When I was studying in London, Josh came to visit and hopped on an Easy Jet to Ireland. It was everything I expected: green scenery, great Guinness, quaint villages, friendly people. Ireland, from a tourist’s perspective, is perfect.

I wasn’t, however, expecting to love the food. It just happened, one meal at a time. It started in Dublin when we splurged to eat at the Winding Stair, continued in the small west coast village of Doolin where we had the best fish and chips of our lives and ended back in Dublin where we stumbled upon Cornucopia, a vegetarian restaurant and cafe in the city center.

Once we got back to the US, I ordered the Cornucopia At Home cookbook and it’s become a staple in my house. The book full of hearty delicious vegetarian Irish inspired food (like these collard wraps with mushrooms and wild rice). There is a whole chapter on breads and scones and, looking for inspiration for St. Patrick’s Day recipes, it occurred to me to combine the two.

These vegan and gluten free Irish soda bread scones are simple and delicious. Josh and I ate them for lunch and dinner the day I made them (it was Sunday and anything is allowed on Sundays). Ever since the butternut squash pot pie success, I’ve been addicted to this vegan butter over on Vegan Baking (if you’re dairy free, go make this butter!) and it works just as well in this scone recipe. These scones are so light, fluffy and buttery – you can’t tell they’re vegan and gluten free.

WHY THEY’RE HEALTHY// These vegan, dairy free, gluten free Irish soda bread scones are healthier than most scones. Made with whole grain gluten free flour and coconut oil based vegan butter, they contain some fiber and healthy fat. They use a fraction of the sugar used in most scone recipes – most of the sugar content comes from the raisins, which contain potassium and fiber. //

Other healthy-ish St. Patrick’s Day inspired recipes: