Freezer Meal Dinners and Lunches for Newly Postpartum Families:
Tuscan Chicken Pasta from Diary of a Fit Mommy:
She has a ton of freezer meals in this blog post that all look great, but the Tuscan chicken pasta is the only one I made. And, we’ve made it AGAIN to restock it many times now! If you love sun dried tomatoes, you’ll really enjoy this one. It’s savory and a very nice comfort food as a new mama. This one took us WAY LONGER to cook than her directions say, so be sure to thaw for a long time (on the counter or in the fridge) before cooking. Pairs great with an Italian or Cesar salad!
PRO TIP: Double or triple this for more freezer meals and the same amount of work. Just a few weeks ago, I made this for a new mama friend’s meal train. We doubled it for us, put ours in the freezer for later, and ate it a few weeks later.
Healthy Baked Turkey Ziti Turkey from The Clean Eating Couple:
This is one of my favorite recipes EVER, and I had never made it as a “freezer meal” until I was making postpartum freezer meals. And, it worked great! I did all the steps up until cooking it, and then froze. We froze it into 2 smaller disposable baking pans for smaller serving sizes. To take from frozen to cooked, allow for extra cooking time, and I’d recommend thawing on the counter for a few hours beforehand or in the fridge the day before cooking! This one pairs great with a side salad and some french bread! Or, it is a great meal on its own. P.S. We make this one with high protein pasta instead of whole wheat like the recipe calls for. Try Banza pasta with this one for even more protein! I also like to sub out half of the ricotta for cottage cheese.
Chicken Zucchini Rice Bake from Half Baked Harvest:
We discovered this one when a friend brought it to us during our meal train, and we were in love! And, turns out… It makes a great freezer meal too. Just bake the whole thing according to directions, then divide into individual tubs for small servings. Take the serving out of the freezer, pop on a plate then into the microwave for a quick lunch or dinner. This recipe is more “labor intensive” than some of the others in this list, but I promise it’s worth it!
PRO TIP: This recipe is also great with cauliflower rice or Right Rice instead if you want to make it low carb.
Roasted Vegetable Stuffed Shells by Two Peas and Their Pod:
This is a yummy pasta dish with a variety of veggies in it —like eggplant and red pepper. Super flavorful, and easy to reheat. You cook it all THEN cool, then freeze. Reheat the whole dish to eat later or pop individual shells in the microwave for a faster meal. This was one of my favorites, and I wish we had made more! I especially loved the red pepper flavor and how it’s a great comfort meal, but with some veggies too.
Crispy Cheddar Chicken from My Freeze Easy:
This is one that we loved so much that we’ve made it multiple times since! It’s fairly easy to make. Note that at least for us, going from frozen to cooked took FOREVER… so definitely thaw for a long time before cooking! Pair this with some roasted veggies or a salad!
This one does contain dairy, which I had to give up for 2 weeks during my early breastfeeding journey to see if Colin had a dairy allergy. A non-dairy version that we’ve also made is linked here. We love this version too, just use vegan butter!
Whole30 Creamy Potato Soup with Bacon from Paleo Running Mama:
My mother-in-law made us a big batch of this one after Colin was born, and it was the perfect winter freezer soup! Plus, if you have any food allergies (or are cutting dairy due to breastfeeding) this recipe is perfect for you. We froze this into tupperware containers after it was completely cooked. We did some in single-serving tubs and others in 2-3 serving containers. Just thaw overnight in the fridge or out on the counter for a few hours, then pour into a bowl to microwave!
Whole30 Creamy Salsa Verde Chicken from Just Jessie B:
This is another one my mother-in-law prepared for us (two times actually… She's the best!), and it’s absolutely delicious. If you add some additional chicken broth, you can make this into a soup, which is the way she prepared it. You can also make it in the crockpot, which is what we do! Same as the above recipe, we froze into tupperware for individual servings and some containers with 2-3 servings in a container.
[NOTE: including a few Whole30-approved recipes for postpartum is so smart. If you’ll be breastfeeding, you might have to cut out allergens at some point, unfortunately. And most Whole30 recipes have those cut already.]
Easy Freezer Snacks to Promote Lactation for Postpartum Breastfeeding Moms:
Healthy Lactation Cookies from Eating Bird Food:
This has quickly become our FAVORITE COOKIE RECIPE! (Yes, lactation cookies are Adam’s favorite now, lol.) We’ve made these so many times before and since Colin was born. This makes 24 cookies. I highly recommend doubling it. Do not bake the cookies, instead freeze the dough balls in the freezer for cookie dough to eat or to make some cookies when you want them. I like the dough so much that I just eat it that way! Seriously obsessed with these! (Husband Approved!)
No Bake Lactation Bites from Exclusive Pumping:
This is super similar to the above recipe but way simpler. It’s basically a twist on normal “energy bites” but with some stuff to help milk supply! I love these for a quick snack while breastfeeding or to pack on the go! I’d also recommend doubling this recipe, and freezing some of it for later.
Bringing a loved one a freezer meal (or a meal train meal)? Here are some tips to bless that family as much as possible!
If you’re reading this and you’re bringing someone else food (or a freezer meal) for their meal train, here are my best tips to BLESS that family and new mama as much as possible!
- Bring her a drink: Bring a mini champagne bottle for the new mom! When I had my meal train, one of my best friends did that for me and I do it for every new mom ever since. A big bottle of champagne or wine is nice, but if she’s nursing, 1 glass is probably all she’ll want in the early days. So, a mini champagne bottle is perfect!
- Make it a full meal: Instead of just a pasta dish or casserole, add in a salad kit to make it a “full meal”. I love using the Taylor Farms salad kits for this. You can find them at most grocery stores.
- Use disposable dishes: Don’t send it in a dish she has to send back to you. Either put the dish in throw-away disposable cooking pans OR in some Tupperware that you’re okay parting with permanently.
So there you have it! I hope you enjoy these freezer meals for postpartum! Tons of awesome recipes to freezer prep — whether you’re a new mom or not, preparing food ahead of time and freezing it is such a win to save TIME.
Discovering freezer meals has been a game-changer for me. Now, any time I plan a meal that could work as a freezer meal, I double the recipe and freeze half of it for later. Doing all the work ONCE… but for another week’s worth of meals is a total productivity win!
