The main reason why we put eggs in scones is that it helps bind together your baking ingredients. They also add fullness and flavor to pastries, but they’re not required.
Other ingredients can serve as a binder, leavening, or thickener, so even if you’re vegan, you can still enjoy your scone without egg!
Keep reading and you might just be surprised that some of these egg replacements are just within your pantry.
Do Scones Have Eggs?
Eggs, butter, flour, and milk are the main ingredients in scones. So, yes, the conventional way of making these fluffy pastries includes eggs.
Do Scones Need Eggs?
Eggs are used to bind the ingredients together. They help pastries, such as scones, retain their shape and texture.
In addition, they add a rich flavor to the baked goodies, so they have a dual purpose.
However, some food items may also serve as binders. So, in essence, adding eggs isn’t especially mandatory in making scones.
Are Scones Better With Eggs
When replacing eggs with other binding agents, there’s little to no difference in the output. Well, it depends on each person’s preference, of course.
Some people aren’t so fond of the taste of eggs, so they may find egg-less scones better-tasting than the traditional ones.
Egg Substitutes for Baking
If for some reason you have an aversion to eggs, check out these alternatives if you don’t want eggs in your scones. They have comparable properties and are just as nutritious.
1 – Chickpea Flour

Chickpea flour is easy to find and incorporate into recipes. Its neutral taste and light color don’t make much difference to your confections. It also matches the original amount of fat and protein, even the texture.
How to prepare chickpea flour as an egg substitute? Mix the following ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons sifted chickpea flour
- 2 tablespoons of drinking water
- 1 teaspoon oil
Then, let sit for at least 5 minutes. This serving is equivalent to one egg.
2 – Non-Dairy Yogurt or Silken Tofu
One-fourth cup of plain, non-dairy yogurt or silken tofu can replace one egg. However, they don’t have leavening properties.
Therefore, it’s recommended to add about ⅛ teaspoon of baking soda for every ¼ cup serving of yogurt or tofu. Adding either of these two egg alternatives is a good way to fortify your scones with calcium.
3 – Flaxseeds

To make one flax egg, mix one tablespoon of flaxseed and three tablespoons of water. Let sit for approximately five minutes. Now, you have a plant-based egg alternative that’s rich in omega-3 fatty acids!
Additionally, flaxseeds are packed with dietary fiber, protein, and carbohydrates.
4 – Chia Seeds
Like flaxseeds, one tablespoon of chia seeds mixed into three tablespoons of water equals one egg.
Soak the seeds for five minutes. The gel-like texture it forms when soaked in water long enough makes for an ideal binding agent.
Chia seeds don’t have a strong flavor, so they won’t mess up your pastries. However, these are only ideal for recipes that require one or two eggs.
More than that and you might not achieve your desired dough consistency.
5 – Fruit or Vegetable Puree

Other healthy egg alternatives are fruit or vegetable puree, and applesauce. They are ideal binding agents for your confections, but you have to consider their flavor.
Unless, of course, you are making fruity-flavored scones, then these are delicious and nutritious substitutes.
One-fourth cup of puree can replace one egg. Some examples we recommend are:
- Banana
- Avocado
- Pumpkin
The best part of using fruit or vegetable puree is that there are so many to explore if you’re an adventurous baker!
6 – Buttermilk
One-fourth cup, that’s about 60g of buttermilk, can replace one whole egg. Although, when using this fermented dairy product, you’re going to need a leavening agent.
So, if you want to fortify your scones with calcium and antioxidants, you should give buttermilk a try.
7 – Arrowroot

Arrowroot powder is a kind of starch that serves as an excellent binder and thickener for baking. You’re going to need a leavening agent, though, if you’re going to use arrowroot instead of eggs.
To replace one egg, mix two tablespoons of arrowroot powder with three tablespoons, or 45mL, of drinking water.
8 – Vegetable Oil, Water, and Baking Powder
This easy egg substitute may come as a surprise to many, but not for seasoned bakers. Simply mix the following to swap for one egg:
- 1 ½ teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons water
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Whisk these ingredients together and nobody would be able to tell if you had eggs in those scones or not! Moreover, this trick can replace as many eggs as necessary.
Tips for Making Perfect Scones
Now that you know your egg replacement options, you know that scones aren’t necessarily better with eggs. These tricks, however, will definitely make them puffy and flaky.
Read on and remember these the next time you’re baking scones.
Use Cold Ingredients
Using cold ingredients will prevent the butter from melting before putting the goods in the oven. Thus, resulting in the flakiest, fluffiest scones.
So, take the ingredients out of the refrigerator only when you’re ready to make the dough.
Use Pastry Flour
We want our scones to be as light and flaky as possible. To achieve that, pastry flour is key.
If you’ve been using all-purpose flour, then try switching to pastry flour, or mix equal parts of the two.
Avoid Overmixing the Scone Dough
You could end up with tough, chewy scones instead of fluffy ones if you overmix the dough. Simply mix it enough until they come together, allowing some air into the layers.
They don’t need to be extra smooth, so don’t worry when you see some lumps.
Chill the Dough Before Baking
After mixing the dough and cutting them into wedges, put them back in the fridge. Even though you used cold ingredients, your hands might have warmed them up a bit during mixing.
So, allow the dough to chill while you’re pre-heating the oven.
Best Served Hot
It may be tempting to make scones way ahead of time, and that’s okay. Yet, they taste best when served fresh and hot off the oven.
If you feel like you may not have time to make them right before consuming them, consider chilling or freezing the dough beforehand. Then, bake them later, just before serving.
Egg-Less Scone Recipe
Here’s a butter scone recipe without eggs that you can try.
Equipment needed:
- An OTG oven
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring tools
- Whisk
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cup pastry flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup castor sugar
- ½ cup whole milk, chilled
- 4 tablespoons butter, cubed & chilled
Procedure:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar using a whisk.
- Crumble the chilled butter into the dry ingredients.
- Fold them together until combined.
- Pour the milk into the mixture and combine.
- Dust counter with flour.
- Roll out the dough into a thick layer that’s about 1 to 1 ½ inches.
- Cut into the desired shape using a cookie cutter.
- Brush scones with milk.
- Place onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
- Let baked scones cool on a baking rack.
Serve and consume immediately. These butter scones are best served with tea and jam.
Final Thoughts
You might be vegan, allergic, or simply ran out of eggs – there’s no need to panic. You can still enjoy your scone without eggs using these quick and easy alternatives.
When making scones, the eggs only serve as binders. The real MVP in making the best scones is keeping the ingredients chilled until they need to be in the oven.
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.