Zucchini Bars with Cream Cheese Icing.
It’s still summer! So zucchini bars for the win.
These zucchini bars make me a leeeeettle bit of a hypocrite. I mean, I’m super excited for fall and I have fall decor out, but I’m not eating pumpkin yet or drinking pumpkin lattes. I’m still swimming and playing outside and eating ice cream and serving tomatoes and, well, making zucchini bars.
It’s like zucchini bread, but cuter.
These zucchini bars are a little more dense than cake. They remind me of banana bread and they are SO delicious when served straight from the fridge. They are topped with the creamiest cream cheese icing because I just can’t quit it.
There’s a little spice, a lot of veg and snack that is basically dessert but we may pass off as breakfast too.
THIS IS MY KIND OF BAR.
The only thing my mom really did with zucchini bread when I was growing up was make breaded parmesan rounds. I mean, they were SO good. They ARE so good. They remain one of my favorite ways to use up garden zucchini and they are always a crowd pleaser.
I didn’t even have zucchini bread until later in life! We are talking, like, college. Crazy, right?
And I was always on the fence because most versions tend to have nuts. There is nothing worse than cookies or brownies or bars with nuts. Except for cookies or brownies or bars with raisins. I just don’t want nuts in my dessert unless it’s something toasted almond or candied pistachio or what not.
That’s my truth and I’m sticking to it.
So I ended up making my own zucchini bread and then eventually made this amazing coconut chocolate chip zucchini bread. It is freaking fantastic.
I’m not a stranger to chocolate and zucchini desserts. Last year, I made chocolate zucchini cupcakes with avocado fudge frosting. I’ve made double chocolate zucchini cookies with sea salt and chewy chocolate chip oatmeal zucchini cookies. I’ve even made chocolate zucchini snack cake and that DOES have candied pistachios.
Clearly I have a little thing for chocolate.
These aren’t chocolate, but they more than make up for it in flavor. Perfect for the end of summer when zucchini is abundant and you’re all zoodled out, you know?
Zucchini Bars with Cream Cheese Icing
Ingredients
- 2 cups freshly grated zucchini
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 cup loosely packed brown sugar
- 3/4 cup coconut oil melted
- 3 large eggs lightly beaten
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
cream cheese frosting
- 2 8-ounce blocks cream cheese
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 10 x 15 inch sheet pan with nonstick spray (I like to use coconut oil!). Take the zucchini and squeeze in a large kitchen towel over the sink to remove a lot of the liquid. Squeeze out as much as you can!
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg until combined. In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, coconut oil, eggs and vanilla extract. Fold in the dry ingredients. Fold in the grated zucchini until combined and dispersed throughout. Spread the batter in the greased pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the bars are set and not jiggly in the center. Let bars cool completely, then frost.
cream cheese frosting
- Beat the cream cheese and butter together until creamy. Beat in the sugar until combined. Beat in the vanilla extract. Frost the cooled bars! I like to pop the bars in the fridge because we love them cold.
Notes
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I appreciate you so much!
Just dying for that bite.
27 Comments on “Zucchini Bars with Cream Cheese Icing.”
I’m still all about the summer zucchini, so these bars are awesome. But yes, let’s get onto fabulous fall ;)
:)
these are healthy because zucchini is a vegetable, right? :)
YESSSS
I’ve made nearly every single one of your zucchini desserts, and loved them all! These look absolutely stellar, and then there’s that frosting!!!
thanks so much lindsey!! xo
Such a fun, fresh spin on basic zucchini bread!
thanks ashlyn!
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Is that just plain sugar on top? Or some sort of fancy sugar?
just sparkling sugar! like sprinkles!
would these be any cuter (and chubbier!) if
baked in a smaller pan?
:)
they may be! they are pretty dense though and you will have to cook them for much longer!
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I completely agree!! Nuts don’t belong in cakes, breads, and brownies. I am always fearful of zucchini bread having nuts, so the only kind I really ever eat is one I make myself. I do love me some pumpkin raisin bread, though, so agree to disagree on that one. ;-)
:)
Making these tonight! Wondering if we should be draining and drying the grated zucchini well or if it doesn’t matter so much?
Thanks so much!
yes! squeeze out a bit of the water – i hope they turned out well!
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Easy to make but with all the ingredients I found this to be very blan tasting.
How can these be vegan, when it has chocolate chips?
you can use Enjoy Life chocolate chips, which are vegan.
Tasty. Like the flavor the coconut oil brings. A little dense. WAY TOO MUCH icing. On instinct I halved the recipe and used a little less sugar and it was the perfect amount for a 10×15 pan.
May I use vegetable oil instead of coconut oil?
They were great. I did 1/2 c veg oil and 1/4 cup applesauce in place of the coconut oil and made 1/2 the frosting (that was plenty). Used frozen shredded zucchini since I didn’t have fresh. Just squeezed out all the water. Otherwise followed the recipe as is. They were delicious!
I only had 1 8oz package of cream cheese so I cut the frosting recipe in half and it was actually the perfect amount. I followed the recipe for the bars to a T. As I was mixing in the zucchini I thought it was a lot but it turbed out to be just right. This recipe is so good I am definitely making it again. Thank you for sharing.