Carrot Cake Bars

These carrot cake bars are so moist and delicious! They have a sprinkle of cinnamon and a cheesecake swirl in them. They make a great Easter dessert. If you love carrot cake, I have a carrot cake with caramel frosting recipe that's to die for.

carrot cake bars stacked


 

I tend to make carrot cake inspired recipes a couple of months out of the year. The first being around Easter because I associate carrot cake with Easter and the second time when the carrots in my garden are ready and/or I find some at the farmers market that are calling my name.

two carrot cake bars stacked on yellow linen

Carrot Cake Bars Recipe

This Carrot Cake Bars Recipe is the first of several that should be coming out in the next week or sooner! It's made completely from scratch and has a blondie feel about it. There's a generous swirl of cheesecake in it instead of adding a cream cheese frosting to the top of the bars.

overhead shot of carrot cake bars on yellow linen

How to make Carrot Cake Bars

Let's get making these carrot cake bars. Here are the ingredients you'll need for the carrot cake bars:

  • butter - I used unsalted butter and added salt to the recipe. Don't worry about letting the butter come to room temperature, it will be melted instead.
  • brown sugar - Light brown sugar is recommended for this recipe, but dark will do in a pinch. It may provide a more dense bar as there is more molasses in it.
  • eggs - always use large eggs unless the recipe specifies a different size. You'll need a whole egg and just a yolk for this recipe.
  • vanilla extract -high-quality vanilla extract. I recommend Rodelle's vanilla extract.
  • flour - all-purpose flour will do the trick for this recipe! Be sure to not pack the flour in your measuring up and to always level it.
  • cinnamon - cinnamon is the signature flavor for a carrot cake recipe. Make sure yours is still in date. It's easy to forget that your spices do expire.
  • baking powder - To activate baking powder, an acid (brown sugar in our case) is always required. Because most baking powders are now double acting, that means this batter needs to be baked right away.
  • salt - salt helps balance the sweetness and contributes to the flavor!
  • carrots - the carrots don't need to be peeled but can be if you want. Use a box grater to for shredding carrots.
  • cream cheese - always use full-fat cream cheese unless the recipe says otherwise.
ingredients for carrot cake bars

Now to make these carrot cake swirled cream cheese bars, begin by melting the butter and whisking it with the brown sugar in a large bowl. Add in the egg and vanilla extract. Whisk until incorporated.

egg being add to bowl

Add in the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk until the dry ingredients are incorporated and then fold in the grated carrots.

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dry ingredients being added to the bowl

For the cream cheese part of the carrot cake cream cheese bars, add the cream cheese, sugar, yolk, and vanilla extract into a bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat until smooth.

cream cheese being mixed

Start with half of the carrot cake batter. Begin pouring the batter into an 8x8 baking pan. Spread it out evenly. Add dollops of the cream cheese on top of the carrot cake batter. Add the remaining carrot cake batter on top and around the cream cheese. Add the remaining cream cheese in spoonfuls on top.

cream cheese dollops in baking pan
carrot cake bars in a baking pan

Using a skewer or butter knife, swirl the cream cheese into the carrot cake batter. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

How to Store Carrot Cake Bars

These bars are loaded with cream cheese, so the best way to store them is in an airtight container and in the fridge. They will last 3 to 5 days and taste delicious straight out of the fridge.

bars stacked on white counter

I have other great carrot cake squares to try too! Do you love browned butter? Check out this browned butter carrot cake blondies recipe.

carrot cake bars stacked

Carrot Cake Bars

4.62 from 1283 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 9 bars
Calories 323 kcal

Ingredients
  

Carrot Cake Bars

Cheesecake Swirl

  • 4 ounces cream cheese room temperature
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x8 baking pan with non-stick spray and set aside. You can also line the pan with parchment paper and lightly spray with nonstick baking spray.

Carrot Cake Bars

  • Place the butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds. If needed, microwave another 15 seconds to melt the butter completely.
  • In a medium bowl, add the melted butter and brown sugar. Mix to combine.
  • Stir in the egg and vanilla extract.
  • Add in the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Stir until completely combined.
  • Fold in the shredded carrots. Set aside.

Cheesecake Swirl

  • In a medium bowl, add in the cream cheese and sugar. Beat with a hand mixer until smooth.
  • Add in the egg yolk and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and creamy.

Assemble

  • Add about half of the carrot cake batter into the pan and spread it out with an off-set spatula.
  • Add half of the cheesecake batter to the carrot cake batter. Do this by dropping dollops of batter over the carrot cake batter. Don’t swirl yet.
  • Add the remaining carrot cake batter on top of the cheesecake batter and around the cheesecake batter.
  • Add the remaining cheesecake batter by adding dollops on top of the carrot cake batter.
  • Using a knife or skewer, swirl the batters together. Swirl as much or as little as you like.
  • Bake for about 35-40 minutes until the edges are golden brown. There will be very little jiggle to the center.
  • Cool completely before cutting. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Nutrition

Calories: 323kcalCarbohydrates: 42gProtein: 3gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 80mgSodium: 220mgPotassium: 128mgSugar: 30gVitamin A: 2915IUVitamin C: 0.8mgCalcium: 55mgIron: 1mg

(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)

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169 Comments

  1. Do you need to use pure vanilla extract? Would there be a change in the measurement if you used artificial vanilla extract?

    1. Me too! 🙁 I just made them for Thanksgiving tomorrow - The only thing I did differently was cut back a little bit on the sugar because my family doesn’t like really sugary desserts and I would think reducing the brown sugar especially would take out some of the moisture, but they still ended up gummy and rubbery and overly moist - plus I read another comment before making them and even took the extra step to ring out the carrot in a towel before adding. Had to toss out my batch as well.1 star

      1. Hi Sue- Sorry your carrot cake bars didn't turn out great. I have never had an issue with them being too gummy but perhaps they didn't cook fully? My only though is that they needed more time in the oven. The oven will help evaporate some of the moisture and make the bars less dense. They are a heavier bar in general and not as cakey as you may have expected. I hope you give them a try again!

  2. I see that you have an entirely different recipe for the carrot cake bars with browned butter. But I wondered if I could just use this recipe and brown the butter? Have you tried this? I just don’t like butterscotch chips.

    1. You can brown the butter for these carrot cake bars. Browned butter will add a nice nutty taste to the bars. Enjoy!

  3. My sister and I both made this recipe on the same day a thousand miles away from each other and, unfortunately, both batches turned out so bad we had to throw them away. Turns to rubber as soon as they hit the fridge. 🙁 So sad!1 star

    1. I'm not sure how they'll hold up after being thawed. They're quite soft. If you try it, please let us know! Thanks

  4. I want to make these in a 13 x 9 pan. Can I just double the ingredients and cooking time while keeping these moist?5 stars

  5. These bars are so moist and absolutely delicious!
    Easy to make, but didn't enjoy grating the carrots! They were worth it though.5 stars

      1. I want to love these, please help with my next attempt. They came out dense and the cream cheese is only on the top, very little in the middle. Any tips? I think it’s my amateur baking skills. Still taste great but feel the texture and ratio of cream cheese is off. ( After blending the cream cheese the mixture was very runny? Did I over mix?)5 stars

        1. The cream cheese should be mostly on top! So you did that correctly haha. It should be baked into the batter but primarily on top like a frosting. Mixing the cream cheese for too long will make it a little runny. Mix the cheesecake portion of the recipe just until it is combined then stop! Also, using warm cream cheese will make it runny as well. The cream cheese should be nice and cold before you mix. Hope this helps!

      1. I just made this yesterday and doubled it for a regular cake pan and it worked just fine. It's a really super moist cake/bar. My friend loved it even though there is no frosting!

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