is using the right flours. For this, I always turn to Bob’s Red Mill. In this recipe, I use a combination of their blanched almond flour and arrowroot flour for the perfect texture. The almond flour adds a rich, dense texture and the arrowroot flour brings a light crispness to the scones.
We also use baking powder, which helps add a light, fluffiness to the scones. We cut coconut oil into the dry ingredients, which creates small pockets of fat which will puff up in the oven and create the flaky, slightly crumbly texture that makes a good scone SO good. The bring it all together, we use canned coconut milk, maple syrup, and a flax egg. If you’re not vegan, a regular egg could be used as well.
Of course, we also mix in some toasted pecans before shaping the dough and letting it chill out in the fridge for an hour before baking it up.
TIP: I love brushing the top of the scones with a bit of extra coconut milk before they hit the oven, too. This helps them brown nicely and if you want to sprinkle some turbinado sugar on top for extra *sparkle*, it helps it stick!
When the scones come out the oven smelling like a DREAM you’re going to want to devour one warm. DON’T resist that urge. They’re so good warm. You could add vegan butter or maple butter, but you don’t have to. They’re good just as they are.
These Maple Pecan Scones are…
- Crisp on the outside
- Tender and soft on the inside
- Full of toasted pecans
- Lightly sweetened with maple flavor
- Perfect for breakfast or a snack
I hope you adore these treasures as much as I’ve been loving them. Be sure to check out their sister, the Chocolate Chip Scone, too! Enjoy :D
PrintGluten-Free Vegan Maple Pecan Scones
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 scones 1x
Description
These Gluten-Free Vegan Maple Pecan Scones are tender on the inside with a crunchy, golden crust! Sweetened with a bit of maple syrup and studded with toasted pecans, these scones are delicious for breakfast, brunch, or as a mid-day snack.
Ingredients
- 2¾ cups (264g) Bob’s Red Mill blanched almond flour
- 1 cup (128g) Bob’s Red Mill arrowroot flour
- 1¼ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup (100g) refined coconut oil, firm
- ¼ cup full fat canned coconut milk, plus extra to brush on top of the scones
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 flax egg, see notes
- ½ cup chopped pecans, toasted
- Raw turbinado sugar, to sprinkle on top
Instructions
- In a food processor or large mixing bowl, combine the blanched almond flour, arrowroot flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Pulse or whisk together.
- Add in the coconut oil and pulse or use a pastry cutter or fork to work the coconut oil into the dry ingredients until only small chunks of coconut oil remain.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, maple syrup, and flax egg. Add to the dry ingredients and stir or pulse until completely combined. Stir in the pecans.
- 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 1 1/2” thick and 8” across. Place in the refrigerator for 1 hour to chill.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375F. Cut the circle into 8 scones and separate from each other so they’re not touching. Use a pastry brush to brush on some coconut milk and then sprinkle with raw turbinado sugar, if using. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.
- Serve warm. They’re delicious with jam and/or butter (use vegan butter or ghee for dairy-free). Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Notes
For the flax egg, combine 1 tablespoon flax meal + 3 tablespoons water in a small bowl. Whisk and let set for 10 minutes, until thickened. If you prefer, you can use a regular egg.
These scones were so easy to make and really yummy. The 1 hour refrigeration step is vital. My dough was really sticky and chilling the dough really helped firm it up and made cutting it into 8 pieces so much easier. So glad I made these!
Hi Donna, thank you so much for your feedback! I’m so thrilled you loved the recipe and I appreciate you sharing your thoughts.
Loved this recipe, even came out with substitute of tapioca flour for arrowroot, yogurt for milk, nutiva shortening for coconut oil ( all above I had). Will follow your site!
So glad you’re loving the recipe, Sheryl! Thanks so much for coming back to share that these changes worked well for you, too!
Hi! Can I substitute coconut flour instead of almond flour?
Hi Krista. Unfortunately, coconut flour is way too absorbent to sub 1:1 and I try not to recommend it as a substitute in recipes where it isn’t specifically called for because it has such different qualities than other flours. I would recommend using cassava if you need to substitute for the almond flour.
These are AMAZING! Straight out of the oven they’re perfection. What do you suggest as the best reheat method so they retain their texture?
So glad you’re loving them, Julie!! I like to reheat them in the toaster for a few minutes :)
Made these scones for Christmas morning and they were perfect!! I made the dough the night before and refrigerated, then baked in the morning. Also used a real egg in place of the flax egg. Loved the combo of arrowroot and almond flour. Thanks!
So glad you loved them, Emma! Thanks so much for your feedback :D
These were Amazing. I have been gluten/dairy free for about 3 years and this recipe is the closest to any scone recipe that I’ve found. I substituted cashew flour for almond flour and make a simple maple glaze for the top.
Hurray!! So glad to hear you can enjoy scones again, Sherry :D and great to know that cashew flour works well here!!
Hi, can’t wait to try this! Would it be possible to swap the coconut milk for cream or whole milk?
Thank you!
Hi Gracie, yes that would work!
These scones are delicious and you can’t even tell they are gluten free and vegan which my mothers has to have due to dietary restrictions. We also have to use only oat flour and walnuts instead of pecans. The recipe has turned out amazing every time. (We have already made then 3 times). Thank you so much for a wonderful recipe!
So glad you’re loving them, Caleb!
You used only oat flour in place of both almond flour and arrowroot powder?
These look amazing!!! Would I be able to substitute tapioca flour for the arrowroot flour?
Hi Kayleigh – yes, absolutely! They’re generally interchangeable.
Can I sub out tapioca starch for arrowroot (allergic)?
Hi Sheri, yes absolutely! Those two are generally interchangable.
hi there I just had a couple questions!
how many calories in one scone?
can I use a real egg instead of a flax egg?
what is a substitution for arrowroot flour? can tapioca flour be used instead?
thanks!
Hi Estella, I don’t have the calories for this recipe but yes you can use a regular egg, and tapioca always works as a sub for arrowroot flour!
Just made them. The taste is fabulous but mine came out a little dry? Should I have added more milk?
Also is there nutrition information on them?
Thank you!
Polly
Hi Polly, I don’t provide nutritional info for my recipes because I focus on whole foods rather than macronutrients. There are many websites you can calculate on yourself though if it’s important to you! Dryness typically comes from overmeasuring dry ingredients or baking too long – is either of those possible? Did the dough feel dry when handling it? If not, they may have been overbaked. The outside should be crispy with a softer center. Glad they still taste good – hopefully some butter or vegan butter will make them a little moister and tastier for you to enjoy :)
Wow! These are so good. And they look like they came from a bakery.
I used a real egg in mix instead of flax egg. Will definitely make again and again.
Thank you for sharing.
So glad you’re loving these scones, Dallas!