During a few summers while an undergraduate in college, I worked full-time in an organic chemistry research lab on campus. Alongside the graduate students, I dressed in a long white lab coat, safety glasses, and bright purple nitrile gloves as we set up reactions to synthesize and analyze small molecules with anti-cancer potential.
Just like they did on weekdays, I arrived by 9 am and stayed through 5 pm, if not later, and I often stopped in for a few hours on Saturdays too. Most of the reactions we ran were time-sensitive and needed near constant attention (just like little kids!), but we didn’t mind the long hours in the lab too much… Especially when everyone else was there and we could socialize throughout the entire day!
Yet many afternoons towards the end of the week, we all felt a little sluggish and pretty tempted to curl up on a bench outside for a quick nap. Instead, we headed to the courtyard across the street from the Chemistry Building lined with various stands and stalls to grab snacks and caffeine.
A Starbucks sat at the far end of the food court, and many of the grad students immediately headed to the back of the line, patiently waiting their turn to order. We chatted as the queue inched forward, watching as the baristas quickly scribbled down requests in Sharpie on paper or plastic cups and deftly swiped payment cards.
By the time they reached the front of the line, a few of the grad students felt little pangs of hunger in addition to their caffeine cravings, and they sometimes walked away with small brown paper bags holding a pastry along with their big cups of coffee. Cookies, muffins, coffee cake slices… Yet scones often seemed to be the most popular choice. They were perfect for dunking in coffee!
When I recently texted back and forth with one of those lab friends for his birthday, memories of those summers floated back through my mind and left me craving coffee and pastries. But instead of stopping by my neighborhood Starbucks…
I baked a fresh batch of these Healthy Strawberry Scones at home! Although I may be slightly biased… I think they taste WAY better than any of the ones I’ve bought from Starbucks — or any other coffee shop!
They’re filled with sweet juicy berries, and they’re also supremely moist on the inside (no dry crumbly scones here!), even with no eggs, cream, refined flour or sugar. You just need one bowl to make them too. So easy! And they’re only 125 calories!
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST HEALTHY STRAWBERRY SCONES
Let’s go over how to make the best ever healthy strawberry scones! Just like almost all of my other scone recipes, you just need one bowl to make these. I always love when there are fewer dishes to wash!
Psst… I’ve actually shared 50+ different scone recipes on my blog so far. They’re one of my favorite easy breakfast treats, and none of my scone recipes contain eggs! You can find all of them here!
In that favorite mixing bowl of yours, you’ll start by whisking together white whole wheat flour, baking powder, and salt. I know, I know… White whole wheat flour sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? However, I promise such a thing actually exists — and it’s not just a combination of white (aka all-purpose) flour and regular whole wheat flour!
Instead, white whole wheat flour is 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… And that lets the super moist texture of your healthy strawberry scones really shine!
Hint: It’s like the difference between red and green grapes! Same health benefits, just a slightly different taste.
Tip: I’ve included my favorite gluten-free alternatives in the Notes section of the recipe, if you’d like to make your healthy strawberry scones gluten-free instead!
Whereas traditional scone recipes often call for a stick of butter and lots of heavy cream to keep them moist and tender, you just need a mere 1 ½ tablespoons of butter and no heavy cream to make these. That really helps keep your healthy strawberry scones low calorie and low fat!
It’s really important that you use cold butter to make your healthy strawberry scones. Straight from the refrigerator is fine — no need to freeze your butter! Here’s the nerdy reason why…
When you put your scone dough in the oven to bake, the cold butter begins to melt. This creates tender little pockets in the dough, which gives your healthy strawberry scones that super moist and tender texture. If your butter starts to soften or melt ahead of time, you miss out on that irresistible texture!
Hint: This is why I strongly discourage you from using coconut oil! It has a much lower melting point, right around room temperature, so it will definitely start to soften (if not completely melt!) when you make the dough.
Tip: To make your healthy strawberry scones vegan and dairy-free, use stick-style vegan butter instead. This is my favorite!
Remember how I mentioned these healthy strawberry scones are made without heavy cream? You’ll use Greek yogurt instead! It’s one of my favorite ingredients in healthy baking. Here, it adds the same moisture to the dough as cream or extra butter but for a fraction of the calories. It also gives your scones a protein boost!
Tip: To make your healthy strawberry scones vegan and dairy-free, use your favorite dairy-free yogurt alternative instead. Soy-based, almond-based, coconut-based, and even oat-based all work!
Traditional scones aren’t very sweet, and I actually prefer mine like that too! So you’ll only use a few tablespoons of pure maple syrup to sweeten your dough. (No refined granulated sugar in these healthy strawberry scones!) You want the kind that comes directly from maple trees — not pancake syrup or sugar-free syrup! The only ingredient on the label should be “maple syrup,” and it generally comes in thin glass bottles or squat plastic jugs (like this!).
Then I have a special secret ingredient for you… Almond extract! It’s actually my favorite baking extract. I love its sweet sophisticated flavor! I think it makes these healthy homemade strawberry scones taste like they came from a fancy bakery. Yum!
There’s one more important ingredient… The fruit! I used fresh strawberries, and I diced them to be fairly small, about the same size as miniature chocolate chips. This ensures your healthy strawberry scones bake evenly!
Hint: I know it’s really tempting to try adding more strawberries… But trust me. That’s not a good idea! I’ve learned from personal experience. 😉 Mixing in extra berries adds too much liquid to the dough, which makes your scones collapse and turn dense or gummy. So stick with the exact amount the recipe calls for, and serve any extra berries on the side instead!
It’s almost time to bake! First, shape the dough into a circle using a spatula. The dough should be fairly sticky, so don’t use your hands! Then brush the top and sides with milk. This seals moisture into the dough, while creating a hint of a crust on the outside. This is my trick for making super moist healthy strawberry scones!
Just before baking, slice the dough into 8 wedges. I don’t separate mine! I leave them touching so the sides stay just as moist as the insides. Then slide your baking sheet in the oven, set a timer, and…
Enjoy your delicious (and healthy!) breakfast pastries! 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 strawberry scones!
| Healthy One-Bowl Eggless Strawberry Scones | | Print |
- 1 ½ cups (150g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tbsp (21g) unsalted butter, very cold and cubed (see Notes!)
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 3 tbsp (45mL) pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp + 2 tsp (40mL) nonfat milk, divided
- 2 tsp almond extract
- ½ cup (70g) whole fresh strawberries, finely diced (see Notes!)
- 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 powder, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter (highly recommended!) or the back of a fork until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in the Greek yogurt, maple syrup, 2 tablespoons of milk, and almond extract. Gently fold in the diced strawberries.
- Shape the dough into a ¾” tall circle on the prepared baking sheet, and brush with the remaining milk. Slice the circle into 8 triangular segments with a sharp knife. Bake at 425°F for 23-27 minutes, or until the tops are deep golden and the center feels firm to the touch. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Remember to measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own and love!) Too much will dry out your scones and make the dough crumbly.
It’s very important that your butter is cold, straight from the fridge. (Freezing it isn’t necessary for this recipe!) With very cold butter, it won’t heat up until you put the scones in the extremely hot oven, and it will create little air pockets and a very tender crumb when it melts.
Honey or agave may be substituted for the maple syrup.
As written, these scones aren’t overly sweet. If you prefer sweeter scones, substitute an additional 1-2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup for an equal amount of milk.
Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
If you’re not a fan of almond extract, substitute vanilla extract instead.
Frozen and thawed strawberries may be substituted for the fresh. However, thoroughly pat them dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture from thawing first!
Measure the strawberries when they’re whole, before cutting them, and do not use more than the recipe calls for! If you use more berries, that will add too much moisture to the dough, so your scones will collapse while cooling and turn out dense or gummy. To ensure even baking, dice your strawberries so they’re about the same size as miniature chocolate chips.
The dough should actually be slightly dry before you add in the strawberries, and that’s intentional! The berries add a lot of moisture to the dough, and too much moisture will cause your scones to collapse while cooling and turn out dense or gummy.
I don’t separate the 8 dough wedges before baking. I leave them touching on the baking sheet!
In a pinch, coconut oil may be substituted for the butter, but the texture of the scones will be affected. Very cold butter is required to achieve their tender texture, and since coconut oil melts at a much lower temperature, the results will not be the same. Instead, I recommend the vegan version below. (See my blog post above for more information!)
GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: For the gluten-free flour, I recommend the following: 1 cup (120g) millet flour, ¼ cup (30g) tapioca flour, ¼ cup (30g) brown rice flour, and 1 teaspoon xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten-free flour blends (like this one!) will work as well, if they’re measured like this.
VEGAN + DAIRY-FREE OPTION: I recommend stick-style vegan butter (this is my favorite!) in place of the butter, your preferred non-dairy yogurt in place of the Greek yogurt, and non-dairy milk in place of the nonfat milk.
{gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free option, vegan option, clean eating, low fat}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Blueberry Scones
♡ Healthy Cinnamon Scones
♡ Healthy Almond Scones
♡ Healthy Blueberry Almond Scones
♡ Healthy Peach Scones
♡ Healthy Lemon Scones
♡ Healthy Raspberry Almond Scones
♡ Healthy Pineapple Coconut Scones
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy scone recipes and healthy breakfast recipes!
Hi Amy, this looks delicious.
Can I substitute almond extract with vanilla ? What other substitution can I use.
Also I see that whole wheat flour can be substituted for whole wheat white flour. Will there be a change in texture or taste if I do so in this and any of your other recipes. I would like to understand the difference it may bring in the final product as I am struggling to get the whole wheat white flour.
Also will the cooking time or quantity vary if I use honey instead of maple syrup?
I know its a lot of questions but wanted to make sure I do it right. Thanks so much!
I truly appreciate your interest in my recipe, Anu! I’ve actually answered your questions about both vanilla and honey in the Notes section of the recipe. I know it can be easy to miss! 😉
Do you mind me asking what part of the world that you live? I mainly ask because in some countries, regular whole wheat flour is the same as white whole wheat flour. The main variety of wheat grown in these countries is white wheat, as opposed to the main variety being red wheat here in the US where I live. If you live in one of those countries, then that may be why you’re struggling to find white whole wheat flour — it might just be labeled as “whole wheat!” 🙂
These scones look AMAZING! And considering the fact that I am not going to be snacking in Starbucks any time soon 🙂 – what a great treat they are to make at home! Plus they are low-calorie and easy! I am SO making them! Thank you, Amy! 🙂
You’re such a sweetheart Liza — that means SO much to me that you’re planning on making these scones! I can’t wait to hear what you think of them! 🙂