Ham and Cheese Scones
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Easy peasy ham and cheddar scones perfect for any time of day – perfect as breakfast, snack-time, appetizer or with a bowl of soup!
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why make ham and cheese scones
- Wonderfully flaky, buttery, tender and crumbly
- Perfect as a savory breakfast treat
- Great to serve alongside soups and stews
- Amazingly freezer-friendly, ideal for planning ahead or saving leftovers
Ingredients
Flour
All-purpose is ideal but gluten-free flour can also be substituted.
Sugar
A little bit of sugar helps offset the savory richness with its subtle sweetness.
Baking Powder
A leavening agent to help the scones rise.
Garlic Powder
To complement the savory flavors of the ham and cheese.
Butter
A key ingredient, the butter helps create those light and flaky textures and crisp edges.
Buttermilk
Makes the scones tender while adding a slight tang.
Cheese
Cheddar is our go-to but monterey jack and pepper jack would also work well here.
Ham
This is a great recipe to repurpose any leftover holiday ham.
Chives
Use up any extra herbs on hand (chives, thyme, rosemary or sage).
tips and tricks for success
- Start with cold butter. Using chilled butter is ideal, contributing to a better rise and softer, crumbly scones. If using warm butter, it will melt too quickly during mixing. We want the butter to melt in the oven for those super flaky layers.
- Use buttermilk. While adding a slightly tangy flavor, buttermilk is an important ingredient here yielding light, moist and fluffier scones. Using milk will lead to more neutral flavors and a drier consistency. You can also make a buttermilk substitute using milk, adding 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup milk.
- Use your favorite cheese and herbs. This is a great recipe to use your favorite cheese and any extra herbs you have leftover.
- Avoid overworking the dough. Knead the dough just until it comes together. Overworking the dough can lead to dense, dry scones.
- Mix it up. Swap out the ham for pancetta, sausage or bacon.
- Freeze before baking. Although scones can be frozen before or after baking, freezing before baking is preferred to preserve texture and for optimal freshness.
freezing and storage
Storage
Leftover baked scones can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Reheating
Reheat in the oven at 350°F, covered in aluminum foil until warmed through, about 5-10 minutes.
Freeze before baking
Place the scones on a baking sheet lined with wax paper or parchment paper, freezing for 1 hour until solid. Transfer the scones to an airtight, resealable freezer bag. Label, date and freeze up to 2 months. To bake, thaw overnight in the fridge and bake as directed.
Freeze after baking
Let the scones cool completely. Transfer the scones to an airtight, resealable freezer bag. Label, date and freeze up to 2 months. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in the oven at 350°F, covered in aluminum foil until warmed through, about 5-10 minutes.
what to serve with ham and cheese scones
Tools For This Recipe
Baking sheet
Ham and Cheese Scones: Frequently Asked Questions
A quick and easy buttermilk substitute is creating your own buttermilk with whole milk and something acidic such as lemon juice or distilled white vinegar.
You can add 1 tablespoon acid (lemon juice or vinegar) to 1 cup milk, letting it stand for 5-10 minutes.
Absolutely! Monterey jack, pepper jack, gouda or even swiss can be used instead.
Swap the ham for diced pancetta, crumbled sausage or crispy bacon bits.
Yes! Scones are very freezer-friendly, flash freezing once assembled (before baking) and storing in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Ham and Cheese Scones
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ⅓ cup diced ham
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, garlic powder and salt. Add cold butter, using your fingers to work the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse crumbs.
- Stir in buttermilk, cheese, ham and chives until a soft dough forms.
- Working on a lightly floured surface, knead the dough 3-4 times until it comes together. Using a rolling pill, roll the dough into an 8″ circle, about 1-inch thick, and cut into 8 wedges.
- Place scones onto the prepared baking sheet. Place into oven and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until firm to the touch and lightly browned.
- Serve warm.
Video
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They weren’t very flavorful but love the texture. I din’t have Ham but used real bacon bits. Wonder what would happen if I added more salt or more cheese?? We ended up making a gravy and had them as biscuits and gravy instead. Need to try again 😛
Made these for a school day breakfast this morning for my teens. No substitutions -used Black Forest ham & sharp cheddar cheese. Use a light quick hand for just the kneading described and no more. Delicious! Came together so quickly and completely doable. Light texture for scones -good recipe proportions. Thanks!!
I made these the other day and used milk instead of buttermilk. (I didn’t have buttermilk.) We didn’t like them at all. We ended up dumping the whole thing. 1 Tablespoon of baking powder was way way too much. I thought that seemed like a lot and I triple checked the amount. It tasted like baking powder and it left a terrible taste in your mouth.
I’m sorry that this recipe did not turn out the way you had imagined. I only post recipes that have been successfully tested in my own kitchen, and as you can see from the comments here, many of these readers have had great outcomes in the final dish as well.
Also, please note that the buttermilk is a crucial ingredient here. By using a substitution, this can vary the final results quite a bit. I also recommend checking the expiration date of the baking powder as it should not be leaving a bad aftertaste.
The buttermilk is what activates with the baking power, which is why your recipe didn’t turn out. Next time if you don’t have buttermilk, you can mix vinegar in with milk (1 Tbsp vinegar to every 1 cup of milk) and let sit for about 5 minutes. The vinegar will then help activate the baking powder.
Made these tonight. These were awesome! Definitely a keeper.
These are so good! I just made them for my husband (the boss) to take to the office tomorrow with a few other scones. I added fresh ground black pepper and sprinkled with a little more cheese halfway through baking. YUM!!!! these might have to be made on a weekly basis, especially once school starts. 😉
This recipe looks great! Can’t wait to try.
Was just wondering, instead of rubbing in the cold better with my hand, can I throw it all in the food processor and pulse it a few times?
Have you tried freezing these? Planning on making them for our annual camping trip but I would have to freeze them before hand.
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
Can you prepare these the night before and refrigerate the dough, then cook them off in the AM
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment.
I don’t understand this recipe, nor the reviews.
These scones are SO SO SO SO SO dry?!!
And, I added like twice the amount of liquid. Sorry, but they’re awfu.
Thank you for your feedback. But instead of blaming the recipe, it is important to remember that many factors are at play here that may result in a failed outcome. I only share recipes that have been successful and well-tested in my own kitchen, but I understand that failures and mishaps can happen. But with a little bit more information, we can troubleshoot what went wrong to have a successful turnaround next time.
So I must ask – did you follow the recipe exactly as written without any substitutions?
Made these this morning with some leftover holiday ham. Turned out amazing. Got rave reviews.
I have made these three times and absolutely love them! Here are some substitutions that I make:
– As a college student, I don’t often have buttermilk on hand, but I have skim milk. I know they are completely not the same thing, but I’ve used it every time and they still turn out fluffy, moist, and delicious. I usually have to add more flour when kneading because they tend to end up very sticky initially, but otherwise they come together and bake normally.
– Green onion instead of chives — don’t know if it makes much of a difference, but I happened to have green onions and no chives, so I made the swap.
– I usually double the amount of kosher salt and garlic powder. I like a little extra kick of flavor. I also often put in a little more ham than is called for. 🙂
I love making these on the weekend and refrigerating/reheating them for breakfast before class throughout the week. They also go really well with over easy eggs — the perfect thing for messy yolks! Yum. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks for all the notes! I was wondering about how skim milk would change the recipe, and I’m glad someone else loaded up on the cheese and garlic! I’m definitely going to try these with eggs like you suggested on the weekend, but they make perfect take along breakfasts for me in the morning!
You can make your own buttermilk substitutions adding a tablespoon of lemon juice to your measuring cup then add enough milk to measure out to 3/4 of a cup. Stir and let it sit while you prepare the rest of the recipe!
These are excellent. I have made them twice in one week!
I made these this morning and they were very good. The only thing I would alter is using kosher salt. I found it gave to big of a hit of salt in certain bites. It is a personal taste thing. This recipe had great instructions and photos and I’d definitely make it again. I’m wondering if the measurement for table salt would be the same as kosher? Thanks.
Deegee, it may be best to add salt, to taste, to suit your preferences whether you are using kosher or table salt.
These are delish! I have a recipe from AllRecipes for sweet scenes that everyone loves. It uses sour cream and egg as the only liquid. I always feared recipes that use something else because I mean, there are THAT good BUT I really wanted to try these. My husband is soooo glad I did. I did not have fresh chives but I did have pepper jack cheese. I gotta tell you, ham and pepper jack is a great combo too! This one of several great recipes I have gotten from your site starting with your super great Zuppa Toscana Soup. I hope you’ll keep blogging for years to come…and my husband wishes that even more than I do!
Looks like a great recipe and I can’t wait to try it. Have you ever substituted any of the ingredients, such as whole milk instead of buttermilk and Parmesan instead of cheddar?
Unfortunately, I have not tried any of these substitutes.
Looks good. I’d love to try this. Have you tried making the dough the night before and just pop in the oven the next day? It would be nice to have freshly baked scones for breakfast before the kids go off to school.
That sounds like a great idea! But unfortunately, without trying this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. Please use your best judgment.
Generally biscuit dough needs to be baked or frozen shortly after the dough is made. Once the baking powder gets wet, it starts activating and if it sits too long, they won’t rise properly. I would make the dough, cut into triangles and then freeze on a cooking sheet and then pop into a freezer bag.
I made these for my family last night, and they were a hit. I couldn’t try it myself, because I would have to make it gluten free and dairy free, but they sure smelled good, and my picky girls loved them. I followed the recipe exactly. I will try to sub in vegan butter and gluten free flour, as well as Daiya cheese next time for myself, and will see how it turns out. Thanks for a quick, family-pleasing recipe!
Oh my you have really done it now. I can’t wait to try these. My mouth is watering. Thank you for the recipe!
I’m just going to go ahead and give myself a high five for deciding to scour Bloglovin before breakfast today…
What kind of ham did you use? Is it just ham purchased at the deli counter?
You can use any ham that you wish – it’s up to you!
I love this recipe I just made these delicious scones and they came out gummy.Can you please tell me what I did wrong I’m going to make them again.
Kimberly, many factors can be at play here but kneading the dough too much can certainly result in gummy scones.
I made them again I had by mistake added 2 cups of cheese instead of one cup.The second batch is beautiful and delicious. I love your recipes and the beautiful pic. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Kim
Were they moist or flaky?