In January, an email from my friend Lindsay (she runs Veggie Balance!) popped up in my inbox. Since I hadn’t seen her for nearly three years, I eagerly opened it, and after a few quick exchanges, we decided to set up a virtual coffee date to properly catch up.
The only problem?
She had moved from the eastern US to Ireland, which meant an eight-hour time difference between her new home and mine in Southern California!
Once we figured out a day that worked for both of us, we hopped onto our computers. It took a few minutes for technology to start working, but then time flew by and we ended up talking for over two hours. It felt like only a few days had passed since we last spent time together, not almost three years!
She filled me in on everything going on in Ireland, along with the major culture and food differences they had noticed: public transportation was prevalent everywhere, so they didn’t need a car; people bicycled all the time, even in many of the major cities; winters were warmer and rarely experienced snow, a drastic difference from their winters up north in the US; and while she didn’t mind giving up most American food, she occasionally missed ranch dressing on her salads (the Irish version tasted nothing like the original!).
However… I completely forgot to ask about the Irish food she did enjoy! I know very little about their cultural dishes, other than what people cook for St. Patrick’s Day, and I assume most of what I’ve seen for that March holiday here in California is fairly Americanized.
So I decided to do a little research on my own, and upon discovering one of the most well known baked items, I whipped up a batch of these Healthy Irish Soda Bread Scones! They’re supremely moist and fluffy with a lovely hint of soda flavor, and I added a (not quite traditional) sprinkling of flaky sea salt on top for a bright pop.
As soon as I took my first bite, my eyes lit up and I danced around my kitchen. “Why haven’t I been making these every week for, oh gosh, my entire life??” I actually exclaimed out loud (startling my dog by accident!).
They’re so easy… so moist… so yummy… And you just need one bowl and five ingredients, all of which you keep in your pantry already! With less than five minutes of measuring and mixing, you’ll end up with a pan of the most irresistible healthy homemade Irish soda bread… And each scone is just 77 calories!
So let’s go over how to make these healthy Irish soda bread scones!
While researching Irish soda bread, I came across multiple recipes variations. When I dug a little deeper, I discovered that the simplest recipes were the most traditional, whereas ones that called for more ingredients were either an Americanized version or what some of the Irish called an entirely different type of bread.
Traditional Irish soda bread only contains four ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. Other versions include eggs, butter or oil, and sugar for flavor, as well as other mix-ins like currents, raisins, or caraway seeds. But because I wanted the most authentic flavors possible, I skipped all those other ingredients!
You’ll start with just one bowl, and into it, you’ll add white whole wheat flour, baking soda, and salt. The “soda” part of Irish soda bread refers to baking soda—not the sweet carbonated drink that people call “soda” or “pop!” Baking soda is a base that makes baked goods rise when mixed with an acid, but more on that in a minute!
First, I want to remind you that white whole wheat flour actually exists, and it’s not a combination of white (aka “all-purpose”) flour and whole wheat flour. Instead, it’s made by finely grinding a special type of soft white wheat (hence the name!), whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat. They both have the same health benefits, like extra fiber, but white whole wheat flour has a lighter taste and texture… Which lets the moist texture of your healthy Irish soda bread scones truly shine!
Once you’ve whisked those together, you’ll make a well in the center and pour in milk and vinegar. Yes, traditional Irish soda bread calls for buttermilk… But that’s something I rarely keep in my fridge (unless I’m making multiple batches of these!), and something tells me you might be the same way.
So instead, I opted to make “homemade” buttermilk by mixing together milk and vinegar! To me, that’s one of the best parts of this recipe. Any milk will work! Cow’s milk, almond milk, cashew milk, soy milk, oat milk, rice milk… You name it!
And because any milk will work, it’s so easy to make these healthy Irish soda bread scones vegan! (Which is perfect for our family because so many people are lactose intolerant!)
Nerd Alert!
It’s time to revisit the baking soda! Like I mentioned, the baking soda (a base) reacts with acids (in this case, vinegar!). That reacts creates air bubbles, which makes your healthy Irish soda bread scones rise, and it also gives them a more moist and tender texture. Pretty cool, right??
And I promise you can’t taste the vinegar in the finished scones!
Now that you have your dough, it’s time to shape it into scones! The dough is just a tad bit sticky, which is actually a good thing. If it was really dry, then your scones would be dry too… But moist dough leads to moist scones!
To prevent the dough from sticking to your hands as you shape it into balls and flatten them, just dampen your fingers and palms with a bit of water in between shaping each healthy Irish soda bread scone. Super easy!
Just before baking, you’ll use a sharp knife to cut a + into the top of each scone. Don’t slice all the way through the dough, from the top all the way to the bottom! Just about halfway through is best.
For a finishing touch, I sprinkled a little flaky sea salt onto the tops of my healthy Irish soda bread scones just before I slid them into the oven. This is the kind I used, and it added such a bright pop of flavor. Although not entirely traditional, I still highly recommend it!
Then just a few minutes later…
You’ll have a pan of moist, warm, oh-so-irresistible healthy Irish soda bread waiting for you! And really, how easy was that?? I feel like I could easily bake this bread every single day! And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ????) I’d love to see your healthy Irish soda bread scones!
| Healthy Irish Soda Bread Scones | | Print |
- 2 ¼ cups (270g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup + 3 tbsp (165mL) unsweetened vanilla almond milk (see Notes!)
- 2 tbsp (30mL) plain white vinegar
- optional: flaky sea salt, for finishing (highly recommended!)
- Preheat the oven to 425°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center. Pour in the milk and vinegar. Stir together until the flour is fully incorporated.
- Working with a small section of dough at a time, shape into a ball. Place onto the prepared baking sheet, and flatten to the desired thickness and width. (If the dough sticks to your hands, moisten your fingers and palms with a bit of water in between shaping each scone!) Once all of the scones have been shaped, score a + into the top of each one with a sharp knife, slicing about halfway through the dough (not all the way through!). If using the flaky sea salt, sprinkle a generous amount on top of each scone.
- Bake at 425°F for 15-17 minutes or until the outsides are crusty and the insides feel firm to the touch. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.
Remember to measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own and love!) Too much flour will cause the dough to be dry, and it may not fully incorporated. If that happens to you, add a little extra milk (1 teaspoon at a time) until you can incorporate all of the flour.
Any milk will work in place of the unsweetened almond milk.
I haven’t tried any other vinegar (apple cider vinegar, rice vinegar, etc) and don’t know how they’ll turn out.
Traditional Irish soda bread calls for buttermilk, but since I rarely keep that in my refrigerator, I opted to make “homemade buttermilk” out of milk and vinegar! If you prefer, you can substitute ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons of buttermilk for the milk AND vinegar. Because buttermilk is thicker than the other two, you may need to add slightly more if you can’t incorporate all of the flour. (Also, see my blog post above for more details on traditional Irish soda bread!)
I absolutely love the bright pop of flavor from the flaky sea salt! This is the kind I use. I crumble it a bit in between my fingers so the flakes aren't quite as large before I sprinkle it on top of the scones.
To Make One Loaf of Bread: Using a spatula, shape the dough into a 1 ½” tall circle (about 5 ½” in diameter) on your prepared baking sheet. Score a + sign into the top, slicing about halfway through. If using the flaky sea salt, sprinkle a generous amount on top. Bake at 425°F for 27-30 minutes or until the outside is crusty and slightly golden. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
{gluten-free, vegan, clean eating, low fat, sugar-free}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Whole Wheat Rolls
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Cornbread Muffins
♡ Healthy Buttermilk Cornbread
♡ Healthy Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread Mini Muffins
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy side dish recipes!
Hi, Amy! I am super excited to see this recipe! I love that you kept it simple and traditional and making it into scones is brilliant for portion control. Since I have leftover buttermilk from making your Ultimate Healthy Buttermilk Waffles, my favorite, I will probably use that option in these scones. I plan to make them at the first opportunity and it will be so much fun! Thanks 🙂
It’s my pleasure Susan! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the waffles, and I can’t wait to hear what you think of these scones once you get a chance to try them! 🙂
Good Morning, Amy:) I made the scones this morning first thing after having prepped them last night. They are very good. I love the clean simple flavor they have. Perfect. I weighed my flour but since I was using buttermilk I needed to add additional when I mixed them in order to get them as moist as you described. I think maybe due to buttermilk being thicker than regular milk, cashew milk etc, and vinegar. I did not have the flaky salt on hand that you added but I think that is a great addition. I have regular sea salt as well as HImalayan in the grinder. I may have to get some of the flaky salt for finishing other foods, too. Time to go have a buttermilk waffle! Enjoy your Sunday 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed these scones Susan! Yes, like I mentioned in the Notes section of the recipe, it’s normal to use more buttermilk than milk + vinegar because it’s thicker. I’m happy that still worked for you! 🙂 And that means the world to me that you’re still enjoying the waffles too! Thanks for letting me know!
Hi Amy! I made the gluten free version today and they turned out soooo yummy! The only changes i had to make were using guar gum instead of xanthan and rice milk instead of a milk that curdles,which i think hindered the recipe a bit because the dough was quite wet-ish.This would actually be a really good base for hot cross buns! Thank you,Amy 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed these scones Renae! That means so much to me! 🙂 Thanks for including your guar gum modification — I always love hearing what recipe tweaks work! (And I love your idea of hot cross buns! Yum!)
Can i substitute chickpea flour for the white whole wheat flour if i change the ratios slightly? I know that it is a slightly more absorbent flour – but would it work?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Chloe! I don’t have very much experience with chickpea flour, so I’m not sure and don’t want to lead you astray. I’d love to hear what you think of these scones if you decide to try them! 🙂
We are currently saving up for a grain mill to mill our own flour, we dont have gluten allergies so can i just use plain AP flour? until we get our mill?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Carley! I’ve actually covered whether all-purpose flour works in the Notes section of the recipe (located directly underneath the Instructions). I know it can be easy to miss! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try these Irish soda bread scones!
Hi Amy,
I love all your recipes!!! I made the apple cake & it was truly awesome!!!
Can I use apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar to make this soda bread? I’ll be using almond milk.
Thanks!
Pam
I’m so happy you loved the apple cake, Pam! It means so much that you’d take the time to let me know — and that you’d want to try making this recipe too!
I haven’t tried using apple cider vinegar to make these Irish soda bread scones, so I’m not personally sure. I think it should be okay though! Your scones might not rise quite as high since apple cider vinegar typically isn’t quite as acidic as distilled white vinegar, but you may not even notice that difference in rise at all. 🙂
I can’t wait to hear what you think of these once you get a chance to make them!
LOVE your recipes.
Do you have a ” jump to recipe ” or am i missing it.
I don’t have the patience to read everything.
But lovee your cookie recipes especially!!
You’re so sweet, Teresa! That means so much that you’re loving my cookie recipes. Do you have a favorite so far? 🙂
A “jump to recipe” button is on my list of things to chat about with my web developer the next time we meet. Zero pressure to read everything that I write though! I try to cover lots of tips and pointers, but I know your time is really valuable. You deserve to spend it in ways that bring you joy, rather than ways that test your patience!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! And if you decide to try making these Irish soda bread scones (as a break from cookies! 😉 ), I’d love to hear what you think of them!
I am new to gluten free baking and would love to make these. Any tips on how to successfully do it as I see someone had to use guar gum. Thank you. Can’t wait to make them!!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Tracey! I’ve actually included my top two recommendations for making these Irish soda bread scones gluten-free in the Notes section of the recipe (located directly underneath the Instructions). I know that section can be easy to miss! 😉 If you follow either of those two GF options, your Irish soda bread scones should turn out just fine!
I’m excited to hear what you think of them once you get a chance to bake a batch!
I am very interested in making your Soda Bread and will make them, but I cannot use any wheat flour. I can use, Almond, buckwheat, oat, brown rice, etc.. What would you suggest.
Thank for a reply.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Joan! I’ve actually included my top two recommendations for making these Irish soda bread scones gluten-free in the Notes section of the recipe (located directly underneath the Instructions). I know that section can be easy to miss! 😉 If you follow either of those two GF options, your Irish soda bread scones should turn out just fine!
I’m excited to hear what you think of them once you get a chance to bake a batch!