Zucchini Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting!

In This Article

These zucchini bars bake up soft and tender, with warm spice, plenty of moisture, and a sweet finish that makes good use of fresh zucchini.

If a pile of zucchini is staring at you from your counter and zucchini bread feels a little too predictable, these zucchini bars are exactly where that summer squash should go!

What You Will Need (Ingredients, Yes!!)

For zucchini bars:

2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, about 240 grams
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon fine salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup neutral oil, such as avocado, vegetable, or canola oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 packed cups finely shredded zucchini, about 240 to 260 grams
Optional: 1/2 cup finely chopped toasted pecans or walnuts

For cream cheese frosting:

8 ounces full-fat block cream cheese
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon fine salt

Servings: 24 zucchini bars

How to Make Zucchini Bars

Heat your oven to 350°F with a rack positioned near center, then lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch metal pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving a little paper hanging over two sides so you can lift bars out later.

A glass pan works if that is what you have, although metal gives slightly cleaner edges and more predictable baking; with glass, you may need a few additional minutes, so trust visual cues more than a timer.

Grate zucchini using fine or medium holes of a box grater and measure 2 packed cups, gently pressing it into your measuring cup without squeezing liquid away.

Have a look at it before adding anything else: normal grated zucchini should look moist and glossy, but it should not be sitting in a puddle.

If yours is extremely watery, especially from a very large zucchini, blot it lightly with a clean towel and stop there because removing too much water is one of easiest ways to lose that tender texture we are after.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt for about 20 seconds, making sure no little pockets of baking soda remain.

Do not consider this pointless extra bowl work! Properly distributing leaveners before they meet wet ingredients prevents one unlucky bite from tasting strangely bitter or salty.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs, brown sugar, and granulated sugar for about 45 to 60 seconds, until mixture looks smoother and slightly lighter, then slowly whisk in oil followed by vanilla.

You do not need a mixer here, and in fact I prefer doing this batter by hand because it makes overmixing less likely; once everything looks glossy and sugar no longer sits in obvious clumps, you are ready to move on.

Add grated zucchini to wet mixture and stir until distributed evenly, making sure you break apart any clumps of shreds with your spoon or spatula.

At this point batter will look surprisingly loose and wet, which is exactly right, so resist that very understandable urge to start throwing extra flour into bowl.

Add dry mixture to wet ingredients and fold gently with a wide spatula just until you can no longer see streaks of dry flour, usually about 20 to 25 folds.

Scrape across bottom and around sides as you go because flour loves hiding underneath wet batter and revealing itself only after everything has been poured into a pan.

Stop mixing once batter is uniform, even if it does not look perfectly silky; aggressive stirring develops gluten and can turn your delicate zucchini bars into something much more interested in becoming bread.

If you are adding toasted pecans or walnuts, fold them in now with just two or three extra turns, then scrape batter into prepared pan and spread it into corners with your spatula.

Give pan one gentle tap against counter to settle any large air pockets, but do not repeatedly bang it around like it owes you money.

Bake at 350°F for 30 to 35 minutes, beginning your first check at about 28 minutes because ovens have personalities of their own. You are looking for a lightly golden surface, edges that have just started pulling away from pan, and a center that springs back gently when touched.

Push a toothpick into center rather than near an edge; it should emerge clean or with a couple of moist crumbs attached, but it should not have shiny wet batter.

If you have an instant-read thermometer and want an especially precise cue, center should be around 200°F to 205°F.

Remove pan from oven and place it on a cooling rack for at least 45 to 60 minutes, preferably until bars feel completely cool when you touch center.

Do not frost warm bars. I know staring at naked zucchini cake while cream cheese frosting waits nearby requires character, but warm cake melts frosting, leaving you with a glossy puddle instead of a thick creamy layer.

While bars finish cooling, beat softened butter for about 1 to 2 minutes until smooth and creamy, then add cream cheese and beat only until mixture is combined and lump-free, about another 30 to 45 seconds.

Add powdered sugar about 1 cup at a time on low speed, followed by vanilla and salt, then beat briefly until frosting looks smooth, creamy, and thick enough to hold soft swirls.

Avoid beating cream cheese frosting for several minutes because cream cheese can become looser as it is overworked.

Spoon frosting over completely cooled bars and spread it from center toward edges using an offset spatula or back of a large spoon.

I like leaving a few visible swoops across top instead of making frosting completely flat because homemade dessert should be allowed to look like somebody actually made it!

For neat slices, refrigerate frosted bars for about 20 to 30 minutes, then lift slab from pan using parchment handles and cut it into 24 pieces with a sharp knife.

Wipe blade between cuts if presentation matters. If presentation does not matter because everybody is hovering around pan asking when they can have one, cut away and accept your fate.

Serving Suggestions

These zucchini bars are excellent chilled, but their softest texture and fullest cinnamon flavor come through when they sit at room temperature for about 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Serve them:

With hot coffee for an afternoon treat
Alongside cold milk
With lightly sweetened iced coffee
As part of a brunch dessert spread
With fresh strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries
With toasted pecans scattered over frosting
With a very light dusting of cinnamon just before serving

For a potluck or party, cut them into 24 smaller bars because cream cheese frosting makes them rich enough that you do not need massive pieces. At home, cutting 18 larger pieces is also entirely acceptable. Your kitchen, your geometry.

These zucchini bars are one of those recipes that starts as a practical attempt to use two cups of zucchini and ends with everyone caring considerably more about cream cheese frosting than garden management!

Hungry for more feel-good meals? Explore these 21 Anti-Inflammatory Breakfast Recipes for a nourishing start and 10 Anti-Inflammatory Dinner Recipes for delicious evenings that make healthy eating easy!