Savory Ricotta Scones are light and fluffy scones that are perfect for breakfast, brunch, or even served in place of dinner rolls. I can’t decide if this quick bread recipe should be categorized under scone or biscuit, but either way, these scones made for a tasty breakfast bread enjoyed out on the patio last Saturday.
Made with ricotta cheese—instead of heavy cream—the texture of these scones is so light they practically melt in your mouth!
The savory comes from the chopped scallions (or green onions), fresh parsley, thyme, and rosemary that is mixed right into the dough.

Savory Ricotta Scones
I’ve come to love cooking with fresh herbs. I love the fresh smell when I chop them up and the extra flavor they bring my home cooked sauces. When I find healthy plants at a good price, it’s hard to resist adding them to my shopping cart!
What I’m not so good at is keeping those plants alive once I bring them home. Even though I grew up on a farm, I am not a gardener!
That’s why I love finding recipes that feature fresh herbs like today’s scones… so I can use up all the herbs!
PRO TIP: Use an herb stripper to make easy work of removing stems and leaves from herbs and leafy greens.
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Kosher salt
- Sugar
- Unsalted butter — cold and cut into cubes
- Green onions — or scallions
- Fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley
- Fresh thyme leaves
- Fresh rosemary
- Ricotta cheese — whole milk or low-fat
- Milk — any type of milk works!
- Egg
- Sea salt — just a sprinkle for the top
- Paprika — adds a little color to the crust
- Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add grated butter and stir with a fork until the consistency of coarse meal.
- Stir in scallions and fresh herbs. Next, add the ricotta cheese and milk and stir until just combined.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead 2 to 3 times — don’t over do it! — and pat dough into a rectangle. Cut into 12 scones.
- Transfer the scones to a baking sheet and brush the tops liberally with an egg wash. Sprinkle tops with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and smoked paprika.
- Bake at 425 degrees for 15 – 20 minutes.
Cooking tips
- As with any scone recipe, the best tip is starting with frozen butter. I use a box grater to shave the butter right into my flour mixture which I think this is much easier than using a pastry cutter.
- This scone batter will be very wet, so you will want to use more flour on your work surface, or pastry mat, before kneading and shaping the dough.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean up.
- For a flavorful and lightly crisp top crust, liberally brush the scones with an egg wash and sprinkle with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and smoked paprika before baking.
“So delicious! I’d rather make these than traditional biscuits any day. The sea salt crunch gives them a little added bonus. Thanks for sharing this recipe. It’s gone onto my Tried and True Recipes board on Pinterest.”
— Melissa

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Scones or biscuits?
Even though savory scones are typically served for breakfast or brunch, these little “biscuits” would also be delicious served in place of dinner rolls.
For our weekend breakfast, we sliced the scones and used them to make breakfast sandwiches layered with peppered bacon and fried eggs. My hubby loved that combination!
These Savory Ricotta Scones are delicious warm from the oven, with or without butter — but who can resist a little more butter?!
How to reheat scones
These scones are best reheated wrapped in foil and warmed in a 350-degree oven for about 10-15 minutes.

Related recipes
Let’s bake!
Fresh herbs and ricotta cheese make all the difference in these scones. The dough is a bit sticky to work with, but the result is a melt-in-your-mouth scone that no one can resist!
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Savory Ricotta Scones

A light and fluffy savory scone that is perfect for breakfast, brunch, or served in place of dinner rolls.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ tablespoons sugar
- 5 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter
- ½ cup green onions or scallions,, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley,, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary,, minced
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- ⅔ cup milk
- 1 egg,, beaten with 1 teaspoon water (for egg wash)
- sea salt
- black pepper
- smoked paprika
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Grate butter into the flour mixture and stir with a fork until the consistency of coarse meal.
- Stir in scallions and fresh herbs. Add ricotta cheese, then add milk and stir until just combined.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead 2 to 3 times, then pat dough into a 9-inch rectangle. Dip knife into flour and cut dough into 12 equal pieces.
- Transfer scones to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush tops liberally with egg wash. Sprinkle tops with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and smoked paprika.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until scones are golden brown.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Girl Versus Dough.
The scones are best reheated wrapped in foil and warmed in a 350-degree oven for about 10-15 minutes.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1 ServingsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 167Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 295mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 6g
ABOUT SHEILA
Sheila Thigpen, author of Easy Chicken Cookbook and The 5-Ingredient Fresh and Easy Cookbook, is a recipe developer, food photographer, and food writer. She spent 20+ years as a business manager in the publishing industry before she retired in 2018 to focus on her passions — cooking, photography, and writing. Living near the beautiful Smoky Mountains, Sheila and her husband have two adult daughters and two fine sons-in-law, are active in their church, love to travel, and have a precious little granddaughter who has stolen their hearts. Follow Sheila on YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter!
Garlic Girl
Monday 18th of January 2021
These were an unexpected delicious treat. Tasty. I had for breakfast.
Kim S
Tuesday 15th of December 2020
Could this recipe work using a gluten free flour? Has anyone tried that and how did it go?
Carol B.
Sunday 11th of October 2020
I tried making these because they looked so good on Pinterest. Well, this recipe is wonderful! It tastes fabulous and the herbs are perfect. After 20 min, they are still too soft in the middle, but I think it’s my oven not heating properly. Can’t wait to try them with homemade minestrone or just anything else! This will be a regular in our house.
Jackie Schrandt
Thursday 9th of July 2020
These look amazing. I'm making them for breakfast tomorrow and was wondering if I can cut them, put them on a baking sheet and refrigerate them overnight? I would put the egg wash on them just before I bake them in the morning.
Sheila Thigpen
Friday 10th of July 2020
Jackie, I haven't tried doing that myself, but I think it would work!
Sharon
Sunday 12th of April 2020
Just pulled a pan of these out of the over, and oh my goodness, they are HEAVEN! Like light, savory clouds. Simple to make too. THANK YOU for this recipe! (and oh the ingredients you could play with, as someone mentioned mushrooms)
Sheila Thigpen
Monday 13th of April 2020
Awww... I'm SO glad you enjoyed the scones! They are definitely one of my favorites to make :)