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Zucchini Bars with Brown Butter Frosting are so deliciously moist and absolutely heavenly. This is one of the best ways to use up those extra summer zucchini!
Browned butter is an easy trick to create incredible flavor. I use it in so many delicious recipes. You can try browned butter in these delicious Cookies, on this Shrimp, and on these amazing carrots.
Zucchini Bars Recipe
Right about this time, the gardens start to be taken over by zucchini. There are so many great recipes to make zucchini with. Zucchini is my favorite vegetable in the garden. I love them sautéed as a side, I love them in quick bread, and I especially loved them in these bars. If you don’t have a garden full of zucchini, go to the store right now and buy some. These zucchini bars are so worth it!
These zucchini bars were so moist and perfect. Packed with two whole cups of zucchini. The best part of these dessert bars was watching my picky eater, who hates all foods, devour them. It just puts a smile on my face to sneak veggies into recipes. This zucchini bars recipe was originally inspired by these banana bread bars. Browning the butter is just one extra step that takes boring old frosting to insanely delicious. It gives it a nutty flavor and complements the bars perfectly.
Ingredients For Brown Butter Zucchini Bar
Zucchini bars are so simple to make with pantry staple ingredients! It all comes together quickly and easily with just a few steps. For complete ingredient listing and measurements, see the recipe card below.
- Granulated sugar: Adds the sweetness to the zucchini.
- Vegetable oil: Add moisture and lightness to the cake.
- Eggs: Have the eggs at room temperature for better mixing.
- All-purpose flour: The flour provides structure for the bars.
- Baking powder: This is the rising agent to help them be fluffy.
- Salt: The salt balances the sweetness.
- Ground Cinnamon: Cinnamon is the perfect spice for zucchini.
- Shredded Zucchini: Even extra-large zucchini will work for this recipe.
- Pecans chopped: These give the zucchini bars extra texture and crunch.
Brown Butter Frosting
- Butter: You have to use real unsalted butter for the flavor.
- Powdered sugar: Gives the frosting its sweetness.
- Vanilla: Adds flavor that goes with the zucchini bars.
- Milk: Add more or less to thin it out to desired consistency.
How to Make Zucchini Bars with Browned Butter
In three simple steps, you will have the perfect combination of sweet and savory for the best dessert. Feed a crowd with this summertime dessert!
- Prep and mix: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 15x10x1 inch pan. In a medium mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Wet ingredients: In a mixer, add sugar, oil, and eggs and mix until smooth. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until incorporated.
- Bake: Stir in zucchini and chopped pecans. Spread evenly in the prepared pan. Cook for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean. Let the bars cool completely.
- Make Frosting: Heat a medium-sized saucepan to medium heat to make the brown butter frosting. Add butter and whisk until it turns brown. Add in powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. Stir together until smooth. Spread over cooled bars.
The Best Zucchini Bars Tips
These are decadent, luscious, and easy-to-make dessert bars. Zucchini is so easy to shred and prepare for this simple zucchini bar recipe. Add in nuts or chocolate chips even to make it a variety of zucchini bars!
- Zucchini: When shredding your zucchini, do it finely, especially if you are worried about kids figuring out what’s hiding in their dessert. The smaller, the easier it is to hide. You can also peel the zucchini, but it isn’t necessary. Do not to squeeze out any extra liquid. You want the moisture to create the best bars ever.
- Pecans: If you do not like pecans, you can leave them out or use walnuts.
How To Brown Butter
Don’t be scared by browning butter. It is super simple and foolproof if you follow these tips. To get the best-browned butter, make sure to use unsalted butter.
- Use a light-colored pan: You want to be able to see the brown bits form at the bottom of the pan. Using a dark-colored pan will prevent you from seeing when those have formed, and this is a key clue to when your butter is done. Those dark specks are the toasted milk solids that bring the flavor, so don’t leave them behind.
- Don’t Stop Stirring: This will make sure your butter cooks evenly and will help prevent it from going from brown to burnt too fast, which can happen.
- Cut the butter into pieces: Again, you want it to cook evenly, and cutting it will help it do so.
- Remove from heat and pan: Once your butter has foamed, turned golden brown, and the brown specks form, you want to remove it from the heat. Transfer the butter to a different pan as well, or as in this case, add something to the pan. This will help the butter stop cooking so it doesn’t go from browned to burnt.
- Smell: It should have a buttery, nutty, rich smell as well.
Storing Leftovers
- Room Temperature: Zucchini bars with butter frosting will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- In the Refrigerator: They will last even longer in the fridge, up to 10 days.
- In the Freezer: You can also freeze them. Refrigerate the sheet pan first, then cut them into bars and place them in freezer-safe bags. They will last about two months.
More Zucchini Recipes to Try
Zucchini grows in plethora, anyone with a garden who has grown any knows this. And if you are neighbor of someone with zucchini plants, you have probably been the recipient of those extra zucchini. They are a great vegetable and because of it’s mild flavor you can do so many things with it!
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Zucchini Bars with Brown Butter Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 cups shredded zucchini about 3 medium
- 1 1/2 cups pecans chopped
Brown Butter Frosting:
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 8 to 10 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 15x10x1 inch pan. In a medium mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In a mixer, add sugar, oil, and eggs and mix until smooth. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until incorporated.
- Stir in zucchini and chopped pecans. Spread evenly in prepared pan. Cook for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean. Let bars cool completely.
To make the Brown Butter Frosting
- Heat a medium-sized saucepan to medium heat. Add butter and whisk until it turns brown. Add in powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. Stir together until smooth. Spread over cooled bars.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made these today and they are awesome! Definitely one of our new favorites!
Made these tonight. Holy smokes they are AMAZING!!! Followed the recipe exactly but baked in a 9×13. Browning the butter makes the icing fantasticly awesome.
I just made these. I won’t get to try them until later, but the frosting tasted amazing! I can’t wait to try them. Thank you so much for sharing your recipes!
Making these now, but wonder how I could reduce the oil? Can I substitute apple sauce? Might give a nice sweetness. Thoughts?
This recipe was amazing! I forgot I didn’t have a shredder for the zucchini so I put mine in a blender. Next time I am going to put raisins in as well. I loved loved loved the frosting! I wasn’t sure if these needed to be refrigerated or not but I put them in the fridge just in case and they were really good cold!
I am going to try this recipe. I will take them to my reunion.sounds really delish!!!!!!
Could I make these in a 9×13?
You probably could just increase the cooking time. 🙂
I LOVE zucchini right now, and that frosting sounds like absolute heaven! Browned butter should really be a candle scent. It’s too good!
Made this recipe for a family reunion today and it was AWESOME! So moist. Saving this recipe.
OK… I just made these and am stuck on the brown butter frosting. I wondered how the frosting turns out to be so white like in the picture – with brown butter in it. Well, mine didn’t and I don’t taste a nutty flavor like another reviewer did, I just taste powdered sugar. The recipe didn’t say if you are supposed to keep the pan on the heat after adding the sugar and mik/vanilla. I didn’t and I got a thick blob. I put it on the heat and it softened up, but again, I don’t get what is so good about it. I’m not giving up – I will let it cool and frost the bars. Hopefully together they will be good.
PS .. did a taste test – and they are good. A little after taste with the frosting, but not too bad. A for Bars. B- for frosting. Would probably prefer a cream cheese frosting.
What is the shelf-life? Will they keep, or best eaten right away? Thanks.
I made these last night and they are seriously the best things I have ever eaten in my life. The bars are incredible and the browned butter makes the frosting. Thank you for the recipe!!
i’ve never made zucchini bars before.. interesting recipe, definitely one i need to try! love the brown butter frosting.. yum!
Browned butter is the ticket! These bars looks amazing! I love baking with zucchini and these look amazing!
I so just pinned this to make!!! Sounds delish.
I seriously just finished making a zucchini recipe with brown butter frosting!! Then, I see these. Ha – great minds think alike 🙂