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Home » Zucchini Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Zucchini Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

September 20, 2020 by Cassie Goodman 33 Comments

Dense and moist zucchini bars with creamy cream cheese frosting are a crowd pleaser!

My neighbors have kept me stocked with zucchini this summer and I'm so grateful! This is a super easy recipe for zucchini bars and this moist sheet cake is topped with the perfect cream cheese frosting! I believe the saying is "enjoy the fruits (or vegetables) of your labor". This is the zucchini's moment to shine, so just go with it!

The most moist Zucchini Cake packed with Fall flavor!

ZUCCHINI BARS WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Jump to Recipe

Step-by-step

Add flour, brown sugar, white sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, oil, applesauce, eggs, vanilla, and zucchini in a bowl or KitchenAid mixer.

  • Mix all together until incorporated.
  • Pour into a greased 12"x17" jelly-roll pan.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
  • Allow cake to completely cool to the touch.
Brown Sugar and Cinnamon are the perfect ingredients in this yummy Zucchini Cake #Fall #Zucchini #cake #creamcheese
Applesauce to help moisten these yummy zucchini bars. #eggs #easy #Yummy #fall #cake

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • Whip Softened butter and softened cream cheese together.
  • Once incorporated and without lumps add powdered sugar.
  • Whip until creamy.
  • Frost with cream cheese frosting once cake has completely cooled.
  • Serve at room temperature or chilled.
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Shred extra zucchini and store in the freezer in pint-size freezer bags. I always fill them with 2 cups. Grab out a bag and let it thaw on a plate for a couple of hours before using it. I love that I can whip up these delicious bars up in no time!

Do not squeeze the water out of the zucchini (frozen or fresh). This will ensure a moist cake.

We love the thick frosting on these bars. If that's not your thing use these measurements for a thinner frosting. Cream Cheese Frosting- 4 oz. cream cheese, 1 stick butter (1/2 cup), 1/2 Tablespoon Heavy Whipping Cream, and 2 cups powdered sugar. You can even omit the frosting all together!

Feel free to omit some of the spices!

These bars freeze beautifully both frosted and unfrosted. If you freeze we highly recommend this amazing lid be used so your cake doesn't get smashed! This lid will fit 1/2 sheet jelly roll pans that measure 12x17. This is our favorite jelly roll pan and lid!

Jelly Pan with Lid

Lid Only

Moist cake

Zucchini Bars

Moist Cake with Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting. These bars are fast to make and serve 20! We think it's the perfect way to use up all that zucchini from your fall harvest. Enjoy!
4.6 from 5 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Total Time 45 mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 20

Equipment

  • Mixer
  • 12"x17" Jelly Roll Baking Sheet

Ingredients
  

Zucchini Bars

  • 2 cups All Purpose Flour
  • 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
  • 3/4 cup White Sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 2 teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 2 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon Ground Ginger
  • 2 whole Eggs
  • 1/2 cup Oil
  • 1/2 cup Applesauce
  • 2 cups Zucchini, Shredded

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 8 ounces Cream Cheese Softened
  • 1 cup Butter Real , Softened
  • 4 cups Powdered Sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon Heavy Whipping Cream

Instructions
 

Zucchini Bars

  • Add flour, both sugars, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, ginger, eggs, oil, applesauce, and vanilla.
  • Add zucchini and mix to incorporated
  • Pour batter into a greased 12"x17" jelly-roll baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
  • Allow to completely cool.

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • Whip cream cheese and butter until well incorporated and smooth.
  • Add and mix powdered sugar and cream.
  • When cake is completely cool frost with cream cheese frosting.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

Best served chilled. 
Try this recipe for less frosting.
Frosting
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter (1/2 cup), softened
​2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 Tablespoon Heavy Cream
Keyword Cinnamon, Cream Cheese, Zucchini
Share the love! We'd love to hear if you make these yummy bars! 
 
 

Filed Under: Dessert, Recipe Box

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Julie Marcionetti

    September 19, 2019 at 8:01 pm

    Can I reduce butter to 1/2 C for icing?

    Reply
    • Cassie Goodman

      September 24, 2019 at 2:15 am

      Hi Julie,

      This recipe does make a lot of frosting, so you can use 1/2 C. of butter....however, we would recommend halving the rest of the ingredients as well to get the right consistency. Thanks for stopping by and we hope you enjoy the zucchini bars!

      -Cassie and Sadie

      Reply
  2. Kara

    November 18, 2019 at 3:12 pm

    What size jelly roll pan?

    Reply
    • Cassie Goodman

      November 18, 2019 at 11:10 pm

      Hi Kara,

      We use a standard 12"x17" size. I'll amend the post to include the size. I hope you like the zucchini bars. Thanks for stopping by!

      -Sadie

      Reply
    • Bobbie

      September 19, 2021 at 8:23 pm

      Can these be frozen?

      Reply
      • Cassie Goodman

        February 09, 2022 at 1:54 am

        Yes! I actually freeze them frosted. They are perfect for a quick gathering!

        Reply
  3. Kathy A.

    July 22, 2020 at 10:34 pm

    I made the zucchini casserole...it was so good! I will make it again! I also made the zucchini bars...also very good. I was going to put the frosting on the bars, but they were so good without it, I left it off.

    Reply
    • Cassie Goodman

      July 23, 2020 at 4:53 pm

      Kathy,

      Yay! So glad to hear you loved the recipe. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a kind word! Hope you have a good day.

      Cassie and Sadie

      Reply
  4. Barbara

    July 25, 2020 at 8:43 pm

    The zucchini bars are baking and smell delicious! I do have one question half a teaspoon of vanilla listed twice hope I didn’t make a mistake . Thought maybe it belongs to icing but to late now

    Reply
    • Cassie Goodman

      July 25, 2020 at 8:59 pm

      Hi Barbara!

      Thanks for stopping by and for trying our zucchini bars out. We think you will love them just as much as we do!

      As far as the vanilla goes, it appears we accidentally had it on there twice. I am so sorry. It is just 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Our cream cheese frosting doesn't call for vanilla but you can certainly add it!! I've amended the recipe so it only reflects the 1/2 tsp. vanilla now instead of 2. Thank you for asking and drawing our attention to that.

      Hope you enjoy the recipe and have a good weekend.
      -Cassie and Sadie

      Reply
  5. Christine

    July 30, 2020 at 4:22 pm

    Question do you squeeze the excess water out of the zucchini or leave it the way it is for the moisture ?

    Reply
    • Cassie Goodman

      July 30, 2020 at 5:33 pm

      Hi Christine,

      You do not squeeze the water out of the zucchini. This will ensure a moist cake. Please let us know if you have any other questions.

      -Cassie and Sadie

      Reply
      • Clarita

        July 28, 2021 at 5:02 pm

        Bars sound good. But I have had to go gluten free now. Can other flours be used? Having to redo receipts.

        Reply
        • Cassie Goodman

          August 25, 2021 at 6:53 pm

          Hi Clarita,

          We haven't had the chance to try them with gluten-free flour yet. If you experiment, we'd love to hear how they turned out. Best of luck on your gluten-free journey.

          Cassie and Sadie

          Reply
  6. Linda

    August 01, 2020 at 6:14 pm

    How thick are they?

    Reply
    • Cassie Goodman

      August 01, 2020 at 8:47 pm

      Hi Linda,

      The bars will be just under the top of your jelly roll pan. Hope that visual helps answer your question. Thanks for stopping by!

      -Cassie and Sadie

      Reply
  7. Carol

    August 01, 2020 at 6:19 pm

    Have you tried it in a 9x13 pan? Wondering what the time increase would be??

    Reply
    • Cassie Goodman

      August 01, 2020 at 8:46 pm

      Hi Carol,

      We have never tried cooking them in a 9x13 before. I'm unsure of the exact cooking time for that pan, but I'd suggest checking them at our 25-minute mark and if they are not done, to check every 5 minutes until they are. Sorry to not be of more help.

      -Cassie and Sadie

      Reply
  8. Jodi

    August 04, 2020 at 1:33 am

    5 stars
    These bars were absolutely amazing!!! I made the recipe exactly as printed and they turned out perfectly. My 10 year-old son and my husband both loved them. They were eaten up fast!

    Reply
    • Cassie Goodman

      August 04, 2020 at 4:18 pm

      Jodi,

      It was so fun to wake up to this nice comment today. Thank you for your kind words. We are so glad you love this recipe!!! Thanks for stopping by.

      -Cassie and Sadie

      Reply
  9. Renee

    August 10, 2020 at 2:26 am

    5 stars
    These are absolutely the best.

    Reply
  10. Sarita

    August 19, 2020 at 5:54 pm

    Hi there, what can I use as a substitute for applesauce please? I live in Portugal and applesauce isn’t easy to get here. Thanks a lot x

    Reply
    • Cassie Goodman

      August 20, 2020 at 10:54 pm

      Hi Sarita!

      Thanks so much for stopping by. I am unable to recommend a substitute as I haven't tried it myself. I am so sorry. A quick google search did tell me there are a few substitutions you could try. If you do try making these bars without applesauce, please let me know how it turned out and which substitute you used.

      Thanks so much,
      Sadie

      Reply
  11. Deb

    August 23, 2020 at 6:30 pm

    Just made these and they are indeed yummy. It’s just me and my husband, so I’m wondering if the finished bars freeze well?

    Reply
    • Cassie Goodman

      August 23, 2020 at 9:50 pm

      Hi Deb!

      These bars can be frozen both frosted or unfrosted. We highly recommend you use a jelly roll lid on your pan. We are so pleased you liked the recipe. Thank you so much for letting us know!!

      -Cassie and Sadie

      Reply
  12. Susan Keenan

    August 25, 2021 at 6:46 pm

    Hi, your recipe sounds delicious. I only have unsweetened applesauce on hand. Any idea how much extra sugar I would need to add to balance out the taste? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Cassie Goodman

      August 25, 2021 at 6:52 pm

      Susan,

      Hello! We have used both sweetened and unsweetened and it works great either way! Let us know if you have any other questions.

      Cassie and Sadie

      Reply
  13. Sarah

    September 12, 2021 at 12:22 pm

    5 stars
    I made this last night to take to a friends for dinner and it was delicious. IM celiac and substituted the flour for gluten free flour and it turned out so good. I baked the batter in two 8x8 pans. I will def be making this cake again, it was simple to put together in the moring and I iced it later when it cooled.

    Reply
    • Cassie Goodman

      February 09, 2022 at 1:53 am

      We are so happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for the gluten free tip!!!

      Reply
  14. Bev

    September 19, 2021 at 1:48 am

    4 stars
    Quick and easy. I added chopped walnuts. Yum

    Reply
    • Cassie Goodman

      February 09, 2022 at 1:53 am

      Sounds like the perfect idea Bev! Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
  15. Molly

    October 14, 2021 at 3:50 pm

    4 stars
    Wonderful delicious. I did make just a couple changes for our taste. I cut the butter in 1/2, and added Ginger to the frosting, it gives a nice color and another layer of flavor. I substituted some Splenda in both the cake and the frosting (reducing the amount of regular or powdered sugar). I also cut the cooled cake in half and stacked the layers after frosting; it reminded me of a spice cake from my younger days.

    Reply
    • Cassie Goodman

      February 09, 2022 at 1:56 am

      Sounds wonderful Molly!! Thank you for sharing those tips!

      Reply

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Welcome to Clover Lane! We are Cassie and Sadie-- A sister DIY duo with serious "go get 'em" personalities. We take boring rooms and make them not-so-boring by knocking down walls and getting stuff done!! Oh, and we LIVE to eat.

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