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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.
This was the year I entered in the State Fair. (Bucket list). I used this recipe for dessert bars on the county level snd received a blue ribbon. Made it again for the State Fair , zucchini bars and received an Honorable Mention. I’ve had people text me for the recipe. Thank you for this recipe I did make as the recipe says, no changes
Great bars!
The browned butter frosting really made these bars! But i think they’d be really good with cream cheese frosting, too.
I halved the recipe of the bars (because I’m the only one in the house who will eat them), used olive oil (that’s what I had on hand), and unfortunately, squeezed excess liquid from the shredded zucchini. I didn’t read the tips until after I made them, and it’s noted NOT to remove any of the liquid for moist bars. I’ll try that next time! Overall, they turned out great! Since I halved the recipe, i cut down the baking time to 20 minutes, which seemed perfect. Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
Any oil that isn’t a fruit oil: is bad for you: can you sub: olive/ avacado/ coconut oil.
I haven’t tried that before in this recipe but they could work!
silly question. what is the 1x 2x and 3x mean?
1x is the normal amounts, 2x is double the amounts and 3x is triple the amounts.
Do you keep in the pan to cool and frost
Yes!
I thought it was too much powdered sugar.
This recipe says 6 cups of powdered sugar for the frosting! 😳
So good!
I made these for company the other day.
The bars were very good, but the frosting was way too sweet for us!! I would cut the frosting in 1/2 next time or not frost at all.
I stumbled across this recipe because I was given a large zucchini and I needed to use it before it went bad.
WOW!! These bars a A-MA-ZING! Even our picky child who made a face at them tried it and liked them. I had to go back for another one. This is a keeper!!
Just tried the Zuke bars… I don’t have a 10x15x1 pan so I subbed wth a 9×13..
Also using a new stove which I am not too used to….. amazing all went well…. I was so surprised to have the bars come out in 30 minutes,,, good thing I tested early….
Also my first time trying the Brown Butter Icing and it is PERFECT with this cake.
Thanks so much for putting this out there for us to try……
Sooo good!!
My kids even loved them…
Bars were moist and soft. Frosting made them even more delicious…followed directions and comments regarding the frosting…it all turned out great….It’s a keeper!!
Do you absorb the zucchini juice or use that for the moisture? Some recipes tell you to place grated zucchini in a cheese cloth and twist out the juice.
Yes, you can do that if the zucchini is overly watery.
much tastier than zucchini bread, great recipe, thank you
Just made these, and followed recipe EXACTLY…. bars were flat and dry..any ideas what went wrong?? I want to try making again sometime. Thanks!
Hmmmm not to sure what could have gone wrong. They definitely should be moist and not flat and dry at all.
It would be nice to know if you are supposed to take the butter off the stove before adding sugar and milk…
Yes take it off of the stove.
I baked these bars this afternoon and my husband & I just got done tasting them. His comment “I could eat 2 or 3 pieces but will only eat 1”. The only change I made was to add pecans on top the frosting — we love pecans. I will freeze some of the bars since there is just the two of us. One suggestion to those making this for the first time — after the frosting is done you need to frost immediately without delay. Since the butter is browned & hot, the frosting will start to harden as it cools when adding the other ingredients. I will definitely bake again.