Postpartum Meal Prep: Tips, Ideas and Recipes

The single best thing you can do to prepare for a baby isn’t researching the best stroller or picking out the perfect wardrobe of precious little clothes. It’s meal prep. As many meals as you can possibly manage.

The first days and weeks with a new baby are a blur. Between sleepless nights, recovery, and getting to know your baby, cooking will be the last thing on your mind. However, nutrition is crucial to support your body through recovery and breastfeeding.

Trust me, you can never have too many postpartum meals prepped!

Tried and True Tips to Help You Prepare for Postpartum

Double Batch It

The last month of pregnancy, try to make meals you can easily double. Simply freeze whatever you don't eat for postpartum. I know the last month of pregnancy often comes with extra tiredness, and cooking two meals might feel like a chore. But this way, with roughly the same amount of effort, you can fill your freezer with ready-to-go meals.

Label Clearly

Label each meal clearly with what it is and reheating instructions. Especially that first week, it will likely be someone else heating up these freezer meals for you. Think about who that person will be and be sure to write instructions they can easily follow. (Hint: if that person is your husband, make sure there are very clear step-by-step instructions attached to the meal XD)

Embrace Disposable Containers

Generally, I avoid plastic and single-use items. However, they are an absolute blessing in the postpartum season. Costco usually sells multi-packs of gallon-sized Ziploc freezer bags and massive stacks of aluminum baking trays at great prices (Bonus- these containers are great to have on hand when making a meal for a friend who's just had a baby!). It’s truly amazing in those first few weeks with a newborn to be able to pull a homemade meal out of the freezer, pop it in the oven as is, and then just toss the container when you’re done. Dishes will be the last thing on your mind those first few weeks.

Remember breakfast!

The thing I appreciated most in my second postpartum was having yummy breakfast options prepped and frozen. Recovery and breastfeeding require a massive amount of calories, and having breakfast options prepped that our family loves was the best way to start the day. Think muffins, sheet pan pancakes pre-cut and frozen into toastable pieces, sourdough pre-sliced, homemade bagels, breakfast casseroles, egg bites and oatmeal bakes.

Cook What You Like

There are many books in circulation that present ideal postpartum meals backed by research and tradition. This is fantastic, and if you like liver and onions or ox tongue soup, go for it! But don’t get caught up in making the most “ideal” postpartum meals if your family won’t actually eat them. Pregnancy, birth, and postpartum are hard work! Have meals on hand that you enjoy and look forward to eating. It really makes recovery better.

Make an inventory

I found it incredibly helpful to create an inventory list on my phone’s notes app to keep track of everything. I separated meals by category (breakfast, main, special), then noted the quantity, location (e.g., "standing freezer, top shelf"), and cooking instructions. This helps you know what you might be missing while you're still prepping, and makes it easy for your husband or whoever is "raiding the stash" in those first couple of weeks.

Organize a Meal Train

We are very blessed that in our community, meal trains for families with new babies are quite standard. If it's not a thing in your community, this is your nudge to make it a thing! Offer to create a meal train for a newly postpartum mom, sign up to bring a meal yourself, and share it with friends and family. It is such a wonderful, pro-life gesture that helps new parents so, so much. We've always used mealtrain.com. It's free and fantastic!

Meal Ideas

Breakfast/Snacks

• Lactation Cookies
• Bagels
• English Muffins
• Sourdough Bread
• Muffins
• Scones
• Pancakes/Waffles- sheet pan, pumpkin
• Egg Bites
• Casseroles
• Quick breads- zucchini bread, pumpkin bread, lemon loaf, etc

Lunch/Dinner

• Soups- potato, pea, french onion, vegetable, chicken gnocchi, tortellini
• Pulled Pork
• Shredded Beef - Make this pot roast, shred the beef, and use it in these recipes
• Casseroles - here's a list of ideas
• Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuits
• Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie
• Empanadas
• Chicken and Pepper Wok
• Stuffed Peppers
• Meatballs
• Lentil Dahl
• Cuban Inspired Picadillo

My first postpartum, we were moving (our first decided to come ON our move-in day). Needless to say, I didn't get the chance to prepare many freezer meals. I spent my first weeks postpartum on an air mattress eating Panda Express and pizza XD.

So, the second time around, I went a little crazy. Our standing freezer was stocked floor to ceiling with breakfast, lunch and dinner, ready to be pulled out and warmed up by my husband. I made everything in the mindset of helping my husband be able to easily feed our family while watching our wild toddler. What I didn't foresee was how much this prep would help me later on postpartum.

I relied heavily on the freezer meals and protein the first couple months, as I learned to care for a newborn and toddler simultaneously. It made my life so much easier. I had plenty of yummy, home cooked meals I could feel good about serving my family without spending hours in the kitchen every day. It definitely helped me recover faster and better this time around!

As someone who loves baking, it also gave me the freedom to make yummy treats I was craving, since dinner was already taken care of. If you're someone who decompresses and finds joy in baking, I highly recommend prepping lots of meals so you can have the time to bake a few treats postpartum.

What's your best postpartum tip? Add it in the comments below and help a mama out!