Vegan Cranberry Sourdough Scones

You might also like these recipes for classic vegan scones and vegan strawberry scones. Scones are often on our weekend breakfast menu, and these vegan cranberry sourdough scones are our current favorites. I’ve always loved scones because they are so versatile–perfect for breakfast, brunch or a snack and even dessert. And it’s fun to shape them any way you want. Although I usually go with the traditional wedge shape, of late I’ve been cutting them into squares with my square 3-inch cookie cutter and I just love the look. I also love adding cranberries to breakfast and dessert recipes, because their tartness plays so nicely with the sweet. Some of my favorite cranberry recipes that I’ve shared with you include this vegan cranberry upside-down cake and vegan cranberry custard tart.

The best vegan sourdough scones

These cranberry sourdough scones are so delicious: golden, crispy and tender with pockets of chewy sweet-sour cranberries. There’s less fat in these than your average scone. I include whole wheat flour in the dough to make them even healthier. The scones are certified kid friendly. They are a great way to use up the discard portion of your sourdough starter (and using the discard makes them even healthier). It takes no more than 10 minutes to mix them up, and another 17 minutes or so to bake them, so breakfast can be on the table in under 30 minutes!

Ingredient substitutions

You can make these sourdough scones with all whole wheat pastry flour or just all purpose flour. The version with just whole wheat will be a little more dense and soft but it’ll still taste awesome. Substitute any dry berry, or any dry fruit cut into pieces, in this recipe. But you can also use fresh berries. Fresh berries will release some moisture into the dough, so you will want to factor that in as you make your dough and bake it. I strongly recommend using vegan butter in this recipe, straight from the refrigerator, for the best texture. But if you don’t want to use butter, the only oil you can and should substitute it with is coconut oil. Place the oil in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before making the dough and try to “cut” it into the flour as you would the butter. If you don’t have sourdough you can skip it. You’ll need a little more water to bring your dough together. Use either nondairy milk or water to mix your dough. The milk makes the scones a little softer, the water makes them a little crispier. Take your pick.

Top tips

Scones are made almost exactly as biscuits are, so if you already know how to make vegan biscuits, this should be a breeze. Whisk the dry ingredients, cut in the vegan butter, add the sourdough discard to make the dough, then cut your scones. Easy peasy! But here are a few things to keep in mind: Check to get new recipe updates by email.

“Cut” in the butter into the dough as you would for pie crust, using a pastry cutter or a fork. Stop when the dough resembles crumbs with some large pieces of butter. Add the sourdough discard after you’ve mixed in the butter and stirred in the cranberries. This is important. Drizzle in the water very slowly while mixing the sourdough and dry ingredients with a fork. This way you’ll make sure the dough doesn’t get too wet. Stop when the dough comes together with no dry bits remaining. If you still need to do something after making your scone dough, like prepping your baking sheet or taking a nap ;), put the dough in the refrigerator. In fact, you can make your scone dough a day ahead, place the dough, tightly wrapped in cling wrap, in the refrigerator, and cut it and bake it the next day. Scones are best eaten warm, so try and eat them right after. If you do end up with leftovers, reheat them in the oven for a couple of minutes.