Name: Gluten-free Cheese Scones Recipe - BEST EVER!
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 340 g gluten-free self-raising flour; 1 tsp gluten-free baking powder; 1/4 tsp xanthan gum; 85 g butter (cold (use Stork hard margarine if necessary)); 200 g extra mature cheddar cheese (grated (use dairy-free cheese if necessary)); 2 tbsp fresh chives (finely chopped (optional)); 1 1/2 tbsp mustard powder (optional); salt and pepper; 180 ml milk (dairy-free if necessary); 1 egg (beaten)

Gluten-free cheese scones recipe – this savoury take on a British classic is too good to pass up! Best of all, nobody could EVER tell that they’re Coeliac-friendly and wheat-free.

Gluten-free cheese scones recipe, anyone? You can whip these up in 30 minutes and once you’ve tried one, you’ll never go without them ever again. This recipe has been a favourite on the blog for the last EIGHT years!

Gluten-free Cheese Scones Recipe - BEST EVER!

When I first wrote this recipe back in 2014, it had been a very long time since I enjoyed a cheese scone – maybe even 3 years or more…

Back when I was younger, I used to look forward to arriving home from school and finding freshly baked cheese scones on the kitchen table. I should probably mention that my Mum had picked up from the local farm shop – we certainly deserved no credit for those!

But most importantly, I didn’t realise how much I missed that feeling until I couldn’t eat them anymore.

Fortunately, I made this recipe all those years ago and have never looked back – otherwise I could have gone without cheese scones for waaaay more than 3 years.

So if you miss freshly baked cheese scones as much as I did, here’s what you’ll need to make them…

Gluten-free cheese scones recipe: What you’ll need…

Gluten-free self-raising flour: I used Doves Farm’s FREEE flour blend for this, which has added baking powder and xanthan gum. If you cant find this where you live, you can always make your own blend using my recipe.
Gluten-free baking powder: Not all baking powder is gluten-free so make sure you read the ingredients list first!
Xanthan gum: This helps to bind the crumb of the scones together so it doesn’t become crumbly, replacing the gluten that would otherwise do the same job.
Butter: Salted or unsalted is totally fine (I use unsalted), but whichever you go for, make sure it’s cold and straight from the fridge.
Extra mature cheddar cheese: You can use any hard, grate-able cheese you like, but I find that extra mature adds the most flavour.
Fresh chives: Dried chives are ok, but don’t usually add as much flavour as fresh chives. Make sure you finely chop them, please.
Mustard powder: This not only adds tons of flavour, but also helps to give a wonderful golden colour to the scones. See the FAQ section if you have no idea where to find it in the supermarket.
Salt and pepper: Of course, these are savoury scones, so a little salt and pepper work wonders here.
Milk: Any milk will do – I use semi-skimmed usually, but whatever you’ve got is fine.
Egg: This is just for egg-wash to give the scones a lovely, shiny, golden top.

So here’s the fun part for me: describing what my gluten-free cheese scones taste like!

Each scone has a crisp, golden exterior, with a generous amount of melted extra mature cheddar on top.

Inside, each scone is super fluffy with a strong cheesy flavour and a subtle, sweet onion flavour thanks to the fresh chives.BB

All you need to do is serve with a little butter and chilli jam (or a few slices of cheddar) for the ultimate experience.

This recipe was so special that I absolutely had to include it in my first recipe book ‘How To Make Anything Gluten-free’. You’ll find it on page 186, including a recipe for homemade chilli jam.

Gluten-free cheese scones recipe: Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make this recipe gluten-free? Is it suitable for Coeliacs?

It is gluten-free, though nobody would know just by tasting it – trust me!

Bear in mind that minimising cross-contamination is hugely important if you’re Coeliac or making this for someone who is. Here’s some tips from Coeliac UK on minimising the risk of cross contamination.

Also, make sure that all ingredients used don’t have any gluten-containing ingredients. Then make sure that they also don’t have a ‘may contain’ warning for gluten, wheat, rye, barley, oats (which aren’t gf), spelt and khorasan wheat (aka Kamut).

Here’s some more info from Coeliac UK on identifying safe gluten-free products to use for this recipe.

How do I make this recipe dairy-free?

Easily! Simply:

Use a hard margarine like Stork baking block.
Use dairy-free cheese instead of cheddar. I find that a smoky dairy-free cheese is best for flavour.
Use any dairy-free milk you like – I find that unsweetened almond works really well.

Can I make your gluten-free cheese scones recipe vegan?

Start by following the steps above the make the scone mixture dairy free. Lastly, instead of using egg-wash, use a little unsweetened almond milk instead to brush the tops. That’s it!

Is this recipe low FODMAP?

Not without using lactose-free milk – that’s the only swap you need to make to make it suitable for the elimination phase of the diet.

Where do I find mustard powder? Is it gluten-free?

You can find it in all supermarkets, but unless you know what you’re looking for, you might find it hard to locate!

It’s actually stocked in a cute little metal tin like this and as far as I know, is never in ‘own brand’ supermarket packaging. It always has to be this specific brand as no others seem to exist.

It’ll either be stocked with all the spices, but more commonly, it’s actually stocked WITH the mustard in the condiments aisle. So make sure you check both!

And yes, it is gluten-free as it only has one ingredient: mustard flour. However, please bear in mind that the actual jarred mustard by the same brand is not gluten-free as it uses wheat flour as a thickener.

Can I use gluten-free flours like almond flour or coconut flour to make this recipe?

Certainly not using this recipe. This recipe uses FREEE gluten-free self raising flour which is easily available in supermarkets here in the UK.

If you can’t find it where you live, you can always make your own using my gluten-free flour recipe.

The reason you can’t use flours like almond or coconut in this recipe is because gluten-free flour is a blend of lots of different gluten-free flours and starches – such as rice flour, cornflour (corn starch), tapioca flour etc.

So to ditch a carefully made blend and try to substitute them all for ONE flour… it’s just not going to work!

Gluten-free cheese scones recipe: Tips for perfection!

Remember that scones don’t rise much when baked. If you roll out the dough too thin and cut out loads of short scones, you’ll end up with lots of short scones. If you want taller ones like in the photos, then make sure your dough is tall!
Don’t overwork the dough. The more you handle the dough, the tougher it will become, so don’t treat it like regular dough. Instead of re-rolling all your offcuts into a ball and rolling it out again, simply use your hands to re-round the dough into a mound until it sticks together again, then continue cutting out the scone shapes.
Use cold butter. You simply won’t be able to rub in the butter to the flour mixture unless the butter is cold, straight from the fridge.
Make sure your baking tray is nice and hot before you place the scones onto it. This will give them a head start in the oven and encourage a lovely crisp exterior, whilst leaving the inside light and fluffy.
Use a cutter that’s around 4.5-5.5cm wide. This will ensure that your scones bake at the same speed as instructed in the recipe. Smaller scones will bake faster and larger scones will take longer than mine.