Make Ahead Breakfast Recipes Perfect for Postpartum (and Beyond)

This make ahead breakfast recipes post is inspired by my mom and sisters (shout out to you gals, you’re the BEST!). When I was 38 weeks pregnant with Nellie (and again when I was pregnant with Willa), they came over and surprised me with a bunch of pre-made freezer meals for us to enjoy with minimal prep time (KEY!) after the baby was born. Most of the meals were dinner, but they also included two breakfast options — because they are angels — and it has made all the difference in helping me feel sane, full, and happy in the morning.

I remember when I was in postpartum with Hayes and I considered it a HUGE victory if I was able to make myself breakfast. And an even bigger victory if breakfast was prepared at a normal breakfast time of day (when does it become brunch territory?). And it definitely wasn’t happening unless Hayes was wrapped into her Sollybaby so I had two hands.

Postpartum is blur, when victories include eating breakfast before 10am, with two hands in you’re lucky. But if you’re trying to rock your morning self care routine, postpartum or not, make ahead breakfast is something to seriously consider. With a little extra prep at night or at the beginning of the week you’ll have less time wasted in the morning, but still get something healthy to fuel your body. Plus, these make-ahead meals are tasty. So much so that my husband asked this past weekend, “can we have these in our freezer all the time?”

I’m sharing the two breakfast recipes that my sisters and my mom made for us, as well as a few that I have tried myself, and a couple that are next up on my to-make list. If you try any of them out, take note! I’m curious if make-ahead breakfast options really make an impact for your morning routine like it has for me.

Also, don’t forget to throw these food bloggers a follow and and shout out if you make their recipe(s) — I’m so thankful for their delicious ideas that make life just a little bit easier!

Make ahead breakfast recipes made with oats, but not your traditional oatmeal

Blueberry almond breakfast bars from Vodka + Biscuits

These bars have been a lifesaver. I usually take them straight out of the freezer, into the microwave for one minute, and throw it into a bowl to eat with a spoon so my hands don’t get chocolately or blueberry-y. I eat them for breakfast and occasionally for a snack. They aren’t overly sweet, but with the chocolate chips and blueberries I think they could easily check off the sweet tooth breakfast criteria if that’s your thing in the morning.

Loaded sweet + savory peanut butter energy bites from Eat Well with Sari

Two things I can always get behind — peanut butter and sweet + savory — in one oat-based bite! I haven’t tried to freeze these bites yet, but now I’m thinking I will and report back.

Banana oatmeal breakfast muffins from Six Sister’s Stuff

We always have bananas at our house. I love banana fresh, but I also don’t get annoyed if they go bad and we haven’t eaten them because there are so many recipes you can use overly ripe bananas for. Like this little freezer friendly gem!

**Love planning ahead? Check out my signature two-sided meal planning notepad**

Breakfast burritos

Breakfast burritos from Damn Delicious

These have a little bit of everything in them — cheese, eggs, refried beans, and TOTS (automatic win, right, Napoleon?), to name a few. They are quick to heat up (in my microwave one took about 2.5 minutes to be juuuuust right for immediately eating). And they are just the right size. My sisters used bacon instead of breakfast sausage, I’m sure they would be tasty either way.

p.s. this is the meal that got Jeff to say “can we have these in our freezer all the time?”

Overnight oats

Tried-and-true easy overnight oats by syd.nord

Overnight oats are a staple. And I tested a bunch of recipes to find my staple recipe. It’s so easy that I know it by heart now and it’s so versatile that you can mix and match what nut butter, fruit, and sweetener you add in without any adjustments to the recipe.

Overnight oats from Fit Mitten Kitchen that are on my list of things to try

Fit Mitten Kitchen is one of my favorites for baked goods and oatmeal dishes. Here are a few of her recipes!

Golden milk overnight oats – I really like golden milk so this one is intriguing to me, have you tried golden milk?

Creamy coffee cashew butter overnight oats – note to self, add instant coffee to grocery list so I can give this one a try! And, of course, eat with coffee 🙂

All of the make ahead breakfast recipes from Eating Bird Food

Just like Fit Mitten Kichen, Eating Bird Food has a bunch of really yummy overnight oat recipes — some pretty standard and others really creative!

Peanut butter overnight oats – IMO peanut butter is meant to be a part of every morning, you can’t go wrong with a pb-based breakfast.

Carrot cake overnight oats – I’m not a big cake person, but carrot cake, I will eat. And when I am not too lazy to grate 3 tablespoons of carrot, I will be trying this recipe.

Make ahead breakfast recipes with no eggs, dairy, or grains

Chia pudding by Love and Lemons

Chia pudding is a close relative to overnight oats. The texture is a little off putting to some people at first. So give it a couple of tries before you write it off. I wasn’t a huge fan at first, but I love that chia seeds have healthy fats, so I tried it again and now it’s something I keep in rotation!

This recipe is great because it’s a blank canvas. Add whatever toppings sound good to you! Love and Lemons recommends adding a fresh fruit, something crunchy, and something sweet. I pretty much always follow that advice. Peaches, pecans, and honey are a favorite or strawberries, slivered almonds, and maple syrup.

Egg muffins

When it comes to make ahead breakfast recipes, egg muffins had a huge spike of popularity on Pinterest about five years ago, but we can still make them a thing, right? My only complaint with egg muffins is that they tend to taste dry to me. (Maybe I over cook them?) So I always serve them with salsa or top them with a little cheese for the last 20 seconds in the microwave to add back some moisture.

Egg muffins from Rachael’s Good Eats

She gives a lot of options for how to season these, I’ve done a bit of experimenting and I like the combination of chili powder, black pepper, and cumin. Also, I chop up the spinach really fine and pack it in!

This is also a great recipe to use veggies that are about to go back in your fridge — save my Reel on Instagram for quick access to the egg muffin recipe!

Egg sandwiches — a great make ahead breakfast recipe, especially in the air fryer!

Make-ahead breakfast sandwiches from Fit Mitten Kitchen

I was so impressed with Ashley’s hack to cook the eggs in a sheet pan and use the top of a mason jar as a mold to make sure your eggs fit nicely onto the english muffin. HUGE win to not have everything spilling everywhere, it’s tidy just how I like it. This recipe is also good with pepper jack cheese, my personal favorite.

Make ahead breakfast recipes just might be your ticket to sanity

Maybe like me, having a healthy breakfast in postpartum (and beyond) is one way you provide yourself with a bit of self care. If that’s true, I hope you give one or all of these make-ahead breakfast recipes a try — tasty and easy.