Savory Bacon Cheddar Cheese and Onion Scones
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Easily whip up a batch of these Savory Bacon Cheddar Cheese and Onion Scones filled with sharp cheddar cheese, crispy bacon pieces, and green onions in only 40 minutes! They are a wonderful addition to brunch menus and even pair perfectly with savory soup.
Scones are one of my favorite quick-bread recipes to make. The first time I baked scones, I made a huge mess in my kitchen, but after some practice, I learned a few tips.
Now, baking scones has become easy for me, and my kitchen doesn’t look like I’ve emptied a bag of flour all over the floor when I’m finished!
Since then, I can’t get enough of them!
Why you’ll love this recipe
Ingredient notes
- Flour | For the fluffiest scones, use self-rising flour.
- Butter | I prefer to use frozen butter to make perfectly buttery scones with tiny air pockets, making the texture nice and flaky.
- Cheddar cheese | Mix in freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese for a robust cheesy flavor.
- Green onions | Add chopped green onions for bits of soft and mild onion flavor.
- Bacon | Chop a handful of slices of crisp-fried bacon fresh from the frying pan.
- Heavy cream | Heavy cream is one of the three essential ingredients for scones, moistening the dough to make it moldable and binding the ingredients.
- Pepper | Bring a subtle spice with freshly ground black pepper sprinkled on the cheesy scones.
How to make Bacon Cheddar Scones
The whole family will love this easy cheese and bacon scones recipe! So, put the classic cinnamon rolls aside and dig into these tasty cheese scones with chopped bacon!
STEP 1 | Preheat and prep
Get started by preheating the oven to 425 degrees and lightly coating a sheet pan with cooking spray or add a layer of parchment paper, then set it aside.
Then chop the onions and cooked crisp bacon. Shred the cheddar cheese to be ready when it’s time to add.
Now, let’s take out a bowl and get started.
STEP 2 | Combine dry ingredients, then add cream
Place the flour into a large bowl and use the side with the large holes of a box grater to grate the cold butter into the bowl with the flour. (Yes, cold butter.)
Next, add the shredded cheese and stir together with a fork. Add the green onions and bacon until they are evenly distributed through the dough.
Add the heavy cream to the flour mixture, stirring to combine.
If needed, add more cream until the scone dough starts to come together. It should be “shaggy” with some lumps and loose amounts of flour.
tips
- Typically, scone recipes tell you to “cut” cold butter into the large mixing bowl of flour with a pastry blender until you have a mixture with coarse crumbs. However, the easier way is to freeze the butter and use a box grater.
- Don’t knead the sticky dough, but press together firmly to get it to hold together.
STEP 3 | Form and cut scones
Next, dump the bowl full of dough onto a lightly floured surface, then squeeze and pat it with your hands to form a squared-off log about 12-14 inches long and 4 inches wide.
Once the log is formed, use a sharp knife or bench scraper to cut the log into equal wedges. See, it is simple, right?
Transfer your scone wedges to the prepared baking sheet and place them about 2 inches apart.
tips
- Lay out a sheet of parchment paper or silicone pastry mat for easier clean up of your work surface.
- For soft-sided scones, place the wedges closer together on the baking sheet. For maximum crunch with fluffy insides, place them as shown here.
STEP 4 | Brush and bake scones, then serve!
With a pastry brush, lightly coat the scones with a little cream or milk and sprinkle with black pepper. The cream browns the tops of the scones perfectly!
Finally, bake them for 20-22 minutes or until gorgeously golden brown. Allow them to cool a little, and serve!
Must-Have Box Grater
- Sharp Stainless Steel blades
- Removable rubber bottom prevents slipping
- Coarse grating, medium grating, fine grating, and slicing
Variations and substitutions
- Gluten-Free Scone Recipe. For easy gluten-free scones, swap the self-rise flour for a gluten-free alternative. If you can’t find a GF self-rising flour alternative, use GF flour and add 1/2 teaspoon of GF baking powder for a leavening agent. Then, just be sure your bacon is certified gluten-free.
- Large scones. If desired, cut the scones to make fewer but larger scones and increase the baking time.
- Herby Cheesy Bacon Scones. Boost the scone’s flavor by mixing fragrant herbs, like dried oregano, rosemary, or parsley.
- Brush the tops of the scones with egg wash for a glossy finish, and add a sprinkle of everything bagel seasoning to the tops.
Storage and reheating tips
- For the first day, you can keep the scones covered on the counter. However, because of the bacon and cheese, if you want to keep these fresh overnight, store these delicious scones in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- If preferred, you can freeze the scones and thaw them before serving again, but this may affect the texture of the scones.
Frequently asked questions
Here are just a few tips help to produce the tastiest scones. Always use cold ingredients for flaky scones, and avoid overmixing the dough. Also, scones are best when served fresh, so making them ahead of time won’t produce the best experience.
If you need to get ahead, follow the recipe up to the baking step, then freeze the dough until ready to bake and serve. Set the dough wedges on a baking sheet to freeze, then remove the frozen scones and store them in an airtight container to keep in the freezer for up to a couple of months.
When ready to serve, let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight and bake as directed, or place the frozen scones on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven at 400 degrees for a little over 20 minutes.
The two baked goods are similar but not the same. Scones traditionally include eggs in the dough, and biscuits do not. However, some scone recipes omit the egg. The primary difference is the shape– Biscuits are often round, while scones are usually cut into wedges.
Cold butter is a staple for scones because butter quickly melts in the oven. Icy butter takes longer to melt, creating pockets of air where the pieces of butter once were, producing deliciously flaky scones!
For more savory scones, try my Ricotta-Herb Scones. Or try some of my buttery biscuit recipes, like these Sweet Potato Biscuits and classic Southern Biscuits recipes.
Serving suggestions
This bacon, onion, and cheese scone can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a snack! They also work great for family gatherings or office potlucks.
But it’s seldom better than when served with a steaming bowl of flavorful soup. Try this creamy Potato Broccoli Cheese Soup, comforting Sausage Tortellini Soup, or my classic Creamy Tomato Soup, perfect for dipping!
Looking for more Tasty Scones?
Try my fruity and fresh Strawberry Scones Recipe With Lemon Glaze, sweet tooth-satisfying Mini Chocolate Chip Scones, nutty Cranberry Pistachio Scones, or this Raspberry Scones with White Chocolate Drizzle recipe– Yum!
Like this recipe?
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Bacon Cheddar Scones
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups self-rising flour
- 4 tablespoons butter frozen
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 3 green onions chopped
- 6-7 slices crisp-fried bacon
- 1 ¼ cups heavy cream
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray; set aside.
- Place flour into a large bowl. Using a box grater, grate butter into the bowl with the flour. Add shredded cheese and stir together with a fork. Stir in the green onions and bacon until evenly distributed.
- Add 1 cup of the cream, stirring to combine. If needed, add more cream until the dough comes starts to come together. The dough should be "shaggy" with some lumps and loose amounts of flour.
- Dump the dough onto a well floured surface and begin to squeeze and pat it together with your hands to form a log about 12-14 inches long and 4 inches wide.
- Use a knife or bench knife to cut the log into wedges. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Brush the scones with a bit of cream or milk and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown.
Notes
- Don’t knead the sticky dough, but press together firmly to get it to hold together.
- For soft-sided scones, place the wedges closer together on the baking sheet. For maximum crunch with fluffy insides, place them as shown.
- Lay out a sheet of parchment paper or silicone pastry mat for easier clean up of your work surface.
Nutrition
Life Love and Good Food does not claim to be a registered dietician or nutritionist. Nutritional information shared on this site is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
About Sheila Thigpen
Recipe Developer, Food Photographer, Food Writer
Sheila Thigpen is the publisher of Life, Love, and Good Food — a Southern food blog — and the author of Easy Chicken Cookbook and The 5-Ingredient Fresh and Easy Cookbook. After 20+ years in the publishing industry, she retired in 2018 to focus on her own creative endeavors full time. She and her husband live near the beautiful Smoky Mountains and have a precious little granddaughter who has stolen their hearts. As an influencer, Sheila has collaborated with brands like Creamette, Kroger, HERSHEY’S, Hamilton Beach, Garafalo Pasta, OXO, Smithfield, Valley Fig Growers, and more.
I can’t wait to try these
All my other recipes have baking powder listed, but not these any reason why?
Hi, Caroline! This recipe was actually written using self-rising flour so no baking powder would be needed. If you have all-purpose flour in your pantry, then you’d need to add 4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon salt and whisk that into the 2 1/2 cups of flour for the recipe.
Scones came out moist and soft. I love biting into pieces of bacon. A+++!
We’ve turned into scone lovers and this recipe was so delicious. I set out a plate at breakfast and there wasn’t a crumb left! They’re perfect for taking breakfast to the office too.
Made these for a breakfast brunch this weekend, crumbs left. No, actually not even the crumbs were left! LOL!
These scones were great. I left the bacon out to make them vegetarian. They were a great addition to breakfast!
yum!!! I’m making these for dinner tonight. Thanks!