A zucchini recipe that uses shredded carrots and zucchini together, so you know that these bars are going to be super moist and tender! Think of them as if your favorite zucchini bread and carrot cake had a baby. My kids call these zucchini brownies, but I’m not sure that fits since there is no chocolate. The slather of yummy cream cheese frosting over each bar really makes these fabulous, but don’t you dare skip my secret ingredient in the frosting….
I’ve been blogging for over 4 years now and the whole experience never fails to surprise me.
In less than 5 days, my post last week, Parmesan Chicken Bake became the most viewed recipe of all my 240 posts spanning 51 months. I completely have Pinterest to thank, but it is still so mind-boggling to me how one simple post can take my blog to where I never thought possible.
I guess I should work on more chicken recipes 🙂
With my garden beginning it’s annual boom of goodies, I am overcome with zucchini and needed some new zucchini recipes. I couldn’t wait to try these bars. I am in love with all baked goods with shredded carrots or zucchini. They are always so moist which makes it hard to step away from them. A few extra miles on the treadmill are worth every bite. The lemon cream cheese frosting just puts these zucchini bars over the top! Think about these as if your favorite zucchini bread had a baby with your favorite carrot cake.
These gems whipped together extremely quickly, and I didn’t even use a single appliance to make them. A quick grate on the box grater instead of the KitchenAid and I mixed everything together in a bowl, even the frosting. This is my kind of easy zucchini recipe!
Zucchini brownies that are really blondies. Loaded with fresh zucchini and carrots that make them super moist then topped with a yummy frosting.
Yield:20 bars 1x
Ingredients
Scale
Zucchini Bars
2 eggs
3/4 C brown sugar
1/2 C canola oil
1/4 C honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 C shredded carrot (about 2 large carrots)
1 C shredded zucchini (about 2 small zucchinis)
1 1/2 C flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C chopped pecans, optional
Frosting
8 ounces reduced fat cream cheese, room temperature
1 C powdered sugar
zest of one lemon
pinch of salt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray a 9×13 pan with nonstick spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, oil, honey and vanilla until smooth. Switch to a rubber spatula and mix in the carrot, zucchini and pecans. Add all the dry ingredients and mix together just until they are incorporated. Pour into your greased pan and bake for 22-25 minutes, until the top springs back when lightly touched. Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
Prepare the frosting by beating together all the ingredients until well blended. You can frost the whole pan before cutting to make it easy, but I really like cutting the bars first and individually frosting each bar.
Author:Carole Jones
Nutrition
Serving Size:1 bar
Calories:206
Sugar:19g
Sodium:160mg
Fat:9g
Saturated Fat:2g
Unsaturated Fat:5g
Trans Fat:0g
Carbohydrates:27g
Fiber:1g
Protein:3g
Cholesterol:25mg
Carole Jones
Carole Jones is an Arizona-based cookbook author & food blogger. She's authored The 30 Minute Cooking From Frozen Cookbook and the self-published Take 5: Chicken e-cookbook. For the past 15 years, Carole has shared her culinary adventures cooking and baking for her six brutally honest children here on My Kitchen Escapades. Hot, crusty bread is Carole's love language, but her two adorable grandchildren are a close second. Yes, second. Don't judge.
76 comments
amanda lang
13 years ago
These were delicious! I loved them, but my husband was not a huge fan-maybe they weren’t sweet enough for him? I am going to take the rest to work tomorrow and get some more opinions 🙂
Sarah
13 years ago
Has a definite ‘floury’ taste..made sure I did the correct measurement. I didn’t have vanilla so I went without it, do you think that would cause the difference in taste?
Carole
13 years ago
Absolutely Sarah. Vanilla helps balance and round out all the flavors in the bars.
Anonymous
13 years ago
do thnk this would work in a jelly roll pan?
Carole
13 years ago
Absolutely! I don’t know if there is enough batter for a half sheet sized jelly roll pan but a smaller one would work. Be sure to reduce your cooking time!
Martha
13 years ago
Yum, yum….these are soooooo good. Using yellow zuchinni will not make the taste any different, just may make it a lighter colored batter. I highly recommend making these bars…so easy to make, so moist to eat.
www.mlgainey.tumblr.com
13 years ago
I made these without the frosting, and they were so good that I will make the entire recipe very soon. They were moist, delicious, and gorgeous with flecks of orange and green.
Anonymous
13 years ago
Mine is the oven, will let you know how they turn out, can’t wait!
Anonymous
13 years ago
Would this work with coconut flour? Trying to make a gluten free version
Stephanie
12 years ago
These are amazing! I made them this morning. After popping them in the oven, I read through the comments and got a little worried they’d be lacking flavor, not so at all! The only thing different I did was squeeze lemon juice into the frosting, since my lemon was acting up and I was only able to get half the amount of zest. They are moist and perfect. Not lacking anything at all. Even my toddler begged for more! An hr later, there’s only half a pan left! Thank you for sharing this beautiful recipe.
Carole
12 years ago
Thanks so much Stephanie! We love these so much and don’t quite understand the comments about lacking flavor either 🙂 -Carole
Joann
11 years ago
Can I freeze them…they look amazing!!!
Carole
11 years ago
Joann – Absolutely! But don’t frost them until you are ready to serve them -Carole
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76 comments
These were delicious! I loved them, but my husband was not a huge fan-maybe they weren’t sweet enough for him? I am going to take the rest to work tomorrow and get some more opinions 🙂
Has a definite ‘floury’ taste..made sure I did the correct measurement. I didn’t have vanilla so I went without it, do you think that would cause the difference in taste?
Absolutely Sarah. Vanilla helps balance and round out all the flavors in the bars.
do thnk this would work in a jelly roll pan?
Absolutely! I don’t know if there is enough batter for a half sheet sized jelly roll pan but a smaller one would work. Be sure to reduce your cooking time!
Yum, yum….these are soooooo good. Using yellow zuchinni will not make the taste any different, just may make it a lighter colored batter. I highly recommend making these bars…so easy to make, so moist to eat.
I made these without the frosting, and they were so good that I will make the entire recipe very soon. They were moist, delicious, and gorgeous with flecks of orange and green.
Mine is the oven, will let you know how they turn out, can’t wait!
Would this work with coconut flour? Trying to make a gluten free version
These are amazing! I made them this morning. After popping them in the oven, I read through the comments and got a little worried they’d be lacking flavor, not so at all! The only thing different I did was squeeze lemon juice into the frosting, since my lemon was acting up and I was only able to get half the amount of zest. They are moist and perfect. Not lacking anything at all. Even my toddler begged for more! An hr later, there’s only half a pan left! Thank you for sharing this beautiful recipe.
Thanks so much Stephanie! We love these so much and don’t quite understand the comments about lacking flavor either 🙂 -Carole
Can I freeze them…they look amazing!!!
Joann – Absolutely! But don’t frost them until you are ready to serve them -Carole