Zucchini Carrot Cake Bars Recipe

August 13, 2012
updated Jul 20, 2023

4.97 from 27 votes

All the flavors and moist texture of carrot cake, but they're much lighter and better for you.

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Move aside zoodles and all you other low-carb recipes, these Zucchini Carrot Cake Bars are the real reason we love our veggies!

I pinky promise this easy treat tastes nothing like veggies but more like a spiced carrot cake minus the frosting. It’s so so good and simple to whip up on any given day. Think of it as banana bread but for cakes.

So go ahead, set those ovens to 350F and while it preheats let’s talk cake.

How to Make Carrot Cake Bars

I love how easily this recipe comes together. Just watch:

If you have a cheese grater, grab it because you’re going to need it for this recipe. The cake requires about 1 ½ cups shredded carrots and a cup of shredded zucchini. I like my veggies to be finely shredded, so they bake right into the cake for a perfectly dense and uniform texture.

You can swap the cheese grater with a food processor, for a much easier grating technique. Attach the grater plate, add the veggies, and let it go! You’ll have perfectly grated shredded veggies in no time.

Next, it’s time to make the batter.

Sift the flour with baking powder and baking soda.
In a separate large bowl, combine the eggs, ginger, grated carrot and zucchini, brown sugar, raisins, melted butter, honey, and vanilla. Give it a good whisk and…
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir to combine, making sure there are no clumps.
Pour the batter into a prepared 9×13-inch cake pan and bake for 22 – 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

While this recipe is impressive all by itself, you can kick the decadence up a notch by frosting it with a batch of homemade cream cheese frosting. It’s one step closer to a carrot cake and we know how good that tastes!

Carrot Cake Bars Ingredients

Are carrot cake bars healthy? These are! Thanks to the abundance of carrots and zucchini, this cake doesn’t need excessive amounts of butter or oil for moisture. They give this cake the moist, dense texture we all adore.

The shredded carrots and raisins also add wonderful flavor and sweetness, so we don’t need as much brown sugar or honey.

While this recipe uses regular all-purpose flour, you can swap it with gluten-free 1:1 flour without sacrificing any of the flavor or texture.

Carrot Recipes for Kids

Carrots contain both vitamin A and antioxidants, which are beneficial to our health, plus they make an easy side dish for weeknight dinners. Here are a few more healthy carrot recipes for the kiddos:

A note of the Veggie Mac & Cheese- it’s made with pureéd carrots and cauliflower, so it’s entirely dairy-free and a genius way to enjoy your veggies.

Often, when kids don’t like a particular vegetable or food, it’s not so much the flavor but the texture or color, which is where recipes like this come in handy.

Instead of serving those problem foods traditionally e.g. baked or steamed, in these recipes the veggies are baked/cooked into the food and introduced in an appealing way, in this case, it’s with cake. This method works great for kids who have color or texture problems and I use it on some of my family’s favorite dishes such as Paleo Chili, smoothies, and waffles!

If your picky eaters are not wanting to try carrots because of the food’s color, you might try today’s recipe or even the veggie mac & cheese. If your picky eater has a problem with the texture of the veggies, then turning those raw carrots into familiar-feeling french fries might be the way to go!

How to Find Healthy Snacks for Kids

If you are on the hunt for more fun snack ideas that pack secret, healthy ingredients, and your kids are sure to love check out these 10 healthy snacks for picky eaters. Each recipe is full of healthy nutrients but packaged up in a way that will leave picky eaters asking for more! You’ll find smoothies, brocoli nuggets, breakfast pizza and so much more.

But it all starts today with these epic Zucchini Carrot Cake Bars.