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Oat Scones

Buttery and made moist thanks to a secret ingredient, these oat scones are a Scottish-ish riff on everyone’s favorite breakfast treat.

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homemade oat scones on a white surface with a spoonful of raspberry jam

Homemade Scones Don’t Say “I Love You”...

They say I love you SO MUCH. At least, these simple oat scones do. Moist and tender, with a nutty richness from the addition of quick oats, they're best enjoyed right out of the oven alongside a big jar of homemade raspberry jam and—if you're feeling really generous—a bowl of clotted cream.

oat scones on parchment paper

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What Is a Scone?

Oooooo boy. “What’s a scone?” you ask casually, not realizing that you’re asking a very loaded question. But don’t worry—you’re among friends here at TMP. Between you and me, we’re not exactly scone purists. We’re just scone lovers, and equal-opportunity scone lovers, at that. Without any sort of allegiance to any particular style of scone (American, British, Irish, etc.) we can give it to you straight: scones are basically just sweet biscuits. Beyond that, you’ll find a lot of variations recipe to recipe. In the U.K. scone recipes usually are made with less sugar and butter than our American scones. Brits tend to like their scones less-sweet so that they can load them up with jam after baking and not have them be overly sweet. Meanwhile, we Americans tend to like our scones sweeter and often studded with goodies—raisins, orange peel, currants, even chocolate chips, or in this case, the simple nutty flavor of quick oats.

half of an oat scone with raspberry jam on it

Our Super Special Secret Scone Ingredient.

So, the time for honesty it upon us. The reason this is the best scone recipe ever is because it has a super special ingredient that ensures that the scones come out moist and super tender every time. Ours is not just a regular old scone recipe—ours is a scone recipe with YOGURT in it. Oh yes. Have you Heard? Yogurt is a baker’s best friend. Here are a few reasons that we love to bake with yogurt:

  • Acidity! Yogurt is a bit acidic, and therefore it react with your chemical leaveners — in the case of this scone recipe, that means both the baking soda and baking powder. It actually increases their lift-giving, resulting in that fluffy, airy scone texture that we crave.
  • Moisture! Adding dairy to baked goods is a tried-and-true way to add tenderness and moisture. Use full-fat yogurt, and don’t use Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt has been strained (meaning a lot of moisture has been strained out if it) and in this case you want all of the moisture of traditional American-style plain or vanilla yogurt.
ingredients for oat scones in a glass bowl
ingredients for oat scones in a glass bowl with a wooden spoon
oat scone dough topped with dried oats and yogurt
oat scone dough pressed into a circle on parchment with a sharp knife cut into triangles

How to Make Scones

Scones are easy to love. It just so happens that they can also be easy to make, if you’ve got the right recipe and a few useful tips. That’s where we come in! Our scone recipe is easy, but knowing a few things before you begin will make it even easier. You’ll begin—just as you would with biscuits—by cutting the butter into your dry ingredients. This is easily the most important step, and the place where you need to follow a few key baking rules. Here’s what you need to know:

  1. COLD is your best friend. Cold butter, cold hands. If you’re someone with chronically icy-cold hands, guess what? In terms of scone-making, that’s a REALLY good thing! You can cut the butter into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter, but you can also use your hands. Not only is it fun to get your hands dirty, we find it to be the easiest way to ensure that you don’t accidentally over-mix your dough.
  2. BUT. Allow us this one caveat—if you tend to run hot, and have warm hands, don’t use them to mix the dough! If you’re a warm-handed person, use a pastry cutter, a fork, or a couple of knives to mix the dough. The goal is to keep the butter as cold as you can during mixing.
  3. Whichever method of butter-incorporation you choose, as you mix your scone dough just remember one key guiding rule—don’t over-mix. Every time you incorporate an ingredient—first folding in the yogurt, then the oats—remind yourself to have a light touch, and mix until just combined. That’s the real secret to perfectly-tender oatmeal scones.
oat scones on a parchment lined baking sheet

Tools You’ll Need:

  • Mixing bowl.
  • A pastry cutter is really useful, but you can also use a fork, or two butter knives.
  • Baking sheet.
  • Parchment paper.

Other Breakfast Pastry Recipes We Love.

The ACTUAL best part of waking up is eating dessert and calling it breakfast.

oat scones topped with raspberry jam

Best Scone Recipe Ever?

We hope that our oat scone recipe was as big of a smash in your home as it always is in ours. Snap a photo of your scones, and maybe even a video of the beautiful people you shared them with. Tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Happy eating!

Oat Scones

  • Serves: 8
  • Prep Time:  15 min
  • Cook Time:  15 min
  • Calories: 254

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt salt
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • heaping 1/3 cup vanilla (or any flavor) yogurt
  • 1 cup quick oats

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 375° F. In a mixing bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. Stir dry ingredients until well combined. Using a fork, pastry cutter or small knife, cut the butter into the dry ingredients. Once the butter is cut in and is the size of small pebbles add the yogurt. Combine until evenly dispersed and then add the quick oats. Mix with your hands until well incorporated.
  2. On a parchment paper, use your hands to shape the dough into a circle that is ½ “ thick. Cut the dough into 8 equal triangles and spread out onto the parchment paper.
  3. Using a pastry brush, use a little bit of the yogurt to brush the tops of the prepared dough.
  4. Bake on center rack of preheated oven for 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Allow to cool completely before serving. Enjoy!

Nutrition Info

  • Per Serving
  • Amount
  • Calories254
  • Protein3 g
  • Carbohydrates33 g
  • Total Fat12 g
  • Dietary Fiber1 g
  • Cholesterol30 mg
  • sodium261 mg
  • Total Sugars13 g

Oat Scones

Questions & Reviews

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  • Harry

    Following measurement directions one ends up with an tes an incredibly dry mix. Is this correct? Scones I have made from other recipes require more liquid... is the 1/3rd cup in error?
    Thanks.

    It's not an error. My husband makes these almost weekly for our kids for breakfast. We recommend NOT using a Greek yogurt. Also feel free to add up to 1/2 cup of yogurt. They are very tender scones!

  • Susan

    In the Oat Scone recipe…You don’t say of the butter should be salted or unsalted. Is the rule of thumb in baking to always assume unsalted? I think I will use 1/2 of each just in case. Using Kerrygold. So there’s another question- the difference of European butter. Please comment on both

    You really could use either in this recipe. There is no difference if you are using kerrygold.

  • BettafrmdaVille

    I love this scone recipes (I've made several times with both regular and Greek yogurt), but do you think switching out the AP flour with a combination of almond and oat flour might work? I'm trying to get less carbs, more fiber & protein.

    Glad you love these! We haven't tried that. Almond flour should work but not sure about oat flour since it doesn't have gluten. We'd love to hear how it goes if you try it out!

  • Nalini

    can I use steel cut oats instead of quick oats?

    Hi Nalini, unfortunately that substitution would not work as steel cut and quick oats need different amounts of liquid and cook time.

  • Aimee

    I love this recipe! so simple and quick. I have made it several times now and feel comfortable changing a few things based on what ingredients I have. The 1/3 heaping cup of yogurt never seems to make the dough moist enough (maybe my my cup just isn't heaping enough). Anyway, I added about a 1/3 cup of pumpkin puree once -- delicious! Another time, I added an egg and brown sugar instead of white sugar -- delicious as well!

  • Maggie2

    Delicious!! Dough was dry (because I only had Greek yogurt) but with a splash of milk it came together perfectly. Best breakfast ever with a cuppa tea.

    Thanks Maggie, we are so happy you loved it!

  • Chad

    Love these scones! I didn't have quick oats on hand so I used old fashioned rolled oats, and also added a few dashes of cinnamon. The mix is very dry, but it all comes together in the bake and the result is tender and tasty. Well done, MP!

    Thanks Chad, we are so glad you love these!

  • Kit

    The dough is a little hard to work with because it's quite dry but turns out wonderful! I've made these several times and they're delicious. They're simple to make. I put the butter in the freezer, preheat the oven and then begin making them as it helps keep the butter cool.

    Thanks Kit, glad you love them!

  • Kristy

    This is a wonderful, easy and kid friendly recipe! The trick really is to get your hands in there and mix it together until it forms the dough. I like to form two smaller balls to cut it for more bite size scones. We also like to sprinkle cinnamon or nutmeg on top before they go in the oven. Yum.

    Thanks Kristy!

  • Sheryl

    If I weigh 300 pounds soon it is because I have been eating mountains of scones!! I LOVE this recipe - so good!!!

    SO happy you love it Sheryl!