Carrot Cake Bars (Cream Cheese Frosting)

These cream cheese frosted Carrot Cake Bars are homemade & soft-baked, with walnuts, fresh shredded carrots, and warm spices. Top them off with a whipped cream cheese frosting and more walnuts for a delicious springtime or Easter dessert. 

If you’re wanting to serve a crowd then check out my Sheet Pan Carrot Cake Bars or this amazing homemade layered Carrot Cake. 

Cream Cheese Frosted Carrot Cake Bars

You’re going to love the combination of warm perfectly spiced carrot cake bars topped off with homemade cream cheese frosting.

This recipe yields a 9×13 cake pan of from-scratch carrot cake bars with chunks of chopped walnuts, freshly grated carrots, and warm spices like ginger, cinnamon, and brown sugar.

Ingredients Needed

• Carrot Cake Bars Ingredients

  • All-Purpose Flour – I prefer using unbleached flour in all my baking. 
  • Cinnamon
  • Baking Soda & Baking Powder – These two work magic together helping the cake bake up tall and thick, and soft-baked. 
  • Salt – Any type of salt will work fine. Kosher salt, sea salt, or regular iodized table salt are all popular options. 
  • Ground Ginger
  • Butter – You can use salted butter or unsalted butter. If using unsalted butter then you’ll want to double the salt measurement. I always use salted butter in all my baking and cooking. 
  • Granulated Sugar
  • Light Brown Sugar – This is packed meaning that you pack it into the measuring cup to measure it out. When you dump it into the mixing bowl it should keep the measuring cup shape (that’s how you know it was packed properly). 
  • Large Eggs
  • Vanilla Extract – For the best flavor use pure vanilla extract.
  • Freshly Grated Carrots – You will need about 6 whole carrots for this recipe. Shred it on the finer side of a cheese grater. Do not buy the pre-shredded carrots at the store! They are too large and thick and won’t work well in this recipe. Shred the carrots yourself. 
  • Chopped Walnuts – These are optional but I highly recommend using them. 

• Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

  • Butter
  • Cream Cheese – For the best taste and texture use full-fat cream cheese and not the reduced-fat or lite options. 
  • Powdered Sugar
  • Vanilla Extract
  • Chopped Walnuts – Optional but I highly recommend using them. 

How To Make Carrot Cake Bars in a 9×13 Baking Pan

The ingredients list may be long but it’s actually fairly simple to make these carrot cake bars with the simple to follow steps below. Be sure and read to the bottom of the page where there is a detailed recipe card, a printable option, and a pin it button. 

• Prep : Spray a 9×13 baking pan with cooking spray OR line it with parchment paper. I prefer lining with a pre-cut parchment paper sheet. Spray the pan first and then that way the parchment paper adhered to the pan better. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. 
• Step 1 : Whisk together the dry ingredients in a small mixing bowl until combined well. Set aside. 
• Step 2 : Cream the butter and sugars together with a hand mixer in a mixing bowl (you can also use a stand mixer) until light in color & fluffy. About 1-2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each. Then mix in the vanilla extract. 
• Step 3 : Add the dry flour mixture and mix on low speed just until incorporated. 
• Step 4 : Stir in the shredded carrots and walnuts with a spatula or wooden spoon. 
• Step 5 : Evenly spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 23-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely, inside the pan, before frosting it. 
• Make The Frosting : Beat the butter and cream cheese until combined. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and beat until mixed well. 
• Serve : Spread the frosting over top the cooled carrot cake bars and sprinkle on the chopped walnuts. Enjoy!

Carrot Cake Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting FAQ’s

• My Bars Came Out Hard. What Did I Do Wrong?

  • There are two reasons that any baked good (like a cake, brownies, or bars) would turn out dense, hard, or more firm. 
    • Over Baked : The most common reason is that the bars or cake was over-baked. The best way to test for doneness is to use a toothpick and poke it into the middle of the bars. If it comes out with wet batter then they’re not done. If the toothpick comes out with moist crumbs or nothing at all, then you’re good to go. The edges of these bars will be golden and look cooked, while the center might still be paler in color and look softer. That’s good! Also, as the bars cool in the warm pan they will cook slightly more – don’t rely on this to actually cook the bars if you take them out of the oven raw cause it won’t work. The cooling time will just help the bars come together and firm up. 
    • Too Much Mixing : The other common reason is that once the flour was added, you beat it or mixed the batter too much. You only need to mix the batter just until the flour is incorporated and no flour streaks or pockets remain. The batter might be lumpy and that’s ok.

• How To Store Frosted Carrot Cake Bars

  • Because of the cream cheeses frosting these bars need to be stored in the fridge. Cover the pan with plastic wrap or a lid. 
  • Carrot cake bars will keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days. 

• Why Is There More Butter Than Cream Cheese In The Frosting?

  • I wanted the frosting to be on the firmer side for these bars so that the frosting would keep well on top of the bars, rather than be softer and not keep it’s shape once you cut the bars. Using more butter than cream cheese allows the frosting to be firmer and keep it’s shape and form even after cutting the bars. 

• Can These Bars Stay at Room Temperature For a Party?

  • Because of the cream cheese in the frosting I don’t recommend keeping these bars out for too long. They will get softer (especially the frosting) as they are out at room temperature. 
  • I only recommend leaving the bars out for up to 1 hour if needed. Otherwise, store them in the fridge and eat/serve them chilled for the best flavor and texture of the bars. 

• Can I Make This Recipe Ahead of Time?

  • Yes! This is the perfect make-ahead dessert because the bars need to stay cold and they’re best served chilled. 
  • I always make the carrot cake bars and then frost them (once cooled) and cover the pan with a lid. I then keep the bars in the fridge for 8 hours or even up to overnight. 
  • Make these up to 24 hours ahead of serving them. 
  • I think the bars taste much better when eaten chilled. 
  • I do recommend leaving the chopped walnuts off of the frosting until right before serving. 

Recipe Tips

Here are some of my helpful tips so that you can have success recreating this recipe in your own kitchen ♥

• Beating Butter + Sugars : It’s important to make sure that this mixture is creamy, fluffy looking, and lighter in color before moving on. You want to really whip lots of air into the butter and sugars which will result in a soft and fluffy bar. about 1-2 minutes. 
• Cool Completely : Do not frost the bars until they are completely cooled. You can even make the cake the day before and refrigerate it overnight once cooled to room temperature. Make the frosting the next day before it’s time to serve. It’s much easier to frost a cooled cake or a cold cake, and if the cake is cooled it makes the frosting stay on it rather than melt off like it would if the cake was frosted warm. 
• Don’t Skip The Walnuts : Obviously if there is a nut allergy then please do skip them! But, for anything else, even if you don’t think you like walnuts, use them! They make such a difference in the taste of these bars. That nutty and salty crunch pairs perfectly with the soft cake and soft & sweet frosting. 

More 9×13 Cake Recipes You’ll Love

• Amazing Banana Bread Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting – The best (and only way!) to use up those brown bananas. 
• Dr. Pepper Texas Sheet Cake – The best soda inside a rich chocolate cake. 
• Oreo Poke Cake – Fudge poked chocolate cake topped with Oreo whipped cream and Oreo cookie pieces. 
• Coconut Cream Cake – Three kinds of coconut make this coconut cake stand out. 
• Pumpkin Spice Cake – So soft and delicious filled with warm pumpkin spices and plenty of pure pumpkin. 
• Orange Pineapple Cake – Also called pig pickin’ cake and it’s one of our favorites. 
• Easy Chocolate Cherry Cake – A doctored up chocolate cake mix with a can of cherry pie filling.