These gluten free blueberry scones feature a cashew flour base that is made lighter and fluffier with arrowroot starch, and are perfectly sweetened with fresh blueberries and real maple syrup for the perfect healthier breakfast treat!
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This recipe is…
Do you love road trips as much as I do? Samantha, my youngest sister, and I are on the ultimate road trip. Starting point: San Antonio, Texas. Ending point: Seattle, Washington. Duration: 5 days. I’m writing to you as we roll through Western Arizona, soon to be South Eastern California. Samantha starts grad school this Fall in the Seattle area, so I volunteered to accompany her and all her stuff for the drive. I’ll help her get settled then fly back to TX. I will probably sit in amazement on that flight, marveling at the miracle of speedy travel by airplane. Nothing makes you appreciate modern transportation like a 5-day road trip across the country!
Anyhow, even though I’m not in my kitchen and am surviving on dried goodies and gas station waters, I’ve prepared something very special for you all. My friend Juli Bauer of PaleOMG {okay, we’ve only met once, but I’ve decided we’re going to be great friends} posted this recipe for Lavender and Vanilla Bean Scones. I drooled over the recipe, immediately made a batch, and then kept playing. I wound up with a gluten free blueberry scone version that I now make every single time we have company.
Paleo Blueberry Scones Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to grab to whip up these fluffy gluten free scones!
- Cashews – the flour base for these gluten free blueberry scones is unique – cashews! You can make your own cashew flour by blending up cashews (you’ll need 1½ cups) in a food processor or buy already-made cashew flour. If you don’t have cashews/cashew flour, feel free to sub for almond flour here!
- Arrowroot – we’ll use ¼ cup of arrowroot starch (beware – it’s very messy, BUT works wonders in gluten free baked goods!)
- Salt – just a pinch is all you’ll need!
- Baking Powder – 1 teaspoon of baking powder will do the trick here.
- Blueberries – blueberries (fresh or frozen) are the star of the show in these scones!
- Extra Virgin Coconut Oil – we use ¼ cup of coconut oil for this recipe, but feel free to sub for butter if you need to!
- Maple Syrup – 3 tablespoons of pure maple syrup (the GOOD stuff!) adds the perfect touch of sweetness.
- Vanilla Extract – 2 teaspoons add a subtle hint of vanilla!
- Egg – 1 egg is all you need!
How to Make Gluten-Free Scones
Y’all, it is SO EASY! A typical scone involves cutting in cold (sometimes even frozen) butter and shaping, but not these puppies! These gluten free scones have the taste and texture that you’d expect from a good scone, but simply require mixing and pouring into a pan – that sounds like a win-win to me!
- Preheat the oven + line your pan. Preheat oven to 350°F & line a 9-inch metal pan with parchment paper.
- Make the cashew flour. Measure out 1½ cups of cashews and add them into a food processor, blend until they resemble a coarse meal, then pour into a large mixing bowl.
- Whisk the dry ingredients. Whisk the cashew flour, arrowroot starch, salt, and baking powder together, and then stir in the blueberries.
- Whisk the wet ingredients. Whisk the coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla extra, and egg together, and then stir the wet ingredients into the dry. Note that the texture of the batter will have more of a wet, cake-like consistency than a dry, crumbly, biscuit-like consistency.
- Pour + bake. Pour the batter into the parchment-lined 9-inch pan, and using the back of a spoon and/or your fingers, pat the batter into the pan so that you have an even thickness. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes!
- Cool, slice, and enjoy! Let the scones cool for at least 10 minutes, slice, and enjoy!
Can I use other types of fruit?
Absolutely! If blueberries aren’t your thing (or you just don’t have any), any berry will do! If you’re using strawberries, we recommend slicing or chopping them rather than leaving them whole. Otherwise, follow all of the same steps with any berry you choose! If you’re looking for some inspiration, these Cranberry Orange Scones are DIVINE, as are these Sausage Cheddar Scones (I deem the sausage + cheddar variety the BEST darn savory scone out there!)
How to Store
These gluten free blueberry scones are best kept in an airtight container (we love this glass set) in the fridge, and will last for 2-3 days stored this way! We recommend waiting to transfer the scones to a container until they are room-temperature…hot scones sealed in an airtight container run the risk of getting super mushy, and mushy scones are NO good! These scones also freeze well! Wrap individually sliced portions in parchment paper, toss them all in a gallon Ziploc bag, and store in the freezer. When you’re ready to eat, just remove the parchment paper, and heat in the microwave until warmed through!
More Favorite Baked Good Breakfast Recipes
Paleo Blueberry Scones
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Cashews or 1 1/3 cups ground
- 1/4 cup Arrowroot
- Pinch of Salt
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 cup Fresh Blueberries
- 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
- 3 tablespoons Maple Syrup
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1 Egg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F & line a 9 inch metal pan with parchment paper.
- Blend the cashews in a food processor until powdered.
- Whisk all the dry ingredients together then stir in the blueberries.
- Whisk the wet ingredients together then stir into the dry.
- Pour into the baking pan and bake at 350 F for 30 minutes.
- Let cool for at least 10 minutes, slice, and enjoy!
Nutrition
Loved these…will make again for Thanksgiving company!
I made these this morning and they are simply amazing. I used frozen wild blueberries and added five minutes to the baking time, plus used salted butter for the coconut oil. Cashews I used were raw, I might toast them next time prior to grinding. Thanks!
Would it be possible to use cashew butter, and if yes, how much?
Hi Alex! I haven’t tried this recipe with cashew butter, so I don’t really know how to advise. It will change the moisture content. You can start off with a direct substitution and then add or subtract amounts as you experiment. Sorry I can’t be of more help!
Can you use frozen berries?
Yes, they’ll work fine. Just be sure to adjust the cooking time so that the scones are finished all the way through. You can ensure this by inserting a toothpick. If it comes out clean, they’re most likely done!
I treid this recipe today and it is delicious. More cake like than scone, but delicious all the same. It will become a breakfast favourite I think 🙂 Thanks
I love all the step-by-step pics! Thank you!!
My pleasure! Seeing how something is made is really important to me, so I pay it forward 🙂
I made these today with almond flour and honey. They turned out great! Thank you!
That’s great feedback! Thanks, Liz!
These are delicious. I made them with almond flour and they came out perfectly. Thank you so much for the recipe!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for commenting.
Why do you need to soak and dehydrate the raw cashews? I thought they were already in that state when you buy them. I am considering just lightly roasting (low heat) raw cashews with a little salt and almond oil.
Great question, Michael! It is my understanding that soaking the raw cashews helps to remove certain enzymes that can hinder the absorption of vitamins and minerals, in addition to a few other other benefits.
I made these scones on Saturday and they were delicious! I got distracted and accidentally left out the arrowroot, but they still turned out with a texture similar to cornbread. My husband and 2 year old son devoured the whole batch! I was reading the comments about baking powder and I think a good substitution would be 1/2 tsp. baking soda + 1/2 tsp. lemon juice. The lemon should set off the taste of the blueberries nicely. In fact, I might even add some grated lemon peel to the next batch. Love your blog – keep of the good work!
Hi Marla! I’m so glad you and your family liked the scones. Great tip regarding a leavening substitute! I agree that the lemon zest and blueberry would go really well together. Thanks for your feedback!
Yaaay another success with the scones and yes, they worked just as well with olive oil! Wish i could show u a pic! Im now trying an avocado sweet bread recipe. Wish me luck 🙂
I’m so glad they worked out again! Wish I could see a picture too. If you’re on Instagram, you can tag a photo with my handle (@fedandfit) and I’ll see it. Good luck on the avocado sweet bread! Sounds delicious.
This recipe looks great. I’m certainly not a paleo policewoman by any stretch. The Costco cashews are cooked in canola oil and not ideal for paleo baking. Do you (or any commenters) have suggestions on where to find cashews whose only ingredient is um… cashews? And what is a reasonable price?? Thanks for posting this recipe!! And beautiful photography as well.
Hi Emma! You are so right about the Costco cashews. If you’re looking for a more pure approach, you can do as some other readers have suggested …purchase raw cashews (find them in the bulk foods section of your local grocery store/whole foods), soak the cashews for 4-6 hours in water, then place them in either a counter-top dehydrator or your oven @200-250 F until they’re dry. As far as reasonable price goes, it can be hard to say. I think you can purchase a pound of whole raw cashews from Trader Joe’s for ~ $10. Hope that helps!
Just made these and tasted them – FABULOUS! I immediately ran out to buy more cashews so I can make another batch in near future! Thanks so much for this great recipe!
FYI for anyone who cares – I used raw cashews that were previous soaked and dried in a dehydrator for almost 48 hours and stored in a glass jar (that’s what I had on hand), and only added one pinch of salt. Came out great! This really helped me with having multiple breakfast options for my upcoming busy week (and an lovely item for tea with the ladies). Thanks so much! Looking forward to more recipes!
I’m so glad they worked out for you and thanks so much for offering up your cashew technique! 🙂
I desperately want to make pumpkin scones, any ideas on adapting this recipe? I will leave the blueberries out for sure and maybe add some cinnamon but not sure what other adjustments might be necessary. Thanks for posting this one though, it’s delicious 🙂
Hi Kristena! What a brilliant idea you have. I’m going to get busy experimenting. I would probably add 1/4 cup (maybe more) of pumpkin puree (from a can), some cinnamon, and maybe some ground cloves. I’d probably add some extra coconut four to make up for the moisture added by the pumpkin puree. I’ll get to work! Thanks for commenting!
Hey there
I finally made this using homemade almond meal and raw honey instead of maple syrup mainly because I didn’t have any MS. I also didn’t have a pan so ended up spooning the mixture in a muffin tray (makes 6) and they were YUMMOLICIOUS! I’m going to try them again but sub the coconut oil for olive oil. Mainly because my husband can’t have coconut oil due to its saturated fat levels and will let you know. Do you think I’ll get away with using 1/4c of olive oil? Will that be sufficient?
Thank you once again for sharing…very yummy the day after too!
I’m so glad they worked out! I expect the oil conversion amount will be the same. I’d love to know how it works. Thanks for writing!