Carrot-Zucchini Bars with Cream Cheese Icing
It’s about that time, isn’t it? The time during the summer when zucchini plants are absolutely exploding in gardens everywhere. Zucchinis seem to multiply like rabbits from day-to-day. One day you go out and pick five zucchini, don’t see a trace of any others, and by the next morning there are four more full-size zucchini ready to be plucked. If you’ve ever had a garden, you know the joys that come from eating produce that was grown right outside your window. You also know that by the middle of August, you start running out of people to gift with zucchini and tomatoes. That means it’s time to bake!
I have more than a few zucchini recipes on the site already, but now that my mom’s garden is heading into overdrive, it’s a good time to start cranking out a few new recipes. I spied this carrot-zucchini bar recipe awhile back on Pinterest and saved it for the summer, when I knew I would have garden-fresh zucchini at my fingertips. These bars taste like a cross between carrot cake and zucchini bread; topped with an easy cream cheese icing, they make a perfect snack or dessert.
Do you have standby zucchini recipes for when the garden goes crazy?!
One year ago: Blackberry Gin Fizz Float
Two years ago: Top 10 List: Favorite Yeast Bread Recipes
Three years ago: Chocolate Fudge Swirl Peanut Butter Ice Cream
Four years ago: Italian Wedding Soup
Five years ago: Pain Ordinaire Careme
Six years ago: Italian Stuffed Peppers
Carrot-Zucchini Bars with Cream Cheese Icing
Ingredients
For the Bars:
- 1½ cups (187.5 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) baking soda
- ¾ cup (165 g) light brown sugar
- ½ cup (109 ml) vegetable oil
- ¼ cup (84.75 ml) honey
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups (192 g) shredded carrots
- 1 cup (124 g) shredded zucchini
- ½ cup (58.5 g) chopped walnuts
For the Cream Cheese Icing:
- 8 ounces (226.8 g) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Make the Bars: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, ginger and baking soda; set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, oil, honey, eggs and vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until no flour remains. Fold in the carrots, zucchini and walnuts.
- Spread the batter into an ungreased 9x13-inch pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Place the pan on a wire rack and cool completely.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla extract on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Spread evenly over the cooled bars. The bars can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
- The ginger flavor in these is fairly pronounced, so if you don't like ginger feel free to omit it or substitute cinnamon. You can also use walnuts in place of the pecans, or really any other nut that you like.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
I doubled the recipe omitted walnuts and oil and used unsweetened applesauce. It turned out pretty tasty. My significant other hates carrots and liked it regardless! Made them in cookie sheets and making layered bars with the cream cheese frosting.
These are so good! Thank you for continuing to supply me with recipes that wow my friends and family!
I love this combo. I’ve actually made these before but a cupcake version. After a weekend of complete debauchery I convinced myself these were an acceptable “healthy” dessert. The concept of using zucchini in baked goods is just brilliant.
These turned out to be a great way to use some of our garden zucchini. The bars were sweet (yet not too sweet) moist, and the icing was perfect for it. I reduced the ginger to 1/4 tsp and added 1/4 tsp cinnamon. I did not have nuts, or I would have used pecans instead of walnuts. Thank you for another great recipe!
Made these last night… so amazing! The cream cheese icing gives them that little something extra. The perfect sweet “almost fall” treat.
Another hit! :)
These are so good! Thank you for continuing to supply me with recipes that wow my friends and family!
p.s. We love pecans, so I used them in these bars – they added the perfect texture and taste!
I made these bars last weekend (with just a few modifications*) as an after dinner treat for some family that was visiting from out of town. They were a big hit! Hubby and I couldn’t keep our hands off the leftovers ;-)
*I used my mix of gluten free flours in place of regular flour, coconut oil in place of veg. oil, and used ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice in the batter (just because we love spices!). I added a tsp of cinnamon to the icing as well, yum!
I shredded extra carrots and zucchini for the freezer (the zucchini is going crazy right now!) and look forward to making these again soon.
Thanks for sharing!
I wondering how this recipe would be with gluten free flour. Thanks Amy!
I made carrot zucchini bread before, but that didn’t have cream cheese icing, which was a glaring oversight on my part :) These bars look delish!
Zucchini desserts are some of my favorites and this looks like an awesome one to try! Love the addition of carrots.
So since there is zucchini and carrot in the batter, these are super healthy, right? Right?!
I love this mix of carrots and zucchini. My squash plant died last week and I am bummed. Oh well, at least it will still be easy to find in stores.
I just made this cake! Easy paeasy! It came out AWESOME and it looked just like your picture. I did make a few changes though…I substituted half of the flour with wheat flour and I only put half of the powdered sugar in the icing. Also, instead of vanilla in the icing, I used a half tsp. of orange extract. it was plenty sweet and not to heavy! I will make it again for sure, but I might grate a green apple into it next time.
Keep the keepers comin’! : )
I absolutely love carrot cake and zucchini “bread” (aka cake) separately so I can’t imagine how delicious it must taste when you combine the two! Especially with that creamy frosting. I usually bake zucchini muffins or double chocolate zucchini bread, but I’m going to have save some of my zucchini to give this a try.
Yum! I have an awesome lemon zucchini bread recipe that my family loves. This looks fabulous and the more veg snuck in, the better. Thanks!
Cream cheese frosting is pretty much my favorite thing ever … Love this!
I love the idea of combining the carrot and zucchini! Can’t wait to try this!
And it’s also time to add a sticky for a month or so: the chocolate zucchini bread!
These bars look amazing!! I love cream cheese icing! And since they have carrot and zucchini, it toally makes them healthy, right? :)
These look incredible!
This looks incredible! I love that there is both zucchini and carrot sin these! Double veg in a dessert? Score!
I haven’t seen a carrot anything recipe without cinnamon… ever. I’m allergic to cinnamon, so BLESS YOU.
Pinned.
This is totally a love at first sight for me. A great way to use summer produce annnnnd two of my fav cakes in one. Love it!
Ahh, I was looking for something like this last night! I ended up make zucchini oven chips which turned out surprisingly well considering I just used the slicer on the side of my box grater. I thought it wouldn’t be thing enough to get crispy but it turns out that the water content is high enough that they definitely get there!
ended up making*
It’s early.
“A cross between carrot cake and zucchini bread.” I could hug you right now.
Oh, my…the bars look fantastic. I happen to have a big zucchini on my counter right now.
This bars sound delicious and they look so pretty too with the carrots and zucchini!
I will definitely try this one out, your double chocolate zucchini cake was superb so am pretty sure this won’t disappoint plus it will be different from the normal ginger carrot cake I make. I will post back of my attempt at this….I have a lot of ginger so I am going to grate them instead of using ground ginger. Hope it works out.
I have actually never baked with zucchini but I need to get on it… these bars look so moist and delish!! Love the cream cheese icing..of course ;)
About this time last year I went on zuke mania and made pudding cakes, banana breads and cakes, etc. with it. I Love love love the idea of it with carrots! This sounds so good! Pinned!
This is so beautiful! And vegetables = healthy, so yay!!
I love garden desserts, nothing makes me happier! Well actually the cream cheese icing makes me super happy too! Going to use this icing on a upcoming carrot cake I plan on making, super yummy!
Ñaaaaaaaaaaaamiiii!!!!!!!!!!!