These sourdough discard cinnamon rolls are exceptionally light, fluffy, and so easy to make. I love to make these with a chai spice buttercream, but these can be made easily with a standard buttercream, glaze, or cream cheese frosting. This recipe makes 12 rolls and can be ready to go in 2-3 hours.

Sourdough cinnamon rolls are one of my all-time favorite breakfasts (or desserts!) to make in the winter and fall. I love how you can switch up the spices to add a festive flair (think chai, pumpkin pie spice, apple pie spice, etc). These gooey sweet rolls are the perfect breakfast or dessert idea for Thanksgiving and Christmas too!
If you are looking for more cozy treats, I recommend my pumpkin banana bread muffins and my sweet braided cardamom bread.
If you find this recipe in the warmer months, check out my lemon raspberry sweet rolls! Use this dough in place of the dough listed in that recipe if you want to make it sourdough.
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Ingredients
These sourdough discard cinnamon rolls are made with simple, easy-to-find ingredients. It is also a very versatile recipe! You can make the frosting with both butter and cream cheese or with only butter. I'm including my homemade chai spice mix in this recipe because I like to add 2 teaspoons to the frosting (especially when I want to make these for Thanksgiving or Christmas breakfast!)

- Cinnamon roll dough
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Sourdough discard
- Baker's yeast
- Butter
- Milk
- Salt
- Cinnamon roll filling
- Butter
- Brown sugar
- Ground cinnamon
- Salt
- Chai Cream Cheese Frosting
- Butter
- Milk
- Cinnamon
- Vanilla
- Powdered sugar
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions

Step 1: Make the dough, allow it to rise until doubled, then roll it out into an 18x12 inch rectangle.

Step 2: Spread butter over the rolled out dough, then cover the cutter with your cinnamon sugar mixture. Use your icing knife or your hands to work the mixture into the butter.
Either roll the dough into a log and cut it into 12 equal pieces, or use a pastry knife/roller to cut the dough into 12 equal strips and then roll them up (my favorite way).

Step 3: Place the rolls in a lined 9x13 inch baking dish and allow them to rise again until slightly puffy. Then bake for 30 minutes at 350F. Allow to cool.

Step 4: While the rolls are cooling, make the frosting and top the rolls just prior to eating! Enjoy warm!
Hint: Top the rolls witht he frosting just prior to eating as even slightly warm rolls will melt the frosting.
Substitutions
If some of these ingredients don't work for you, try these tried and true substitutions! I'me very familiar with dairy free baking and these are the ingredients I love to use.
- Milk - Use high-fat non-dairy milk if you don't want to use dairy! I highly recommend Oatly oat milk (full-fat or regular would be ideal).
- Butter - Use a non-dairy butter like Country Crock's plant butter. A neutral oil (like coconut oil) would work well here too! I've also had great luck using that brand in frosting.
- Cream cheese - While I haven't tested using a cream cheese alternative, there are lots of great ones out there like Kite Hill's cream cheese. (If you try it out, let me know how it goes!)
Variations
There are so many fun ways that you can make these sourdough cinnamon rolls your own! Here are a few of my own ideas!
- Frosting - this recipe is delicious with both cream cheese and pure buttercream frosting. Use 1 cup of butter total for pure butter cream or ½ of a cup of butter and 4 oz of cream cheese for cream cheese frosting.
- More spices - I like to make these with a chai buttercream frosting. To do this I mix my own chai mix and add 2 teaspoons to the frosting. The recipe for the chai mix is in the recipe card.
Equipment
- Kitchen scale
- Stand mixer
- 9x13 baking dish (I used this one, but any dish will work fine)
- Parchment paper
- 5-wheel pastry cutter (optional, but I love using this for uniform rolls!)
Storage
Store in the refrigerator or at room temperature for 3-5 days. If you would like to freeze these, I would recommend freezing them baked and unfrosted for best results. These cinnamon rolls can be frozen for up to 6 months.
Top tip
Weigh your ingredients! I can't recommend this enough. Kitchen scales are easy to find, affordable, and beneficial to your baking journey. It is the best way to make sure your recipes turn out as accurate as possible. See my "equipment" section above for links to scales I recommend.
FAQ
Yes! See my "substitutions" section for my favorite dairy-free baking ingredients.
Yes! You'll just need to add a bit more milk to the dough. 1 ½ cups of milk total should do the trick.
Chai is a combination of seasonings, including cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice. Finding pre-mixed chai spice at your local store isn't always easy, but it is super easy to make!
The windowpane test is a way of testing to see if the dough you have kneaded has developed enough gluten. All you need to do is stretch the dough until you can see light pass through it without it breaking.
Try more of my fall recipes!
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Fluffy Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- Kitchen Scale
- 9x13 pan
- 5-wheel pastry cutter (or sharp knife/pizza cutter)
- icing knife or regular butter knife
- Parchment Paper
- Cling wrap
Ingredients
Sourdough Cinnamon Roll Dough
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar + 1 tsp, divided
- 2 ¼ teaspoon bakers yeast 1 packet
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup sourdough discard 100g
- ¾ cup milk
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1 egg room temp preferred
Cinnamon Roll Filling
- ¼ cup of butter or enough to spread over the rolled-out dough
- ⅔ cup brown sugar I used dark brown, but light brown works well too
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Chai Frosting
- ½ cup butter softened
- 4 oz cream cheese room temp, replace with ½ cup of butter if desired
- 3 cups powdered sugar 345g
- 1-2 tablespoons of milk
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoon chai spice
Chai Spice Mix (optional, can be omitted or substituted with cinnamon)
- 2 tablespoon Ginger
- 1 ½ tablespoon Cinnamon
- 2 ½ teaspoon Cardamom
- 2 teaspoon Cloves
- 2 teaspoon Allspice
- 2 teaspoon Nutmeg
Instructions
Make the dough
- Start by warming your milk and butter in a heat-safe bowl or pan until the butter has melted. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer (or mixing bowl) and allow it to cool until it is just under 120F. Add in the bakers yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar to the milk mixture and stir it all together. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes or so until the yeast has bloomed.
- Once the yeast has bloomed, add in the remaining ingredients (sugar, salt, flour, sourdough discard, and egg) for the dough and mix it together until it forms a smooth ball and the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead it until the dough can pass the windowpane test (see FAQ for an example of the windowpane test).
- Cover the bowl with a wet towel or cling wrap and allow it to rise until doubled. (For easier removal from the bowl, transfer the dough to a greased bowl while it rises.)
Assemble the rolls
- Once the dough has doubled, place the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it out into an 18x12 inch rectangle. Mix together cinnamon and brown sugar in a small bowl.
- Spread butter over the rolled out dough, then cover the butter with your cinnamon and brown sugar mixture. Use your icing/butter knife or your hands to work the mixture into the butter.
- Either roll the dough into a log and cut it into 12 equal pieces, or use a pastry knife/roller to cut the rolled-out dough into 12 equal strips and then roll them up (my favorite way). Each strip or roll should be 1.5 inches thick.
Bake the cinnamon rolls
- Place the rolls in a lined 9x13 inch baking dish and allow them to rise again until slightly puffy. Then bake for 30 minutes at 350F. Allow to cool.
Make the frosting
- While the rolls are cooling, make the frosting in the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Start by beating the softened cream cheese and/or butter until smooth and then gradually add in the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, milk, and optional spices.
- Top the rolls with the frosting just prior to eating as even slightly warm rolls will melt the frosting. Enjoy warm!
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