Sheet Pan Carrot Cake Bars

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Step 6: While the cake is cooking, add the butter, cream cheese, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar to a large mixing bowl and mix with an electric mixer on medium until well combined.

Step 7: 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).

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

4.3 from 15 votes

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Servings

48

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

25

minutes

Calories

200

kcal

Total time

35

minutes

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Ingredients

• For the cake:

• ~2 whole carrots, peeled and washed

• 1 cup unsweetened apple sauce

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking soda

• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 4 eggs

• 2 cups granulated sugar

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

• 1 cup shredded carrots

• For the cream cheese frosting:

• 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened

• 1 8 oz package cream cheese

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 16 ounces 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.
• While the cake is cooking, add the frosting ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix with an electric mixer on medium until well combined.
• 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

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