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    Home » Recipes » Uncategorized

    By Kaleigh McMordie - January 25, 2021, Updated June 11, 2021

    Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe
    pinterest image with two photos and text overlay for sourdough discard overnight cinnamon rolls.
    pinterest image with text overlay for sourdough discard cinnamon rolls.

    These fluffy cinnamon rolls made with sourdough starter have a gooey cinnamon filling, cream cheese frosting, and a slightly tangy flavor. Let them rest overnight and bake in the morning for the most delicious breakfast treat!

    cinnamon rolls in a white baking dish with a black fork in the background.

    If you bake with sourdough regularly, or even if you've just started experimenting with creating a starter, you know how much starter you end up discarding. If you're anything like me and cringe at wasting food, you have a jar full of sourdough starter in your fridge that gets more full by the day. You can put that starter to good use in these sourdough starter cinnamon rolls and rejoice as your house fills with the heavenly smell of sweet cinnamon while they bake.

    Why You'll Love These Cinnamon Rolls

    Who doesn't love fluffy, gooey cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting? These pillowy rolls with a cinnamon and brown sugar filling and not-too-sweet cream cheese frosting can be made the day before and then baked in the morning for a delicious breakfast that also uses up sourdough discard, so you don't have to throw out all of that flour!

    How To Make Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls

    collage showing steps to making sourdough discard cinnamon roll dough.
    1. Mix and knead the dough in a stand mixer or by hand until you have a smooth dough.
    2. Cover and rest the dough at room temperature until puffy and doubled in size, about 2-3 hours. collage showing steps to rolling out and filling cinnamon roll dough.
    3. Roll out the dough into a rectangle, mix the filling and spread it onto the dough, leaving about a half inch on one long edge bare.
    4. Roll up the dough, using a bench scraper to help, if needed. Use a sharp knife or unflavored dental floss to cut 12 even cinnamon rolls. collage showing overhead view of unbaked cinnamon rolls in a baking dish before rising and after rising.sourdough discard cinnamon rolls in a white baking dish after baking.
    5. Place the rolls in a baking dish lined with parchment (or lightly greased). Cover and let the cinnamon rolls rise at room temperature for 1.5 - 2 hours or in the refrigerator overnight.
    6. Uncover cinnamon rolls and bake until golden. collage showing an overhead view of cinnamon roll frosting in a bowl and a hand frosting baked cinnamon rolls.
    7. Make the frosting while the rolls bake. Simply whisk together all of the ingredients until no lumps remain.
    8. Frost the warm cinnamon rolls and enjoy!

    Tips For Making the Best Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls

    • Use softened, room temperature butter and a room temperature egg for the best mixing. The milk should be warm, but not too hot. The temperature of warm bath water is what you should aim for.
    • The rise times will vary based on what room temperature is in your kitchen, the type of yeast used (active yeast or instant), etc. Place it in a warm spot in your kitchen when rising for the best results.
    • You can use all purpose flour, white whole wheat flour, or a 50/50 mix.
    • Maple syrup or another liquid sweetener may be used in place of honey.
    • This dough is slightly more sticky than normal doughs. It makes for lighter, softer cinnamon rolls. Work with floured hands and a floured rolling pin to keep the dough from sticking.
    • I like to roll the dough into a rectangle on a silicone baking mat or parchment paper to make it easier to roll up after filling.
    cinnamon roll on a grey plate with a black fork next to it with a bite of the roll on it.

    Sample Baker's Schedule for Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

    • 6:30 pm: Mix the dough, knead and rise at room temperature.
    • 9 pm: Roll out dough into a rectangle, fill, roll up, and cut into cinnamon rolls. Place in a baking dish, cover rolls and place in the refrigerator overnight.
    • 7-8 am: Preheat oven to 375°F, bake and frost!

    Still have too much discard? Then you'll love these other sourdough discard recipes!

    frosted sourdough discard cinnamon rolls in a white baking dish with a cinnamon roll on a stack of plates in the background.

    Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the comments!

    Print

    Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls

    cinnamon rolls in a white baking dish with a black fork in the background.
    Print Recipe

    ★★★★★

    4.8 from 13 reviews

    These fluffy cinnamon rolls made with sourdough starter have a gooey cinnamon filling, cream cheese frosting, and a slightly tangy flavor. Let them rest overnight and bake in the morning for the most delicious breakfast treat!

    • Author: Kaleigh
    • Prep Time: 30 min
    • Cook Time: 20 minutes
    • Total Time: 5 hours
    • Yield: 12 servings 1x
    • Category: breakfast
    • Method: baked
    • Cuisine: American

    Ingredients

    Scale

    For the Dough:

    • 4 tbsp butter, softened
    • ¾ cup sourdough starter discard
    • 2 tbsp honey
    • 3 cups flour (all purpose or whole wheat pastry flour)
    • 1 tsp fine sea salt
    • 1 large egg
    • 1 tsp yeast
    • ⅔ cup milk, warmed (but not hot)

    For the Filling:

    • ½ cup brown sugar
    • 2 tbsp honey
    • 2 tbsp butter, melted
    • ½ tsp vanilla extract
    • 1 tsp cinnamon

    For the Frosting:

    • 4 oz cream cheese, softened
    • 1 tbsp butter, softened
    • 3 tbsp powdered sugar
    • ½ tsp vanilla extract
    • 1 tbsp milk

    Instructions

    1. In the bowl of a a stand mixer, or in a large bowl, mix all of the dough ingredients until a dough starts to form. Use the dough hook (or your hands) to knead the dough until you have a smooth dough, about 2-3 minutes.
    2. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise at room temperature for 2-3 hours, or until puffy and doubled in size.
    3. Gently turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a ¼" thick rectangle. I like to roll it on a piece of parchment or silicone baking mat to make it easier to roll up later.
    4. Mix the brown sugar, honey, butter, vanilla, and cinnamon for the filling in a small bowl. Spread the filling mixture evenly over the dough, leaving about an inch bare on one of the long edges.
    5. Roll the dough up starting on the long edge that has filling all the way to the edge. Use a bench scraper to help if the dough is sticking a little bit. 
    6. Cut the dough into 12 even rolls. Place them in a baking dish that has been greased or lined with parchment paper.  
    7. Cover the dish and let the rolls rise for 1.5 to 2 hours at room temperature, or place them in the  refrigerator for an extended rise time overnight. At the end of the rise, rolls should look puffy but may not have doubled in size.
    8. If your rolls are room temperature, heat the oven to 400°F. Uncover and bake 16-20 minutes. If they are coming from the refrigerator, heat the oven to 375°F. Uncover the rolls and bake 20-25 minutes.
    9. While rolls are baking, make the icing. Whisk softened cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar until no lumps remain. Add vanilla and milk and whisk until smooth.
    10. Remove rolls from the oven and frost while warm, or frost individually as you eat them if you plan to same some for later.

    Notes

    • Use softened, room temperature butter and a room temperature egg for the best mixing. The milk should be warm, but not too hot. The temperature of warm bath water is what you should aim for.
    • The rise times will vary based on what room temperature is in your kitchen, the type of yeast used (active yeast or instant), etc. Place it in a warm spot in your kitchen when rising for the best results.
    • You can use all purpose flour, white whole wheat flour, or a 50/50 mix.
    • Maple syrup or another liquid sweetener may be used in place of honey.
    • This dough is slightly more sticky than normal doughs. It makes for lighter, softer cinnamon rolls. Work with floured hands and a floured rolling pin to keep the dough from sticking.
    • I like to roll the dough into a rectangle on a silicone baking mat or parchment paper to make it easier to roll up after filling.
    • See post above for a sample baking schedule.

    Keywords: sourdough discard cinnamon rolls, cinnamon rolls using sourdough discard

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @livelytable on Instagram and hashtag it #livelytable

    « Guide to Pregnancy Nutrition
    5 New Smoothies To Try in 2021 »

    About Kaleigh McMordie

    Kaleigh McMordie, MCN, RDN, LD, is a Registered Dietitian and Licensed Dietitian in Abilene, Texas, as well as a member of the Baby Led Weaning Dietitians Network. Kaleigh can be found at kaleighmcmordie.com.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Alyssa says

      April 22, 2023 at 4:13 pm

      Very easy recipe to follow. They turned out great! This SHOULD go without saying but the honey flavor is very noticeable in the dough and filling so if you have anyone in your crew that doesn’t like honey (like I do) you may want to swap it out. =D Definitely putting this in to rotation for my discard!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    2. Tara says

      April 06, 2023 at 7:01 am

      These are exceptional and very forgiving. Sometimes I accidentally leave them all day to rise, just because I get busy (like today). But I can still roll them up at midnight, stick them in the fridge and bake them off in the morning. This time I tried double the filling and will try them without icing, just because it's such a flexible recipe, I thought why not? Thanks for a wonderful recipe!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    3. Cheryl says

      March 02, 2023 at 3:21 pm

      I have never commented on any recipe before, so this is a first. I made these today from discard that I started saving. My starter is only 10 days old, but it worked great. I have Never made such good cinnamon rolls, ever! These are angle soft, rose very well, and flavor is fantastic. I did increase the filling by 25%.
      Question: Can this recipe be adjusted to use sourdough starter only? Leave yeast out and increase 2nd rise time?

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    4. Lauren says

      January 31, 2023 at 9:37 pm

      I made these yesterday and I just want to say they were incredible!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    5. Laura says

      January 04, 2023 at 11:53 pm

      I am not a skilled baker... working with the dough felt like working with puff pastry. should it have been this soft?? Plus i was so worried about the filling not looking like enough, I made more... BIG MISTAKE!! I'm doing the overnight in the fridge... I'm sure it's going to be super tasty but I'd like to make them look a little prettier next time. help???

      ★★★★

      Reply
    6. Amanda K. says

      January 01, 2023 at 10:28 am

      I followed this recipe exactly and found that while it was incredibly easy and the rolls turned out bigger and fluffier than any other cinnamon rolls I’ve ever made, there was not nearly enough filling and consequently not enough gooey cinnamon flavor. I did like that the frosting wasn’t overly sweet but without an abundance of filling to balance it out they just didn’t have the classic cinnamon roll flavor I was looking for. I will definitely try the recipe again but with different filling and topping. Thank you for sharing!

      ★★★

      Reply
    7. Kim Jordan says

      December 21, 2022 at 11:48 pm

      Does this recipe call for regular yeast or instant yeast?

      Reply
    8. Kathie says

      May 12, 2022 at 3:50 pm

      The lightest fluffiest cinnamon rolls I've ever tasted. They should be called Dangerous Cinnamon Rolls.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Kaleigh says

        May 16, 2022 at 9:37 am

        So glad you like them!

        Reply
    9. Lyn says

      March 24, 2022 at 6:50 am

      These look delicious—can you roll them
      Right and make smaller mini cinnamon buns from them?

      Reply
      • Lyn says

        March 24, 2022 at 6:51 am

        That should have read roll them tight...🤪

        Reply
      • Kaleigh says

        March 24, 2022 at 12:07 pm

        You should be able to! You'll probably have to roll out the dough into a thinner rectangle before rolling up, and maybe even cut it in half to make smaller rolls.

        Reply
        • Lyn says

          March 24, 2022 at 1:48 pm

          I’m going To try that then!

    10. Charllee says

      January 15, 2022 at 9:41 am

      Excellent! Made these yesterday and everyone loved them. Going to make them and proof overnight for Sunday breakfast.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    11. DONNA Bradbury says

      November 21, 2021 at 11:10 am

      Hi.
      Do you think it would be ok to freeze these once assembled but not baked? If so, would they be ok to be cooked from frozen?
      Thank you

      Reply
      • Kaleigh says

        November 21, 2021 at 2:32 pm

        Yes, I think you could freeze them before baking! I would place them in the refrigerator then night before you plan to bake.

        Reply
        • Amanda says

          February 25, 2023 at 6:22 pm

          At what point of the recipe would it be best to freeze? Before the fridge or after?

    12. Athena says

      September 06, 2021 at 2:51 pm

      I made these last week. They were amazing!! Is there a way to do the 1st rise in the refrigerator overnight, then assemble, 2nd rise and bake the second day?

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Kaleigh says

        September 07, 2021 at 5:14 pm

        So glad you loved them! I haven't ever tried so I can't say if you could do the first rise in the refrigerator, though that would be helpful if so! My only concern would be over-proofing.

        Reply
      • Bri says

        February 19, 2023 at 11:46 pm

        I’m trying that this night, fingers crossed it works out alright (though, full disclosure, I also did not have an egg so mine may be a bit wonky).

        Reply
    13. Joan says

      May 22, 2021 at 5:49 pm

      My family asks for these every week! I add a Tbsp or more of cinnamon in the filling but otherwise just follow the recipe. Delicious! Thank you.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Kaleigh says

        May 24, 2021 at 7:06 am

        I'm so glad your family loves them!

        Reply
    14. Cathy Cherry says

      April 12, 2021 at 6:57 am

      These are absolutely delicious. I love that they are not super sweet and that they rise overnight in the fridge.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Kaleigh says

        April 12, 2021 at 12:27 pm

        I'm so glad you liked them!

        Reply
    15. Kathy Margolis says

      February 20, 2021 at 7:50 pm

      I love that these can be assembled and left to rise in the fridge overnight. Beautiful soft, gooey scrolls!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    16. Regan @ This Unmillennial Life says

      January 31, 2021 at 11:46 am

      Gorgeous!

      ★★★★★

      Reply

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