This keto scones recipe is buttery, soft and deliciously crumbly on the edges! My almond flour scones are easy and ready in 25 minutes. They contain only 5 ingredients! Simply slice in half and enjoy with clotted cream and strawberry jam.
I used to adore "proper" scones - crumbly, buttery and utterly comforting. One of my favourite indulgences was to book "posh afternoon tea" with a few girlfriends. We'd drink Earl Grey (and a glass of bubbly or two) and polished off a jumbo plate of scones with heaps of cream and jam.
After I started a low carb diet, I missed scones terribly. Earl Grey all on its own is just not the same.
That's why I had to create a recipe for keto scones!
Actually, the recipe does not differ much from traditional scones. Only, that I used almond flour instead of wheat. Of course, I also swapped out the sugar for a sugar substitute.
I love my healthy low carb scones and have made them countless times.
And yes, my girlfriends have all come over to taste-test.
Update: I originally posted this keto scone recipe in June 2017. Since then, I have improved it to make the method easier. The flavor is the same, but the texture is even more fluffy and delicious.
FAQ
Before we get to the recipe, let me answer two questions I get regularly:
Regular scones are not keto, because they are made with wheat flour. But by swapping it out for almond flour, scones can be gluten-free, equally delicious and low in carbs.
American scones are sweet triangle-shaped pastries, often studded with berries or chocolate chips and topped with glazes. They are stand-alone treats, often enjoyed at breakfast (for example, my keto blueberry scones). English scones are less sweet and are eaten in the afternoon. They have a round shape and you eat them sliced in half and topped with clotted cream and jam.
Ingredients
(This section contains step by step instructions and photos that show how to make this recipe. Find the recipe card with ingredient amounts and nutritional information at the bottom of the post.)
Here are the ingredients you'll need for easy almond flour scones:
- Almond flour - I'm using ground almonds in this recipe. It's the same as coarse almond flour in the US. For super-fine almond flour, reduce the amount to 2 cups / 200g
- Butter - should be melted, then. cooled
- Sugar substitute - I like erythritol monkfruit sweeteners. You can also use Swerve, xylitol or allulose.
- Egg - large and room temperature
- Baking powder - for a better rise
- Vanilla extract and lemon zest - Both optional, but recommended. The lemon zest really lifts the taste
OPTIONAL: You can add a pinch of salt for extra flavor and ½ teaspoon of xanthan gum for a stronger crumb structure.
Instructions
(This section contains step by step instructions and photos that show how to make this recipe. Find the recipe card with ingredient amounts and nutritional information at the bottom of the post.)
Step 1: Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Step 2: In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients - melted butter, lemon zest, vanilla and egg. Stir into the dry ingredients until a dough forms.
You can use a fork for this or an electric mixer.
Step 3: Form a dough ball and place it onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper.
Step 4: Roll out into a disc shape, about 1 inch thick. Cut out 5 -6 scones using a cookie cutter (mine had a diameter of 6.5 cm / 2.5 inch).
If you don't have one, simply form scone shapes by hand. Or, roll the dough into a log and cut 5-6 thick discs.
Step 5: Move the scones apart. Brush with beaten egg and bake in the oven until golden.
The dough makes between 5 and 6 scones, depending on how thick your scones are (and how much dough you "taste" during baking). I've calculated the nutrition for 5 scones in the recipe card below. These are generous in size (85g) and filling.
Top tips
Shape them. Keto scones don't rise as much as traditional wheat scones! That's why it's important you shape them into the form you want.
Cool before slicing. Make sure you let the scones cool completely in the pan. They are fragile when hot but they firm up as they cool down.
Variations
Below are a few ideas how you can change the recipe:
Nut free: Instead of the almond flour, use a blend of sesame flour and sunflower seed flour.
Dairy-free: Use coconut oil instead of butter.
Add-ins: Not traditional at all, but possible: Add sugar-free chocolate chips, sugar free dried cranberries, chopped walnuts, pecans or berries such as blueberries, raspberries or chopped strawberries.
Toppings: Sprinkle the tops with granulated sweetener. Or, make a simple glaze with powdered sweetener and a little water and drizzle over the cooled scones.
Shape: Form American-style scone wedges instead of rounds.
Coconut flour scones: I haven't tried this yet. If you want to experiment, try using a scant cup / 90g coconut flour. You'll also need to add another egg, because coconut flour is more brittle.
Serve with
- a generous dollop of butter
- Sugar-free strawberry jam
- clotted cream (this is extra thick spoonable cream)
- Sugar-free whipped cream
- Sugar Free Blueberry Jam
- Easy No-Cook Sugar Free Raspberry Jam
Storage
Refrigerator: I keep these scones in a cake tin on the counter for a couple of days. After that, I store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Reheating: Simply re-heat them in the microwave for 10 seconds or slice and pop in the toaster.
Freezer: Almond flour scones freeze well for up to 3 months. I freeze them on a baking sheet until they are solid. Then I transfer them into a freezer bag. That way, they don't stick together.
Thawing and reheating: Defrost overnight in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave for 10 seconds or slice and pop in the toaster.
Related recipes
For a savoury version of scones, check out my almond flour biscuits and these cheesy keto biscuits. Below are more sweet keto breakfast ideas:
I'll leave you with a fun fact: Scones were invented in Scotland in the 16th century. They became popular as a tea time treat through Anna, the Duchess of Bedford, who loved them so much she rang for them every afternoon a 4 pm.
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Recipe
Keto Scones with Almond Flour
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary. ***As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Equipment
- round cookie cutter (6.5 cm / 2.5 inch diameter)
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cup / 225g almond flour or ground almonds. Use 2 cups if your almond flour is super-fine
- ¼ cup / 60g butter melted
- ¼ cup / 45g granulated sweetener
- 1 egg large, room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- zest of 1 lemon optional
- 1 egg optional, beaten, for brushing the tops (you'll only use ½)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit (electric) or 160C / 320F (fan).
- Combine the dry ingredients - almond flour, sweetener, baking powder - in a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the melted butter, lemon zest, vanilla and egg. Stir into the dry ingredients until a dough forms, or use an electric mixer.
- Form a dough ball and place onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Flatten into a disc shape, about 1 inch thick. Cut out 5-6 scones using a cookie cutter (or use your hands to form scone shapes). Move them apart and brush the tops with beaten egg.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes until golden. Let cool completely in the pan - these scones are fragile when hot but they firm up as they cool down.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Carolyn
Delicious. I was a doubter. Not for weight control, I’m a T1 diabetic. I made 8, thin but yummy. I will make them thicker next time. Gobbled one down warm, with butter and sugar free jam. You’ve rocked my world. Thank you These will be a staple in our house.
Belinda
Excellent! Really delicious
Kathi S.
Katrin, This recipe is scone perfection. I'm glad I tried it and admit that the rave reviews convinced me. Keto scones I've made in the past were dry and crumbly and not worth repeating but the texture of these is spot on and they're beautiful. I've made these 3 times in a week. I prefer them a little less sweet so 3 Tbsp of sweetener is perfect for me. I added 30g of chopped, sugar-free dried cranberries and a teaspoon of orange zest to the latest batch and they are so good. I do add salt and include the optional xanthum gum. I will have fun playing with various flavor combos: blueberry with lemon or lime zest, coffee extract with cocoa nibs.... A big Thank You from Texas USA for this simple yet delicious recipe.
jaye
These are delicious but i did find mine spread out in the cooking and so were flatter than I would have expected. Would it be okay to put them in a muffin tin or similar so they stay smaller and rise higher?!
Katrin Nürnberger
Sure, that would work. I wonder why yours spread though. Was your dough softer than mine?
jaye
Yes, it was much softer, quite 'floppy'. normally i would add more flour if i had pastry or dough that hadn't come together enough but obviously not something that can be done with keto baking! Is there anything you would recommend adding in if the dough is like that?
Katrin Nürnberger
It could be that the almond flour / ground almonds you used was much coarser than mine. In that case, it's fine to add a little more almond flour. Or, stick the dough in the fridge for a little bit so the butter can solidify. Both are ways to ensure the scones keep their shape.
Jen
Fancied giving these a whirl as I had some leftover clotted cream to eat. Made these with coconut flour (90g) as suggested with the additional egg and xanthan gum. This was just enough to make 4 scones. I didn’t bother with the vanilla nor lemon. They were delicious… a lovely mild coconut flavour with a perfect traditional scone texture. Will definitely make them again!
Shannon Whatman
These are the best ever and I have tried a few
I left out the lemon zest and brushing the top with egg as I am a purist.
Thanks
Beverley Edwards
Hi there, I follow a keto diet and the whole family (including non keto) love these. I just want to check the pre cooked weight. You said yours average around 85g per scone. I assume this equals top and bottom of the some when sliced in half?
I doubled the recipe and weighed out 85g each but only ended up with 8 x 85g (left 23g to be shared out). How did you end up with 5 x 85g with a single batch?
Also just a point to note, your recipe pie card allows us to double or triple the ingredients but does not adjust the grams. This could be a failure if some refer to grams
Thankyou for the awesome scones!
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Beverly, glad you all enjoyed the scones. Yes, it's the weight without the filling. I re-calculated the weight ingredients and I am still getting around 85 grams per scone. As for the recipe card and the grams, this is something I need to address. I do mention in the card that the slider only changes the first set of numbers and that people have to make their own calculations when doubling the amount in grams, but I guess it's not visible enough. I have not added the automatic function that switches between metric and cups because I find it to be not exact.
Sam
I added less sugar and sultanas, fabulous
Rhiannon
These are absolutely awesome - thank you!
Just had a lovely cream tea with clotted cream and strawberries
I so much prefer these to scones made with flour
Thank you so very much
Katrin Nürnberger
So glad you enjoyed the scones!
Melanie
I usually swear by your recipes as they are spot on, however with this one all I could taste was lemon. Zest of a whole lemon is way too much. Next time I would reduce it greatly or even leave it out.
Katrin Nürnberger
Maybe your lemon was very large? What a shame you did to like it. However, I hope you'll try these again so you get to enjoy them the way you prefer.
Mrs E Trow
Brilliant recipe, so pleased I found you!
Judith Hay
fabulous
AM
I have recently started to use low carb recipes due to my mother being diabetic. She is a gourmand and not being able to enjoy what she used to in the past have been very hard. Scones weekend brunch have really been a thing for us and I had a difficult time to find a flour free scones recipe which looked ok just by looking at ingredients. Reading the ingredients for this was I felt I could give it a go and I was sooooooooo delighted with the result and my mother asked for these to always be part of our brunch going forward. I did, however, add a small amount of psyllium husk as I thought it would help those hold better.
Really I am so grateful for this recipe and so happy I have found your page and I see forward trying so many more of your recipes.
Katrin Nürnberger
So glad you found my website. BE sure to sign up to my newsletter to keep you up to date with what's new!
Patricia Moffett
I left out the lemon and sweetener and added 1/4 cup graded cheddar, 1/2 tsp English mustard and some cayenne. I don’t know if it was the xanthan gum, but these had that perfect fresh scone top with a bit of bite. Thank you!
Katrin Nürnberger
That sounds absolutely delicious. Thanks for sharing!
Helen
Just made these and they are lovely spread with butter and homemade sugar free lemon curd. Thank you for the recipe.
Morgan
I've been looking for a keto-scone recipe that remains crunchy. This recipe is perfect for me. I love to include currants, chopped ginger and orange zest. Sometimes I will make two (2) batches, include dried pineapple, unsweetened coconut and roasted pecans. I'm very pleased I chanced upon your website. I look forward to learning more about your recipes. Today I brought into office my scones to share. They were a hit! Thumbs up all around! Believe me, this office is a tough crowd - so I know this recipe is a keeper.
Katrin Nürnberger
I'm so glad you all liked the scone! Thank you for your kind words.
Diane
Katrin these are delicious! Thank you for sharing. The only thing is for me, they don't rise. I even put a bit more baking powder in last time. Any idea what I'm doing wrong?
Katrin Nürnberger
Make sure your baking powder is fresh - you can test it by putting a little in water and see if it fizzes. Also, use room temperature ingredients. You can bring fridge cold eggs to room temperature by putting them into a bowl with warm water.
Barbara Copeland
Amazing definite going to try these. Hey folks this is a site your going to want to join, you get a ton of recipes fantastic for the money, she’s the only person l subscribe to. There’s so many but when you find the right one you know it’s the right one. You won’t be disappointed
Katrin Nürnberger
Thank you so much for your support Barbara! It means a lot to me 🙂
Barbara Copeland
Your so Welcome Darlin! Wow you have the most Incredible recipes, You never Fail, Your Genius to me, I’d be Lost without yourGuidance so huge Thankyou
Freda da costa
I made these to day but they got a bit too brown. They look nice - I will eat them tomorrow when I have cream. I also bought my favourite keto apricot jam.
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Freda, try baking them on a lower shelf next time or place aluminium foil over the top of the scones once they are golden. This prevents them from over-browning and you can keep them in the oven until they are done on the inside. I bet they will be delicious with the sugar free apricot jam!
Jani
Lovely, delicious, and super easy to make. 🙂
Katrin Nürnberger
Glad yo ulike the scones!
LyndaW
First time trying a keto recipe. Worked a dream. I only used 2 tbsp sweetener as I was concerned about all the tummy issues I have read about using these products. I also added a handful of frozen raspberries. Baked for 22 minutes and they are perfect. I couldn't even wait till they cooled before I tried one with lashings of butter dripping through my fingers.
Max
I made these with 2 tables spoons of canderel sugarly. A bit too sweet, will halve this next time. Really nice treat with Stute jam and clotted cream. Thank you very much.
Gill
I used 1 tablespoon and it was perfect.
Alex
Wow these are great!
My Mrs and I are currently on a keto diet and I wanted a treat for Valentine’s Day; I will admit did not have high expectations so these scones have far exceeded them!! Delicious, thank you so much.
Kerry
Hi, I’d like to attempt to make these for my mums birthday. I live in the UK and I’m not 100% sure what type of sugar would work best with this recipe, would Xylitol be ok? Thank you
Katrin Nürnberger
I normally use an erythritol blend (erythritol plus stevia or erythritol plus monk fruit). You can get it from mydiet-shop.co.uk - Lakanto is a good brand. But you can also use xylitol 🙂
Pamela Houston
I made these and they are delicious! I baked 18 mins. But we’re not complete done. Will bake 20 mins. Next time. There will be a next time!
Maria
Can I use coconut oil instead of butter?
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, that would work just as well.
Julie
Can you put baking powder in for a better rise?
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Julie, the recipe already contains baking powder. You could use up to 2 tsp in total, but I would not add any more than that.
CC
Sooooo delicious! I added the xantham gum. I have missed eating scones and now I can have this pleasure! Thank you!
Carol Weber
Amazing, brilliant, easy recipe to follow. My only wish is if you had the options (pinch of salt and 1/2 t of xanthum gum) up with the list of ingredients. I forgot those because I just followed the recipe chronologically. Also, mine only produced four triangles, if following the inch-thick cut. You don't have to just do circles, everyone. Cutting the flattened disk into fourths makes for an easy time. Thanks!
Patricia
I missed cream scones so much. These did the trick. Thank you! I just had them with double Devon cream and homemade passionfruit curd (used the King Arthur microwave recipe but subbed in erythritol for the sugar and added extra butter so it wouldn't crystallize).So satisfying.
Katrin Nürnberger
Now I want passion fruit curd!!