This is the best zucchini recipe you’ll ever have! Decadent Zucchini Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Zucchini Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting2

I typically don’t grow zucchini every year, because it always overwhelms the garden and I end up with a freezer full of it. Whenever I have extra I give some away (of course!), but a lot ends up shredded with my food processor and put into freezer bags in the amounts of my favorite recipes. I love zucchini bread, but the best zucchini recipe ever is for zucchini bars with cream cheese frosting.

Zucchini Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

These delicious bars turn out so moist and they are melt-in-your-mouth amazing. My kids love them. And if it weren’t for the green flecks you wouldn’t even know they had veggies in them. So if your kids hate vegetables, consider peeling the zucchini first (even though that loses the best nutrients) before shredding and just tell them this is cake. Unless they have super taste buds they’ll believe you.

In fact, I made this for a BBQ, and my friend’s grandson hates zucchini. He ate at least 4 zucchini bars, because none of us told him they were made with zucchini. He loved it!

Yield: 20 bars

Zucchini Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Name: Zucchini Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 20
Ingredients: 3 eggs; 2 C sugar; 1 C vegetable oil; 2 C grated zucchini; 3 tsp vanilla; 2 1/2 C flour; 1/4 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp salt; 2 tsp baking soda; 1/4 C butter,, melted; 1 tsp vanilla; 8 oz cream cheese; 2 1/2 - 3 C powdered sugar

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

3 eggs
2 C sugar
1 C vegetable oil
2 C grated zucchini
3 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 C flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/4 C butter,, melted
1 tsp vanilla
8 oz cream cheese
2 1/2 - 3 C powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 11x15 pan.
In a large bowl, mix together eggs, sugar, oil, zucchini and vanilla.
Add remaining ingredients.
Pour in greased pan and bake 20-25 minutes, until top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool completely before frosting.

For the Frosting

Beat butter, vanilla and cream cheese together.
Gradually add powdered sugar until desired thickness. This turns out a bit more gooey than normal cream cheese frosting, but since the cake is so moist that seems to make it easier to spread on than a thicker frosting would be.

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This recipe was featured at:

Recipes and Ramblins with the Tumbleweed Contessa

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Janet

Thursday 13th of July 2023

I made these zucchini bars today. They are really easy to make and taste wonderful. The only thing I added was a teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter. I will be making them again.

Jamie H

Monday 17th of July 2023

I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Janet! It's a favorite at my house!

Sherrie

Saturday 16th of July 2022

I don’t have the right size pan. Would this work in a 9x13 or would it be better to use an 11x17?

@Sherrie, It can be made it either size pan. If you do 9x13 it will be thicker, like a cake. For more of a bar thickness, the 11x17 would be better.

Rhonda

Thursday 3rd of June 2021

Can you replace the zuchini for carrots? I love the zuchini ones but I wanted to try it with carrots

Thursday 10th of June 2021

I haven't tried it, but I don't see why not. If you do try it, I hope you'll let us know how it turned out, Rhonda!

Barb

Friday 26th of February 2021

These are the best!!! I make them for all my dish to pass events and people continue to request them. Sooooo good!

Joan Kobasic

Saturday 5th of October 2019

I don't know what I did wrong here but I followed the recipe to the exactly except I cut the sugar back. I wanted moist bars and this turned cakey and absolutely bland. I didn't bother with the frosting after tasting the cake but salted butter helped.