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.

Mix and knead the dough in a stand mixer or by hand until you have a smooth dough.
Cover and rest the dough at room temperature until puffy and doubled in size, about 2-3 hours.
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.
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.
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.
Uncover cinnamon rolls and bake until golden.
Make the frosting while the rolls bake. Simply whisk together all of the ingredients until no lumps remain.
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!

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

Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

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

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.
Cover the bowl and let the dough rise at room temperature for 2-3 hours, or until puffy and doubled in size.
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.
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.
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.
Cut the dough into 12 even rolls. Place them in a baking dish that has been greased or lined with parchment paper.
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.
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.
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.
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