Banana Scone Recipe

This banana scone recipe comes together in just 27 minutes with ripe bananas, whole wheat flour, oats, and plenty of chocolate chips. They’re tender, lightly spiced, and genuinely satisfying straight from the oven.

I made these because I accidentally bought golden wheat flour and I’m so glad I did because these scones are amazing. The oats give them a little heartiness that I really loved, and the chocolate chips in every bite are always a win in my book

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Meredith

These scones are the kind of recipe I reach for when I have a couple of overripe bananas on the counter and not a lot of time. They’re warm and filling in a way that feels like a real treat without any fuss.

They’re just as good on a slow weekend morning as they are tucked into a lunchbox or eaten standing over the kitchen sink, which is where I usually end up with them. If you’re a scone person in general, my Cinnamon Scone Bread is another favorite that’s worth having in your rotation.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• White Whole Wheat Flour: Also known as golden wheat flour, it gives the scones structure and a mild, nutty flavor without the heaviness of traditional whole wheat flour. It behaves closely to all-purpose flour, so the scones stay tender rather than dense. If you love baking with whole wheat, my chocolate chip zucchini bread uses whole wheat pastry flour!
• Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats: The oats add a slightly chewy texture and a gentle heartiness to each bite. Quick oats will work in a pinch, but old-fashioned oats give you better texture overall.
• Baking Powder
• Cinnamon: Cinnamon adds warmth that complements both the banana and the chocolate chips. It’s subtle here, not the star, but you’d notice if it were missing.
• Kosher Salt
• Packed Brown Sugar
• Unsalted Butter
• Mashed Banana: Banana acts as both a natural sweetener and a moisture source in the dough. About one and a half ripe bananas is what you’re aiming for. Make sure the banana isn’t brown; you want it lightly speckled for the best flavor and the proper moisture content.
• Milk: Milk brings the dough together and adds just enough liquid to hydrate the flour and oats. Any variety of milk you have on hand should work here.
• Semisweet Chocolate Chips: These fold in last and stay mostly intact through baking, giving you pools of melted chocolate in every wedge. Don’t stir them in too aggressively or the dough will overwork and the scones will tighten up.

Variations for This Banana Scone Recipe

• Nut Addition. Fold in a handful of chopped walnuts or pecans along with the chocolate chips. The nuts add crunch and a toasty, buttery flavor that works especially well with the banana.
• Add a topping or glaze! Like with my lemon scones, you can brush these with heavy cream and sprinkle sugar on top before baking, or you can top them with a vanilla glaze or the cream cheese glaze from the cinnamon scones.
• Golden Raisin and Caraway: Swap the chocolate chips for golden raisins and add a pinch of caraway seeds to the dough. If you enjoy that combination, my Irish Soda bread scones take it even further.
• Change the chocolate: Use dark, milk, or white chocolate chips in place of semisweet for a different flavor contrast against the sweet banana. You could also use bittersweet if that’s what you have on hand!

Professional Tips for Perfect Banana Scones

• Keep the butter cold at every stage. Cold butter is what creates the steam pockets that make scones flaky rather than cakey. If at any point your dough feels warm or greasy while you’re shaping it, transfer the whole thing to the fridge for about 10 minutes before cutting the wedges and baking.
• Stir the dough as little as possible. Overworking the dough develops the gluten and tightens the texture, which gives you a tough, dense scone instead of a tender one. Stir just until the dough comes together, then stop, even if it looks a little rough and shaggy.
• Use a sharp knife for clean cuts. A dull blade drags through the dough and compresses the edges, which prevents the scones from rising evenly at the sides. One clean, downward press per cut is all you need — don’t saw back and forth.
• Cool slightly before serving. The scones come out of the oven still setting up in the center. Give them 5 minutes on the pan before you serve them so the crumb has a chance to firm up and hold together when you pick them up.

How to Make This Banana Scone Recipe

Use these step-by-step instructions to make tender, chocolate-studded banana scones with a lightly crisp edge and a soft, warmly spiced center. Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Step 1: Prep your oven and baking sheet. Heat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Step 2: Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk together the white whole wheat flour, rolled oats, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and packed brown sugar in a large bowl until everything is evenly combined. The mixture should look uniform with no visible clumps of brown sugar before you move on.

Step 3: Cut in the cold butter. Add the cold, cubed butter to the flour mixture and work it in using a pastry blender or your fingertips, pressing and breaking the pieces down until the mixture resembles coarse, uneven crumbs. Some pieces of butter will be pea-sized, and some will be smaller, and that’s completely normal! The variation in size is what creates flaky layers in the finished scone.

Step 4: Add the banana and milk. Make a well in the center of the butter-flour mixture and add the mashed banana and milk directly into it. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula just until a shaggy dough forms. The dough will look rough and a little uneven, which is exactly what you want.

Step 5: Fold in the chocolate chips. Add the semisweet chocolate chips and fold them in gently with just a few turns of the spatula until they’re distributed through the dough.

Step 6: Shape the dough into a circle and chill. Transfer the dough to plastic wrap. Sprinkle a little flour over the top of the dough, then use your hands to gently press and shape it into a 7 to 8-inch circle about 1 inch thick. The dough will feel soft and a little sticky, but the flour on top and bottom helps you manage it without overworking it. Wrap and place in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.

Step 7: Cut the dough into wedges. Remove the dough from the plastic wrap and use a sharp knife to cut it into 8 equal wedges, then place the wedges on a parchment lined sheet tray about 2 inches apart.

Step 8: Bake the scones. Slide the baking sheet into the preheated oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the scones are baked through and a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean. The edges will turn lightly golden, and the tops will look set and just dry to the touch. You’ll start to smell the cinnamon and banana around the 10-minute mark, which is a good sign you’re close.

Step 9: Cool slightly and serve. Pull the pan from the oven and let the scones cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before serving. They firm up slightly as they cool, so a short rest makes them much easier to handle and gives the chocolate chips a moment to set back up.

Recipe FAQs

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Before You Go

I hope this banana scone recipe earns a regular spot in your kitchen, especially on those mornings when you need something warm and satisfying fast. Browse our Breakfast & Brunch Recipes or make these banana bread muffins next!