Highly Recommend: Freezer Meal Prep Before Baby Arrives
Plus, some recipes that I've used and loved.
There are a lot of challenges and changes happening in the first few months postpartum. One thing many people don’t anticipate is how hard it is to find the time to simply feed yourself. Your entire focus is on your baby—what they’re eating, how much they’re pooping, when they’re sleeping, if they’re sleeping—that it’s really easy to straight-up forget about your own needs.
Obviously, you need to eat, too. Like actually to survive, but also because you’re tired, your brain is running a million miles a minute, your hormones are berserk, and the last thing anyone needs is to get hangry. The best thing I did to prepare for my first baby was to prep some freezer meals. I ended up making about five frozen casseroles and bags of frozen breakfast sandwiches and burritos. This time around, my bestie came over one Saturday to help me cook a bunch of stuff. We made about the same amount—which was as much as we could fit in our freezer.
Below, you’ll find some of my favorite freezer prep meals for postpartum (and any other time).
Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches
Cereal, oatmeal, and yogurt with granola were my go-to breakfasts postpartum, but some days I just really wanted eggs and meat—without having to do any prep or clean any pans afterward.
Make-Ahead Chicken Enchiladas
So easy to make and reheat. You can vary the sauce and the ingredients (change up the meat, or stick with veggies). I also love that the ingredients are relatively inexpensive, so you get a filling meal for low investment in terms of both money and time.
Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice Casserole
Hearty, savory, and full of cheese. Basically, exactly what I was craving postpartum.
Chicken Marsala
An Italian classic. I doubled the recipe and made a big pan, and plan to eat it with pasta.
Baked Lemon Rosemary Chicken Meatballs and Creamy Orzo
These meatballs are so good. I froze a pan with the orzo, and then made some extra meatballs and froze them separately. So easy to pull them out of a bag and heat them up individually for quick, single meals.
Baked Ziti
Another easy go-to meal that I could never get sick of eating (and is toddler-friendly, too).
One Skillet Street Corn Chicken Enchilada Bake
This is a recipe I’ve made a few times and absolutely love, and figured it would freeze well.
Freezer Burritos
Use whatever recipe and ingredients you like in your burritos, and then wrap individually and freeze them for easy reheating.
Ham and Cheese Sliders
These come out really good and are super easy to prep. I made two trays of these a couple days before I went into labor last time, when I didn’t have much energy to give but wanted to keep doing something productive. And I was glad to have them.
Easy Lasagna
Lasagna freezes really well. Here’s an easy recipe, but your go-to lasagna will work, too.
Baked Mac and Cheese Bites
I make these for my toddler and freeze them so that we can use them for meals in a pinch. But you could also just dump the whole batch into a casserole dish and freeze and then bake it when you’re ready to eat it.
Creamy Parmesan Italian Sausage Ditalini Soup
I made this soup a ton this fall. Whip up a big batch and freeze it in containers that fit enough for a full meal. (I made it two days before I went into labor, so had some in the fridge ready to go when I got home from the hospital.)
White Bean Chicken Enchilada Soup
Another personal fave. But literally… any soup will freeze and is easy enough to make, especially if you have a slow-cooker.
Have any great recs to add? Share them in the comments so we can all get a little meal prep inspo.