Two placentas stolen from a freezer at a Napier home have been recovered.

Hawke's Bay Police said the placentas were in a freezer at a property in the suburb of Tamatea between 8am and 4pm on Monday.

A large quantity of food was also taken from the freezer.

The placentas, which were being kept for whanau while a decision was being made as to where they would be buried, were stored in white containers, similar to a 2 litre ice cream container, and the names of who they belonged to were written on the front.

They were recovered on Tuesday afternoon and police said the whanau "are incredibly grateful to have them back".