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Carrot and Zucchini Bars with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

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If you’re looking for a clever way to sneak veggies into dessert, these Carrot and Zucchini Bars with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting are a sweet solution that totally works for my family. Honestly, zucchini only gets a warm welcome in our house when it’s baked into something sugary—think muffins, quick breads, or cake bars like these. I loved the idea of pairing it with carrots for a double dose of veggie goodness, and the result was a moist, flavorful treat that felt like a fresh twist on classic carrot cake.

What really made these bars stand out was the hint of ginger in the batter and the bright lemon cream cheese frosting on top—it’s a combo that’s cozy and refreshing all at once. The bars are packed with texture from the shredded veggies and chopped nuts, and they bake up beautifully with flecks of green and orange throughout. I left the zucchini unpeeled so the color could shine, but if you’re trying to keep it under the radar for picky eaters, peeling works just fine.

Carrot and Zucchini Bars | realmomkitchen.com
  • EGGS
  • BROWN SUGAR
  • CANOLA OIL
  • HONEY
  • VANILLA
  • CARROT
  • ZUCCHINI
  • WALNUTS
  • ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR
  • BAKING POWDER
  • GROUND GINGER
  • BAKING SODA
  • REDUCED FAT CREAM CHEESE
  • POWDERED SUGAR
  • LEMON ZEST

Preheat the Oven – Set your oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan or line it with parchment paper for easy removal.

Mix the Wet Ingredients – In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, canola oil, honey, and vanilla extract. Don’t worry if the brown sugar looks clumpy—it will dissolve as the mixture rests.

Add the Veggies & Nuts – Fold in the shredded carrots, shredded zucchini (peeled or unpeeled), and walnuts. Mix gently until evenly distributed.

Combine the Dry Ingredients – In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, ground ginger, and baking soda with a whisk.

Make the Batter – Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir just until combined—don’t overmix. The batter will be thick and textured.

Bake the Bars – Spread the batter evenly into your prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the bars cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

Make the Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting – In a medium bowl, beat together the reduced-fat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and lemon zest. Use an electric mixer on medium speed until the frosting is light and fluffy. Once the bars are fully cooled, spread or pipe the frosting over the top.

Can you taste the zucchini in these bars?
Not really! The zucchini adds moisture and blends right in with the carrots. Most people won’t even notice it’s there—especially with the lemon frosting on top.

Do I need to peel the zucchini before shredding?
It’s up to you. Leaving the skin on adds pretty green flecks and extra nutrients, but peeling helps hide it if you’re serving picky eaters.

How do I store these bars?
Store frosted bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Unfrosted bars can be kept at room temperature for 2–3 days.

Can I freeze them?
Yes! Freeze unfrosted bars for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and frost just before serving.

What’s the best way to shred the veggies?
A box grater works great, or use a food processor with a shredding blade for faster prep. Be sure to squeeze out excess moisture from the zucchini gently.

Can I make this recipe ahead of time?
Yes! Bake the bars and store them (frosted or unfrosted) in the fridge. They’re even better the next day once the flavors have settled.

Carrot and Zucchini Bars | realmomkitchen.com

Carrot and Zucchini Bars with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Real Mom Kitchen

These Carrot and Zucchini Bars are a moist, veggie-packed dessert made with shredded carrots and zucchini, warm spices like ginger, and crunchy walnuts for texture. Topped with a tangy lemon cream cheese frosting, they strike a delicious balance between cozy and refreshing. It’s a clever way to serve up veggies in a sweet treat that’s perfect for sharing—whether you peel the zucchini or let its vibrant color shine!
5 from 17 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Cooling time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 36 servings
Calories 114 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 2 eggs slightly beaten
  • ¾ cup packed brown sugar
  • ½ cup canola oil
  • ¼ cup honey
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 ½ cups shredded carrot
  • 1 cup shredded zucchini
  • ½ cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp ground ginger
  • ¼ tsp baking soda

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • 8 oz pkg reduced fat cream cheese
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 ½ tsp lemon zest

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, oil, honey, and vanilla.  Don't worry about clumps of the brown sugar. Those will dissolve as it sits while you prepare the remaining ingredients.  Then fold in the carrot, zucchini, and walnuts.
  • In another bowl, add the flour, baking powder, ginger, and baking soda.  Whisk to blend together.
  • Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture. Stir just until combined. Spread batter into an ungreased 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
  • Bake about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
  • Once the cake is cooled, prepare the frosting. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the frosting ingredients with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy.  Spread or pipe the frosting over the cooled bars.  Makes 36 bars.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 serving | Calories: 114kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 51mg | Potassium: 66mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 946IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 0.4mg
Keyword bars, carrot cake, carrots, lemon, zucchini
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens.

5 from 17 votes

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95 Comments

  1. I hit the button to double the recipe and I noticed all the ingredients doubled except the eggs. It still said 2 eggs. Is that correct, or should it be 4 eggs. Please respond as I want to make a double batch and don’t want to screw it up. Thanks.

    1. Yes, it should be 4 eggs. Not sure what is up with my recipe plugin. I’ll have to look into that. Thanks.

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  10. 5 stars
    I have made these twice now and they are a huge hit! I truly can’t get enough of them. I’d like to try to make them in to individual muffins. Any advice on how that might alter the baking time or temp?

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    1. I just made this afternoon into muffins. Haven’t tried tham yet. Cut the cooking time to 20 minutes. Will let you know.

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  26. 5 stars
    I made these this afternoon…they are delicious! We ate them without the frosting and they were a huge hit with the whole family. Not only that, they smell amazing while they are baking; my husband came home from work and asked, \What is that delicious piece of heaven that I’m smelling?? (I followed the recipe given except that I added 1/2 tsp of cinnamon because I love cinnamon)..

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  33. 5 stars
    I made this recipe today with gluten free flour and it is so delicious!! The only change other than the type of flour I used was to omit the walnuts. Thank you for sharing this recipe! It was so easy and will now be a go to recipe for me.

  34. Pingback: Carrot & Zucchini Bars with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
  35. Pingback: Carrot And Zucchini Bars With Cream Cheese Frosting |
  36. 5 stars
    Hrmmm… my last reply about the printing option didn’t post where it should.
    As for the recipe, I found it very delicious. I had half a zucchini in the fridge and needed to use it, as well as a couple of carrots. However, I didn’t have cream cheese for frosting, so I just sprinkled a tablespoon of sugar over the top before baking. I also replaced half of the flour with whole grain flour, and didn’t add as much of the sugar and honey as it called for. I live in Germany where Germans don’t like things “uber” sweet (even though that is not how “uber” is spelled in German). I never quite filled the cups of sugar and honey and it is still plenty sweet.

  37. Highlight that what you want printed, go to file and click on print. When the print box comes up you can choose to print that what you have highlighted.

  38. These look delicious. I was actually looking for a frosting for this type of cake, and thank you for posting one. I make a similar cake but the spices I use are cinnamon and nutmeg, and I love the flavor.

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  40. 5 stars
    Just made these, and it’s hard not to eat the whole pan! Delicious! Wonderful texture and flavor, just the right amount of sweetness. Plus, it’s half vegetables. Thank you for the recipe.

  41. 5 stars
    I made these yesterday and they were very good. Quite moist. I agree that this seems to need just a pinch of salt. My husband liked them without the frosting. Great for church.

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  44. This was pretty good. The recipe was very similar to my mom’s amazing carrot cake recipe, but with an added cup of zucchini. In my opinion, this recipe could use a little more sugar to compensate for the extra cup of vegetables, but of course then it wouldn’t be as healthy. I’d rather it taste amazing. The sweet cream cheese frosting made it fine all together, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat the cake alone. I added 1/2 t. cinnamon, too. Next time I’d use 1 t. of cinnamon. The cake just needs more flavor. The other difference between this and my carrot cake recipe is that this one is missing salt. I added 1/2 t. salt, and I liked the difference it made in the batter. Gives it the little tang that I remember from licking the batter off the beaters…
    Also, some people complained about the cream cheese frosting. Here’s the one I always use, if you’re not going for low-fat:
    8 oz. cream cheese
    2-4 T. butter
    1 1/2-2 c. powdered sugar
    One cup of powdered sugar will make it a glaze. 2+ cups will make it stiffer, but not as stiff as butter cream frosting. The lemon zest was a fun addition and made this special.

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  46. 5 stars
    I made these bars the other day, and they are AMAZING! It takes a bit of time and work to make them (due to shredding the carrots and zucchini and cooling time) but the end result is phenomenal. They are super moist, and the lemon cream cheese frosting is the perfect touch for these bars. You can taste both the carrot and the zucchini (although the zucchini taste is very mild), and it is a wonderful combination. I can’t stop eating these, will be making them again and again!

    1. 5 stars
      I made these today but I added extra zuccini and carrots, added raisins, nutmeg and a little extra flour and they are so good and moist. No need for frosting.

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  48. 5 stars
    I really liked these. I added cinnamon. I also cut the cake in half and made a sandwich with the icing in the middle, and on top. Very moist and tasty. Thx for posting.

  49. 5 stars
    I made these and we love them (my little boys included)! I used applesauce instead of the oil and left out the nuts. I made sure to squeeze all the liquid out of the veggies too. The icing makes the bars. Love them!

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  51. Wasn’t a big fan. All I could taste were the carrots. But the frosting was wonderful. I added a little fresh lemon juice as well and it really toned down the carrot taste. So I’ll probably use the frosting recipe again. But the bars, probably not.

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  53. Anyone have nutritional info (specifically a calorie count) for these or know how I can figure it out? Thanks!

  54. I subbed apple sauce for the oil. I keep single serving size around and just used one. I also put in pumpkin pie spice to taste.

  55. Pingback: Carrot & Zucchini Bars with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting « Domestic Superhero
  56. i followed the recipe, but it didn’t turn out great. flavor was off, and the frosting didn’t make it any better. threw it in the trash. sorry. thanks for posting, though. it was worth a shot.

  57. Squeeze the water out of the veggies before you add them and add a little salt to the batter. Otherwise, the flavor was really great!

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  59. When you say “shred” the carrot and zucchini, does that mean using a grater or chopping them finely?

    1. grate them. I use a box grater with an attached measuring cup that catches it for you (OXO brand). It works really well and makes quick work of it. You could also use the grater attachment on your food processor but I would leave the inner blade in place. My shredder only does large chunks that are too big for this type of thing.

    2. 5 stars
      I used a food processor and didn’t have any extra liquid that had to be removed. The bars were an big hit, along with the frosting I didn’t change a thing with the recipe.

  60. Try adding grated beetroot to the mix and then it sort remembles a confetti bar. I have a similar recipe that I make. Going to try this one.

  61. Why isn’t there a place that we can just click onto and ‘print’ without having to include allll the comments?
    Thanks ~

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  64. 5 stars
    I found this recipe on pinterest and I made them today. It was super easy and delicious! I used half whole wheat pastry flour and half all purpose flour. Maybe it was the heavier flour, but even when I poured it into the pan I was thinking mine looked much thinner than what you have in the picture. It still turned out super fluffy and moist, but thinner. I think I’ll use a smaller pan or double recipe next time. Definitely a keeper, and worth sharing!

  65. 5 stars
    This recipe is great! Love how moist the cake is. The lemon in the frosting just gives it that extra punch. It’s a keeper!!

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  67. All I can say is WOW! Made these tonight for my picky husband and we even he raved about how fantastic they were. The lemon cream cheese frosting really complimented the ginger in the cake. It was a light compliment. This one goes into my permanent recipe list. Thanks for sharing.

  68. Gorgeous photo. It’s zucchini season. This looks like a great recipe to try when I make some zucchini bread. ~ thanks for sharing, tom

  69. Seriously YUM! Thanks for including more zucchini recipes. We are invaded. Have anything for cukes? LOVE your recipe book and blog. – Biggest fan in CA 🙂

  70. These look beauttifffulll. Ive never baked with zucchini, i really want to though and this looks like the perfect recipe for my first adventures into baking with the lovely stuff 🙂 youve made the frosting look so pretty too! Great recipe, thank you!