Easy and delicious Lemon Poppy Seed Scones made with healthy ingredients! These seasonally inspired scones are perfect for wintertime when lemons are at their best. They have crisp edges with a moist and fluffy center, packed with refreshing lemon flavor and speckled with poppy seeds. This recipe is great for a fancy brunch or breakfast on-the-go! These healthier scones are so easy to make and require no equipment! These scones are better-for-you as they are made with real, simple ingredients, paleo-friendly (gluten/grain/dairy free), refined sugar free, and vegan!
What Do These Healthy Lemon Poppy Seed Scones Taste Like?
These healthier scones have the perfect scone texture: crisp with a golden brown exterior with a soft and moist interior. They have the quintessential craggly tops which create glorious crunchy edges. These scones have a deliciously vibrant lemon flavor from ample freshly squeezed lemon juice and freshly grated lemon zest. (Don’t skip the zest however tempting it may be!) The refreshing lemon is complemented by a healthy dose of poppy seed, which adds a slightly nutty heartiness to the scones. These scones are really delicious on their own so they can be eaten plain jane or finish with a simple coarse sugar before baking. But, if you can’t imagine a scone with a glaze, top these with my bright and luscious Lemon Honey Glaze to really make these scones extraordinary. These scones are the perfect wintertime breakfast or snack that really celebrates citrus season.
What Ingredients Are Used to Make These Paleo & Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Scones?
These Lemon Poppy Seed Scones are made better-for-you as they contain no refined sugar, flours, or oils. They are paleo-friendly meaning they are gluten free, grain free, and dairy free. They are also vegan! To make these strictly vegan just replace the honey in the glaze with maple syrup! Here’s a look at the ingredients you’ll need to make these scones as well as some variations/substitutions:
- Almond Flour – The base flour to make these paleo-friendly scones. The almond flour gives the scones the perfect moist texture. I use and love Bob’s Red Mills Super Fine Almond Flour.
- Tapioca Flour – Helps thicken the dough without making it too floury.
- Coconut Sugar – The best granulated sweetener for refined sugar free baking. I use and love Nutiva’s Coconut Sugar.
- Poppy Seeds – We use one whole tablespoon of poppy seeds to make sure these are appropriately poppy seed-ed.
- Coconut Oil – Instead of butter we use coconut oil to make these scones dairy free and vegan.
- Lemon Juice and Zest – Use freshly squeezed lemon juice and lemon zest to give these the perfect lemon-y flavor. Don’t skip the zest! I know it’s tempting, but it adds so much flavor.
- Nut/Seed Milk – Adds a bit more moisture to the scones. Use any dairy free milk you like!
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda – We use both leaveners to give these scones the perfect amount of rise and help crisp the crust.
- Coarse Salt – Helps bring out the lemony flavor.
- Coconut Butter – The base for our Lemon Honey Glaze. It’s the perfect creamy element to create a healthy vegan glaze.
- Honey – Honey, lemon, and poppy seed is a great flavor trifecta. Use maple or agave to make these strictly vegan.
How Do You Make Scones From Scratch?
Making scones at home is actually a super easy process! The best part is that it requires no equipment! All you really need is a large bowl! To make scones you just mix the dry ingredients together. Mash in the fat, usually cold butter, but here we’ll use coconut oil. Then add the liquids and gently stir everything together until a dough forms. Then, shape it into a disc, cut the dough into wedges, and bake em up!
Here’s a look at the steps and check out the step-by-step photos below!
- Juice then zest the lemon(s). I know it’s tempting, but don’t skip the lemon zest! This grater really makes zesting a snap and it’s dishwasher safe! And freshly squeeze 1-2 lemons for the 1/4 cup juice instead of using bottled, it really makes a difference!
- Stir dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Mash the coconut oil into the dry mixture. Ideally this is done with a pastry cutter, or you can use two large forks, or your fingers to break up the coconut oil into small pieces.
- Add liquids and stir the mixture until a clumpy dough forms. Then use your hands to collect the dough into a ball.
- Form the dough into a squat disc.
- Chill the dough. I recommend chilling the dough in the freezer for 30 minutes but it’s optional. Chilling makes slicing the dough much easier and will prevent the scones from spreading during baking.
- Slice into 8 wedges.
- Bake the scones! We first bake the scones in a hot 400 degree oven to help puff up the scones and create the crunchy golden crust. Then reduce the temperature to 350 for the last few minutes to bake the center through.
- Let cool, drizzle with glaze, and enjoy! Like most scones, these are best enjoyed freshly baked out of the oven and freshly glazed.
These are also great for freezing! Just place any uneaten scones on a parchment lined baking sheet, once frozen, transfer to an airtight storage container. When ready to enjoy, just microwave or reheat in an oven/toaster oven until warm!
Make Ahead: These scones are a great recipe for a make ahead brunch! Just prep the scones until the baking step, placed dough wedges in an airtight container until ready to bake. The dough can be made up to a week in advance. If freezing dough for longer than 1 hour, add a few minutes to baking time.
These scones are a delicious and healthy wintertime breakfast or snack and the perfect accompaniment to your favorite warm beverage. Even my husband, who’s only had scones from coffee shops and so expects all scones to be dry, crumbly, and flavorless really loved these! Because these healthier homemade scones are exactly what a good scone should taste like – wonderfully crispy with glorious crunchy edges and a soft and moist interior. Made with better-for-you ingredients, super easy to make, and so delicious you won’t be missing those coffeehouse scones anytime soon!
MORE HEALTHY BREAKFAST RECIPES!
- Earl Grey Scones (paleo & vegan)
- Meyer Lemon Pound Cake (paleo)
- Homemade Cinnamon Pop Tarts (paleo, vegan option)
paleo friendly (gluten/grain/dairy free), naturally sweetened, vegan
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Healthy Lemon Poppy Seed Scones
Golden crunchy edges with a soft and fluffy interior. Packed with lemon flavor from freshly squeezed lemon juice and lemon zest and bespeckled with poppy seeds. These scones are easy to make and made with better-for-you ingredients!
paleo-friendly (gluten/grain/dairy free), refined sugar free, vegan
Ingredients
Scone Ingredients
- 2 cups (300 grams) almond flour
- 1 cup (120 grams) tapioca flour
- 1/2 cup (72 grams) coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp poppy seeds
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- zest from 1 lemon
- 6 tbsp (72 grams) coconut oil chilled in fridge a few minutes if not solid
- 1/4 cup (68 grams) lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 2 tbsp non-dairy milk of choice
Lemon Honey Glaze
- 1/4 cup (36 grams) coconut butter
- 1-2 tbsp milk of choice
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp honey or maple syrup
- zest for decoration optional
Instructions
Stir dry ingredients together. In a large bowl mix the almond flour, tapioca flour, coconut sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest together using a whisk or large fork, until everything is well distributed.
Mash the coconut oil into the dry mixture using a pastry cutter, two forks, or your fingers to break up the coconut oil into the flour, until the coconut oil is no larger than small peas.
Add the lemon juice and dairy free milk and, using a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, stir the mixture until a clumpy dough forms. Then use your hands to collect the dough into a ball.
Place dough ball on a piece of parchment paper and form the dough into a squat disc, 1 inch tall.
Chill the dough for 30-40 minutes. (Optional, but recommended.) Chilling makes slicing the dough much easier and will prevent scones from spreading during baking.
Heat oven to 400 degrees and prepare baking sheet by lining with parchment paper.
Slice dough into 8 even wedges.
Arrange the wedges on the baking sheet so they are a few inches apart.
Bake scones at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for 5-7 more minutes. Scones will have golden brown edges with cracked tops, the center of the cracks should look dry and not wet when done.
Let cool a few minutes on the baking sheet. When cool enough to handle transfer scones to cooling rack.
Make the glaze by melting the coconut butter in a microwave in short 5 second bursts. Add 1 tbsp milk, honey, and lemon juice to the coconut butter and stir well. Add more milk if the mixture is too thick. Glaze should be thin and spreadable but not runny.
Drizzle glaze over scones and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Like most scones, these are best enjoyed warm, freshly baked and freshly glazed.
Helpful Kitchen Tools (affiliate links): zester, pastry cutter, silicone spatula, kitchen scale
Storage: These are great for freezing! Just place any uneaten scones on a parchment lined baking sheet, once frozen, transfer to an airtight storage container. When ready to enjoy, just microwave or reheat in an oven/toaster oven until warm!
Make Ahead: These scones are a great recipe for a make ahead brunch! Just prep the scones until the baking step, place scone wedges in an airtight container until ready to bake. The dough can be made up to a week in advance. If freezing for longer than 1 hour, add a few minutes to baking time.
To Glaze Or Not To Glaze? These scones are delicious on their own! If making a glaze just sounds like too much, plain jane or slather with some plain coconut butter or ghee. Or finish the top with some coarse sugar like demerara, turbinado, or organic cane sugar before baking for a sweet crunchy top!
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