Last month Tony and I had a fun trip to Maine to learn about wild blueberries. There were many fabulous takeaways, but the one thing I could not get out of my head were the Panera Wild Blueberry Scones. They are reportedly Panera’s top seller, but of course we’ve never tried them since they aren’t dairy-free. That was something I was determined to rectify!
I analyzed the Panera wild blueberry scones recipe and nutrition facts, and what do you know, they are relatively simple cream scones! All I needed to make these beauties happen was a secret dairy-free ingredient.
Rich, full fat coconut milk swaps in for the cream to make wonderfully simple, delicious wild blueberry scones. Do you see how thick it is in the picture above? This should not be confused with coconut milk beverage, which is wonderful in its own right, but is far too thin (more like 2% milk) for this recipe.
Not a fan of coconut? Don’t worry, the coconut flavor is quite muted and actually negated by the vanilla. The result is just a wonderfully sweet scone letting the fruit take center stage.
As you might notice, there are two different-looking types of wild blueberry scones shown here. One is with fresh / frozen wild blueberries, the other is with dried wild blueberries. The fresh ones are a little harder to work with and do take on more moisture, which is why they look a little more “rustic”. If you want that “perfect scone” look, dried fruit is the way to go with this recipe.
The Panera wild blueberry scones are sweet, but I did test “less sweet” scones with equal satisfaction. Nonetheless, I couldn’t resist drizzling some icing on those. What can I say, when I’m craving a baked treat, I like to go all the way.
This post is sponsored by So Delicious Dairy Free, but the wild blueberry scones, photos and opinions are all mine. The recipe is adapted from my Vanilla Cream Scones recipe in Eat Dairy Free: Your Essential Everday Cookbook.
For a quick icing, simply thin powdered sugar with a little dairy-free milk beverage. In this picture, I used 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon So Delicious unsweetened dairy-free coconut milk beverage, and 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract. My icing was quite thin. I would start with just 2 teaspoons milk beverage and drizzle in more drops as needed.
Reader Raves
Thanks to Janina for providing feedback on this recipe via Facebook: “I made these last weekend. They disappeared in less than 1 day. Yummy!”
Thank to Jeanette for providing feedback on this recipe via Instagram: “They were yummy this morning esp with added almond extract ?”
Thanks to Alissa for providing feedback on this recipe via Facebook: “This is one of my favorites! So delicious!”
Thanks to Ashley for providing feedback on this recipe via Facebook: “I’ve made this many times they’re so good!!”
Special Diet Notes: Wild Blueberry Scones
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, vegan, and vegetarian.
I have not yet tested this recipe gluten-free, but it may work with your favorite gluten-free flour blend. Let us know in the comments if you do try these wild blueberry scones gluten-free, what you used, and how it worked out!
- 2 cups all-purpose flour*
- ½ cup sugar*
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup frozen wild blueberries or ¼ cup dried wild blueberries
- 1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk (use a good quality one, with lots of cream - NOT coconut milk beverage), or as needed**
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Coarse sugar, for sprinkling (optional)
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, and lightly dust two spots with flour.
- Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
- Add the frozen wild blueberries to the flour, and toss lightly to coat, breaking up any berry clumps.
- Drizzle in ¾ cup of the coconut milk and add the vanilla. Stir to bring everything together. Drizzle in more coconut milk as needed (I use 1 cup total) to get a cohesive dough that is somewhat workable but not too sticky.
- Divide the dough in half and place both on the prepared baking sheet. Gently pat each into a circle that is roughly ¾ to 1-inch high. Place in the freezer while you preheat your oven to 425ºF.
- Once the oven is preheated, remove the baking sheet from the freezer an cut each disk into 4 wedges. Pull the wedges apart about 1 inch to give them a little space.
- Brush the tops of the dough with a little coconut milk, and sprinkle with coarse sugar, if desired.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool 5 minutes. Can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or individually frozen for longer.
**Coconut Milk Note: Do not use "lite" and do not use "milk beverage". See post above for pictures.
111 Comments
These look so delicious and so comforting and easy to make! I love scones and the texture looks perfect! Coconut milk is my go-to plant milk in baking, too!
Indeed! It’s coconut milk though, not coconut milk beverage, just to clarify 🙂 A lot of my readers tend to make that swap all too much, so I want to avoid confusion if they read the comments!
Lovely! Blueberry scones are just delicious. I so wish the So Delicious Culinary Coconut Milk was available here. It looks great!
Love me a good scone! And the blueberry looks amazing. I need to try that coconut milk!
Yes, you do Sophia! 🙂
Those panera scones really are the best!!! Your version looks so delightful too. Coconut milk is da bomb!
YUM! I love scones, and I’m always so sad when I run into Starbucks or Panera and can’t order one. These look even better than the ones you can buy in those stores. Love it!
I think homemade is always better 🙂
Scheduled to pin! I’ve never attempted scones, let alone vegan ones. But these look WAY too tempting not to try!!
You won’t be disappointed Chrissa!
Did anyone ever try this for gluten free too?
Yay for wild blueberries! I was just telling my husband that I want to make scones soon (I actually never have) and seeing these beauties has definitely reinforced that idea!
They are SO easy to make Sonali – just like biscuits! You must try 🙂
We moved from IL to UT and I miss Panera something fierce!!!! I love, love LOVE that you made a dairy-free version of these special treats! Yum!
I’m really surprised they don’t have Panera in Utah, but who needs it when you can bake delicious goodies at home!
I haven’t tried cooking with coconut milk yet, but seems like it’s just the same as when I used to use dairy, so I’ve got to give it a go!
It is in so many ways Amanda. You do have to take note of the coconut influence, but it does work surprisingly well in many dishes – even beyond curry! 🙂
I really want to have one of these scones now with my coffee! Looks delicious!
Yes, they are perfect for coffee!
Oh wow, these look absolutely amazing! I love scones. I still need to give those wild blueberries a try.
You do Wendy! Since you aren’t as big on sweets, I think you would love the versatility and complex flavor of them.
I love your wild blueberry obsession! These look great!
Haha, thanks Elle!
These were so good! Made them with Good & Gather gluten free flour from Target. It took about 19 minutes to cook with the gluten free flour but my husband and I loved them. Will definitely be adding these to our recipe book!
Thank you for sharing the gluten-free flour you used Kassandra!
I have to look for this culinary coconut milk! These blueberry scones will be a great excuse for me to try it out 🙂
Yes, it’s usually sold either in the Asian section with the other coconut milks, or sometimes with the shelf-stable milk beverages.
I love a good scone, the perfect afternoon snack and these look picture perfect!
You and me both Cricket – and thank you!
YUM! My family and I love scones! We use to make them every Sunday and it was always called Scone Sunday. Things got busy and it started happening less and less with early soccer games, travel, ect. We’ve tried to bring it back but it hasn’t been going so well. I’m planning on making them the next Sunday we are home which should be in a week and a half.
That’s such a neat tradition Sarah! I hope you do manage to bring it back – life does get just too hectic.
These scones look so good, Alisa!
Thank you Becky!
Loving that coconut milk! These look perfect!
Isn’t it great?! One of my essential ingredients.
These look so good! I recently bought a scone pan that I’ve only used once, so I need to break it out and make these!
Oh wow, a scone pan? I’ve never seen one!
Oh, they look so good. I actually have a peach scone recipe that is very similar to this, so I know I would love them. I like my scones on the sweeter side too! 🙂 Wild blueberries are the best!
Ooh, I love peach in scones, too, Jenn! This is such a wonderful and versatile type of easy dairy-free scone.
I love the easy, dairy free swaps. I can never get enough blueberries, so love this recipe!
Thank you Kelly – yep, sometimes it doesn’t take much!