These Healthy Zucchini Bars are not only wholesome they are downright addictive! Chock-full of nutritious ingredients like fresh zucchini, carrots, dried cherries, chia seeds, applesauce, and cinnamon, make a great school breakfast, healthy snack, or dessert. And they are ideal for packing along in the lunch bag!
Zucchini bars are popular around the end of summer, at the height of zucchini season, but they can be made any time of the year with frozen zucchini. They were inspired by my Blender Zucchini Bread and my Healthy Carrot Bread.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Versatile. Freezes well and makes a great snack, breakfast, or dessert.
- Healthy! This healthy zucchini bar actually tastes healthy yet it's very moist and delicious! You don't feel like you're eating a piece sugary cake disguised as a healthy zucchini bar.
- Uses Fresh or Frozen Zucchini and Carrots. You can use fresh or frozen grated carrots and zucchini, so you can make it all year round!
- Pantry Ingredients. This recipe uses mostly pantry ingredients you'd have on hand and there are substitutes if you don't.
- Unique - it tastes very unique, unlike other zucchini bars you've eaten.
I've been making these bars for my kids' lunch bags for years and finally got around to posting it. It's not easy to find healthy zucchini recipes and this is one of my favorites!
If you're looking for other shredded zucchini desserts and snacks for the lunch bag, try my Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies, and my Chocolate Weight Watchers Zucchini Muffins.
🥘Ingredients
Trust me, you don't need cream cheese frosting that's full of sugar and fat to make zucchini bars taste good. But if that's what you're looking for, I suggest trying my Healthy & Light Carrot cake (with light cream cheese frosting) instead!
You'll need the following wholesome ingredients for this recipe:
- All-purpose flour & Whole Wheat Flour. I use a combination of these flours because, on its own, whole wheat flour is too dense. Adding all-purpose flour adds a lighter baked good than straight up whole wheat flour would. Using whole wheat flour adds nutrients.
- Baking powder. Baking powder is a leavening agent that creates air bubbles that give your baked goods their light, airy texture.
- Baking soda. Helps baked goods brown better and serves as a leavening agent.
- Cinnamon. Adds a welcome mild, spicy flavor.
- Chia Seeds. Are a great thickener and binder and are high in fiber.
- Eggs. Eggs are a binder in this recipe.
- Shredded Zucchini and carrot - provide moisture, and volume and are packed with nutrients. I love to shred a lot of zucchini at once, freeze it, and use it throughout the year. If you have extra shredded zucchini, then be sure to try my Zucchini Crisp Recipe (with Shredded Zucchini) and my Shredded Zucchini and Feta Sauté !
- Brown Sugar. Gives baked goods a dense chewy texture, whereas white sugar promotes more of a crispy/crunchy texture, which you wouldn't want in a soft bar.
- Dried Cherries. The dried cherries add sweetness and a little bit of a tang. And they really make this unique bar sing! I recommend soaking them for 2 minutes, then draining and chopping them up. It really distributes that flavor.
- Canola oil. Oil is necessary to keep the baked goods moist, but I limit it and add applesauce.
- Unsweetened Applesauce. I use applesauce to replace the oil so there's less fat in the recipe. *But if you add too much applesauce it makes the baked goods chewy.
- Vanilla Extract. Adds flavor.
See recipe card for quantities.
🔪How to Make Healthy Zucchini Carrot Bars
PREP: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F./176 degrees C. Spray a 9X13 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- Step 1: In a large bowl combine flours, baking powder, cinnamon, chia seeds, baking soda, and brown sugar.
- Step 2: Slightly beat eggs with a fork.
- Step 3: In a separate medium bowl stir together eggs, grated carrot, grated zucchini, dried cherries (see HINT at bottom of instructions), oil, unsweetened applesauce, and vanilla extract.
- Step 4: Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, stirring just until combined. Your batter texture should be like loaf batter.
*If it looks too wet, add a little more all-purpose flour. If it looks too dry, add a little more water. Do this by the tbsp, so you don't end up adding too much at once.
- Step 5: Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean and the bars are firm to the touch. * I usually bake for 20 minutes, then test it. It was perfect for me at 25 minutes.
- Step 6: Cool in pan and then cut into bars.
Hint: To better distribute the cherry flavor, chop them up. I usually do this, but didn't this time, as I was feeling lazy. But be sure to soak them in hot water for 2 minutes and drain, because they are much easier to chop!
📖 Variations & Substitutions
- Dried Cherries. You can substitute dried cranberries, raisins, or chopped dried apricots.
- Chia seeds. You can substitute flax seeds.
- Oil. You can use vegetable oil instead of canola oil.
- Zucchini. You can use fresh zucchini or frozen zucchini. *If you are using frozen zucchini, drain it and squeeze excess moisture from it. *See NOTES
🥗 What to eat with these healthy zucchini bars?
These zucchini carrot bars pair nicely with a cup of coffee or a glass of milk.
I also love bringing these bars along to work for a mid-morning snack, but they are also a scrumptious dessert for the lunch bag when paired with sandwiches or salad. Here are some of my favorite lunches to pack them with:
🍽Equipment
You will need either a box grater or a food processor for grating the carrots and zucchini. You'll also need mixing bowls, spoons, a sharp knife, a cutting board, and a 9x13 pan. I also recommend using a nylon knife to cut your bars in the pan, as it won't damage the non-stick finish on the pan.*See recipe card for recommended equipment photos and links
🌡️Storage
Store these bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
These bars freeze well in an airtight container or Ziploc bag for up to 3 months.
Let them defrost by coming to room temperature to defrost. I usually put them into the lunch bag frozen when I'm preparing lunches the night before or early in the morning.
👪 Serving Size
This Carrot and Zucchini Bars recipe makes 12 large bars. Alternatively, you can cut them into 18 pieces. You can also half, double, or triple the recipe by clicking on the serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust.
🔢WW Points
Although these moist zucchini bars are healthy, they are 6 ww points for 1 bar. However, if you cut them into smaller bars, they'll be fewer points.
*You could also sub monk fruit for the sugar, but you only need HALF the amount of monk fruit ( 2 tbsps and 2 tsps of monk fruit).
❔FAQ about Healthy Zucchini Carrot Bars
Yes, you can add chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds, or pecans) or chocolate chips. You will just need to be mindful that the calorie count will increase.
Yes, you can try using flax eggs (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons water) as a substitute for the egg (you'll need to double that, as there are 2 eggs).
You can substitute the all-purpose and whole wheat flour with a gluten-free flour blend. Keep in mind that the texture may vary slightly.
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This Zucchini Bar recipe is a great way to use your extra zucchini! If you're looking for a healthy no-guilt sweet treat, you'll love this recipe!
📋Healthy Zucchini Bars recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cups whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅓ cup chia seeds
- 2 eggs slightly beaten
- 1½ cups shredded carrots *See recipe NOTE if using frozen shredded carrots
- 2 cups packed cup shredded zucchini *See recipe NOTE if using frozen shredded zucchini
- ⅓ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup dried cherries
- ¼ cup canola oil
- ⅔ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/176 degrees C. Spray a 9X13 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl combine flours, baking powder, cinnamon, chia seeds, baking soda and brown sugar.¾ cups all-purpose flour, ¾ cups whole wheat flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ⅓ cup chia seeds, ⅓ cup packed brown sugar
- Slightly beat eggs.
- In another large bowl stir together eggs, carrot, zucchini, dried cherries, oil, applesauce and vanilla. Hint: To better distribute the cherry flavor, chop them up. But be sure to soak them in hot water for 2 minutes and drain, because they are much easier to chop!2 eggs, 1½ cups shredded carrots, 2 cups packed cup shredded zucchini, ½ cup dried cherries, ¼ cup canola oil, ⅔ cup unsweetened applesauce, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add zucchini mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until combined.*If it looks too wet, add a little more all-purpose flour. If it looks too dry, add a little more water. Do this by the tbsp, so you don't end up adding too much at once.
- Spread batter in prepared baking pan. Bake 20- 25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean and bars are firm to the touch.* I usually bake for 20 minutes, then test it. It was perfect for me at 25 minutes.
- Cool in pan and then cut into bars. *You can cut it into 12 or 18 bars.
Notes
Nutrition
More Healthy Bars
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Terri Gilson
I've been making these Healthy Zucchini Bars for my kids' lunches for years, and they're always a hit. They're packed with nutritious ingredients like zucchini, carrots, and chia seeds, but still taste totally addictive. The best part is they're delicious without needing any sugary frosting - perfect for a guilt-free snack or breakfast on-the-go!