These zucchini bars with cream cheese frosting drizzle are so flavorful with a rich brown butter flavor. The perfect summer dessert that uses fresh zucchini, oats, brown sugar, and butter for a simple bar recipe. The cream cheese drizzle incorporates all your favorite flavors of zucchini cake, but without being too sweet!
This summer I got the craving for an oat bar recipe that had all the flavors of zucchini bread, but all the recipes I could find were essentially sheet cakes cut into "bars". These are what I think of when I imagine zucchini bars.
Zucchini bars are perfect for a lighter dessert, summer BBQ, potluck, or whenever you need a sweet treat. And you can use up any leftover zucchini making Chicken Zucchini Poppers or Zucchini Soup.
![Stacked zucchini bars drizzled with cream cheese frosting.](https://thedizzycook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Zucchini-Bars-6.jpg)
Jump to:
Zucchini Oat Bars
I've made these at least six times already this summer, and the first time was over Memorial Day. A crazy Dallas storm knocked out our power for 3 days and they didn't stay good for me in the heat since I had iced them. I'm pretty sure I cried throwing them away.
You're going to love how gooey these zucchini bars are with all the classic flavors and the cream cheese icing on top is just perfection. They're similar to an oat cookie in texture and flavor.
- Brown butter - Don't skip this step because with the simple ingredients, the brown butter adds a great depth of nutty flavor to the bars.
- Actual bars - These aren't just cake or bread cut into squares, but actually firmed up bars.
- Specialty diet friendly - These zucchini bars are gluten free, low sodium, egg free, and migraine diet friendly.
Ingredients
![Ingredients for zucchini bars on a white background.](https://thedizzycook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Zucchini-Bars-Ingredients.jpg)
- Zucchini - Fresh green zucchini is used. Typically 1 large yields about 1 cup grated.
- Quick Cook Rolled Oats - These are like your traditional rolled oats but "quick cook" which means they look like they've been broken up into smaller pieces. This does make a difference in texture if you try to use rolled oats. They will be much more chewy. Do NOT use steel cut oats.
- Oat flour - This recipe is much easier if you just buy store-bought oat flour, but if you have a good quality food processor, you can make this at home with rolled oats.
- Butter - I love to use a good quality European-style butter or get Kerrygold from Costco.
- Brown sugar - Adds that classic cookie bar gooey texture.
- White sugar and powdered sugar
- Cream cheese - I recommend using a plain, block-style cream cheese without carrageenan like Publix Greenwise, Whole Foods, Philadelphia, etc.
- Milk - Just a touch is needed to make the icing! You can use any milk you like.
How to Make Oat Flour
![Blending oats in a food processor to make oat flour.](https://thedizzycook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Oat-Flour.jpg)
Oat flour can be made by using a good quality food processor and rolled old-fashioned oats. You can use the same oats you use for this recipe if that's easy for you.
Simply combine the oats into the food processor and blend till a powdery flour forms. If you do not have a food processor, I don't think this will work in a blender. You will need to purchase oat flour.
How to Make Zucchini Bars
![A pan with a wood spoon mixing the butter to make brown butter.](https://thedizzycook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Brown-Butter-1-683x1024.jpg)
![A spoon scooping brown butter to show the color.](https://thedizzycook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Brown-Butter-2-683x1024.jpg)
Step 1: Brown Butter
The number one rule to browning butter is you do not leave the butter unattended. It browns fast and before you know it, will burn. Place the butter in a lighter colored pan over medium heat. Begin to melt the butter, stirring constantly with a wood spoon. Once the butter has melted, it will start to foam and sizzle. Keep stirring as golden brown bits begin to form. The butter will become fragrant and nutty. Once these are golden brown, remove the pan immediately and pour the butter into a heat-proof bowl so the cooking process stops.
![Process shots of how to combine zucchini and sugar, mix, and press into bars.](https://thedizzycook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Making-Zucchini-Bars.jpg)
Step 2: Make zucchini mixture
It's important to squeeze out a lot of the moisture in the zucchini as you shred it on the large side of a box grater. Combine the brown butter, brown sugar, white sugar, and zucchini with vanilla and whisk thoroughly.
Step 3: Combine
Combine the wet and dry ingredients into a bowl and pour into an 8x8 baking dish. Be aware that metal baking dishes will cook faster and more evenly than glass.
Step 4: Bake
Bake the bars at 350 degress Fahrenheit for about 25 minutes. Allow the bars to cool completely before icing them. Once the bars are not hot, you can place them in the fridge to cool completely (or sometimes I'll put them in the freezer to speed the process).
![Process shots for making the cream cheese frosting drizzle and pouring them over the bars.](https://thedizzycook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Making-Cream-Cheese-Frosting-Drizzle-For-Zucchini-Bars.jpg)
Step 5: Make the cream cheese drizzle
Remove the cream cheese and milk from the fridge at least an hour before starting. If they are not room temperature, the icing will be lumpy (but still taste good!). In a small bowl add the milk and powdered sugar to the soft cream cheese and whisk together until smooth. Add less milk for a thicker consistency.
Drizzle the mixture over the bars with a fork or spoon it into a plastic bag and cut the end off to make a piping bag (this works well for a thicker mixture or if you want it to be really pretty!). Enjoy!
![3 zucchini oat bars stacked on top of each other next to a bowl of white cream cheese frosting.](https://thedizzycook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Zucchini-Bars-5.jpg)
Recipe Tips
- Use a good quality food processor to make oat flour or buy pre-made oat flour.
- If the bars aren't holding together well - I've made this recipe multiple times and only had an issue once where I didn't blend my oats as well to make the flour and the bars had trouble staying together (as there is no egg). I was also trying to eat them while they were warm - ha! To resolve this, I placed them in the freezer for about an hour, then let them sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before cutting. They held together well after this. Chilling them helps if they get too soft!
- Using old fashioned rolled oats (instead of quick cook) will still work for this recipe but change the texture to be more chewy and the bars won't hold together as well. You can use the tip above to troubleshoot.
Storage Suggestions
These are best stored in the fridge for up to 3-5 days. Or you can store in the freezer for up to 3-4 months.
If you store these at room temperature, the bars won't hold together as well and the cream cheese mixture will start to melt. It should be fine at a party for 1-2 hours, but I would not leave out longer than that.
![A single zucchini bar on a marble platter.](https://thedizzycook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Zucchini-Bars-4.jpg)
Serving Suggestions
I usually serve these zucchini bars as a summer treat for friends or over the summer holidays. They've been great as a lighter dessert with BBQ. Here's what I've paired with.
![A plate with 3 zucchini bars with oats scattered around the edges.](https://thedizzycook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Zucchini-Bars-2.jpg)
Zucchini Recipes
For more recipes like these zucchini bars with cream cheese frosting drizzle, check out these posts - from main courses to appetizers!
If you make this, tag me #thedizzycook or @thedizzycook on Facebook and Instagram. And if you love the recipe, please leave a review below! Follow along on my Pinterest for more great recipes.
![Zucchini bars topped with oats and a white cream cheese drizzle.](https://thedizzycook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Zucchini-Bars-300x300.jpg)
Zucchini Bars
Ingredients
- ¾ cup butter
- 1 cup shredded zucchini large side of box grater
- ½ cup brown sugar lightly packed
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups oat flour (or quick oats blended in a food processor)
- 2 cups quick oats
- 1 teaspoon salt
Cream Cheese Frosting Drizzle
- 2 tablespoon cream cheese softened at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon milk of choice preferably room temp
- ½ cup powdered sugar/icing sugar
Instructions
- Prep an 8x8 inch pan by lining with parchment and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a medium, light-colored pan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir constantly as it begins to sputter/splatter. It will begin to smell nutty and small specks of brown will start to develop. DO NOT WALK AWAY FROM THE PAN AT ANY POINT. Once a decent amount of the specks are golden brown and it smells nutty, remove from the heat immediately and transfer right away to a heat-proof bowl to stop the cooking.
- In a separate medium sized bowl combine cooled brown butter, brown sugar, white sugar, shredded zucchini and vanilla extract and whisk thoroughly. Add in oat flour and salt, stirring till fully combined.
- Pour into the 8x8 baking pan and press the top to smooth out the bars and get them compact. Bake at 350F for 25 minutes.
- Allow the bars to cool completely before frosting and cutting. If they're not quite set, pop them in the fridge or freezer for about 20 minutes to cool further, which should help them come together.
Cream Cheese Frosting Drizzle
- In a small bowl add milk and icing sugar to the softened cream cheese and whisk together thoroughly until smooth consistency. Drizzle over the bars using a fork (if you prefer thinner consistency) or transfer the icing to a piping bag and cut a very small hole in the tip and pipe over the bars (for a thicker consistency). Store in the fridge till ready to serve!
Notes
- If making your own oat flour - pour the rolled oats into a food processor and blend till you get a very fine, powdery flour. If you leave it a little more chunky, the bars won't hold together as well.
- If you use regular rolled oats, this recipe will still work, but will be a lot more chewy in texture and may not hold together as well.
- Do not use "steel cut oats".
- Brown butter burns very quickly! Having a bowl to transfer to quickly helps you immediately pull it off the heat and slow the cooking. Always pull it off a little before you think it's ready. The smell will be more nutty/toasted when it's ready!
- If your bars aren't holding together well, the mixture may still be too warm or the flour was a little more chunky. It's ok! Just pop it into the freezer for 20-30 minutes. This should help it firm up. Keep the bars chilled in the fridge or freezer till ready to serve. Leave at room temperature for about 10 minutes before cutting into bars.
- For thicker icing, use a little less milk!
Delicious! You had me at brown butter! Will be making these again!
These are so good! I’ve already made them for our 4th party.