Does your list of things to prepare for postpartum also include what you’re going to eat? Consider prepping freezer meals for new moms! They are truly a lifesaver after your baby arrives!
Benefits of Freezer Meals For New Moms
Ask anyone who’s been through the newborn stage about the simple joy of having prepared meals for new parents! If you’re anxiously awaiting your little one’s arrival, you might have your baby’s nursery all set and your postpartum care kit is ready.
However, once your baby arrives, you’ll be busy keeping up with feeding schedules, diaper changes, and trying to catch some sleep. Deciding what to make for dinner will not be on your list of fun things to do!
This collection of 20 make-ahead freezer meals is great for new moms. It is a great tip for how to prepare for bringing baby home. No need to worry about what to make for the coming week when you can just open your freezer and check your inventory.
Make Ahead Meals For New Moms
With a little planning you can have delicious and nutritious meals prepped and ready to slide into the oven, dump into your crock pot or pressure cooker and on the table without much effort on your part. Win-win!
You’ll find inspiration for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with these helpful recipes. From stir-fry to stew and from meat to vegetarian, you’ll find awesome meals that you can make ahead and freeze so you can enjoy time-saving meals when you’re too tired to think of what to cook.
20 Freezer Meal Ideas
1. Whether you eat this for breakfast, lunch or dinner, these freezer-friendly quesadillas are a hearty meat-free meal of scrambled eggs, beans, cheese and spinach. Kids love them, adults love them and it’s a great idea to have a stash of these ready to go!
Freezer Quesadillas by Well Plated
2. Fill zip lock bags with this delicious stir-fry pork meal. Everything gets prepped and ready for the bag, complete with the saucy marinade. Make a batch of this zesty meal for your freezer. Stir fry when ready and serve with rice or noodles.
Garlic Pork Stir Fry Freezer Meal by Fabulessly Frugal
3. If your family loves meatloaf, consider these personal-sized mini beef loaves that you can keep in your freezer, unbaked, until you need them. It’s a simple mixture that adds a bit of grated carrot in the mix to keep them moist, especially if you plan on freezing them. Great idea!
Freezer Friendly Mini Meatloaves by Sweet Cayenne
4. Just a simple mixture of ground beef, tomato sauce, egg noodles and cheese is all you need to make this tasty baked meal. Make this ahead and pop it in the oven when you need a beefy meal that’s family approved. Serve with some garlic toast on the side.
Beef Noodle Casserole by Dinner At The Zoo
5. Breakfast or breakfast-for-dinner meals, have never been easier with this brilliant hack for always having pancakes ready to eat without standing over a hot stove every time.
Here’s the trick: make the pancakes. Let them cool completely. Freeze them on a baking sheet individually before placing in a large ziplock bag. To reheat, microwave the pancake for 60 seconds.
How To Freeze And Reheat Pancakes by The Lemon Bowl
6. No need to thaw this freezer meal! Just dump it right into your pressure cooker.
The soup is full of yummy veggies like bell peppers, zucchini, spinach, mushrooms, and of course chicken and pasta noodles. Everything goes into a large ziplock bag to be frozen except for the noodles.
Instant Pot White Chicken Lasagna Soup by Super Healthy Kids
7. Frozen veggie burgers can be a meal full of protein that’s easy to make and easy to serve.
Here, you’ll learn how to make and freeze 3 different kinds of veggie burgers: lentil walnut, black beans and sweet potato chickpeas. Delicious!
Freezer Friendly Veggie Burgers 3 Ways by Wholefully
8. Make this spicy taco casserole full of ground meat, diced tomatoes, black beans, corn and seasonings. Top it off with cheese.
To freeze, assemble it but do not bake it. Cover it tightly and freeze. You can bake this from frozen without needing to thaw. Win-win!
Healthier Taco Casserole by Sweet Peas And Saffron
9. The next time you crave lasagna, reach for your frozen pan of these awesome rollups!
Do yourself a favor and make a few batches to freeze – you’ll be glad you did! Just spread each wide noodle with the ricotta cheese mixture and then the meat mixture.
Roll up and place in your baking dish or freezer container. Add the remaining meat mixture to the top and add a layer of cheese.
Lasagna Roll Ups by Natasha’s Kitchen
10. This comfort food casserole is perfect for meal planning and easy enough to make two and freeze one for later.
Cooked chicken, soup, cheddar cheese, peas, carrots and egg noodles are an easy mixture for this family favorite baked meal.
Chicken Noodle Casserole by Eating On A Dime
11. Make these protein-packed black bean, veggie and quinoa burritos that can hang out in your freezer until you need a hearty meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Use your favorite wrap or a variety of wraps to mix up the flavor factor of these handy burritos.
Black Bean And Quinoa Freezer Burritos by Hey Nutrition Lady
12. These breakfast sandwiches are simple to assemble with English muffins and eggs.
Use your choice of bacon, ham or sausage, and course, cheese. Make a batch of these for the freezer and you’ll always have a convenient breakfast ready to just grab and heat.
Make Ahead Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches by The Cozy Cook
13. Let your pressure cooker make this chili for you using your choice of ground turkey or beef.
Make a double batch and eat one now and freeze the rest for later. All you need to do is have some grated cheese, sour cream and your other favorite toppings ready when you retrieve it from the freezer.
Instant Pot Chili by Recipes From A Pantry
14. Just chunk up your beef, carrots, celery, onions and seasonings and place in a ziplock bag and label it for the freezer.
Thaw overnight before dumping it in your slow cooker along with some beef broth. In 6-8 hours you’ll have a delicious beef stew ready to serve to your hungry family.
Freezer Crockpot Beef Stew by Live Simply
15. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how simple it is to make a large or several mini chicken pot pies that are freezer-ready.
You can substitute turkey, if you like, or even beef. Pre-made crusts and frozen veggies make it easy to assemble. Freeze and bake from either thawed or frozen.
Homemade Chicken Pot Pie by Happy Money Saver
16. Grab your muffin tin and fill it with this awesome savory mixture.
Scrambled eggs are seasoned with bacon, onions and peppers plus sausage, or cooked chicken, before being added to the muffin tin wells.
Garnish with grated cheese and bake. Let cool completely before adding them to a freezer safe container.
Freezer Friendly Egg Muffin Baked Omelette by Homemade And Yummy
17. This all-in-one meal has a tasty beef and veggie mixture on the bottom with creamy mashed potatoes on top.
This is a classic comfort food meal that you will appreciate no matter if you make it yourself as a freezer meal or if someone gifts it to you.
Shepherd’s Pie by Skinny Taste
18. This one couldn’t be more easy: put your skinless chicken breasts in a zip lock bag and add the lemony and seasoned chicken broth mixture with it. Seal it, label it, freeze it.
When ready to cook it, thaw it overnight in the fridge and then continue with the directions for either Instant Pot or the slow cooker. Serve with egg noodles.
Instant Pot Light Country Lemon Chicken And Pasta by Happy Money Saver
19. You make this savory lentil soup in a snap thanks to your pressure cooker. There is no need to pre-soak the lentils.
To freeze this soup, make it, let it cook completely before adding to ziplock bags. Make sure and thaw completely prior to reheating in a saucepan.
Instant Pot Lentil Soup by Recipes For A Pantry
20. Try this pizza-inspired casserole for something different. Forget going to the trouble of making a crust and use pasta instead.
This is a pepperoni casserole version that has all your favorite toppings and flavors of pizza, including tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. Make two and freeze the other one for later!
White Pizza Casserole by Sweet And Savory Meals
Freezer Meal Prep Tips
If you’re wondering what meals should I freeze after having a baby?, I have an easy answer for you! You should prepare what you know you will eat.
If you have a dietary preference, like paleo, vegetarian or dairy free, stick to what you know! If you think you would like using the cropckpot more, then be sure to find receipes you can easily throw into the crockpot.
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, you just want to make sure you and your family will have delicious prepared meals! There are enough things to do while trying to survive the newborn stage.
If you’re planning these meals as postpartum freezer meals while pregnant, I have some tips for you to make your freezer meal prep go much smoother.
These tips are helpful for anyone, but I certainly remember not having the energy to do much in those last weeks of pregnancy!
1. Get help from family or friends. You can make a day of this and ask people to help you prep your meals.
Your mom/sister/cousin/BFF might enjoy spending the day with you, just catching up or talking about the future. You can listen to music to help pass the time as well!
2. Label your bags clearly! Write some helpful information on the bag such as:
Date the meal was prepared
Recipe/ingredients
Prep instructions after taking it out of the freezer
This will prevent you from taking a frozen bag out the fridge and staring at it like a puzzle, wondering what the heck this lump is!
3. Speaking of the freezer, make sure there is room to store all of your ziploc bags! You may have to do a quick clean out of the freezer before you start prepping.
.4 Be sure to let all of the air out of the bag BEFORE freezing to prevent freezer burn.
I hope you enjoy your freezer meals for new moms and congratulations on your upcoming little bundle of joy!