Carrot Cake Bars

These Carrot Cake Bars are the Easter dessert. Made with fresh carrots, warm spices, and a totally homemade cream cheese frosting.

What we love about this carrot cake recipe is that it uses 3 FULL cups of shredded carrots. Because why else would you make a carrot dessert that wasn’t loaded down with this tasty vegetable?

We've made this every year for Easter (and many other family celebrations and holidays) and let’s just say that this is now our “go-to” dish to take to all the family functions.

If you’re looking for a simple carrot cake dessert, you can’t top this one. From start to finish it takes just over an hour to make which isn’t long at all for this treat!

This Carrot Cake Bar recipe is…

• Great for sneaking in extra veggies to the family meal plan
• And full of flavor
• Easy ingredients you might have in the pantry
• Great for serving friends or your family
• Freezer friendly
• To die for carrot cake recipe
• Topped with creamy homemade frosting
• A simple dessert for anyone to make
• Easy Easter dessert
• Fresh carrot recipe

• Sugar
• All-purpose flour
• Allspice
• Cinnamon
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Vegetable oil
• Eggs
• Carrots
• Powdered Sugar
• Butter
• Cream Cheese
• Vanilla extract

How to Make

Step 1: Mix the dry ingredients, together. Then add in eggs and vegetable oil, and the carrots.

Step 2: Pour carrot cake batter into the greased baking pan and cook in the oven. Bake as directed.

Step 3: Allow the carrot cake bars to cool on a cooling rack until cooled. Then you can move to the cream cheese frosting.

Step 3: Mix all the cream cheese frosting ingredients together until creamy. Then top the cooled carrot cake bars. Slice and serve.

Storage

You’re going to want to store the carrot cake squares in an airtight container and put them in your fridge. Since this recipe has cream cheese frosting, it does need to be kept cool.

Can you freeze carrot cake?

If you’re going to freeze carrot cake, do so without the frosting. The cream cheese portion isn’t going to freeze well and we don’t recommend it. But if you freeze just the baked cake unfrosted, it should do just fine!

Expert Tips

• Make certain that the cream cheese is softened or you’re going to have lumps. Setting it out about 30 minutes ahead of time should give it time to soften to room temperature.
• If you don’t have a grater for your carrot, your food processor can work just fine as well. You just need to be certain that you’re getting the carrot chopped into fine pieces so that you aren’t getting mega chunks of carrots in the cake.
• It’s important to let the cake cool completely before frosting it or the icing will melt away into the cake. While it might taste, it’s not going to look good!
• Keep in mind that if you’re wanting your cream cheese frosting to be creamy, you are going to want to mix it with an electric mixer. Hand mixing just isn’t going to cut it.

Those are just a few simple tips that we've learned along the way when we've made these carrot cake squares.

We love to pass along what we learn from our mistakes so you don’t make them, too!

Variations to Reci pe

Here are some variations to this carrot cake cream cheese bars recipe. Carrot bars are versatile, here are some simple changes.

• Adding walnuts to your carrot cake bars can be a lot of fun, too. It’s a nice texture to have walnuts mixed in with the frosting or even mixed in with the cake! Some people do pecans as well – just be certain that whatever nuts you use, you crush them up and add them!
• Another ingredient that you can add to the frosting is shredded coconut. We prefer to add in sweetened shredded coconut as it’s just another fun texture.
• There are also some people that add raisins to the cake, so if you’re a fan of that idea, give it a try!
• Skip the cream cheese frosting and serve with whipped cream or a dusting of powdered sugar.
• Make a cream cheese swirl to swirl in cake bars, instead of frosting, to make a cheesecake bar.
• Drizzle with white chocolate for this Easter treat instead of the frosting.
• Add a tablespoon of lemon juice to cream cheese for a lemon twist of flavor.

FAQs About Carrot Cake Recipe

Why is there no butter in carrot cake?

Seems odd that there isn’t any butter in carrot cake, right? But don’t worry – the oil takes place of that. You still get that moist texture because of the addition of the oil.

Can we use melted butter instead of oil in carrot cake?

If you’d prefer to use butter rather than oil, just swap it out and keep the same amount measurement. Just be aware that if you’re using salted butter, that’s going to add a bit more salt into the recipe.

How do you shred carrots for carrot cake?

A cheese shredder will actually work just fine! Just use the holes that would normally shred the cheese and just shred the carrots instead! It’s as simple as that.

Should we peel carrots for carrot cake?

Yes. 100%. Wash and peel and then wash again. Then make certain that they’re dry so you’re not added in any extra liquid. Or you can do what we do and buy baby carrots or carrots that are already peeled!

Is carrot cake better the next day?

It is! Homemade carrot cake said that the second day is the day that the carrot cake will actually be the moistest AND have the most flavor and taste!

More Carrot Cake Recipes To Try

• Easy Carrot Cake Fudge
• Layered Carrot Cake Cheesecake Cake
• Carrot Cake Waffles
• Best Carrot Cake Dip
• Simple Carrot Cake Cookies

Ingredients

Makes 8 x11 pan

Supplies

• 8 x11 pan
• Whisk
• Mixing Bowl
• Measuring Cups

Carrot Cake Bar Ingredients

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1½ cups vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs
• 3 cups grated carrots

Cream Cheese Icing

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 8 tablespoons butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla or orange extract

Method

1. Start by greasing 8×11 inch pan and preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Now you will add flour, allspice, cinnamon baking soda, salt in a bowl and whisk till combined.
3. Add in your oil, and eggs and mix well till combined.
4. Pour in the grated carrots, and fold into the batter.
5. Now you will pour your carrot cake batter into your grased pan and bake in the center rack for 25-30 minutes or until the carrot cake bars are done. Stick a toothpick in the center to ensure no batter comes out clean of wet batter.
6. Place your carrot cake squares on a cooling rack to completely cool.
7. When your bars are cool you can mix your cream cheese frosting ingredients together with a mixer. Make sure the cream cheese is softened or it won’t cream properly.
8. Spread the cream cheese frosting on top, then store your carrot cake bars in the refrigerator covered, till you are ready to serve.

Kitchen notes

You can stir in 1/2 cup of walnuts into the carrot cake batter if you want nuts. Leave the cream cheese frosting off if you want and serve plain, dust with powdered sugar, etc. You can freeze these carrot cake squares for up to three months in the freezer. These bars need to be refrigerated until ready to serve.