These gluten-free pumpkin scones are everything we love about scones, but with extra love from the pumpkin spice and homemade glaze.
Nothing welcomes those crisp autumn months like the flavors of pumpkin spice. You can find it in nearly everything from candles, coffee, bread, and now- scones!
This recipe is just as easy to make as my original pumpkin scones and makes a delicious pastry for anyone that needs to avoid gluten.
Ingredients
This gluten-free recipe uses a combination of brown rice flour, tapioca starch, and xantham gum. While I’m not one to make my own flour blends, this recipe achieves that soft, crumbly texture we love about the classic scone recipe.
Here’s everything you’ll need to make these gluten-free pumpkin scones:
- brown rice flour
- tapioca starch
- sugar
- xanthan gum
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt
- pumpkin pie spice
- butter, frozen
- pumpkin puree
- half & half
- egg
for the glaze:
- powdered sugar
- milk
- cinnamon or pumpkin spice
The glaze is optional (but delicious). I usually half the glaze recipe and I “drizzle” it.
Gluten-Free Scone Substitutions
Baking is a science, and the ratio of liquid ingredients is based specifically on the type and amount of flour. I have not successfully made the recipe below with a 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free flour; therefore, I don’t recommend swapping the flour or changing ingredient amounts.
If what you have on hand is an all-purpose gluten-free flour you can use my classic scone recipe and swap out the flour for a gluten-free alternative such as King Arthur Flour, Bob’s Red Mill, or Cup4Cup.
If you don’t have brown rice flour and tapioca starch on hand, I have a paleo pumpkin scone variation that uses coconut flour and oil.
Yes, I do have the “same scone recipe” three ways to accommodate unique dietary needs in my family! No one should go without pumpkin scones!
Not every meal is as accommodating as these scones and all too often switching up your own diet can mean making multiple meals at every meal.
This is why I created the Family KickStart Program. It allows your whole family to join you in eating nutritious, great-for-you meals that they will all love.
Since the meal plans in Family KickStart are presented with 2 stages you can even be fully Paleo while the rest of the family enjoys the exact same recipe, modified down a bit for their own dietary needs.
If you haven’t heard of the Family KickStart Program, it’s my 30-day program that helps families eat clean, fresh food together. Every recipe in Family KickStart is gluten-free and kid-friendly, making it the only whole-food eating plan created with the entire family in mind. Learn more about Family KickStart here.
How to Make Gluten-Free Pumpkin Scones
A perfect scone starts with the right dough. Below I’m taking you step-by-step on how to create and shape gluten-free scone dough so it yields those golden brown, dommed tops and soft centers.
Watch the video below to see me make gluten-free scones using my traditional recipe (linked above) and a 1:1 gluten-free flour.
Here’s how it’s done, step-by-step.
Prep
Preheat the oven to 425F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or lightly grease a scone pan.
Sift
Place a flour sifter over a large bowl. Combine the rice flour, starch, sugar, xantham gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice in the sifter. Sift the ingredients into the large bowl, then stir to combine.
Add the butter
Using a cheese grater, grate the chilled butter into the flour. Using your hands, work the butter into the flour until no large lumps are visible. It should look like small pebbles.
Make the dough
In a separate bowl, whisk the pumpkin with the half & half and egg until smooth. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and work into a dough.
Shape the scones
Lightly flour a flat surface with brown rice flour and transfer the dough. Shape it into a 1-inch thick round disc, then cut into 6 to 8 triangles.
If using a scone pan, scoop the dough into the pan and shape it into the molds.
Bake
Place the scones in the oven and bake for 16 minutes or until they are golden brown. Remove the scones from the oven and allow them to cool down.
Finish
In a medium bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, milk, and spices until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled scones.
What to Serve With Gluten-Free Pumpkin Scones
By the time these pumpkin scones are baking in the oven, you’re going to have serious coffee shop vibes going on, so here are a few homemade variations of our favorite beverages:
- Iced Coffee
- Café Au Lait
- Hot Cocoa
- Peppermint Hot Chocolate
- Warm coffee or tea
The glaze is optional. I usually half the glaze recipe and I “drizzle” it.
PrintGluten Free Pumpkin Scone Recipe
These gluten-free pumpkin scones are everything we love about scones, but with extra love from the pumpkin spice and homemade glaze.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 16 minutes
- Total Time: 26 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baked
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
For the scones:
- 1 ¼ cup brown rice flour
- ¼ cup tapioca starch
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 3 teaspoons xanthan gum
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 6 tablespoons unsalted cold butter, frozen
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoons half & half
- 1 large egg
For the glaze:
-
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 3 teaspoons milk
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon pumpkin spice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine the flour, starch, sugar, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin spice inside a sifter and sift into a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. Give it a whirl to combine.
- Using a cheese grater, grate the butter into the dry mixture. Combine the shredded butter and dry ingredients with your hands until there are no large lumps.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the pumpkin, half & half, and eggs until smooth. Fold the wet ingredients into dry ingredients until a dough forms.
- Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface (with brown rice or tapioca) and make a large circle around 1-inch thick.
- Cut the dough into 6 to 8 triangles and place each scone onto the lined baking sheet (or inside the mold of a scone pan).
- Bake 14-16 minutes until they are light brown. Remove from oven and allow them to cool.
For the Glaze
- In a medium bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, milk, and spices until smooth.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled scones.
Notes
I have not successfully made this recipe with a baking mix. My neighbor gave me this recipe and my son loves it as is –so I haven’t ventured to change a thing.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 scone
- Calories: 251
- Sugar: 14.6g
- Sodium: 353.7mg
- Fat: 10.4g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 37.6g
- Fiber: 2.6g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 47.5mg
Keywords: gluten free scone recipe, pumpkin scones without gluten
June
My family can’t get enough of scones. They are part of every weekend breakfast. Will for sure try these!
Jessica
I’m a pumpkin fanatic! Need to try these.
Michelle M.
My family loves scones in sorts of flavors. Will try these soon!
Stephanie K.
Pumpkin flavored things are so delicious!
Christen
Cannot wait to try the Paleolithic and original version of these pumpkin scones. Congrats to your homeschool year! This is our 2nd year and it’s been a huge blessing for us too. Love making our own schedules and having no dreadful arguments before getting the kids to school and arguing over getting hw done too. It’s challenging for sure and brings everyone’s weaknesses (and strengths of course) to the surface but you can see the blessing in family time and precious moments we would t have else wise. Glad it’s been good so far. Mine are 8&11. Love you wrote about that! XO
Laura Fuentes
Thanks so much Christen! As you know, the first year isn’t always easy but looking back I definitely see the benefits and feel blessed. I hope you try these scones! 🙂 Laura
Auzeen
This recipe was incredibly amazing. It’s def a recipe that will be made over and over again. Also VERY EASY. Thank you so much for sharing Laura. I hope you don’t mind that I have posted the recipe on my blog (crediting you of course).
★★★★★
Laura Fuentes
I am so glad you liked it. They looked amazing when I saw you share it on IG and the rest of the pictures look gorgeous! I am so glad you enjoyed them.
Caz
I just made a double batch of the paleo scones & am disappointed they didn’t turn out like a ‘scone’. More like cooked well on the outside & doughy wet & crumbly on the inside. I even extended the cooking time & used less liquid as I noticed it was far too wet after adfing all the ingredients.
I just added a little more coconut flour. Where did I go wrong??
★★★
Laura Fuentes
Caz, were any substitutions made? how tall was each scone?
Caz
Tall? It is like…a sloppy mix/batter. I made no substitutions at all. I have just made the recipe a second time & the same again 🙁 I still don’t understand what is going wrong? I use a thermomix to make the recipe. That’s the only thing I can think of that may adjust the outcome? I will double the cocktail flour again… Fingers crossed. Thanks for ur reply 😉
Laura Fuentes
Hi Caz, I am not sure what cocktail flour you are using. Also, a thermo mix might mix it too much and turn it liquid. I would use the butterfly insert and mix at a speed no more than 2.
Colleen Boehm
I am making these grain free ones right now and I have double checked all my recipe measurements and I made no substitutions and the batter is LIQUID. Like pourable, no where near molding into shapes. I’m hand mixing it. The batter has even been sitting for 5 min to let the coconut flour absorb some of the moisture. Any ideas?
Laura Fuentes
They’ve never been liquid before. Were any substitutions made?
Shoushan Berberian
This was delicious. My family loved it. Now I have to make gluten free for myself. Thanks for the recipie!!!!
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Selma
I made the grain free version and they were awesome! I haven’t even glazed them. I wasn’t sure how they would come out because I tweaked and I didn’t measure some of the ingredients, but it is so adaptable, practically no-fail in my opinion. I substituted one egg with liquid cage free egg whites. I don’t use sugar, so I added 1/4 cup of coconut milk sweetened with a combination of stevia and xylitol., the coconut oil was a guestimate.. All in all, a great success. Next time, I will try small rounded drops full to resemble donut holes. I’m not sure which version of the glaze I will use, but I will have to make substitutions there as well for sugar, sunflower seed butter instead of almond butter, etc. This is a great addition to my fall recipes. It’s not easy to adapt to grain free, sugar free, diary free, and nut free cooking – this recipe sure helps!
cindy
I made these last night and they are so delicious! I made a few modifications to the regular recipe. Instead of granulated sugar I used coconut sugar and I only had medium eggs so I used two and the scones were a bit fluffy on the inside and crunchy on the outside.
Laura Fuentes
Sounds like they were a success!
Tina
can I sub whole milk for the 1/2 n 1/2?
Laura Fuentes
you sure can!
Lina
THANK YOU! I made these delicious pumpkin scones (regular recipe) to use up the leftover pumpkin puree I had in the fridge! I am happy that I have more puree left over and will be making these again! They were not only the easiest scone recipe I’ve ever made (I’ve made other types of scones a few times before and it was complicated and the scones were dry!) they were also so moist and scrumptious! I left 2 of them without glaze (for those that don’t want it glazed!!) (I can’t imagine that!!) and they were moist as well! These were a hit with my family!! Thank you again for sharing this recipe! Do you have other scone recipes to share??