These gluten-free cornmeal scones are a delicious savory scone recipe. Dip these homemade scones into stews or soups. They are perfect for fall. Add roasted squash for even more sweetness and flavor!
I found a beautiful delicata squash at my local farmer’s market yesterday, and I am so excited to try it in my new scones recipe. Delicata squash is a sweet, delicious winter squash that is delicious to use in baking! I used this squash in my popular Delicata Squash Brownies recipe, too!!
Cornmeal adds some fun flavor that combines with the delicata squash’s sweetness. It is a winning combination. These scones are simple to make and taste great dipped in pasta sauce, stews, and soups. My family has come to love them as part of our Thanksgiving meal, but you can enjoy them all year! From sweet to savory, I have a lot of delicious gluten free winter squash recipes to try.
If you make scones often, or if you are new to scones, using the right flour blend can make a big difference. My guide to what gluten free flour works in what type of recipes has a good breakdown of this information to help.
Allergen Information:
This recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, and nut-free. To make it gum-free, use my DIY Gluten Free-Flour Blend, which uses psyllium husk as a binder. To make it dairy-free, use plant-based butter and dairy-free milk.
I primarily use this cornmeal because it is certified gluten free, so there is no risk of cross-contamination.
Ingredient Notes:
- Cornmeal – I recommend using a certified gluten free cornmeal like Bob’s Red Mill. Cornmeal is naturally gluten-free but can often get cross-contaminated during manufacturing.
- Gluten Free Flour Blend – I tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure and Authentic Foods Multiblend Flour Blend. Other flour blends should work, but you may need to tweak the wet and/or dry ingredients.
- Xanthan Gum – If your flour blend doesn’t have a binder like xanthan or guar gum, you will need to add one teaspoon.
- Baking Powder – I recommend using aluminum-free baking powder
- Salt
- Butter – Use unsalted butter. If you use salted butter, omit the additional salt.
- Milk – I used whole milk. Use unsweetened dairy-free milk if you are dairy-free.
- Parmesan Cheese – This adds a ton of great flavor. VioLife makes a great dairy-free parmesan cheese you can also use.
If you are a scones fanatic like us, you will want to sink your teeth into all of my tasty gluten-free scones recipes!
Tips For Sucess
1. Be sure your butter is very cold.
2. Cool the squash before adding it to the scone dough.
3. Use aluminum-free baking powder to avoid any bitter aftertaste
Recipe Step-By-Step Directions:
How to cook delicata squash:
Step 1: The first step to making this recipe is to cook the squash so it is soft and caramelizes.
- Roast delicata squash with some olive oil in the oven.
- Sauté delicata squash in a pan with olive oil.
- If you are in a hurry, you can also cook delicata squash in a microwave by cutting it in half. Remove the seeds and place them face down on a microwave-safe dish. Add a little water and microwave for 5-8 minutes.
- Allow the squash to cool before adding it to the scone dough. If you add it while it is hot, the heat will melt the butter. You need the butter to be very cold so it creates those yummy flaky layers.
Delicata squash cooks very quickly in olive oil. Once tender, it can be used in many different recipes.
Step 2: Add all of the dry ingredients to a large
Step 3: Take your cold butter and use a pastry blender to cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients. The final mixture will look like it has a lot of crumbs.
Step 4: Add the wet ingredients and mix in a separate bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and add the cooled roasted delicata squash. Mix well into this gluten-free scone dough.Â
Step 4: Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and press the dough into a round shape about 1 ½ inches thick. Score the dough by cutting the raw dough ¼ deep into wedges.
🔑 Sandi says: You can also use a biscuit cutter to cut out round scones, use a cast iron scone pan, or make drop biscuit-shaped scones!
Step 5: Bake the gluten free cornmeal scones at 350º F for 25-30 minutes until done. It will look slightly golden on top.
Step 6: Remove the scones from the oven and finish the wedge cuts with a sharp knife. Move the scones to a cooling rack. I do this by sliding the parchment paper off the baking sheet right onto the cooling rack. It is that easy!
Check out all of my gluten-free baking tips on my Resources Page!
Recipe FAQ:
Although corn flour and cornmeal are 100% from corn, cornmeal is a much more coarse grind. Corn flour is a lot like regular flour in consistency and texture.
You can use any winter squash in this recipe, but I do not recommend spaghetti squash.
Store these scones in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. These scones freeze really well. Place them into a zipper-style freezer bag and freeze. Be sure they are not stacked on top of each other.
Serve Cornmeal Scones With:
- This savory Gluten Free Chicken Stew.
- Ground Pork Chili is delicious for dipping!
- Garden Vegetable Shakshuka is another great meal to serve with savory scones.
- My easy Gluten Free Chili Mac Soup is another great recipe to serve with these roasted squash scones.
Love This Recipe?
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. Please include which flour blend you used. This helps others know that this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Gluten Free Cornmeal Scones
Ingredients
- 1 cup delicata squash diced
- 1 ¼ cup gluten free cornmeal * see note
- ¾ cup gluten free flour blend * see note
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder aluminum-free
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter * see note
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup milk or non-dairy milk
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese or vegan parmesan
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- In a frying pan, heat olive oil on medium heat.
- Peel and chop the delicata squash. Be sure to remove all of the seeds. Cook cubed delicata squash until tender.
- Allow the cooked squash to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the cornmeal, gluten free flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk the dry ingredients to blend.
- Add the cold butter and use a pastry blender to cut butter into the dough. If you don't have a pastry blender, freeze the butter and use a cheese grater to grate the butter into the dry ingredients.
- Add squash and wet ingredients to the flour and butter mixture.
- Mix well.
- Put a piece of parchment paper down on a baking sheet.
- Put dough onto the sheet and spread to a circle shape (see photo above.)
- Make 8 cuts, similar to a pizza. If dough sticks to the knife, wipe off before making the next cut.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until done. The actual baking time will vary depending on how thick your scones are.
- Move the scones to a cooling rack and serve when they have cooled.
Notes
- Make sure you use gluten free cornmeal to avoid cross-contamination of ingredients.
- I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF and Authentic Foods Multiblend. That doesn’t mean others will not work; I just have not tested other flours.
- If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- To make this recipe dairy-free, use plant-based butter and milk.
- These scones will last up to 4 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
This recipe was updated from an old September 2014 post with more recipe details.
I may have to make this for my mom the next time she visits. She would love it.
I can’t wait to hear what she thinks 🙂
This would be great for a breakfast treat if made the day before. Just warm them up a bit and serve.
I like how you think 🙂
can you swap and use a different squash, like pumpkin?
Hi Angela, yes you can. The squash will need to be a firm winter squash, but any would work well with the cornmeal and parmesan because of winter squashes natural sweetness. Good luck and let me know how it turns out 🙂
Great recipe and I am delighted to try squash this fall. I have never been able to, successfully, bake anything with Squash in it. This will be an interesting challenge
Thank you Rini. PM me if you need any help. This recipe is pretty easy. Cut the squash in half, remove seeds, remove skin, dice and cook 🙂
this is such a unique flavor combo! it sounds totally delicious! yum-o!
Thank you Michele 🙂