This easy buttermilk cheese scones recipe (AKA American biscuits) is perfect for afternoon tea and complements a variety of dishes. With a cheese and chive savory flavor throughout, they're soft and fluffy and delicious served warm with butter.
(No buttermilk? No problem! I'll show you a simple trick you can do.)
Recently I made a moist and tender rhubarb crumble cake with buttermilk. And with the leftover buttermilk, I revisited one of our favourite scone recipes: cheese and chive scones with buttermilk.
They're soft and fluffy with a melt-in-your-mouth bite that's perfect warmed up and served with a knob of butter to melt in the crumb. Note: if you're looking for crumbly scones, these are not your guys.
Also known as cheese biscuits in the US, their flaky layers are packed with flavour and fresh herbs, making them great for a savoury breakfast or brunch with a cup of tea. Or simply dipping in stews and soups.
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✔️ Why You'll Love This Recipe
Here are just a handful of reasons why we think you'll love these cheese and chive scones!
- Minimal prep time
- Quick cooking time
- Perfect for cheese lovers
- No food processor needed
- Light and fluffy cheese scones
- Great for using leftover cheese
- Versatile to eat with many dishes
- A crowd-pleasing flavor combination
- Easy to make and customise with simple ingredients
🛒 Ingredient Notes
Please see the printable recipe card with exact ingredient quantities, preparation instructions and daily values at the bottom of this post.
Self raising flour - AKA, self-rising flour, or plain flour (all purpose flour), you'll need to add 4.5 teaspoon of baking powder
Sharp cheddar cheese - this is a strong mature cheddar cheese, grated such as Cabot cheese for as much flavor as possible
Unsalted butter - this is chilled butter, diced to easily rub into fine crumbs for flaky cheese scones. Alternatively, you could also use a Stork baking block or lard.
Mustard powder - for a warming flavour to enhance the tasty cheese
Baking powder - this is to give the scones a little extra boost when rising in the oven. This is not to be confused with bicarbonate of soda.
Cayenne pepper - for a warming flavour overall
Chives - You can use dried chives, but I would soak them in a bowl of warm water to hydrate them first. Alternatively, you can make cheese and rosemary scones with fresh chopped rosemary leaves
Buttermilk - to help create a softer crumb. If you can't find it in your local grocery store, then you can make your own buttermilk mixture by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to 1 cup of milk and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
Small egg - this helps them rise into light and fluffy scones. For a crumbly, dense scone, you can swap it for 2 teaspoon of extra buttermilk
Salt - this is ½ teaspoon salt to enhance the flavour of these savoury scones, or skip if using salted butter
Toppings:
Milk for brushing, or use an egg wash
Sprinkle of parmesan which results in the best cheese scones!
📋 Instructions
First, preheat your oven to gas mark 7, 200 c fan, 220 c conventional, 425F, and grease and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
1. Sift all of the dry ingredients into a large bowl.
Then give it a stir with a wooden spoon,
2. Add the small cubes of cold butter to the flour mixture and rub together with your fingertips until you have fine breadcrumbs.
If preferred, you could use a pastry cutter to dredge the butter into the flour.
3. Gently stir in the grated cheese and chopped chives.
4. Now whisk the egg in the buttermilk in a separate small bowl.
Then make a well in the dry mixture and slowly pour in the wet ingredients stirring with a knife.
5. Gently bring the rest of the craggy soft dough together with your hands, making sure you get as much of the pastry from the sides of the bowl.
Note: avoid overworking it.
6. Place the cheese scone dough onto a lightly floured surface.
Then dust your rolling pin and roll briefly until it is around 3cm thick.
Use a 6-7 cm cutter (2.5-⅔") and cut 8 large scones. For small scones, use 5cm (2 inches).
7. Place scones on a lined baking sheet.
Then brush with cold milk or an egg wash if preferred.
8. Sprinkle a pinch of favourite grated strong cheddar cheese or parmesan on the tops of the scones.
Then bake for 18-20 minutes in the oven until risen and golden brown.
Top tip: If you feel like you've handled the mixture too much, or it is a warm day, place the cut scones in the fridge for 5-10 minutes while the oven preheats.
👩🍳 Substitutions
Depending on your dietary needs, here are a few simple swaps you can make to this easy cheese scone recipe:
- Self raising flour - swap for self raising wholemeal flour for a sweeter, mealier taste, or use plain flour and add 4.5 teaspoon of baking powder. Or use your go-to gluten free self rising flour
- Buttermilk - you can make your own by mixing the juice of a lemon or 1 tablespoon of vinegar to 1 cup of milk, then measure out what you need. For vegan buttermilk, use soy milk
- Cheese - use dairy free cheese for vegan and omit the egg
- Butter - swap for lard or plant based butters such as Stork or a baking block
- Egg - swap for 2 teaspoon of buttermilk
- Parmesan - use a vegetarian option if preferred to add on top of your scones or Cheshire cheese which also isn't great for melting on top which is why this is Delia Smith's favourite combo
- Cayenne pepper - try hot smoked paprika to add flavour to your scones
- Chives - you can use any herbs of your choice, or simply make cheese and onion scones by swapping chives for finely diced shallots or scallions (green onions)
⚖️ Variations
Here are some different ways you can enhance and truly make the best cheese scones recipe ever:
Spicy - add some chilli flakes, and jalapeños to the scone dough for a Mexican chilli cheese taste
Cheddar and bacon scones - mix in some crispy bacon bits for an extra salty taste
Stilton and walnut scones: Add some diced blue cheese and chopped walnuts to the dough for a cheesy nutty texture. You can add some dried fruit such as dried cranberries, apricots, etc for a festive taste while using Christmas cheeseboard cheeses
Olive, sundried tomato and feta scones: for a Mediterranean taste, why not mix in some chopped olives, sun drfied tomatoes and chopped feta cheese? This also teams well with basil, oregano, etc instead of chives
Broccoli cheese scones - try parboiling broccoli, then shredding in a food processor before mixing in for extra hidden nutrition
Extra cheese - add an extra cup of grated cheese if preferred
If you following a low calorie diet, then you might like to try these healthy cottage cheese scones.
🔪 Equipment
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- Large mixing bowl
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Baking tray
- Baking paper
- Sieve
- Scone cutter (biscuit cutter)
- Pastry brush
- Rolling pin
- Cheese grater
- Wire rack
❄️ Storage
Storing - we prefer eating these buttermilk cheddar scones once cooled on a wire rack to set, then enjoy hot or cold after. However, they can be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Freezing - cool to room temperature and again, store in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Heating - If you want to eat the next day, defrost in the fridge if required and microwave or slice, grill or heat in the oven if you wish
💡Pro Tips
- Instead of a prepared baking sheet, you can grease a large baking sheet really well with butter to prevent sticking
- Can't find buttermilk? Then make your own by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to 1 cup of milk and leave to rest for 10 minutes
- Keep the scones cold by using cold ingredients to help create a flaky texture as the cold butter helps create steam in the oven while baking
- Avoid overmixing the dough and only gently and briefly knead it to prevent warming up and activating the gluten in the flour early, which can result in flat scones that spread more than rise
- While the oven is preheating, use the time to chill the raw scones before baking. If they're too warm, they're spread more
- Don't roll them too flat otherwise, they won't rise. Aim for 2-3cm thickness.
- For clean edges, don't twist the scone cutter in the mixture while removing
- Alternatively, you could treat them as drop scones, like Welsh cakes, and roll them thinly and fry them in a griddle pan until golden on each side
- For extra flavour, brush the tops of the scones with milk and add grated cheese before baking
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
Potted meats - potted beef, fish, etc make great spreads on a savory scone
English Breakfast - instead of a boring quick bread and butter side, mop up your beans, tomatoes etc with buttered cheese scones for the perfect breakfast treat
Cheese and chutney - we've all heard of jam and clotted cream in a classic scone, so why not serve them alongside a crumbly cheeseboard on a platter with fresh tomatoes and a pot of apple chutney?
Soup - for a comforting lunchtime treat, slice and toast the scones under a grill, then butter and dip them in a bowl of soup - you can find hundreds of soup recipes to choose from on my blog
❓ FAQ
Make sure you use cold ingredients and avoid overmixing or over-kneading on your work surface. I also recommend chilling the scones for 10 minutes before baking in the oven.
You can slice and eat cold with lashings of butter for a quick snack for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or supper. You can also serve with extra cheese, chutney, potted meats, and cooked meats such as ham, bacon, etc. They're also great for grilling with extra cheese and dipping into stews and soups.
Yes, you can make this savory buttermilk scones recipe without buttermilk. All you need to do it mix 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup of milk and let it curdle for 10 minutes.
Yes, you can make a good scone gluten free by simply using your favourite GF self-raising flour and ensuring you use GF baking powder.
Yes, cheese scones bake perfectly in the air fryer, although you may need to bake them in batches, depending on your machine.
Set the temperature to 190c/375F and bake for 10-12 minutes, which should have doubled in size and be golden brown.
➕ More Afternoon Tea Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
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📖 Recipe
Easy Cheddar Cheese & Chive Buttermilk Scones Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 300 g Self raising flour (2 cups) + more for dusting
- ½ teaspoon Mustard powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking powder
- 75 g Cold butter (5 tbsp)
- 130 g Cheddar Cheese (1 cup + 2 tbsp)
- 2 tablespoon Chives chopped
- 158 g Buttermilk (⅔ cup)
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne pepper
- 1 small Egg
Scone Toppings
- 1 tablespoon Milk for brushing
- 2 tablespoon Parmesan grated
Instructions
- First, preheat your oven to gas mark 7, 200 c fan, 220 c conventional, 425F and grease and line a baking tray with parchement paper.
- Now sift the flour, mustard, salt, and cayenne pepper into a large mixing bowl.
- Add the diced cold butter and rub together with your fingertips until you have coarse crumbs.
- Stir in the grated cheese and chives.
- Now whisk the egg in the buttermilk.
- Make a well in the centre of the dough mixture and pour half of the buttermilk mixture in and stir with a knife.Pour in the rest and mix with a wooden sponn.
- Now gently bring it together with your hands, making sure you capture the remaining flour from the bowl.
- Dust a clean worktop and rolling pin with more flour, then roll the scone dough briefly until it is around 3cm thick.
- Then using a 7cm (2 & ⅔") pastry cutter, cut 8 scones out and place them on the tray.
- Then brush with milk and sprinkle with the grated parmesan for 18-20 minutes until risen and golden.Now transfer to a cooling rack for at least 10 minutes before serving with a pat of butter.
Disclaimer
*This is an unofficial page and has no affiliation or endorsement from Slimming World. Slimming World's website can be found at https://www.slimmingworld.co.uk/. Any syn values are personal estimates and not verified by Slimming World.
Video
Notes
-
- Instead of a prepared baking sheet, you can grease a large baking sheet really well with butter to prevent sticking
- Can't find buttermilk? Then make your own by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to 1 cup of milk and leave to rest for 10 minutes
-
- Keep the scones cold by using cold ingredients to help create a flaky texture as the cold butter helps create steam in the oven while baking
-
- Avoid overmixing the dough and only gently and briefly knead it to prevent warming up and activating the gluten in the flour early, which can result in flat scones that spread more than rise
-
- While the oven is preheating, use the time to chill the raw scones before baking. If they're too warm, they're spread more
-
- Don't roll them too flat otherwise, they won't rise. Aim for 2-3cm thickness.
-
- For clean edges, don't twist the scone cutter in the mixture while removing
-
- Alternatively, you could treat them as drop scones, like Welsh cakes, and roll them thinly and fry them in a griddle pan until golden on each side
-
- For extra flavour, brush the tops of the scones with milk and add grated cheese before baking
Carole Burton
Easily best cheese scone recipe I have used, so light and soft inside but crispy on the outside….excellent 👍
I usually freeze surplus as soon as possible, which I find helps keep the texture spot on when defrosted and slightly warmed in the oven.. yummy!!