Lightened Up Blueberry Scones
Blueberry scones, warm right out of the oven make the perfect Sunday morning breakfast along with a hot cup of tea.
Blueberry Scones
I love scones so much that I always keep a stick of butter in my freezer so I can whip them up anytime. We often make these Chocolate Chip Scones for special occasions, but these fresh blueberry scones are perfect any time of the year. Since they use less butter than most recipes, these scones are a bit healthier too.
These tender, moist scones, studded with juicy blueberries, are wonderful warm out of the oven. The aroma of fresh blueberry goodness filled my home as they baked. These are seriously THE BEST blueberry scones. My husband ate three the last time I made them!
What is the difference between a scone and a biscuit?
Scones are a little drier and less flaky than biscuits. They usually have eggs in them, which biscuits do not.
How to Keep Scones Moist
I have a couple tips to keep scones moist. It’s essential to use cold ingredients when baking scones so that the dough doesn’t spread in the oven, which results in drier scones. That’s why I always keep a stick of butter in my freezer! Refrigerated butter will melt as you mix the dough, so use frozen butter instead.
Another important tip is to grate the frozen butter using the large holes of a box grater like this one (affil link). The smaller pieces of butter mix more quickly into the dough. For light and fluffy scones, you don’t want to overwork the dough.
How do you make scones from scratch
This scone recipe is so easy to make. First, combine your dry ingredients. Second, grate the frozen butter and mix well with the flour mixture. Then, stir the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla together. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together with a fork until moist.
Next, it’s time to get these ready to bake. There’s no rolling or cutting – you just drop the scones by the spoonful on the baking tray. Bake for 18 minutes at 400F degrees.
If you would like lemon blueberry scones, add in a little lemon zest. You could also try orange zest. If you don’t have buttermilk, use plain yogurt mixed with a bit of milk to thin it down. You can also add one tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to a measuring cup and then fill with enough milk to make one cup. Stir together and let it sit for about five minutes.
Scone Variations:
- Swap the blueberries out for raspberries or blackberries.
- Use thawed frozen blueberries if fresh aren’t available.
- Add some lemon or orange zest for a hint of citrus.
- Swap out half of the flour for whole wheat white flour to add fiber.
How To Make Blueberry Scones
More Scone Recipes You Will Love:
- Apple Scones with Spiced Glaze
- Low Fat Strawberry Scones
- Savory Zucchini Asiago Tomato Scones
- Lemon Cranberry Scones
- Low Fat Pomegranate Scones
Low Fat Blueberry Scones
Ingredients
- 2 cups unbleached flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup frozen butter, half stick
- 3/4 cups 1% buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup fresh blueberries, if frozen, thaw first
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F°.
- In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients.
- Using the large holes of a cheese grater, grate the frozen butter into the flour. Mix well with flour.
- In a medium bowl, mix the buttermilk, egg and vanilla.
- Using a fork, slowly stir in the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, until all the mixture is moistened.
- Do not over work the dough. Fold in the blueberries.
- Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper. Drop large spoonfuls onto the cookie sheet (to avoid tough scones, do not press or compact).
- Bake in the center rack 18 minutes. Remove and let them cool about 5 minutes before eating.
Video
Nutrition
Is it really 3/4 cups buttermilk? Because I followed the recipe exactly as it says, but the batter turned out very liquidy. It was very impossible to drop it on a baking sheet so I had to bake them in a muffin pan. It turned out good though but I really want to try making scones.
Is it 3/4 cups buttermilk? I followed the recipe exactly as stated, but my dough turned out really liquidy. Made them as muffins instead.
These were super easy to make, and. Grating the butter made all the difference!
These were delicious!! I made 18 smaller ones but had difficulty keeping the fresh berries in the batter.
Another favorite is the lemon blueberry muffins-yummy
If you take a tiny bit of flour and out in a bowl with berries and stir them till coated they will not separate or sink to the bottom.
Very tasty!!!
These are delicious and come together in no time! I used 1 C. whole wheat flour and 1 C. AP flour and they were still light (as in not dense). The scones are not overly sweet, so the flavor of the blueberries really shines through. I made them last night and stored them in an airtight container with a paper towel. Thanks Gina-these are going to be a go to breakfast treat in our house!
What is the best way to store these if they don’t all get eaten at once? Can they be refrigerated or frozen?
Very tasty though not quite the right texture of scones, we still enjoyed them! My husband likes a sweeter scone so I added an icing sugar glaze. Easy to make and so quick for a weekend breakfast or midday snack!
Can this be made with cup 4 cup gluten free flour? Or also adding psyllium husk fiber to make up for the crunchiness? Has anyone tried doing it?
I made these right away after printing your recipe. I am English so I am very familiar with baking scones.
Yours are delicious and tender.
thank-you
Pat
Simple to make and very good! I used 1/3 cup extra blueberries. Also, not sure if I made them too small but the recipe yielded 17 scones using heaping spoonfuls and the scones were plenty big. Thank you Skinnytaste. Love your recipes!
These are pretty tasty. I didn’t have unbleached flour so I used AP flour instead. I added extra blueberries. Instead of separate scones, I did one large round one and cut it into 8 servings. It did require me to bake it for about 8-10 extra minutes, but they’re yummy.
Did you still add baking powder and soda?.
Can this batter be made ahead and into individual scones and the frozen and baked later? I’ve done this with other scones which is great so there’s no mess when serving.
I just made these for the first time. They were so easy to make and are light, fluffy deliciousness. I especially love the tip to grate in frozen butter. It’s so much easier than using my pastry cutter. I have loved every recipe of yours that I have made. Thank you!
Just finished letting them cool off… they are amazing!!! 😀
SO GOOD! We make it every week now
This was the best scone we have ever tasted. My daughter wanted to make them in the big circle cut into triangles like your other recipes so thats what we did, we just dropped the oven temp to 375. They are so delicious. Thank you for all your wonderful recipes every single one is perfect!
I just baked these this morning and they are heavenly! I used what I had in the pantry, which was bleached AP flour and I also made a buttermilk substitute with low-fat milk and white vinegar. I decided for my personal preference, to do 10 scones versus 8. For anyone on WW, they come out to 5 points if you’re on the blue program. Thank you Gina for all your recipes, they are just phenomenal! Just goes to show that healthy doesn’t have to mean boring or bland.
So yummy!! I used sugar free vanilla yogurt and lemon juice versus butter milk, added lemon zest and doubled my blueberries….perfection!! Thank you for the awesome recipe!
I made these scones this past weekend. They were fabulous and very moist. My husband thought they were the best low-calorie scone I’ve ever made. This recipe deserves 5+ stars!!! Love your website!
Excellent. I put in extra blueberries because I had them and sprinkled a little sugar on top when they came out. Would definitely make them again..
I made the scones this morning and they were delicious! I used half oat flour and half all purpose. I used lemon flavoring instead of vanilla. I will definitely make again.
I finally made these scones and they are absolutely delicious!! Just sweet enough. In addition, the recipe is fairly quick and easy to make.
Thank you, Gina, for another wonderful recipe.
I just made these and whilst they are light, 18 minutes was much too long. Mine burnt on the bottom even though I took them out after 12 minutes. Bit disappointed by that.
AWESOME, and easy!!
These are wonderful! I have changed it up a few times for a few different variations. I made the recipe exactly as is the first time and then I made it with frozen mixed berries, and they were awesome. I made a lemon blueberry version and lemon blueberry white chocolate version. All were awesome making this recipe so versatile. I can’t wait to experiment some more and try other variations!
Did you mean 1 teaspoon of baking soda , not one tablespoon? Seemed like a lot.
These were absolutely delicious and fairly easy to make. Is it okay to double the recipe? Eight is not enough!!!
Hello, I made these blueberry scones yesterday. I followed the recipe and made no substitutions. They were light and fluffy. They are not sweet except for the berries and taste ‘no-fat’. They bake-up nicely in the oven. Next time, I will use applesauce, almond milk, and add more berries. My step-dad – the true baker in the family – said they were mighty tasty. Also, I questioned the amount of baking powder. I’ll lighten that up next time as well. Overall, not bad.
These were perfection! Crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.
This recipe is perfect!! My picky husband said they were the best thing I have ever made! Thanks!!
So easy and delicious!
These were awesome! Came together very quickly. The fresh blueberries did not “fold” in as easy as I would have liked but I made it work.
Just made these. I used heavy cream instead of buttermilk because that’s all I had on hand. So yummy!
These were so good and so easy!
I enjoy your recipes and these scones are fantastic, but surely you meant 1 teaspoon baking powder and not 1 tablespoon?
My first time making scones! Super easy & delicious! A keeper, thank you.
These are very tasty and easy to make. Fewer calories but no flavor is lost.
Wow these are perfect! I may add a little lemon juice/lemon zest next time to mix it up, but they are delicious just the way they are. Thanks for the recipe.
I made this recipe yesterday and used cranberries instead of blueberries. These scones are simply delicious!
Hey Gina, love all your recipes! For your baked recipes, any chance you could also include weights? Makes it so much easier with my scale – and more accurate. Thanks!
These were delicious it best just out of the oven. Can you freeze uncooked , portioned our scones to bake as needed?
I must’ve done something wrong. Mine came out tasting more like a muffin than a crumbly scone. The only thing different was using defrosted blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. I used lemon juice and milk like others suggested. We’ll still eat them. Just bummed.
These are delicious! My cheese grater only has small holes so I shredded the butter in the food processor and it worked great.
These turned out very yummy! I subbed plain Greek yogurt for buttermilk as another comment had suggested and I think because of that I had a hard time incorporating the blueberries. Next time I will add a little milk to the yogurt!
I just made these exactly as written as I always do the first time I make anything. I had low expectations due to the small amount of butter, but boy was I wrong. 5*s. My other is staying with me during the pandemic and she always compares everything I do to my brother who is an excellent cook and baker. Well, she even said how good these words; high praise. I put the dry ingredients together the night before, then whisked them to distribute evenly, added the wet ingredients carefully and then the blueberries. A couple of things I will do next time. First, I would use two sheet pans and second, I will make 10-12 instead of 8. They are large, but just the right amount of moisture.
I did bake a couple minutes more and they were beautifully browned. Now to try the other flavors. Terrific, fast easy recipe!
These turned out fantastic! I used 1 cup almond flour & 1 cup oat flower (just ground quick oats). Also used non-fat greek yogurt in place of buttermilk and coconut sugar! I had so many blueberries that were about to go bad so this was perfect!
**flour**
They are wonderful; plump up to a nice satisfying size. Easy and quick. Love not having to roll out and knead.
Is there a substitute for the buttermilk? Hard to get all ingredients like buttermilk.
I used half greek yogurt and water for the buttermilk, it turned out okay. Not too much flavor, not sure if that was due to the buttermilk substitution.
One tablespoon vinegar and enough milk (1%) to make one cup, let sit for 10 minutes and you have buttermilk. Next time I’ll find a use for the extra 1/4 cup!
May I substitute honey for sugar?
Thank you Gina,
These scones were delicious . My husband and kids actually liked them too! The only adjustment I made was to use twice the amount of blueberries.
Looking forward to trying more of your recipes. 🙂
Can you use almond flour instead?
Very easy to make. I doubled the recipe in order to give some away. Will definitely be making this again. Light and delicious!
Hi! Gina. I just made these . So delicious and super easy to make. I love all your recipes. Thank you.
I used milk and lemon juice. As I didn’t have buttermilk
These were amazing.
Perfect for quarantine. Had all other ingredients I in The house.
Can’t wait to try with plain yogurt to bump up protein.
Delicious right out of the oven. But was unsure how to store the rest. How can you save that crispness
if I don’t have buttermilk what can I used?
You can make a buttermilk sub with milk and an acid like lemon juice, vinegar, etc. just google for proportion.
Salted or unsalted butter?
These were delicious and so easy to make! I sprinkled a little bit of sugar on top before baking to add a little shine and sweetness.
Hi GINA!
Love this recipe and I will try it on Mother’s Day for sure. Just a question why 6 SP on green and 7 on Blue and Purple. It’s usually more on green because they count the egg sp’s. Please clarify!
Thanks!
Susan
Updated! 🙂
I just made these exactly as directed. I keep powdered buttermilk in my fridge and it worked perfectly. I also added the zest of 1 lemon. These are just fabulous!!
Any suggestions for egg allergies? Can I omit altogether or is there a common substitute? I don’t have access to a specialty retailer right now. Any suggestions are welcome! Thanks!
Try aquafaba (water from chickpeas) I have used it for egg substitute in many baking recipes.
Three tablespoons of aquafaba is equivalent to about one whole egg.
Two tablespoons of aquafaba is equivalent to about one egg white.
Love your recipes .tried the lightened up blueberry scones this morning
Delicious.
Non-Fat Greek Yogurt is a substitute for 1% buttermilk – I use 3/4 cup Greek Non Fat Yogurt instead of 1% buttermilk. Saves buying an ingredient that I will never use up.
You can make buttermlik by using regular milk and adding 1 TBSP lemon juice (per cup of milk) – let stand for 5 to 10 minutes. Works great!
I made these and they tasted overwhelmingly like baking powder/soda. Is 1 Tbsp baking powder and 1 tsp baking soda correct? Texture was perfect though.
I read it as 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and 1 tablespoon of baking powder. Adding the lemon or orange zest may help to mask the taste you didn’t like.
This is what we would call a Rock Cake in Australia also in the UK.
After reading some of the comments I always weigh my ingredients so there is no confusion, looking forward to making this when things get back to normal and can share with the Grandkids otherwise I would eat too many.
Can you make this with almond flour?
I think she means 1/4 cup because it is equal to half of a stick.
Also confused on the butter. A quarter of a half stick of a cup of frozen butter? Also, does anyone know why this comes out to less points on the green plan but more on the other two?
Hello. The description for the amount of butter needed is confusing. How much is needed?
“1/4 half stick cup butter”
This is equal to approx 2 tablespoons? (1/4 of a half cup?)
Still no reply?? I have the same question.
You use a half of a stick of butter which equals 1/4 cup.
1/2 stick butter which is equal to 1/4 cup
Would regular milk work instead of buttermilk?
When you need buttermilk in a recipe just add a teaspoon or so of vinegar or lemon juice to your milk, stir, let it set and thicken/curdle for a minute or few.
3/4 cup buttermilk = 2 1/4 teaspoons lemon juice* + enough milk to fill to 3/4-cup line.
Can also use white vinegar instead of lemon juice
You can make your own buttermilk – 1 Tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk
recently converted to veganism. One of the things i missed was this recipe.. then i thought lets veganize this recipe.. omg taste just as good.. so happy im still able to enjoy your recipes with just small tweaks..
Did you use a flax egg?? My plan is cashew milk with lemon juice for the buttermilk but was unsure if a flax or chia “egg” would work
These are so easy and yummy! How could I make these lemon blueberry?
Just grate in some lemon peel, it would probably be 😋
Great recipe. I used white whole wheat flour and plain kefir in place of the buttermilk. they came out great!
So very good. Huge hit with my family. Great tip shredding the frozen butter. Will definitely make next time we have overnight guests.
Looking forward to trying many more of your awesome recipes!
I made these as written. Delicious. They came out light and fluffy but not crumbly like you expect of the scones. The texture was more like drop biscuit. Is that what they should be like? Or did I mess them up somehow.
Sorry if this has been asked but can you make be dough ahead of time? The night before?
its best to make and bake.
Thank you Gina! This is just one of your many amazing recipes. Happy Mother’s Day to you. ?
Thank you!
Hi Gina
I LOVE this recipe. I have made it using blueberries which were delicious but today I tried used cut up frozen strawberries in place of the blueberries and I even made a mistake of how to make these scones and I made it more like a cake batter no thinking nor reading your directions but I creamed the sugar and butter soft butter no less and than add half the flour than the buttermilk, vanilla and egg and the rest of the flour. I was almost going to throw out this batter but said lets bake it and see just what will happen and GINA your recipes are very forgiving as they came out AMAZING. THANKS for all these great recipes. I love getting your emails with all the recipes . And I am always looking forward to see what you are making next.
Thank you Lorraine.
Great!!
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!! Needed something a bit Brittishy and these totally fit the bill. I didn’t have any buttermilk, so I used some left over whey from straining my nonfat yogurt and my blueberries were frozen (just tossed them with a bit of flour before mixing them in). These were so easy, I made mini ones since I had to have at least 20. PERFECT!! Love your recipes, they are healthier without compromise and easy to fit into a busy mom’s schedule.
Great! Thank you!
Like some I tweaked a bit. Almond milk because I didn’t have butter milk. Very good and moist!
I just made a version of these – but I used 1/2 cup egg whites – and 1 cup of low fat Greek yogurt instead of butter milk. I did not add butter to the mix, but bushed it on top (about 1/2 the amount).
Totally light and fluffy good!
Super helpful, thanks!
hi gina i dont have buttermilk, but light sour cream would that work and would it change the pts thank you so much made your chicken parm today was great my company didnt no it was a ww meal thaks for all your great recipes peggy
Made these last night. I actually disregarded the "do not compact" and formed into a loose ball and flattened a little with my hand. I cut them into triangles and they came out well. More like a biscuit or muffin? I used frozen berries as well.
I used half whole wheat flour and vanilla soymilk instead of buttermilk. Baked for 15 mins, turned out nice and soft in the middle. Delicious. Next time will try cinnamon and no blueberries.
Hey Gina!
I recently tried your chocolate chip scone recipe and they turned out great! My husband is a HUGE blueberry fan though so I was checking out this recipe and noticed some differences between the two scone recipes. Since this is a 2008 recipe, I wanted to see if you had any updated tips on this particular recipe or if you recommend sticking to the choc. chip recipe and just adding fresh blueberries instead?
Thanks for all your hard work!
i just made these and i didnt have any butter milk so i used lite sour cream and they are just awesome!
I made these for a brunch this morning and they are delicious, the texture is lovely – however, I had to add a splash more buttermilk in order to be able to get all the dry worked in (maybe my flour is a touch more thirsty than what you used).
i plan to make these this weekend! im going to add some lemon zest for some tang! thanks for the recipe!
I just made these and they came out really nicely! Not too baking-powdery or anything like that (although I did skimp on that measurement so probably did only 3/4 of a tablespoon rather than the full one). I did half whole wheat flour and used coconut palm sugar instead of white. They're very delicious and have a good scone texture. I also whipped up some home made lemon curd while they were baking (it takes only about 10-12 minutes!), and the tangy-sweetness goes perfectly with the more nutty flavor of the whole wheat scone, and of course lemon and blueberry is heaven together.
These are fantastic…very light and fluffy….I used splena instead of sugar and added about 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips……really yummy…..I want to eat more but am on weight watchers….ugh
I just made these and they are awesome!!!! Very fluffy!
Scones from the coffee shop are one of my biggest weaknesses when I am trying to lose weight. I made this recipe last weekend and LOVED THEM. This definitely fed my sweet craving and kept my diet on track! Can't wait to try your other scone recipes as well.
Made these this am with whole wheat flour. They came out delicious. Thanks for another great recipe.
Thank you for the great recipes! My family and I really enjoyed these.
made this recipe yesterday for my brothers birthday. He loves them ! Keep up the good work i love your recipes.
I'm not sure, but since making this recipe, I have a new favorite. Look at the pomegranate scones recipe, it's my new favorite, great with blueberries too!
I was worried about the 1 tbsp of baking powder (that just sounds like a ton! Plus another reviewer said it tasted like baking powder…yuck!), so I put about the same amounts of both baking soda and powder. They tasted delicious, but the texture was definitely not scone-like. Not crumbly at all. It was more like a Southern biscuit. Would the reduced baking powder really affect the texture that much?
I can't find light buttermilk in my area. All they have is fat-free. What should I do? I know if I lighten these too much more, they won't be as good!
I love these scones! When you have time, it would be great if you could add the nutritional info for points plus calculation. Thanks!
I made these but is it really 1 tbsp of baking powder? because it was really prominent and I ended up having to throw them out =(
Are you using aluminum-free baking powder? It is well worth the slight increase in price, for the difference in taste.
Loved these! Followed the recipe. Only hiccup was the batter was a little difficult to mix (& I was worried about over mixing) because it was so dry….I almost added a bit more buttermilk, but didn’t. As it was a more dry batter it was a bit difficult to equally blend in the blueberries…but did it reasonably well. Next time I’ll add extra…I used fresh organic ones & they are soooooo good!
The scones baked up beautifully, & tasted delicious. The texture was a bit more biscuit like vs scone crumbly…..but it didn’t matter, we all loved them & will make again & again!
Don’t understand the baking powder comments people are making….but I always use GMO & aluminum free…..so I’m guessing that’s the difference.
Thanks for sharing this!!!! 🥰
@ Mallory:
i made this with 1 cup whole wheat flour, and 1 cup unbleached flour, and the came out amazing! still light and fluffy 🙂
Has anyone made this with whole wheat flour? Just curious if the taste would be as good. Thanks!
Absolutely!!
Gina, I'd love to make these, but don't have the fresh blueberries. Would frozen blueberries work just as well?
how many calories per serving?
Love your blog, and your recipes, I will try those scones they sound great. My DH has been diagnoses with diabetes 2 so I now have to search out recipes with low carbs for him. That is what they told him to check not the sugar. I am a WW so it is getting pretty tricky cooking LOL. I see that you are in Oceanside I love the Jersey Shore and visit friends their every summer. Thanks for your great recipes. I will add your link to my blog.
Glad you like the blog!
To calculate, I figure out the total points for each ingredient, then divide the total by the amount of servings.
How do you calculate points in a recipe?
I tweaked your recipe a little and I don't know to change the points.
The changes are:
1 cup each of white flour and whole wheat flour.
1/4 cup of Splenda
1/4 stick of Land of Lakes Light butter (50% less fat)
I love your blog! Hubby is also enjoying the WW recipes!
Gina,I love your site but,I am told by Weight Watchers that we can’t have points that are for instance 4.5 points we have to go to the highest number which would be 5 points.I just started WW 3 weeks ago,I lost almost 11 lbs.doing their new program momentum,I am doing pretty good.I cook alot like you.Are you Italian?I ask because I make some of your Italian style dshes and I am Italian.Keep up the good work,I gave your website out to loads of ww members.
Gloria
Hi Gina,
Thanx my friend for your support! You are right, EC is too much drama sometimes. Thanks for keep visiting me, you are great. I’ll be keeping visiting you too!
Have a nice weekend!
Hi Gina,
Scones are so great and this recipe contains few fat !! Wow, amazing!
I’d like to tell you that I stopped using Entrecard today. I would like to thank you so much for all your drops in the past period! You are great!
I will keep visiting you frequently because I love your site and recipes!
I added a link to your site on my blogroll and I hope we can stay in contact my fiend.
Have a nice evening.
I am such a scone addict and these look absolutely amazing. I will definitely have to try these out. Just in case you’re in the market for another low fat scone recipe…Chocolate and Zicchini has a great one
http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2004/02/yogurt_scones.php
I love scones!! I would be tempted to eat 3, too!!