These flaky & soft Vegan Carrot Cake Scones are topped with the most incredible maple cream cheese glaze! They make the perfect breakfast treat that's not too sweet and has just the right amount of spice.
Whoever decided that scones should be a breakfast food definitely had the right idea! I've made my fair share of scones from chocolate chip scones, blueberry scones, and even cinnamon roll scones- but these carrot cake scones are truly the perfect flavor to ring in Spring!
Ingredients:
Ingredient & substitution notes:
- Carrots: Peeled & finely grated for the best texture!
- Vegan butter: I used Country Crock Olive Oil Plant Butter for this recipe, but any vegan butter should work. The trick is to make sure it's REALLY cold when cutting it into the dry ingredients.
- Using cold or even frozen butter will give you the flakiest scones!
- You can also use frozen coconut oil in this recipe as a 1:1 substitution, but you need to increase the salt to 1 teaspoon if doing this.
- Oat milk: I love baking with oat milk, but any other plant-based milk substitute works, such as almond milk or soy milk.
- Vegan cream cheese: I personally used Violife for this recipe, but any plain plant-based cream cheese will work.
How to make carrot cake scones
Finely grate the carrots
First, peel the carrots to remove the tough outer layer. Then, finely grate them, ideally using a box grater, and set aside.
Make the scone dough
Start by mixing together the dry ingredients, including the all-purpose flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl.
After that, cut in the cold cubed vegan butter using a pastry cutter until the dough is crumbly.
Then, add in the oat milk, grated carrots, and vanilla. Continue mixing together using the pastry cutter until you have a shaggy dough (as pictured below).
Shape the dough, freeze, and slice
Add the dough to a parchment-lined baking tray or well-greased baking tray and form into a disc 2 inches in height. Then, add to the freezer for about 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 400F.
Bake the scones
Once the oven is ready, remove the tray from the freezer and cut the scones into 8 equally-sized triangles. Separate them so they are at least 2 inches apart on the tray.
Before baking, sprinkle with some optional sparkling sugar or turbinado sugar for an extra crunchy topping!
Add the tray of carrot scones to the oven and bake them for 18-20 minutes until browned on top and cooked throughout.
Top with cream cheese icing & enjoy!
To make the cream cheese glaze, whisk together room-temperature cream cheese, maple syrup, and a dash of oat milk until smooth.
Let the scones cool, then top with the maple cream cheese icing, ground cinnamon, and extra grated carrots. Serve & enjoy!
FAQ & Tips:
Can I add additional fillings to these carrot scones?
Totally! I personally have made these with chopped pecans mixed in, and it adds such a nice flavor. Chopped walnuts, dried coconut, or even raisins are other great options for that traditional carrot cake flavor!
How do I store carrot cake scones?
Baked carrot cake scones can be stored in a closed container at room temperature for 2-3 days, in the fridge for 3-4 days, or in the freezer for up to one month.
Just let them defrost at room temperature for about 1 hour to enjoy!
I can't wait for you to try these soft & flaky Vegan Carrot Cake Scones! They're perfectly sweet, spicy, and taste just like your favorite carrot cake. Enjoy!
-TSG
More vegan scone recipes you will love:
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Vegan Carrot Cake Scones
Ingredients
Carrot Cake Scones:
- ¾ cup grated carrots about 1 large or 2 medium carrots peeled & grated
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup white cane sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ cup vegan butter
- ½ cup oat milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons sparking sugar optional- as a topping
Maple Cream Cheese Icing
- 2 Tablespoons vegan cream cheese
- 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 1-2 teaspoons oat milk
Instructions
Make the carrot cake scone dough:
- Start by peeling the carrots to remove the tough outer layer and then finely grating them until you have ¾ cups. Set aside.
- Add the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl, including the flour, brown sugar, cane sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Whisk together until well mixed.
- Cut the cold vegan butter into chunks. Then, add it to the bowl of dry ingredients and use a pastry cutter to "cut" the butter into the dough until you have a crumbly mixture. You can also use a fork to do this step, though it will take longer.
- Next, add in the oat milk, grated carrots, and vanilla. Use the pastry cutter or your hands to combine into a shaggy dough. The shaggy dough will be somewhat flaky and crumbly, yet still stick together when pressed.
Shape & bake the scones:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease a baking sheet. Then, turn the dough out onto the baking sheet.
- Next, form the dough into a large circle that is about 2 inches in height. It's okay if it's not a perfect circle!
- Place the tray of scone dough in the freezer for about 15 minutes before slicing. While the tray is in the freezer, preheat your oven to 400F.
- Once the oven is preheated, remove the scones from the freezer and generously sprinkle the 2 Tablespoons of (optional) sparkling/turbinado sugar on top.
- Add the scones to the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes until cooked through. (*Please note if your scones are not as tall or thick as mine they will cook faster, so make sure to check at the 18 minute mark*)
- Remove the scones from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Maple the maple glaze & add to scones:
- Once the scones have cooled, make the maple glaze. Whisk together the vegan cream cheese, maple syrup, and a dash of oat milk until you have a smooth but thick glaze.
- Use a spoon to drizzle the glaze on top of the scones. You can also add extra ground cinnamon or grated carrots as a topping at this time. Then, serve & enjoy!
Notes
- Please see the blog post for more recipe tips & substitution ideas.
- Baked carrot cake scones can be stored in a closed container at room temperature for 2-3 days, in the fridge for 3-4 days, or in the freezer for up to one month. Just defrost for 1 hour before enjoying!
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