Carrot Cake Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

CARROT CAKE BARS topped off with a simple cream cheese frosting! This little recipe is my favorite way to serve up carrot cake! It’s good at room temperature, but we really love these carrot cake bars cold from the fridge.

Chad, my husband, is not a cake fan.

It’s weird, because who doesn’t like cake?! 

But, he always passes it up in favor of another dessert.

Apparently, cream cheese frosting is his weakness. 

I almost wish he’d go back to his cake-hating ways so that I had more of these bars for myself!

How to:

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This recipe comes together super easily without any of the stress of making a whole layer cake. 

I mean, I love layer cake, but they honestly stress me out. Even the kind that comes from a box mix! 

To make these, you’ll add all of the ingredients to a bowl and stir to combine…it’s just that easy!

You’ll need the usual suspects here: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, butter, eggs, carrots, and pecans. 

Once the mixture is all stirred together you’ll spread it into a greased jelly roll pan. 

Bake this up for about 25 minutes and then let the cake cool completely.

For the cream cheese frosting, you’ll beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla. It couldn’t be easier or tastier!

I like to use vanilla bean paste for this recipe so that you get the little flecks of vanilla bean in the frosting. It’s so pretty!

These carrot cake bars are perfect to serve up at Easter dinner, but I love that they’re easy enough to make anytime. 

No need to have a big occasion to whip these little treats up. 

Plus, you can eat them with your hands, which is always a win, but you can also use a fork. It really doesn’t matter how you eat these, as long as you do it while wearing festive bunny ears, surrounded by that evil plastic Easter grass. 😉 

More holiday desserts:

Easter Cookies: Our favorite cookie dough all dressed up for the Easter Bunny!

Butter Cookies: My mama makes these for every holiday.

Bisquick Peach Cobbler: So simple and always a hit!

Mini Cheesecakes: Topped with the best strawberry sauce!

Lemon Bars: The perfect spring dessert!

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Recipe

Carrot Cake Bars

These carrot cake bars are topped off with a really easy cream cheese frosting! Perfect for Easter!

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin

Prep20 minutes

Cook25 minutes

Total45 minutes

Serves 30 bars

Ingredients

For the bars:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teasoon baking soda
• 3 cups shredded carrots, about 6 medium carrots
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 1 cup melted butter
• 1 cup chopped pecans

For the frosting:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or extract
• 3 to 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Stir in carrots, eggs, and butter until just combined. Fold in the pecans.
• Spread the batter evenly in a 15x10 rimmed baking sheet.
• Bake 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan.
• To make the frosting, place the cream cheese and vanilla paste in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until smooth and creamy. With the mixer on low, gradually add the powdered sugar until the frosting reaches the consistency you prefer.
• Spread frosting on the cooled bars. Cut into 30 bars.

Tips & Notes:

Store tightly covered in the refrigerator. 

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 1bar| Calories: 259kcal (13%)| Carbohydrates: 36g (12%)| Protein: 3g (6%)| Fat: 12g (18%)| Saturated Fat: 6g (38%)| Cholesterol: 53mg (18%)| Sodium: 142mg (6%)| Potassium: 114mg (3%)| Fiber: 1g (4%)| Sugar: 28g (31%)| Vitamin A: 2472IU (49%)| Vitamin C: 1mg (1%)| Calcium: 34mg (3%)| Iron: 1mg (6%)

Author: Karly Campbell

Course:Dessert

Cuisine:American

Keyword:easy bar recipes, easy cake recipes, easy dessert recipes, easy Easter recipes

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This post was original published in April 2014. It was updated with a video and new text March 2020.