Zucchini Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Ingredients

1. Sugar sweetens the bars, adding flavor and moisture.
2. Canola or Vegetable Oil provides moisture and richness.
3. Applesauce adds moisture and helps to reduce the amount of oil needed. It also contributes natural sweetness and a hint of apple flavor. (Can be replaced with more oil.)
4. Eggs act as a binding agent, helping to hold the bars together and provide structure.
5. Vanilla Extract enhances the flavor.
6. All-Purpose Flour provides structure and texture to the bars.
7. Salt enhances the flavors.
8. Ground Cinnamon adds a warm, spicy flavor to the bars.
9. Baking Soda acts as a leavening agent, helping the bars rise.
10. Baking Powder provides additional leavening, contributing to the bars' texture and rise.
11. Rolled Oats add texture and a slightly nutty flavor.
12. Chopped Walnuts or Pecans (optional) add crunch and nuttiness to the bars. This ingredient is optional and can be omitted for nut-free bars.
13. Shredded Zucchini adds moisture, texture, and nutrition to the bars. It also contributes to the bars' softness and helps keep them moist.
14. Shredded Carrot adds sweetness, moisture, and texture. It also adds a pop of color and additional nutrients.

Easy Zucchini Bars Recipe

Whenever I make these bars, I like to begin by shredding my vegetables and chopping the nuts so that everything is ready to add.

This zucchini bars recipe with cream cheese frosting is very easy to make. However, you will need to shred zucchini and carrots.

Simply wash and shred the zucchini. It does not need to be peeled.

Large zucchini often produces some liquid when it is shredded. And it's okay to add some of the liquid along with the zucchini. Although, you may want to drain some of it, as we don't want a lot of extra liquid.

Once you have the vegetables shredded, the bars will come together very quickly.

What to Do With Extra Zucchini?

It's zucchini time again! I picked my first one last week, and now I want to bake zucchini bars.

I don't know if you've ever planted zucchini in your garden. But if you can keep the squash bugs from killing your plant, you'll probably harvest more zucchini than you know what to do with.

They grow very quickly, and sometimes they are giant before I get them picked. So I try to find different ways to use them. And thankfully, zucchini is great to use for baking. It adds so much depth and moisture to baked goods.

And these carrot zucchini bars are one of my favorite recipes to make with zucchini.

I end up with tons of zucchini every summer, so I bake everything zucchini for about a month or two - zucchini bars, chocolate zucchini cake, muffins, my amazing Amish zucchini bread with pineapple, etc.

They're all great ways to use up an overabundance of zucchini. But I can't get enough of these zucchini bars, so I make them several times before the zucchini harvest is over.

Can I Freeze Zucchini Bars?

Yes, you can freeze zucchini bars with cream cheese frosting.

You may know by now, that I am a huge fan of freezing baked goods to keep them fresh. However, these zucchini bars need to be refrigerated and will keep well in the refrigerator for up to a week.

But if your pan of bars will not get eaten within a week, I would recommend placing some of them into the freezer for later use.

After the bars are cooled and iced, slice them into squares and place them into an airtight container. Then store them in the refrigerator or freezer.

Once frozen, remove them from the freezer to thaw at least a half-hour before serving.