40+ Incredibly Good Sourdough Discard Recipes You’ll Be Obsessed With
Sourdough starter. Throwing it out hurts. I get it. But you’re in luck. Sourdough discard recipes are some of the best sourdough creations out there.
Soon, you’ll wish you had even more discard… to make these.
Lemon Muffins
These light and fluffy muffins combine a bright lemon flavor with the subtle tang of sourdough, finished with a sweet lemon glaze.
Pie Crust
This pie recipe combines buttery flakiness with a subtle tang, making it perfect for both sweet and savory pies.
Cinnamon Apple Muffins
These muffins with a simple glaze are a delicious way to use sourdough discard, combining the warm flavors of apple and cinnamon with a sweet, simple glaze.
Easy, No-Roll Crackers
These crackers are simple, delicious way to use up leftover sourdough starter, customizable with your favorite toppings for a perfect crunchy snack.
Cinnamon Sugar Muffins
These muffins combine the delightful tang of sourdough with a sweet cinnamon-sugar crunch, offering a deliciously unique take on a classic treat.
Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread
A perfect way to use up sourdough discard, creating a flavorful and tender loaf. Makes 1 loaf.
Sourdough Blackberry Muffins
Moist, easy to make, and topped with sparkling sugar. A sweet snack or breakfast made with your trusty sourddough starter
An Easy Recipe for Moist + Sweet Sourdough Strawberry Muffins
These muffins are a delightful way to use up sourdough starter discard, featuring fresh strawberries and a tangy lemon sugar topping.
Sourdough Lemon Bars
Sweet and tart lemon bars with a sourdough discard shortbread crust.
Sourdough Cheddar Biscuits
These flaky biscuits combine the tang of sourdough with the richness of cheddar, making them perfect for any meal.
Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
This recipe ingeniously incorporates sourdough discard, adding a subtle tang and chewy texture to a beloved classic, making them a perfect treat for any occasion.
Easy Sourdough Carrot Cake
Easy to make, super moist, and topped with the best cream cheese frosting.
Sourdough Lemon Cake
A sweet and delicious lemon cake made with your discarded sourdough starter. Perfect as a breakfast, snack, or dessert!
English Muffins
These are, again, a perfect breakfast recipe. They have tons of air pockets and a great texture. They are great, of course, with just butter and jam, but we really love them with breakfast sandwiches. One of the most practical sourdough discard recipes out there.
Sourdough Cheddar Crackers
Salty, crisp, sourdough cheddar crackers made with your discarded sourdough starter- a quick and easy recipe!
No-Wait Chocolate Chip Sourdough Waffles
Golden and crispy, with a soft fluffy texture and plenty of chocolate chips. Every kid’s favorite breakfast!
Soft Pretzels
This sourdough pretzel recipe can use either discard or fed sourdough starter. There is some kneading and shaping involved, so they are not a quick recipe like pancakes or waffles. But they are delicious, fun to make with kids, and can be adapted to be either sweet or savory.
Sourdough Apple Cake
A moist apple cake with fall spices and shredded apple, topped with an apple cider cream cheese frosting. A delicious way to use your discard sourdough starter.
Shortbread Cookies
This recipe uses a unique technique. Sourdough Shortbread Cookies! Buttery shortbread cookies are made more delicious with powdered sourdough discard. These cookies are perfect for the holidays!
Sourdough Gingerbread
Sourdough gingerbread is soft and has a deep spice flavor that is not too sweet. This old-fashioned cake is perfect for any time of day, and there’s no sourdough flavor; it tastes just like the classic.
Chocolate Chip Sourdough Muffins
An easy to make muffin recipe that uses your discard sourdough starter. Chocolate chips plus a sugar topping make this a crowd-pleasing snack or breakfast!
Lemon Ricotta Cookies
Sourdough Lemon Ricotta Cookies are soft, tender, and melt in your mouth amazing. The ricotta and discard sourdough starter makes the cookies moist and cake-like with the perfect balance of sweet and tart.
Crescent Rolls
Sourdough crescent rolls are soft and buttery. They are also a little bit sweet and have a nice sourdough flavor. These rolls are perfect with any family dinner.
Sourdough Coffee Cake
This moist and tender sour cream coffee cake will be a family favorite. Uses all pantry ingredients and is a great way to use your sourdough starter!
Scones
These scones are tender, flaky, and infused with a hint of tangy flavor, making them a perfect treat for any time of the day.
Sourdough Banana Muffins (Walnut Crumb Topping)
Moist and sweet, this recipe is a must-try for anyone looking to experiment with sourdough baking or anyone who loves a good banana nut muffin.
Sourdough Pumpkin Cake
Sweet pumpkin spice mixed with tangy sourdough starter combine to form this moist, easy to make sourdough pumpkin cake.
Baked Doughnuts
Serve these delicious baked sourdough donuts with cinnamon and sugar topping to your family for a special treat. You can have them for breakfast, brunch, a snack or a dessert.
Classic Sourdough Banana Bread
Sourdough starter adds a mild tang to a classic banana bread recipe that’s moist, sweet, and delicious.
Moist and Fudgy Sourdough Brownies
One bowl, no mixer, and the most decadent, rich, moist brownies ever. Meet your new favorite recipe for sourdough discard.
Lavender Scones
Lavender Sourdough Scones are easy to make and delicious! The floral lavender flavor and lemon glaze make them perfect for a party or an everyday treat! These scones can also be made without a sourdough starter and they are just as delicious!
Sourdough Blueberry Muffins with Crunchy Cinnamon Sugar Topping
An easy recipe for sourdough blueberry muffins, combining the tang of sourdough starter with the sweetness of fresh fruit and a cinnamon sugar topping.
Fluffy Sourdough Pancakes
Extra soft and fluffy sourdough pancakes mixed up and ready in under 30 minutes.
One Bowl Sourdough Chocolate Cake
This is a simple cake that is totally appropriate for a snack as well as a dessert. You only need one bowl and a few minutes of prep time, and it’s absolutely delicious: moist, chocolatey, and not too sweet.
Discard Biscuits
These sourdough discard biscuits are flaky, buttery, and delicious. You need just five ingredients to make them. Perfect any time of day.
Sourdough Discard Waffles
These are my favorite sourdough discard waffles because there is no overnight rise or anything else complicated. You mix, you pour into the waffle maker, you eat. Don’t worry about a sour flavor, it is barely noticeable, especially when they are covered in butter and maple syrup. (As they should be!)
Cranberry Cake
This coffee cake is perfect for a weekend morning or afternoon snack. It is moist and buttery, with a layer of fresh cranberries and a double layer of rich, walnut-crumb topping.
Sourdough Discard Tortillas
Crisp yet pliable, these sourdough discard tortillas blend traditional tortilla making with the tangy twist of sourdough. A perfect way to repurpose your discard, they elevate your tacos, wraps, and burritos to a whole new level of flavor
Sourdough Banana Cake
Use your discard sourdough starter to make this sweet, moist cake, topped with an easy cream cheese frosting.
Sourdough Granola
Sourdough granola is a great way to use up your sourdough discard. This homemade granola is easy to make and tastes great. It is perfect for snacking on anytime.
Naan
This Sourdough Naan is a delicious flatbread that you can enjoy as a snack or with your favorite meals. It has a slightly chewy texture and a charred flavor that will delight your taste buds. You can use it to soak up your favorite stews, spreads, or toppings.
Cinnamon Rolls
You can learn how to make cinnamon rolls with sourdough starter. These cinnamon rolls are made without yeast, and the frosting is easy to put together.
Dutch Baby
This Sourdough Dutch Baby or German Pancake is a thick type of pancake that is typically made with yeast, but in this case uses starter. It is very delicious and melts in your mouth.
Onion Rings
It is possible to make the crispiest, crunchiest, tastiest onion rings you have ever had by using sourdough starter discard. This will help give the onion rings a perfect coating.
Chocolate Doughnuts
Imagine airy, melt-in-your-mouth donuts with a rich cocoa touch! These chocolate sourdough discard donuts might just outshine your local bakery’s best. A delightful way to use your sourdough discard while satisfying those chocolate donut cravings.
Sourdough Pasta
Crafted from a few staple ingredients, including sourdough discard and wholesome whole wheat flour, this pasta offers a tangy twist and robust flavor. It pairs perfectly with a zesty sauce for an unforgettable meal
Chocolate Chip Biscotti
Meet the new best friend for your coffee! Whip up these Chocolate Chip Sourdough Biscotti effortlessly, and give your sourdough discard a delicious purpose
Lemon Rhubarb Sourdough Discard Cake
Experience a burst of rhubarb in every bite with this delightfully moist lemony cake. Sourdough discard ensures a fluffy crumb, while honey and lemon zest enhance the rhubarb’s natural charm. Rest assured, there’s no sour taste in this treat
More on Managing Sourdough Discard
First of all, let me say that it IS important to discard a portion of your starter regularly. So if you don’t want to make one of these recipes, just give yourself permission to throw it in the trash. It’s like thinning the plants in your garden. Painful, but necessary. If you don’t do it, the whole effort will be wasted.
Here are ways to reduce waste (beyond the recipes above).
- Reduce the Starter Size: You don’t need a massive starter to bake bread. Keep just what you’ll use in your baking, and maybe a little more for safety. For many home bakers, 50g to 100g is a manageable size.
- Refrigerated Maintenance: If you don’t bake often, keep your starter in the refrigerator. This slows down the fermentation, so you only need to feed it once a week. When you’re ready to bake, take it out a couple of days before, and give it regular feedings to reactivate.
- Compost It: Sourdough discard is organic and will break down naturally. It can be added to your compost bin.
- Share with Friends: Offer your discard to friends or neighbors. They might be interested in starting their own sourdough journey or have uses for the discard you haven’t thought of.
Answering Your Questions
Absolutely! For most recipes, you can use your discard right out of the fridge.
You can buy a very cute crock for your countertop, or you can just use a mason jar. Look for a one-piece twist on lid to make it easier.
While all-purpose flour is most commonly used, whole wheat and rye flours can be good choices.
Sourdough discard can’t replace commercial yeast. The purpose of these recipes is really just to reduce food waste and add a little flavor. Inactive starter won’t actually change the recipe in terms of rising.
More resources:
- Deep Dive into Sourdough Basics: Many experts in the field of sourdough baking offer comprehensive guides. My guide focuses on the basics and uses simple language.
- The Science Behind Sourdough: The magic of sourdough is as much about science as it is about art. If this interests, you, learn more here about how wild yeasts and beneficial bacteria interact, and why it results in that unique sourdough taste and texture.
Here’s to many more sourdough successes and experimentations ❤️.
By Katie Shaw
Katie lives in Virginia with her husband, three daughters, a chocolate lab, and over thirty chickens. She loves creating simple tutorials for sourdough, bread, and soap. Her recipes, articles, and YouTube videos reach millions of people per year.