30+ Best Postpartum Freezer Meals and Ideas
- August 6, 2022
- Last Updated: March 4, 2025
- 4 Comments
- Pregnancy & Postpartum
These postpartum freezer meals and ideas will help nourish new moms as you enter your postpartum journey. These freezer meals for postpartum can all be made ahead of time to freeze, and enjoyed as needed.
As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases. You can read more here about our Disclaimer and Privacy Page.
Whether you’re searching for postpartum freezer meal ideas to make for a friend or neighbor, or you’re searching for some healthy postpartum freezer meals for yourself, this post has got it all.
Doing some postpartum freezer meal prep for postpartum can be a practical and thoughtful way to make the transition to life with a newborn smoother and less stressful.
As any woman who has gone through child birth knows, the postpartum time is very vulnerable.
And while prepping freezer meals can be helpful for any stage and walk of life, it’s especially helpful for a new mom who has just added a baby to the clan.
Also, let’s not diminish snacks – many postpartum snacks can be nursing life savers, too!
As a postpartum mom who relies on freezer meal prep, I’m also able to free up that mental space to focus on other things.
For instance, I pretty much make one of my pregnancy electrolyte drinks daily (I’m so thirsty!), and I’m focusing on protein at every meal and snack.
Why Postpartum Freezer Meals are Helpful
My goal during the tiring postpartum time is to make things as easy as possible for myself and/or a new mom who is postpartum.
- Done for them – As a friend, take it from me – a home cooked meal is one of the best gifts for new parents and moms of newborns, who have their hands tied 24/7. That’s why I love to prep one of these delicious postpartum freezer meal recipes to take to a new mom that can serve the whole family. It’s just one less thing to worry about during that first month with a new baby!
- Moms are already depleted – Believe me – postpartum meal ideas are an important and necessary part of going from 2 to 3 kids. You’re tired, your pelvic floor is shot, the house is a mess, and let’s not even discuss how nutritionally depleted your nutrient stores are. As I head into my third postpartum season, I now know more than ever that how I prepare will make a huge difference in my mental and physical health.
- Energy-dense – If you’ve given birth, whether by C-Section or vaginal, your body is in a huge state of repair and nutrient repletion. As a Registered Dietitian, I can tell you that your body is likely depleted from growing a huge baby that has now exited. And maybe you are breastfeeding (I can say from experience that the breastfeeding hunger never subsides!), and using even more of your stores, meaning you need lots of energy and calories. These easy freezer meals for postpartum are helpful in replenishing some of that energy and nutrition!
- Allow moms to be more present – If moms are using their very little slivers of time and energy preparing meals, there’s even less to focus on themselves or other kids they may have. Making healthy postpartum freezer meals can allocate some of that precious postpartum time to sleep, cuddles, therapy, doctors appointments, and anything else that may be necessary.
- Can use as needed – The great thing about many of these freezer meal ideas for postpartum is that you (or the mom you’re making them for) can decide when she wants to make them. If they already have another meal or meal train lined up, these meals are perfect for the freezer and easy to reheat – they won’t spoil in a day or two! If I am not serving hot to a mom, I’ll provide aluminum foil with directions on how to reheat the meal when she is ready.
- Easy to batch cook – The pure nature of these postpartum freezer meal ideas is that you can make double the recipe easily and in the same amount of time. Just throw both in the oven, and save one for a future frozen meal to reheat! That’s what makes this process wonderfully simple and an easy way to protect your energy and time later.
If you want to work on strengthening your pelvic floor during pregnancy or postpartum, I highly recommend this free course from MUTU! The free videos and information offers a great way to see where you are and what needs to be strengthened for better movement, mobility and more. I’ve personally gone through MUTU and it was life changing!
We’ve already shared a post about freezer meals for new moms, but wanted to focus this one exclusively on healthy freezer meals for postpartum that you can make yourself or for a mom friend.
So, whether you’re 1 month, 3 months or 6 months postpartum, these postpartum freezer meals will make your life easier, along with diaper subscriptions.
Definitely try out the Hello Bello diaper subscriptions (code SARAHS-2QC gives you 20% off!). You want to automate as much as you can.
When to Make Freezer Meals For Postpartum
Meal prep for baby is so underrated and WILL make your life so much easier – seriously, doing this during pregnancy when you have the energy is sooo helpful.
But, when should you start making your freezer meals?
Start no sooner than the third trimester (since most freezer meals last for 3-6 months).
Go slow if you need to or spend a day or two making as many postpartum freezer meals as you have room for.
I’ll make sure I have enough tupperware containers, freezer bags and souper cubes to store things and then spend one day being super productive!
Personally, I spent so much time preparing for a homebirth, that being efficient with meal prep was a natural helpful next step.
After my successful home birth story, I could focus on nourishment and recovery through a healthy meal, rather than having to go to the grocery store.
I focused on so many of these postpartum recovery foods in my meals and snacks.
These postpartum meal prep ideas will allow more time to focus on yourself and your mental health, your family and new cuddles, all while eating delicious and nourishing postpartum meals.
You’ll never regret any meal prep for postpartum that you are able to do. Every little bit counts.
Have a friend, neighbor or family member over to make a bunch of these at once! Or, do it little by little.
Postpartum Meal Prep Must Haves
- Simple Ingredients – You obviously want to choose meals that don’t use fancy, niche ingredients or a ton of ingredients. We want tasteful but simplistic recipes. We don’t want to have to run out to the grocery store for something we may not have, especially if we’re doing a bunch of meal prep for postpartum all at once. Bone broth, especially, is great for renourishment in many of these soups and chilis. I also loved to mix collagen into my smoothies – collagen for postpartum and healing is great!
- Flexible Recipes – I also like to choose flexible recipes. For example, maybe you want to substitute shrimp for chicken, or bison for ground beef and still have a tasty, well-balanced meal that works. Ground bison meatballs or sweetpotato meatballs are so nourishing after giving birth.
- Nutritious and Balanced – Our needs as postpartum moms are high. We just endured the biggest workout of our lives, our nutrient stores are depleted, we’re likely dehydrated and we are in a big re-nourishing stage. Don’t be afraid of extra calories, or add-in’s like whole-fat dairy, sour cream, avocados, butter and more. These recipes have carbs, fat and protein (all in one), and most contain fruits/veggies too for those antioxidants for healing. Your prenatal nutrition needs are still high.
- Low in Added Sugars – Specifically, we want to load up on nutrient-dense items, high in protein, fiber, antioxidants and essential nutrients, and lower in added sugars and sodium. The sodium is important for electrolyte replenishment, but we want to avoid too much that would exacerbate swelling.
- High in Fiber – While most of us know during pregnancy, fiber is extra important and can be super helpful when we experience constipation thanks to the growing baby and changing hormones. In the postpartum period, you may not be moving as much, so getting extra fiber through fruits, vegetables, black beans, legumes and whole grains is so important for digestion and micronutrients.
We have some plant based frozen meals and comfort food ideas, too, if you are following a plant-based or vegan diet.
And on another note, don’t stop taking your prenatal vitamin just because you’re no longer pregnant. Your nutrition needs are still really high!
Supplies for Freezer Meal Prep
To make these easy freezer meals for postpartum, it helps if you have some special equipment on hand:
- Chest Freezer – or something similar; a place to store your postpartum freezer meals.
- Sturdy storage containers – I recommend pyrex or something like this. You want a high quality that won’t be susceptible to freezer burn, tearing, or the food rotting.
- Stasher Bags – These work great for muffins, energy or oatmeal bites, or even cooked meats to add to a stew. Environmentally friendly and reusable!
- Instant Pot or Crockpot – These aren’t essential but they do help speed up your postpartum freezer prep and allow you to cook more on a quicker timeframe.
- Baking sheets – We love these non-stick baking sheets when doing sheet pan meals or anything in the oven. Plus, this bundle gives you everything you need for oven prep.
- Freezer baskets – These are great for organization if you have a large freezer or can never find anything.
Storage & Tips
When doing post partum meal prep and storage, you do want to keep a few things in mind from a food safety perspective.
- According to the FDA, when preparing food, make sure to always separate raw from cooked meats and foods. This usually means using separate cutting boards for different food groups.
- Food safety is especially important for pregnancy and postpartum when our immune systems may be more vulnerable. Make sure to cook foods to proper temperatures (here’s a guide).
- Make sure to label and date anything you place in the freezer. Ideally, newer things should be on the bottom or in the back, and older things in an easier-to-spot place so you use them first!
- When defrosting food, avoid doing so on the countertop at room temperature. Instead, defrost in the refrigerator, in cold water, or in the microwave. Food thawed in cold water or in the microwave should be cooked immediately.
- Speaking of thawing, if you thaw something and don’t end up eating it, do NOT refreeze.
- It may be a good idea to try to incorporate some recipes that are allergen-free or friendly. You never know if your breastfeeding baby will react to dairy or something in your diet.
- Try to use within 2-5 months. Believe me – these meals wiill taste better and have a stronger nutrition profile if you do. Make sure you have freezer friendly containers, such as Stasher bags or pyrex containers.
Quick Postpartum Meal Prep Ideas
Now, lets get to the postpartum freezer meals and recipes!
Depending on whether you want breakfast, lunch or dinner, here are some other quick postpartum meal prep ideas and recipes for you.
Breakfast
- Baked oatmeal (strawberry baked oatmeal and baked chocolate oats are our favorites)! Here’s more details on how to meal prep oatmeal.
- Overnight oats (takes minutes to prep the night before). These high protein overnight oats are great for moms who need extra nutrients and protein!
- Egg sandwiches/ burrito wraps
- Egg muffins – We love butternut squash egg muffins!
- Lactation smoothies – these can help with milk production too! Easy to make a bunch in advance and freeze individually. You can also make lactation cookies, too.
Lunches
- Grain salads are easy to make quickly and will last you a few meals! Some ideas include our vegan couscous salad or quinoa and sweet potato salad (add your choice of protein or try several throughout the week).
- Pasta salad – Once you cook your pasta, let it cool, and make a pasta salad. So easy! You can even buy the pasta salad flavor kit at the grocery store and save time. We love coating ours in hummus in this gluten free pasta salad.
- Sandwiches – Buy your favorite deli meat or rotisserie chicken, and throw on with your favorite toppings on a bun, roll or hearty sandwich bread for a no-cook, easy lunch option. Personally, I love this tuna salad with greek yogurt on sourdough bread!
Dinners
- Sheet pan meals are our favorite quick meal. Just throw whatever you have on a sheet pan and bake. You can pick any protein, a potato or sweet potato, and a bag of frozen veggies. This 20 minute honey garlic shrimp sheet pan is a staple.
- Sheet pan nachos – These sweet potato nachos take a little longer, but it’s mostly oven time and hands off for you. Just pick your veggie and protein toppings, and bake. A healthier form of nachos!
- Canned soups and chilis – We love shopping at Thrive Market for this reason because you can get a healthy bagged or canned chili delivered right to your house!
- Air Fryer recipes – Utilize that piece of equipment that cooks things so quickly. When you haven’t planned, you can mix this air fryer tempeh with a bag of frozen veggies and microwave rice!
- Utilize an instant pot for easy one pot meals. Sausage tortellini soup in the instant pot is full of veggies, as are meatball and kale soup and pumpkin sweetpotato soup.
From soups and chilis, to hearty pasta dishes, these are some of the best postpartum freezer meals.
Best Postpartum Freezer Meals
These postpartum freezer meals and ideas will help nourish you as you take your postpartum journey with baby (or babies). Enjoy as needed, as these are easily frozen and reheated.
This Sweet Potato Kale Hash recipe is an easy way to add veggies to your breakfast, and make the best vegan breakfast hash.
Looking for an easy and quick dinner option? This air fryer sausage and veggies is ready in no time, but not short on flavor! You'll want to make it time and time again.
This Sweetpotato Oatmeal Bake with Blueberries is the perfect quick and nutritious breakfast option, great for your meal prep oatmeal needs. It’s ready in 30 minutes, great for crowds, and the perfect pre- workout snack!
This Turkey Sausage Breakfast Casserole is an easy make ahead breakfast that you just pop in the oven in the morning! Enjoy this turkey sausage sweet potato egg casserole after a morning workout, for meal prep or with your favorite people!
These easy 4-ingredient baby led weaning meatballs are not only easy to prepare, but are the perfect, nutritious meatball recipe for baby led weaning and toddler feeding.
Pumpkin sweetpotato soup combines the hearty, nourishing flavors of autumn in an easy 30 minute vegan instant pot recipe.
This healthy Sweetpotato Egg Casserole is the perfect make-ahead breakfast or brunch option. Filled with protein and lots of veggies, t's a quick and easy sweet potato egg bake and meal prep casserole.
This Healthy Sweetpotato Mac and Cheese is the answer to your cheesy pasta dreams. A mixture of whole wheat pasta, mashed sweetpotato, cheese and kale make this sweetpotato pasta bake a winner!
This butter chicken rice bowl has a fun and delicious twist. The sweetpotatoes add so much flavor and nourishment, you won't be able to stop at one bowl!
Looking for a nourishing and delicious soup recipe for meal prep? This quick butternut squash chicken soup uses pre-cooked chicken as a shortcut, and is a balanced fall recipe for lunches and dinners, and freezes beautifully.
These sweet potato and zucchini fritters are atasty, vegetarian meal that adults and kids will love! Made with shreddedzucchini, sweet potato, chickpea flour, eggs and cheese, this easy zucchinisweet potato recipe will become a family favorite.
This Veggie Pasta Bake is a perfect easy and comforting vegetarian pasta casserole. With a variety of veggies and cheese, this vegetable pasta bake is great for crowds, easy to freeze and reheat, and convenient for meal prep!
Crockpot Chicken Pumpkin Chili is the perfect white bean pumpkin chili with your choice of meat. Full of hearty protein, vegetables, fiber and vitamins, this pumpkin chili recipe is great for warming you up and keeping you nourished.
Baked Cheesy chicken uses only one pan and a handful of ingredients for a juicy, flavorful chicken recipe. It's a great weeknight meal, or fancy up this cheesy baked chicken for a dinner party.
Chocolate baked oatmeal takes chocolate for breakfast to a whole new level! Enjoy these baked chocolate oats for breakfast, snack or even a healthy dessert.
This turkey taco quinoa skillet is an easy, delicious weeknight meal that comes together quickly. Made with cheese, quinoa, ground turkey, black beans, veggies, this cheesy taco skillet will be a new favorite!
Instant Pot Tortellini Soup is a weeknight staple, full of healthy and nourishing ingredients to fill you up and keep you warm. A great family-friendly winter meal!
These thai red curry meatballs are great for meal prep and delicious for the whole family! They have a few unique ingredients that help add flavor and nutrition too.
If you like tacos and pasta, this one pot taco tortellini is a brilliant blend of the two! It's ready in under 20 minutes and is a great, family-friendly meal!
Chicken pasta with coconut milk is a veggie-rich, creamy, one-pot pasta that's great for the whole family.
Lemon Pepper Baked Chicken Tenders are a family favorite, and great alongside your favorite dip and grains. Ready in about 20 minutes, they're a weeknight staple, made with only a handful of ingredients!
This kale meatball soup is an easy family meal that's nutritious and delicious. Made with turkey meatballs accompanied by sweetpotatoes, butternut squash and some spices, every taste is a delightful burst of flavor!
The best Breakfast Sandwich Recipe! Made with egg, cheese, and ham piled between a soft butter croissant, these warm and delicious breakfast sandwiches are freezer-friendly and perfect for a quick and easy postpartum breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Beef Barley Soup is packed with nutritious ingredients and can be made in your pressure cooker or on the stove. It's a quick and simple soup that is freezer-friendly and defrosts quickly for last minute meal options!
Mix up a delicious vegetable and chicken filling along with a homemade gravy, pour it into a prepared crust, and then freeze until you're ready to enjoy postpartum.
Gluten free, vegan sweet potato and lentil soup is a healthy and tasty meal that will satisfy both your hunger and your tastebuds. This delicious vegetable soup is smooth and filling as well as simple to make and nourishing for your body after baby.
This easy Crockpot Lasagna is easy to make and great to freeze, full of flavor and nourishing ingredients.
Homemade enchiladas are easier to make than you might think, and the star of these chipotle chicken enchiladas is the rich, creamy, and smoky chipotle cream sauce. They also freeze and reheat well, which makes them the perfect dish to freeze before baby!
Not only is this quinoa enchilada bake loaded with flavor but it’s super easy to prep for freezer meals. It’s perfect for new moms.
This lazy lasagna is a super easy family recipe that’s easy to freeze and reheat - perfect for postpartum or gift giving to a new mom! This meal is the ultimate comfort food that the whole family will love.
We hope you find these freezer meals for postpartum helpful, nourishing and delicious.
Support Bucket List Tummy
Like This Content?
Support Bucket List Tummy