These Vegan Chocolate Chip Scones are buttery, fluffy, and soft with the perfect crisp edges and sugar-coated tops. With only 8 ingredients needed, these dairy-free & eggless scones couldn't be easier to make for a delicious breakfast treat!

two scones on a plate filled with chocolate chips and topped with coarse sugar.

To be honest, I had never enjoyed scones until I started making them myself. For some reason, I've just always found them to be a bit dry & lacking in flavor. Well- that is NOT the case with these buttery chocolate chip scones!

The recipe is adapted from my popular Vegan Blueberry Scones, except we're using vegan butter to make them extra delicious and swapping the glaze for a delicious & crunchy sugar-coated topping.

Ingredients:

Ingredient & substitution notes:

Oat milk: Can be substituted 1:1 for any non-dairy milk such as almond or soy milk. You can even substitute it for canned coconut milk for even richer scones.
Vegan butter: My favorites to use are Earth Balance buttery sticks or Country Crock plant-based butter with olive oil.
- You can also substitute for frozen coconut oil like I used in my vegan blackberry scones, but if you substitute this you'll want to increase the salt from ½ teaspoon to ¾-1 teaspoon.
Sugar: I always think cane sugar gives the best flavors to scones, however, since we're not relying on it for any chemical interactions it can be substituted for other granulated sugars.
- Keep in mind that substituting for coconut sugar or maple sugar will make the scones drier as cane sugar is a more moist sugar.
Vegan chocolate chips: I used Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips and highly recommend them. However, any vegan chocolate will work.

How to make chocolate chip scones

Make the scone dough:

Mix the dry ingredients:

In contrast to my cookie recipes, the first step to making scones is actually to whisk together the dry ingredients. This includes the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.

Cut butter into dough

Then, cut the vegan butter into cubes. It's SUPER important to use cold vegan butter here to get the right texture.

Cut the cold cubes of butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter until you have a crumbly dough.

cutting cubed butter into dry ingredients with a pastry cutter.

Add in milk & vanilla

Add in the oat milk and vanilla bean paste. Continue using the pastry cutter to mix the dough until you have a shaggy dough with no dry spots of flour remaining.

mixing oat milk and vanilla into scone dough with pastry cutter.

Fold in chocolate chips

As a final step, fold in the chocolate chips. This is best done with a spatula or even by hand so they stick in the dough.

Tips for the best scone dough:

Do not overwork the dough. Mix it JUST until it comes together- it will look semi-dry and this is okay.
Don't knead the dough. It should be shaggy and will not be anything like bread dough.
Use cold ingredients like refrigerated milk and cold vegan butter or frozen coconut oil. This helps prevent the fat from melting and leads to flakier scones.

scone dough with chocolate chips in a mixing bowl.

Shape & bake the scones

Now that the scone dough is ready, it's time to shape it.

Turn the dough out onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Then, flatten the dough into a circle that is about 2 inches in height (it doesn't have to be perfect!)

Try to work the dough as little as possible to keep it cold. Then, pop the tray with the scone dough into the freezer for about 10 minutes while you preheat the oven to 400F.

This extra time in the freezer helps the butter re-solidify and will result in flakier scones. After about 10 minutes in the freezer, remove the tray with the scone dough and cut diagonally into 8 even pieces.

chocolate chip scone dough on baking sheet cut into 8 slices.

Separate the scones on the baking tray so they are no longer touching and there is at least 1 inch between them.

Then, generously sprinkle the additional 2 Tablespoons of sugar on top of the scones right before baking. I used this sparkling sugar as a topping, but turbinado sugar also works great!

unbaked chocolate chip scones on tray topped with sugar.

Add the tray to the oven and bake the chocolate scones for 16-18 minutes or until the chocolate chip scones are cooked through.

You will know they are done when they are browned on the bottoms and edges and look super flaky!

As a final step, I like to sprinkle a little extra shaved chocolate on top. Then, serve warm or let cool and enjoy.

parchment lined tray topped with baked chocolate chip scones topped with coarse sugar.

FAQ & Tips:

Can I make chocolate chip scones gluten-free?

While I have not personally tried making these vegan chocolate scones gluten-free, I have heard great things about Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free mix working in my recipes calling for all-purpose flour.

Please keep in mind that using flour substitutes like oat flour, almond flour, or coconut flour will NOT work in this recipe.

How do I store these egg-free scones?

Baked chocolate chip 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 defrost at room temperature for about 1 hour to enjoy!

hand holding a chocolate chip scone broken in half to show fluffy center.

I can't wait for you to try these easy, soft, & flaky Vegan Chocolate Chip Scones! With only 8 ingredients required, they are easy to make as a plant-based breakfast treat. Enjoy!

-TSG

More vegan scone recipes you will love:

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