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!
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PRO TIP
Use an herb stripper to make easy work of removing stems and leaves from herbs and leafy greens. This herb stripper from Pampered Chef has four different sized holes to accommodate a variety of herbs, so you can remove stems and leaves with one easy swipe!
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?! The scones are best reheated wrapped in foil and warmed in a 350-degree oven for about 10-15 minutes.
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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
- â…” 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!
Rachel says
Great recipe! Easy to make. My husband thought I had bought them.
Melissa says
Literally just devoured one of these just 10 seconds ago. I make my own ricotta(simplest thing you can make and you’ll never go back to store bought, I might add) and this last batch was flavored with fennel salt and sauteed mushrooms, so these scones are flecked with mushroom as well as the herbs. 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.
sheilathigpen says
Melissa, I love your variation on the ricotta scones — must try next time! So glad you enjoyed the scones, and yes, sea salt is a must with these!
Sophia says
Do these scones keep well? I’d like to make them 1-2days in advance of a large brunch. Thanks!
sheilathigpen says
Sophia, to make the Scones ahead of time, I would suggest baking and then cooking completely before sealing and storing in the refrigerator. To reheat, wrap in aluminum foil and gradually warm in a 300-degree oven. Good luck!
Marilyn Johnson says
OMG! So good! I could eat the entire batch. I will be making these often and trying some variation; not that they need anything. They are perfect. Thank you!
sheilathigpen says
Oh! You are so welcome! And thanks so much for the feedback 🙂
Karen says
Oh my! These look soo good plus easy to make. Do you think it’ll still turn out great if I substitute cottage cheese instead of ricotta?
sheilathigpen says
Thanks, Karen! I honestly don’t know — I think the cottage cheese may be too wet for this recipe.
Lacey says
Has anyone had any luck adding breakfast sausage to these?
Lisha says
You have 3/4 tablespoons sugar is that correct?
Sheila Thigpen says
Lisha, that is correct.
Maysa says
Good, easy and delicious… thank you for the recipe!
Christine says
I made these tonight for a bridal shower. They turned out wonderful!
sheilathigpen says
I’m sooo glad you liked them!
Barbara Boccia says
Do you think that I could successfully use CarbQuik in the recipe? My hubby is a prediabetic.
Sheila Thigpen says
Barbara, I don’t have any experience baking with CarbQuik, but from what I have seen on other websites it seems that you could substitute. If you do try the recipe with CarbQuik, I’d like to know how it turns out!
Nadja says
Is it normal that the dough is so wet ?
Sheila Thigpen says
Yes, this dough is quite wet and shaggy. Work in extra flour as you handle it and shape it on the board if needed.
Kelly says
These are some of the best biscuits I’ve ever had! The flavors work so much better than you could even imagine! Love the crunch of the sea salt, and they reheat well for a couple days. Delish!
Betty says
Can I make & freeze before baking & bake when needed.
Sheila Thigpen says
Betty, yes I do think so. I would suggest taking them out of the freezer and baking for maybe 5 minutes longer.
Sanya says
I made these for my mom. She loved them so much and was excited that I added sauteed mushrooms too. I also added garlic powder to the egg wash, it was such a wonderful little snack–could be a good lunch if you eat 2 of them!
Sharon says
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 says
Awww… I’m SO glad you enjoyed the scones! They are definitely one of my favorites to make 🙂
Jackie Schrandt says
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 says
Jackie, I haven’t tried doing that myself, but I think it would work!
Carol B. says
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.