21 Meals To Take A New Mom

Everyone always thinks about dinners, but what about a new mom breakfast? Those bleary early mornings would be made so much better by a breakfast casserole ready to heat up and eat ASAP. This is also a great choice if the new mom has a bunch of hungry other baby birds in the nest and needs something quick and filling to feed them.

Don’t be afraid of flavors! Taking a meal to a new parent doesn’t have to mean choosing bland flavors (although feel free to ask if something in particular isn’t great for her tummy) and it also doesn’t have to be a bunch of the same casseroles day in and day out. This lemon chicken orzo soup is so tangy and flavorful, and she can easily keep it warming all day and grab a new bowl whenever she’s hungry.

If there’s a whole family to feed, maybe try these sheet pan fajitas featured on Yummly. You can bring a bunch of toppings and fixings, like tortillas nand cheese, and set up a whole “make your own fajitas” bar for her whole family so it’s really hands-off for her. (And delicious.)

Snacks are the best when you’re just snuggling your newborn in those early weeks, and I think people forget how much they can mean to a new mom. If she has a sweet tooth, try making her a big batch of this 15-minute puppy chow. It’s perfect for cluster-feeding, for Netflix binges with a sleeping babe, or for her to grab a handful every time she walks through the kitchen.

Want to go see the new baby? Take a stack of these gorgeous pancakes featured on Yummly. Your meals don’t have to be ones you’ve prepped ahead or ones she can only eat for dinner — ask her if you can come by around 10 a.m., bring her favorite coffee order, some bacon, and a stack of these. Don’t forget the syrup and whipped cream.

Sure, you can gift a new mom just a giant basket of her favorite snacks, but I’m obsessed with the idea of a party tray full of these tortellini party snacks. They’re an easy crowd pleaser, bite-sized, and you can add in a bunch of different dipping sauces like marina, alfredo, or even just melted butter with herbs. She’ll so appreciate a platter of these just sitting at the table for her to munch on while you visit or while she binge watches TV during another feeding sesh.

Every new mom will tell you the same thing — feeding themselves is hard. Whether it’s dinner, breakfast, or just trying to find a snack to curb the hanger so she can take a nap, it can be tough to find something that’s appetizing, actually filling, and easy. Enter these raw, vegan carrot cake bites from Pinch of Yum. You can make a huge batch of them for her and she can freeze them for later or keep them in the fridge. They’re packed full of great ingredients like chia seeds and oatmeal, and they taste like legit carrot cake. So good, nutrient-dense, and easy.

Want to give her a big ol’ taste of comfort? Make these stuffed crust pizza snacks. These are so easy to make, and you can really play around with the fillings. She’ll appreciate how yummy and comforting they are, and she can enjoy them either as a heavy snack, a quick lunch, or a nice dinner (especially if you include a salad at drop-off).

It doesn’t get much better than this perfect pot roast from Damn Delicious. Go ahead and pre-make it, keep it in the dutch oven, and when you drop it off, just pop it right back on her stove so it can warm back up. Her house will smell divine and she’ll feel legit cared for.

When I had my third daughter, I did OK with breakfast and dinner because I had two other big kids who needed me to make a meal, but I really struggled with lunch. I didn’t want my kids’ sandwiches and crackers, but I wanted something I could eat easily, that didn’t make a big mess, and that tasted good. That’s why I think these easy chicken gyros from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe are a great idea to make a new mom. You could either send her over all the fixings with the wraps and sauce separately, or go ahead and make them all, wrap them up in parchment paper, and deliver them to her when she needs them the most.

Minestrone soup is an absolutel classic. It’s hearty, it’s filling, it’s cozy, and it’s really not that hard to make. Bonus: this is a great option if the new mom in your life has lots of other mouths to feed and/or is vegetarian. This minestrone soup recipe featured on Yummly just has it all, and you can easily make it in a big pot to just reheat at your friend’s house, or divvy it up into containers so she can have a hot bowl of soup each day.

Want to make her something that lives in one pot, is filling, and can easily be doubled to feed a big family? Then you want to make this chicken broccoli and rice casserole from Averie Cooks. So cheesy, so delicious, and perfect for the new mom who’s got a bunch of other mouths to feed at the table.

Look, moms deserve treats. They don’t always want a nutritious casserole or a big salad to nibble on while recovering from childbirth, and they deserve to eat whatever they want. Like these incredible glazed peanut butter bars from Half-Baked Harvest. Thick, creamy, and the perfect amount of ooey-gooey, these glazed peanut butter bars say “I love you and I’m here for you” in so many ways.

For a weeknight meal when she’s juggling soccer practice for her older kids and a fussy baby during the witching hour, there is this recipe for easy teriyaki meatballs. This is one you could easily freeze for her to make later, or whip up on a moment’s notice so she’s got a hot meal waiting for the whole family before bedtime.

I must insist you make cornbread with this, but no matter what, a big pot of turkey chili is a great meal to take a new mom. It’s easy to reheat, it tastes great as leftovers, and if you bring a variety of toppings and accoutrements (like crackers, sour cream, and the aforementioned cornbread), she’ll really appreciate it.

Breakfast is so hard when you’ve got a newborn. You’re sleep deprived, you can barely remember which day it is, and you’re hungry. So she doesn’t reach for the stale donuts someone dropped off five days ago, whip up a big batch of these freezer breakfast burritos featured on Yummly. She can reheat them each morning and have something full of sustenance and flavor before she’s even realized that she’s still tired.

OK, pasta is a pretty standard “Look! I Brought You A Meal!” dinner, but I am obsessed with this pesto gnocchi recipe featured on Yummly. It’s new, it’s different, and it just hits in a slightly better way than traditional pasta. Even if her other kids won’t eat it, she’ll appreciate something that just tastes delicious.

Who says a meal has to be practical for a new mom? Bring her something she’s going to absolutely love, something that’s just full of joy and happiness, like this pecan pie cheesecake from Sally’s Baking Addiction. It’s the perfect blend of creamy and crunchy, sweet and salty, and is a delightful way to welcome a new life into the world.

You know that move you do where you bounce a baby up against your chest and eat a snack with one hand, trying not to dribble food on your newborn’s head? OK, well that move was made for this Mexican 5-layer bean dip from A Spicy Perspective. It’s packed full of flavor, tons of textures, and it’s so thick, it’s the perfect dip for a one-handed scoop for the new mom trying to rock her baby to sleep and fix her hanger.

Look, a basket of muffins? Tired. But these banana coconut muffins from Cookie and Kate? Wired. So very wired. This is a great meal to make for a family that’s welcomed a baby and also has big kids at home — like what’s better than homemade muffins just ready to go in the house for snack time? But it’s also a great option for the new mom who needs a healthy, hearty, delicious snack for those 3 a.m. nursing sessions.

This is the meal a new mom wants to come home to: chicken pot pie with cheddar chive biscuits. So savory, so cozy, the ultimate stick-to-your-ribs dinner that will make her feel loved and cared for. (And will also feed her whole family.)