I’ve been on a Greek yogurt kick lately, and I’ve been intrigued by the idea of baking with yogurt after the smashing success of these blueberry muffins. Yogurt is fantastic in baked goods; it imparts a light, moist texture and flavor and is so much better for you than fattening alternatives like butter, sour cream or cream cheese. Generally speaking, you should be able to replace half the amount of butter in baked goods with half the amount of Greek yogurt (e.g. 8 tablespoons of butter becomes 4, plus 2 tablespoons of yogurt).
Since scones are notoriously heavy in butter, I thought they would be prime for adaptation. I attempted to replace some butter in these raspberry oatmeal scones with yogurt, while also replacing the all-purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour. I ended up with pretty pictures of mediocre scones, so the photos joined the ranks of failed recipes in my Lightroom. That happens more often than not—I only share the absolute best on the blog.
So I searched around for a whole wheat scone recipe with Greek yogurt, and eventually landed on a gorgeous post by Caroline of chocolate & carrots. It was exactly what I was looking for, so I followed her recipe closely and a mere 35 minutes later, took a bite of the best scone I’ve ever tasted.
The scones are everything a scone should be: slightly crispy on the outside and delicately moist and fluffy on the inside. Not too sweet, yet packed with flavor. Thanks to the lighter texture of whole wheat pastry flour, they don’t taste like heavy, nutty whole wheat scones. The Greek yogurt lends moistness and a slight tang, which plays nicely with the lemon zest. Truly, I believe this is the scone recipe to end all scone recipes.
Not convinced? Let’s examine the reaction of two grown boys who had the fortune of walking into my kitchen the day I baked these scones. After one bite, the first yelped in delight and cursed its perfection. That night, the other boy practically waltzed around the kitchen, mm-mming as he relished every last bite of his scone. The latter may have had a few drinks beforehand, but I assure you that these boys don’t normally get excited about scones. They’re just that good.
Blueberry Lemon Scones
- Author:
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 8 scones 1x
- Category: Breakfast
If you’ve been intimidated by baking scones, don’t be afraid to try this recipe. I was surprised at how easy it was to throw the ingredients together. Shaping and slicing the scones was easy, too. Make them for breakfast this weekend, and freeze the rest for later!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour or whole wheat flour
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoons turbinado (raw cane) sugar, plus more for sprinkling on top
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 cup blueberries (I used frozen but fresh would be even better!)
- ½ cup plain low fat Greek yogurt (I used 0% fat yogurt by Fage)
- ½ cup milk of choice (I used 2%)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Combine flours, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl and whisk together.
- Slice butter and drop into dry ingredients. If you have a pastry cutter, use it to cut the butter into the flour. If you don’t have a pastry cutter, use a knife to cut the butter into tiny pieces and mix it into the flour.
- Add blueberries and lemon zest and gently stir. You can use frozen blueberries, no thawing necessary.
- Gently mix in milk and yogurt. Eventually you’ll need to use your hands to knead the last of the flour into the dough.
- Form dough into a circle about that’s about an inch deep all around. Cut the circle into 8 slices.
- Separate slices and place on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper or foil.
- Sprinkle the tops of the scones with a bit of raw sugar.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until light brown.
Notes
Recipe mildly adapted from Chocolate & Carrots.
▸ Nutrition Information
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Marguerite
I am a newbie baker…
I tried your recipe with whatever I had on hand
All purpose flour , granulated sugar 1/3 cup, Greek nonfat yogurt and 2% milk with grated orange peel and fresh blueberries, butter etc
I refrigerated after cutting eight pieces for 15 minutes and baked
Perfect scones !
Thank you so much all done in 40 minutes
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad they turned out well for you!
Susan Gomes
Best blueberry lemon scones ever! Followed the recipe exactly with perfect results! This is a favorite in our household. I love that this is a much healthier version of most scone recipes. Using whole wheat flour and Greek yogurt add to the lightness and deliciousness of these scones.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m happy you think so, Susan! I appreciate your review.
Karen Hoveland
Kate, can this recipe be substituted with almond flour or other gluten-free flour? If so, are they any other tweaks necessary?
Kate
Hi! I would recommend a gluten free flour blend like Bob’s Red Mill. Let me know what you think!
Leslie
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe. Can I use white whole wheat flour instead of whole wheat flour? Or a combination of white whole wheat flour and whole wheat flour?
Kate
Sure, let me know what you think!
Sherryn
I would love to try some of your recipes, but I have a few autoimmune diseases. One of them is an allergy to anything with wheat in it. I do not know if there is such a thing as gf pastry flour. And, can you just substitute a gf four like 1to1? It’s very difficult for me to cook for all these restrictions in my diet, especially at 81 years of age. I try because I don’t want to have to go on dialysis. It’s exhausting frankly. I actually have your recipe book and use quite a few of the recipes but sometimes the substitutes may not work. Thanks for any help you can give me in this regard.
Kate
Hi Sherry, You can try using a gluten free flour. Some of my other scone recipes have suggestions. I hope that helps!
Nita
I made these and froze the scored dough in a circle. I baked the scones when guests visited at a later date. Perfect!! Thanks Kate for another reliable and delicious recipe!
★★★★★