These Vegan Cranberry Scones are so sweet, crumbly, and delicious! Bursting fresh cranberries are baked inside a soft scone and then drizzled with a divine almond glaze. Add some excitement to any breakfast or brunch with these flaky, moist beauties!
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These homemade scones make for the perfect breakfast, brunch, or just-because treat. Easily make a batch and freeze them for later or share them with others around Thanksgiving or Christmas!
They are a great way to use up any leftover fresh or frozen cranberries and are sure to please anyone who tries them.
Just like my Blackberry Scones, they are perfectly sweetened, moist on the inside, and flaky on the outside. They go especially well with coffee or tea!
The trick to making them light and fluffy is by keeping the vegan butter super cold so that it steams up in the oven, thus creating little pockets of air.
You can change them up by making cranberry orange scones with orange glaze, or you can even add nuts such as almonds.
If you’re looking for more fall favorite breakfast recipes, be sure to check out my Cranberry Orange Muffins, Apple Turnovers, Sweet Potato Pancakes, Apple Crumble Cake, Biscoff Overnight Oats, and Zucchini Banana Bread.
And if you’re looking for more festive holiday recipes, you will love my Pot Pie with Puff Pastry, Chestnut Stuffing, Pumpkin Risotto, Mac and Cheese, Scalloped Potatoes, Pumpkin Pie, and Chai Cookies!
Reasons To Love This Recipe
- So tasty!
- Easy to make
- Freezer-friendly
- Dairy-free and eggless
- They are light, airy, and fluffy
- Each scone is bursting with tons of healthy cranberries
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Ingredients and Substitutions
- Flour – All-purpose flour works best here for a light texture.
- Sugar – Use organic/vegan cane sugar or another dry, granulated sugar.
- Baking Powder – Just a bit helps to lift these scones.
- Spices – Cinnamon and nutmeg offer a lovely fall flavor to complement the cranberries.
- Vegan Butter – Add ⅛ tsp salt if your dairy-free butter isn’t already salted. Stick butter tends to work better here rather than a spread because it has a bit more structure.
- Vegan Yogurt – Yogurt keeps the scones moist. I use unsweetened, unflavored plant-based yogurt, but any kind works. For example, it will be just fine if your yogurt is sweetened and already flavored with vanilla.
- Vanilla – Pure vanilla extract adds a warm sweetness.
- Cranberries – Fresh or frozen cranberries add a bursting festive touch to the scones. Feel free to add a tablespoon of orange zest as well
For the Almond Glaze
- Powdered Sugar – Look for powdered sugar that is vegan or organic.
- Plant Milk – Just a few tablespoons of any type of plant-based milk will thin the sugar out into a glaze. Water can be used instead, or even orange juice to give it a tangy flavor. Yum!
- Almond Extract – Cranberry and almond go so well together, and adding a bit of almond extract takes this icing out of this world! You can leave this out if you don’t have it on hand. Vanilla extract or orange juice works as well.
How To Make Vegan Cranberry Scones
Here are some quick visual steps. Find the full recipe with exact measurements on the recipe card below.
Position an oven rack on the top third of the oven and then preheat it to 400°F.
Cut the vegan butter into smaller pieces or slices. Keep it in the refrigerator along with the vegan yogurt until you’re ready to use them so that they stay cold. This will help create steam pockets during the baking process, which results in a light and fluffy scone.
Combine the flour, cane sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl. Cut the cold butter cubes into the dry ingredients with a fork or pastry cutter until it’s crumbly.
Mix the vanilla extract into the vegan yogurt, then add it to the bowl. Gently fold it in just until everything is moistened.
Add the cranberries to the bowl and carefully stir them into the dough. With floured hands, fold the dough together some more to make sure the ingredients are fully combined.
Transfer the scone dough to a flat, floured surface such as a cutting board. Without overworking it, form the dough into a circular disc that’s 1 inch in height.
Place the scone disc in the freezer for 10 minutes. Line a medium-sized baking sheet with a non-stick mat or parchment paper.
Remove the dough from the freezer. Slice it into 8 wedges and place them 1 inch apart on the lined baking sheet.
Bake the scones on the top rack for 18-22 minutes. Start checking on them after about 15 minutes to prevent them from burning.
Take them out of the oven when they are a light golden brown and place them on a cooling rack.
Make the icing by whisking together the powdered sugar, plant milk, and almond extract.
Drizzle the glaze over the scones once they have cooled down and enjoy!
Baking Tips
- Keep the butter and yogurt as cold as possible so that the scones beautifully puff up in the oven.
- Measure your flour by spooning it into the measuring cup and then scraping the excess off the top with a flat edge.
- A nonstick baking mat will tend to work best here because it has more “grip,” whereas parchment paper will allow the scones to spread a little flatter.
- Take the scones out of the oven as soon as you see a light golden hue start to form.
Recipe Variation Ideas
- Add 1-2 tbsp orange zest to the dough for cranberry orange scones.
- Add chopped almonds or any other nut to the dough for a crunchy, nutty bite.
- Use orange juice in place of plant milk in the icing for an orange glaze.
No-Waste Ideas
- Use leftover cranberries to make Cranberry Orange Muffins.
- The remaining yogurt can be used to make Blackberry Scones, Chia Pudding, Tikka Masala, Chocolate Bread, or Blue Smoothie Bowls.
Storage & Reheating
Store these scones in a closed container on the counter for 2 days, in the refrigerator for 5 days, or in the freezer for 3 months. Simply heat them up in the microwave for 30 seconds before enjoying them!
I hope you loved this recipe! If you try it, please let me know what you think with a rating and comment below. Your feedback really supports my blog and is helpful to other readers! 🙂 You can stay updated on my latest recipes by following me on Pinterest and joining my Email List.
Vegan Cranberry Scones
Bonnie – Serene Trail
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, (240g)
- 2/3 cup cane sugar, (130g)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, salted, (115g)
- 3/4 cup vegan yogurt, (190g)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen, (250g)
For the Icing
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar, (50g)
- 3-4 tsp plant milk
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
Instructions
- Position an oven rack on the top third of the oven and preheat it to 400°F (200°C). Cut the vegan butter stick into smaller slices. Keep it in the refrigerator along with the vegan yogurt until you’re ready to use them so that they stay cold.
- Combine the flour, cane sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it’s crumbly.
- Mix the vanilla extract into the vegan yogurt, then add it to the bowl. Gently fold it in just until everything is moistened. Add the cranberries and carefully stir them into the dough.
- With floured hands, fold the dough together to make sure the ingredients are fully combined. Transfer the dough to a flat, floured surface such as a cutting board. Without overworking it, form the dough into a circular disc that's 1 inch in height.
- Place the scone disc in the freezer for 10 minutes. Line a medium-sized baking sheet with a non-stick mat or parchment paper.
- Remove the dough from the freezer. Slice it into 8 wedges and place them 1 inch apart on the lined baking sheet.
- Bake the scones on the top rack for 18-22 minutes. Start checking on them after about 15 minutes or so to prevent them from burning. Take them out of the oven when they are a light golden brown and place them on a cooling rack.
- Make the icing by stirring together the powdered sugar, plant milk, and almond extract. Drizzle the glaze over the scones once they have cooled down.
Video
Notes
Ingredient Notes
- Add 1/8 tsp salt if your butter isn’t already salted.
- Any kind of vegan yogurt is fine to use (sweetened, vanilla, etc.).
- Almond extract can be replaced with vanilla or orange juice.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is an estimate from third-party calculations.
Made these today and they are absolutely delicious. Will definitely be making them again.
Hi Amelia, I’m so happy to hear that you liked them!
My partner said SAVE THIS RECIPE, THEY ARE GREAT! I’m a “use what you already have” person, so here are the modifications I did in case they are helpful to anyone:
Flour – 1 C refined spelt flour from the bulk store, 1/2 C one to one gluten free flour, 1/2 C bulk store whole wheat organic baking flour
Sugar – used 1/2 local maple sugar, 1/4 C turbinado and light brown sugar mix (I always put less sugar that a recipe says). Also mixed in a splash of maple syrup at the end because the dough was too crumbly.
Cinnamon – used slightly less than 1/2 tsp
Cranberry – I used thawed fresh frozen cranberries which I cut each in half – 1/2 C + 1/4 C dried tart cherries each cut in half
I don’t use single use disposables so although I could compost parchment paper, I just greased the pan with a bit of vegan butter instead of using paper. It worked fine – scones didn’t stick to the pan.
Cook time was about 22 mins.
The scones were plenty sweet so we did not use icing. If I serve them to anyone who wants icing I will use local maple butter.
GREAT recipe, thank you!
Hi Leola! I’m so glad to hear that you all like this scones recipe and thank you so much for taking the time to share your modifications with other readers!