Description
Craving that cozy flavor of carrot cake but don’t want the fuss of layers and frosting bags? These Carrot Cake Cream Cheese Bars are the perfect solution. Soft, warmly spiced bars are topped with a luscious swirl of cream cheese and finished with a crumbly, buttery topping—every bite is packed with home-baked comfort. This easy recipe delivers everything you love about classic carrot cake in a grab-and-go form. Great for easy dessert ideas, quick breakfast bars, holiday potlucks, and sweet snack moments, it’s a recipe you’ll keep in rotation year-round.
Ingredients
1 ½ cups grated carrots
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 oz cream cheese, softened
½ cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (for frosting)
½ cup all-purpose flour (for crumb)
¼ cup brown sugar (for crumb)
½ teaspoon cinnamon (for crumb)
¼ cup cold butter, cubed
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, mix brown sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Stir in grated carrots.
3. Add flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt. Mix until just combined and spread in pan.
4. In another bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Drop spoonfuls over batter and swirl gently.
5. Combine crumb topping ingredients until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over the batter.
6. Bake for 35–40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool before slicing.
Notes
Don’t overmix the batter to keep the bars tender.
For extra crunch, add ½ cup chopped walnuts to the batter.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 260
- Sugar: 20g
- Sodium: 160mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 32g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 35mg
Keywords: carrot cake bars, easy dessert, cream cheese frosting, carrot cake, crumb topping