If there is one thing you won’t have time for as a new parent, it’s cooking meals. You’ll be too busy juggling bottles, diapers, and a bouncing bundle, after all! Before heading to the delivery room, be sure to try these make-ahead freezer meals. You will be thankful when your freezer is well-stocked with healthy and hearty meals for every hour of the day. This gives you more time to spend with your little one and less time worrying over what to eat.
Here’s our favorite 15 freezer meals to prep before the baby arrives:
1. Cheesy Taco Bake
credit to: largefamilytable.com
Here’s to a meal that never goes wrong. This cheesy taco bake is loaded with fresh vegetables, like onions, peppers, and tomato, while mixing in taco-spiced ground beef (or feel free to swap in another meat or meat-alternative). It’s topped with melted cheeses, too. Once you bake this meal up, simply let it cool before transferring into portioned freezer bags, so you have cheesy taco bake for several nights throughout the week.
2. Baked Ziti With Roasted Veggies
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Roasted veggies and pasta heaped with cheese? Yes, please. With plenty of customization options, this baked ziti variation is easy to prepare and delicious when eaten. Simply roast up whichever kind of vegetables you love, mix in with pasta cooked al dente, then let it cool until you’re ready to freeze it. Don’t forget to sprinkle with some fresh basil and parsley once you’ve cooked it up later on for awesome flavor.
3. Spinach Lasagna Roll Ups
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Here’s another excellent recipe to customize and make your own. Spinach lasagna roll ups are stuffed with delectable ingredients like garlic, ricotta, mozzarella, spinach, and optional chicken (or another meat) then layered within a baking pan and topped with tomato sauce. Once you’re ready to cook, these roll ups are done in about an hour for a refreshing meal.
4. Tuscan Chicken Pasta
credit to: rachelcooks.com
If you love pasta, then you will love this recipe. Tuscan chicken pasta is creamy, smooth, and cheesy, thanks to the presence of butter, cream cheese, and grated Parmesan. There’s also sun-dried tomatoes to add some texture. While it sounds like this isn’t something you can freeze—you definitely can. Just bake the pasta in 9×9 foil pans, wait until it cools, then cover with foil to pop into the freezer. It will taste just as good later.
5. Pumpkin Spinach Ravioli
credit to: Fit Pregnancy
Having a baby in the colder months? Then it’s time to make some homemade ravioli with some hearty pumpkin and spinach centers. By using premade wonton wrappers or pasta sheets to house the filling, you can quickly fold up this pasta and store it away in a freezer bag for later. When you’re ready to cook them, just pull from the freezer, throw into boiling water, and in about 5 minutes, you have a plate of satisfying pasta to enjoy.
6. Cinnamon-Walnut Scones
credit to: Fit Pregnancy
Here is an easy breakfast recipe to whip up. Scone dough is great because it can be mixed, molded, and frozen without requiring any baking. Simply add a few minutes to the bake time when you do decide to heat these scones up so you get a freshly-baked treat every time you want one. The best part about this recipe is that it uses whole wheat flour, which is healthy (or use a gluten-free option); and if you are concerned about the walnuts affecting your breast milk, you can swap in another kind of nut.
7. Freezer Crockpot Beef Stew
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Love a luscious stew? Then make this recipe ahead of time and you’ll thank yourself for it. Everything except for the beef broth can be combined into a freezer bag. This mixture can actually be frozen for up to 3 months, and when you’re ready for a stew heaping with onions, beef cubes, and carrots, all you need to do is remove from the freezer the night before then pour it into a crockpot.
8. Veggie-Loaded Chili
credit to: ohmyveggies.com
Don’t worry vegetarians, you haven’t been forgotten! Here is a chili made just for you, which comes literally loaded with vegetables like zucchini, squash, peppers, tomato, chilis, and more—if you want. Meat eaters can definitely add their favorite animal protein, but making the recipe as-is with just kidney or black beans (or both) is a surefire treat that will satisfy any and all who try it.
9. Thai Curried Squash Soup
credit to: Fit Pregnancy
Though soups are time consuming to make, that doesn’t mean you have to forget about healthy, homemade options once the baby is born. Soups are, in fact, super easy to make and freeze. Plus, they reheat in no time for a quick meal. And nothing tastes better than Thai curried squash soup, a rich, luscious broth with hints of coconut milk. It’s all the nutrients you need. And if you want a heavier meal, serve this over brown or jasmine rice.
10. Freezer Mac & Cheese
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Everyone loves mac & cheese, but it can be intense when you make it by hand on the day of—which you probably won’t have time for. So make it ahead of time with this easy recipe, which calls for elbow pasta, a blend of your favorite cheeses, and a few moments to melt said cheeses. Instead of baking right away, you transferred the past and cheese to a foil pan and freeze it. Kick that boxed stuff to the curb.
11. Slow Cooker BBQ Pork Spareribs
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When you’re a new parent, crockpots and slow cookers can be a lifesaver—but they can be even more convenient when you use them to prep freezer meals, such as this one. BBQ pork spareribs when your caring for a newborn? Doable, because all you need to do is prepare the pork by placing it in freezer bags, marinade it in ingredients like vinegar, liquid smoke, Old Bay, and ketchup, and freeze it until you’re ready to transfer into a slow cooker.
12. Tasty Meatballs And Tomato Sauce
credit to: thekitchn.com
Meatballs are the perfect food to freeze, because you can make them up quickly; and depending on how many you make, they won’t take up too much space in your freezer either. This recipe is quick and simple, calling for ground meats like beef and pork, eggs, some spices to give flavor, like paprika, and some flour. For an extra punch, add some bay leaf and balsamic vinegar when cooking them.
13. Make-Ahead Calzones
credit to: thepioneerwoman.com
Up for Italian but don’t feel like ordering a pizza? Make-ahead calzones give you the best of Italy and are surprisingly simple to make. These make-ahead calzones are made possible with unrisen dinner rolls or frozen bread, slices of onion, Italian sausage, cheese, and seasonings. They bake up quickly when you’re ready for them and pair exquisitely with a silky marinara sauce.
14. Pepper Jack Chicken Taquitos
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There is something exceptionally comforting about taquitos. Probably because you can dip them in sauces and load them up with all your favorite veggies. This particular recipe calls for spicy pepper jack cheese, some salsa verde, shredded chicken, and cream cheese, but you can definitely customize it as you’d like. You prep the taquitos right up to stuffing the tortillas with the filling then freeze in a zip-lock bag until you’re ready for some quick and easy Mexican.
15. Breakfast Burritos
credit: thekitchn.com
Not one for sweets in the morning? This recipe has you covered. Grab some scrambled eggs, bacon or ground sausage (or both, it’s your choice), some of your favorite vegetables, and a pack of large tortillas. Make the filling in a fry pan before transferring to the tortillas. Each individual burrito is then cooled, wrapped in foil, and put into the freezer for when you’re going to want them the most. When that time comes, just pop them into the microwave for a heat-and-eat meal that hits the spot.
