• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The Hangry Economist logo
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
  • Recipes
    • Recipe Index
    • 30 Minutes or Less
    • Healthy-ish
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Sides
  • Lifestyle
    • DC/MD/VA Local Finds
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • About Us
  • Lifestyle
  • Contact Us
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • About Us
    • Lifestyle
    • Contact Us
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Home » Recipes

    Sheet Pan Carrot Cake Bars

    Published: Feb 19, 2023 · 1 Comment

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    These sheet pan carrot cake bars are super moist and topped with a super indulgent cream cheese frosting. As an added bonus, they are so so easy. Mix the ingredients, throw the batter into a sheet pan, and bake--it's that simple.

    This is a picture of sheet pan carrot cake bars with cream cheese frosting. The Hangry Economist.

    Every fall, my mom makes the best pumpkin cake bars, and I crave them all year long. Unfortunately pumpkin is a fall thing, so I only get to indulge on her pumpkin bars once a year. If pumpkins are the official food mascot of fall, then carrots have to be official food mascot of spring. So why not make the pumpkin cake into carrot cake?

    This sheet pan carrot cake is everything you want in an easy spring recipe. It's super moist, super easy, and super delicious. I like to cut this carrot cake into bars, but you can do whatever you want. It's the perfect cake for Easter and spring celebrations.

    If you like this dessert, try our no-bake cookies, pumpkin bread with streusel topping, or banana bread muffins.

    Jump to:
    • Key Ingredients
    • Step-by-step Instructions
    • Frequently asked questions
    • Sheet Pan Carrot Cake Bars Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    Key Ingredients

    For the cake:

    • All-purpose flour
    • Baking soda
    • Eggs
    • Granulated sugar
    • Oil. We use avocado oil, but regular vegetable oil works too!
    • Carrots. We used whole carrots--you can use whatever you have on hand.
    • Apple sauce
    • Cinnamon
    • Salt

    For the cream cheese frosting:

    • Unsalted butter
    • Cream cheese
    • Vanilla extract
    • Powdered sugar

    Step-by-step Instructions

    Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350°F.

    Step 2: In a food processor or blender, puree the peeled and washed carrots. Add the apple sauce, and puree until smooth.

    This is a picture of carrot puree. The Hangry Economist.

    Step 3: In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

    Step 4: In a separate large mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar together with a hand or stand mixer, then add the oil and beat well. Add the carrot puree and the shredded carrots, then gradually add the flour mixture and mix until combined.

    This is a picture of batter in a mixing bowl. The Hangry Economist.

    Step 5: Add the batter to a greased half sheet pan (18x13 inch) (you can line the sheet pan with parchment paper instead of greasing it if you prefer) and bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

    This is a picture of cooked, unfrosted carrot cake on a sheet pan. The Hangry Economist.

    Step 6: Once the cake is done, let it cool completely, then top with frosting and spread evenly. We like to cut our cake into rectangular bars, but you can serve it however you like. To cut it into rectangular bars, cut the cake crosswise into fourths, then cut the fourths into thirds. Then cut lengthwise into fourths. Decorate with sprinkles, chopped nuts, or little piped carrots (just reserve some of the frosting, color it, and pipe onto the cake with a piping bag).

    This is a picture of sheet pan carrot cake being cut with a butter knife. The Hangry Economist.

    Frequently asked questions

    How do I decorate carrot cake?

    You can decorate it with sprinkles, chopped nuts (pecans would be great), or little piped carrots. I just reserved some frosting, colored it with orange and green food coloring, and then piped the carrots onto the cake with piping bags.

    Can I add nuts to this cake?

    Sure! Just add chopped nuts to the batter before you pour it into the sheet pan. I recommend pecans, but use whatever you like!

    Should carrot cake be refrigerated?

    Yes, because the frosting contains cream cheese, I recommend refrigerating this cake. I actually prefer the way it tastes cold anyway.

    This is a picture of a carrot cake bar on a plate. The Hangry Economist.
    Sheet Pan Carrot Cake Bars Recipe

    Sheet Pan Carrot Cake Bars Recipe

    Recipe by Mollie

    These sheet pan carrot cake bars are super moist and topped with a super indulgent cream cheese frosting. As an added bonus, they are so so easy. Mix the ingredients, throw the batter into a sheet pan, and bake. It's that simple.

    Course: DessertsCuisine: CakeDifficulty: Easy
    5 from 2 votes
    Pin
    Print
    Servings

    48

    servings
    Prep time

    10

    minutes
    Cooking time

    25

    minutes
    Calories

    200

    kcal
    Total time

    35

    minutes
    Cook Mode

    Prevent your screen from going dark!

    Ingredients

    • For the cake:
    • ~2 ~2 whole carrots, peeled and washed

    • 1 cup 1 unsweetened apple sauce

    • 2 cups 2 all-purpose flour

    • 2 teaspoons 2 baking soda

    • 2 teaspoons 2 cinnamon

    • ½ teaspoon ½ salt

    • 4 4 eggs

    • 2 cups 2 granulated sugar

    • 1 cup 1 oil (we use avocado, but plain vegetable oil works too)

    • 1 cup 1 shredded carrots

    • For the cream cheese frosting:
    • 1 stick 1 (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened

    • 1 1 8 oz package cream cheese

    • 2 teaspoons 2 vanilla extract

    • 16 ounces 16 powdered sugar

    Directions

    • Preheat oven to 350°F.
    • In a food processor or blender, puree the whole carrots. Add the apple sauce, and puree until smooth. Set aside.
    • In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
    • In a separate large mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar together with a hand or stand mixer, then add the oil and beat well. Add the carrot puree and the shredded carrots, then gradually add the flour mixture and mix until combined.
    • Add the batter to a greased half sheet pan (18x13 inch) (you can line the sheet pan with parchment paper instead of greasing it if you prefer) and bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
    • Once the cake is done, let it cool completely, then top with frosting and spread evenly. We like to cut our cake into rectangular bars, but you can serve it however you like. To cut it into rectangular bars, cut the cake crosswise into fourths, then cut the fourths into thirds. Then cut lengthwise into fourths. Decorate with sprinkles, chopped nuts, or little piped carrots (just reserve some of the frosting, color it, and pipe onto the cake with a piping bag).

    Notes

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag and follow @hangryeconomist on Instagram

    Like this recipe?

    Follow @hangryeconomist on Pinterest

    More Recipes

    • Air fryer baby carrots in a serving bowl topped with green garnish.
      Air Fryer Baby Carrots
    • Brown butter sage ravioli in a bowl with peas and parmesan cheese.
      Brown Butter Sage Ravioli
    • Two purple rain cocktails garnished with lime.
      Purple Rain Cocktail
    • Strawberries, basil, and halloumi on skewers on a serving plate.
      Strawberry and Halloumi Skewers

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sharie says

      April 04, 2022 at 9:28 pm

      This is amazing! Super moist and just so, so good! And the bar size is perfect. I highly recommend!

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Primary Sidebar

    hi, we're Michael and Mollie

    Welcome! We are Michael & Mollie, a hangry economics enthusiast and her husband. Our goal is to provide you with delicious, accessible, and healthy-ish recipes that are both time- and money-efficient.

    More about us →

    trending Recipes

    • A bowl of creamy red pepper and tomato pasta garnished with basil.
      Creamy Red Pepper and Tomato Pasta
    • Escabeche Vegetable Salad
    • A grilled cheese burger in a basket with chips and tomato slices.
      Grilled Cheese Burger
    • Coconut Water Mocktail

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Info

    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility Statement

    Contact

    • Email us

    Copyright © 2022 The Hangry Economist

    We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website. Learn more here.

    The Hangry Economist
    Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

    Strictly Necessary Cookies

    Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

    If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.