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Carrot Cake Bars for Potlucks — Moist 9×13 Sheet with Cream Cheese Frosting Pinterest recipe pin

Carrot Cake Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Tender, lightly spiced carrot cake bars topped with smooth cream cheese frosting—baked in a 9×13 pan for easy slicing and sharing.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 28 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 12 bars
Calories: 320
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup neutral oil canola or vegetable
  • 1 large egg room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
  • 2 cups coarsely grated carrots about 3–4 medium carrots
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans optional
  • 1/2 cup raisins or drained crushed pineapple optional
Cream cheese frosting
  • 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Pinch of fine salt

Equipment

  • 1 9×13-inch baking pan (lined with parchment)
  • 1 Box grater or food-processor grating disk
  • 1 Mixing bowl and spatula
  • 1 Cooling rack

Method
 

Prepare the pan and oven
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 9×13-inch pan with parchment, leaving an overhang for easy lifting.
Dry ingredients
  1. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl.
Wet ingredients
  1. In a large bowl whisk the granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, and egg until smooth, then stir in the vanilla and yogurt.
Combine and add carrots
  1. Fold the grated carrots and any optional nuts or raisins into the wet mixture, then gently fold in the dry ingredients until just combined; add 1–2 tablespoons milk if batter is overly stiff.
Bake
  1. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and bake at 350°F for 22–28 minutes until a toothpick shows a few moist crumbs; remove and cool 10–15 minutes on a rack.
Cool and frost
  1. Lift the slab from the pan using the parchment and cool another 20–25 minutes until warm but not hot; beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth, add powdered sugar gradually, then vanilla and salt; spread the frosting over the cooled bars and chill 20–30 minutes to set before slicing into 12 bars.

Notes

Use coarsely grated carrots for texture and to avoid excess moisture; toss nuts in a tablespoon of flour to keep them suspended. Cool the slab until warm before frosting to prevent sliding. Unfrosted bars freeze well; wrap tightly and freeze up to 3 months, then thaw in the refrigerator.