Ham, Cheese, and Green Onion Scones

Breakfast is one of the best meals of the day and these delicious ham, cheese, and green onion scones have been served at many a breakfast. Stuffed with leftover ham, melty cheese, and sharp green onions – they always get a ton of compliments. They could not be any easier to make.

Scones are one of my favorite breakfasts and these made-from-scratch savory scones even more so. (I love a good sweet breakfast – um, donuts, yes please – but I love a savory breakfast with a good cup of coffee.) I love them even more because they are food-processor scones and they are really quick and easy to make. (They are also a great way to use up leftover ham after a holiday weekend.)

These Ham, Cheese, and Green Onion scones can be made with leftover ham, Canadian bacon, or regular bacon. You could even use cooked ground breakfast sausage. We like to use gruyere and/or sharp cheddar cheese but you can use whatever you think your family will enjoy. I think Asiago would also be super tasty. (I’ve also toyed with the idea of cheddar and jalapeno – I might make that this weekend when my brother-in-law visits!)

🥘 Ingredients Needed

The ingredients in ham and cheese scones, laid out and labeled.

All-Purpose Flour
Baking Soda
Baking Powder
Kosher Salt
Frozen or Cold Salted Butter (Cut into Cubes)
Sour Cream
An Egg
Diced Cooked Ham, Bacon, or Canadian Bacon
Shredded/Grated Cheese – We have used gruyere and sharp cheddar and both were delicious!
Chopped Green Onions (Scallions)

🍽 Equipment Needed

A Food Processor or Mixer (If you use a mixer, do not overwork the dough.)
Measuring Cups/Spoons
A Baking Sheet with Parchment Paper or a Non-Stick Baking Mat

🥣 How to Make Them

This is such an easy scone recipe – these ham and cheese scones could not be easier to make:

Add baking soda, flour, salt, and baking powder to the bowl of a food processor or mixer. Hit the pulse button a few times to disperse the ingredients. (Picture 1)
Add the egg and sour cream and pulse to combine thoroughly. (Picture 2)
Next, add in the cubed butter and pulse until the mixture comes together – it will be a little crumbly but should stick together. Do not overmix this as you want to keep large chunks of butter. (Pictures 3 – 5)

A collage of images showing how to make scones, steps 1 - 5.

Now add the ham, cheese, and green onions. Pulse just a few times – you don’t want to overmix, but you want to evenly disperse all the ingredients. (Pictures 6 – 8)

Now, turn the dough out onto a clean piece of parchment paper and press all the crumbles together to form a large circle – like a frisbee made of dough – about 7 or 8 inches across and about ¾-inch to 1-inch thick. Wrap the circle of dough with the parchment paper and place it in the freezer for about 10 minutes. (This will make 8 regular sized scones. To make bite-sized scones, make two smaller circles that are a little thinner.)

A collage of images showing how to make ham and cheese scones, steps 6 - 10.

While the dough chills in the freezer, preheat your oven to 400°F. It should heat up in the same amount of time that it takes for the dough to chill just the right amount.
Now, remove the dough and cut it up like a pizza. In half, then into quarters, then into eighths. This should produce 8 equal-sized scones.
Separate the scones and form the edges just a little bit – you don’t want to handle the dough too much – then place them on a lined baking sheet. I like to use a baking mat or parchment – if you have a dark baking sheet, I would use a baking mat or double up the parchment so that the bottoms burn or don’t get too dark.
Bake at 400°F until golden – this should take 10 – 15 minutes. (Pictures 13 – 15) I like to check them at 10 minutes, then add more time as needed (because I sometimes think my oven is possessed and it gets really hot for no reason.)

A collage of images showing how to make ham and cheese scones, steps 11 - 15.

Let the scones cool for about 5 minutes, then eat immediately while they are nice and warm from the oven.

🙋‍♀️ Frequently Asked Questions

How do you make scones from scratch?

Well – follow this recipe 😉

What is the secret to making good scones?

The secret to making good scones is to start with cold ingredients –cold butter, cold eggs, and cold sour cream. Using cold ingredients (and popping them in the freezer for the extra few minutes) keeps the butter from melting before the scones go in the oven and instead, it allows the butter to melt while the scones bake – this makes the scones super flakey and delicious.

Should scones have eggs?

Yes – eggs add a rich flavor to scones and help them to rise and stay together.

Why are my scones heavy and dense?

If you overwork the dough, scones will be tough and chewy instead of light and flaky. The trick is to barely work the dough – you just want it to stick together. It will be chunky/lumpy – as the butter melts in the oven, the lumps will melt into delicious flaky layers.

Why don’t my scones rise high?

If your scones don’t rise, your baking powder might be expired or your dough was overhandled before it was baked. Another possibility is that the oven was not warm enough. Putting dough in a cool oven that then slowly heats up can change how baking powder works. Make sure your oven is at 400°F before you put the scones in. Having an oven that is too hot or too cold will change how the scones bake.

What ingredient makes scones rise?

Scones rise because of the addition of baking powder and an egg. (If your baking powder is old or expired, the scones won’t rise.)

How do I get my scones to rise and be fluffy?

To make sure scones rise and stay fluffy and flaky, do not overwork the dough – handle it just enough to get it to stick together – and make sure that your baking powder is fresh.

Should scones be wet or dry?

Scone dough (and scones) will be a little dry, but they should be soft and flaky on the inside.

Should you let scone dough rest?

You should only let scone dough rest in the freezer and just enough to chill a little. If you let the dough rest at room temperature, the butter will melt and the scones won’t have delicious, flaky layers.

Can you use water instead of milk in scones?

I would not – the milk adds a lot of flavor to scones.

🍱 Recipe Yield

This recipe makes 8 regular-sized scones or 16 mini scones. You can also use cookie cutters to make them into fun shapes. I have made them into circles, hearts, Christmas trees, stars – I think they taste better in fun shapes 😉

🥫 Storage/Shelf Life/Reheating

Store scones in an airtight container for up to a week. We have kept them at room temperature and they were fine, but because there is an and cheese in them, they should probably be stored in the refrigerator.

To keep scones fresh, store a slice of plain white bread in the container with them.

To reheat scones, I like to put them in the air-fryer or toaster oven on a really low heat to get the whole scone nice and warm, then crank up the heat for the last minute to get the outside nice and crispy.

📋 Tips

To make sure scones rise and stay fluffy and flaky, do not overwork the dough – handle it just enough to get it to stick together – and make sure that your baking powder is fresh.
Try using different varieties of cheese – sharp cheddar, gruyere, asiago, parmesan – because who doesn’t love cheese?
Make sure your oven is at 400°F before you put the scones in. Having an oven that is too hot or too cold will change how the scones bake and can ruin them.