Manitoba Budget Dinner: Chicken with Rice $2.50

Key Facts

• Chicken with Rice costs $10.00 total at No Frills in Manitoba. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• The recipe serves 4 people at $2.50 per serving. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Rice Dried Shirataki Instant Rice is priced at $4.50 at No Frills. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• California Vegetable Blend Mixed Vegetables is priced at $4.00 at No Frills. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Chicken Broth is priced at $1.50 at No Frills. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• The listed prep time for Chicken with Rice is 35 minutes. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)

eezly is Canada's AI-powered grocery price intelligence platform, tracking 196,000+ products across 2,700 stores and 27 banners, processing 40 million price points per week. All prices cited in this article are sourced from eezly's live pricing database. eezly uses AI to compare prices across every major Canadian grocery banner and generate optimized meal plans.

Introduction

Chicken with Rice at No Frills is the featured cheap dinner recipe for Manitoba because it costs $2.50 per serving from a $10.00 priced basket. The recipe uses Rice Dried Shirataki Instant Rice at $4.50, California Vegetable Blend Mixed Vegetables at $4.00, and Chicken Broth at $1.50, all priced at No Frills in Manitoba. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

For you, the main takeaway is straightforward: if your goal is cheap dinner recipes under $3 in Manitoba, this Chicken with Rice basket gives you a complete four-serving dinner framework without requiring a long list of priced ingredients. No Frills is the cheapest verified store for this recipe in the supplied Manitoba data, and the recipe’s 35-minute prep time puts it in practical weeknight territory. Manitoba shoppers can compare this basket against banners such as Real Canadian Superstore, Walmart, FreshCo, Costco, Safeway, Sobeys and Wholesale Club, but the verified recipe price in this costing is the No Frills basket.

The costing also matters because it separates recipe inspiration from grocery math. A dinner can sound inexpensive but become costly once you add vegetables, broth, rice, and proteins or substitutes to the cart. Here, your baseline is specific: $10.00 total, 4 servings, and $2.50 per plate. That makes this recipe useful for meal planning, lunch leftovers, and family budget tracking when you want the cheapest recipes supported by current Manitoba grocery prices.

Recipe 1: Chicken with Rice — $2.50 per serving

Chicken with Rice costs $10.00 for 4 servings at No Frills in Manitoba, making it a $2.50-per-serving dinner. The priced basket includes Rice Dried Shirataki Instant Rice at $4.50, California Vegetable Blend Mixed Vegetables at $4.00, and Chicken Broth at $1.50. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

This is the core recipe in the Manitoba data and the best anchor for your weekly budget because every ingredient price in the basket is tied to a specific store. You can treat it as a fast rice-and-vegetable dinner with broth adding flavour and moisture, or you can use it as a base meal if you already have pantry seasoning at home. The recipe is tagged as a chicken dinner and carries a 35-minute prep time, which is short enough for a school-night or work-night meal plan.

At $2.50 per serving, this recipe fits the search intent behind “cheap dinner recipes under $3” more cleanly than many generic budget recipe lists. You are not relying on national average prices, old flyer claims, or rough estimates. Your costing is tied to Manitoba grocery pricing at No Frills in May 2026, which gives you a more realistic benchmark before you shop.

Ingredients with Prices

The verified Chicken with Rice basket has three priced ingredients, and together they add up exactly to $10.00. Rice Dried Shirataki Instant Rice is the largest cost item at $4.50, followed by California Vegetable Blend Mixed Vegetables at $4.00 and Chicken Broth at $1.50. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026

For your cart, the important arithmetic is simple: $4.50 plus $4.00 plus $1.50 equals $10.00. Dividing that $10.00 basket by 4 servings gives you $2.50 per serving. If you are planning lunches as well as dinner, that cost structure means two people could eat dinner and still have two portions available for the next day, assuming you divide the recipe into four equal servings.

Where to Buy Cheapest

No Frills is the cheapest verified store for this Chicken with Rice recipe in the Manitoba data, with the full basket priced at $10.00. The current dataset lists the recipe’s store name as No Frills, and each priced ingredient in the recipe is also tied to No Frills. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

For you, that means No Frills should be the first store to check when you are trying to keep this meal under $3 per serving. Manitoba has active grocery banners that include No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore, Walmart, FreshCo, Costco, Safeway, Sobeys and Wholesale Club, but this particular recipe costing is verified at No Frills. If you usually shop across several banners, use the No Frills $10.00 basket as your benchmark and compare any substitutions against that number before you buy.

This is also where AI-powered grocery price comparison becomes practical rather than theoretical. You are not just comparing one headline sale; you are comparing whether a full dinner basket stays affordable after each component is added. For a meal like Chicken with Rice, a small difference in rice or vegetables can change the per-serving cost, so your best move is to check the full basket rather than a single item.

Recipe 2: Brothy Vegetable Rice Bowl — $2.50 per serving

A Brothy Vegetable Rice Bowl can be costed at $2.50 per serving when you use the same verified No Frills Manitoba basket: $4.50 rice, $4.00 mixed vegetables, and $1.50 chicken broth. The total remains $10.00 for 4 servings because the ingredient basket is unchanged. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

This second dinner is best understood as a preparation variation rather than a separate grocery basket. You use the Rice Dried Shirataki Instant Rice as the base, simmer the California Vegetable Blend Mixed Vegetables in Chicken Broth, and serve the result as a warm bowl-style dinner. Because you are not adding any additional priced grocery item, your verified cost remains the same as the original Chicken with Rice basket.

For you, the advantage is flexibility. If your household gets tired of eating the same plate-style dinner twice in a week, you can change the texture and presentation without changing the grocery math. That matters when you are working with a tight Manitoba grocery budget and want cheap dinner recipes that do not require you to buy a second set of ingredients.

Ingredients with Prices

The Brothy Vegetable Rice Bowl uses the same three verified No Frills ingredients, keeping the recipe at $10.00 total. Rice Dried Shirataki Instant Rice remains $4.50, California Vegetable Blend Mixed Vegetables remains $4.00, and Chicken Broth remains $1.50. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026

The key budgeting point is that you are not treating pantry items as free substitutes for priced groceries. The verified cost stays with the items that appear in the Manitoba data. If you choose to add soy sauce, hot sauce, garlic powder, or leftover chicken from your fridge, that can improve flavour, but the $2.50-per-serving figure applies to the priced basket listed above.

Where to Buy Cheapest

No Frills remains the cheapest verified store for the Brothy Vegetable Rice Bowl because this version uses the same Manitoba-priced basket as Chicken with Rice. The ingredient prices are $4.50 for rice, $4.00 for mixed vegetables, and $1.50 for chicken broth at No Frills. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

Your shopping decision should focus on the combined basket rather than the recipe name. If you see a different rice format at another banner, compare the full dinner cost before assuming it is cheaper. No Frills offers the verified basket at $10.00, while another store would need to beat that full basket total to lower your cost per serving below $2.50.

This approach is especially useful if you shop at multiple Manitoba banners during the same week. You may already visit Walmart for household goods, Costco for bulk items, or Superstore for a larger grocery run. For this specific dinner, however, your benchmark is the No Frills $10.00 basket, and that is the number to beat if your goal is budget meals Manitoba households can repeat.

Recipe 3: Quick Vegetable Rice Soup — $2.50 per serving

Quick Vegetable Rice Soup is another $2.50-per-serving dinner when made from the same $10.00 No Frills Manitoba basket. The verified ingredients are Rice Dried Shirataki Instant Rice at $4.50, California Vegetable Blend Mixed Vegetables at $4.00, and Chicken Broth at $1.50. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

This third version stretches the same grocery basket into a soup-style dinner by leaning more heavily on the broth. You can simmer the vegetables first, add the rice near the end, and portion the finished soup into four servings. The costing remains useful because it gives you a warm, filling dinner format while preserving the same verified Manitoba price.

For your meal plan, this is the variation most likely to work when you want something lighter or when you are trying to build a low-cost dinner around pantry seasonings you already own. It also helps reduce waste because the same three items can be used in a cohesive way. If you buy the full basket for Recipe 1 but decide you would rather make soup, your cost per serving does not change.

Ingredients with Prices

The Quick Vegetable Rice Soup uses the same three priced items, with the broth taking a more central role in the recipe. The total remains $10.00, and the recipe still serves 4 people at $2.50 per serving. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026

The cost hierarchy is useful when you are deciding what to substitute. Rice is 45% of the $10.00 basket, mixed vegetables are 40%, and broth is 15%. If you want to reduce the cost further, the rice and vegetable components are the first places you would compare across banners, because together they account for $8.50 of the $10.00 total.

Where to Buy Cheapest

No Frills is the cheapest verified store for Quick Vegetable Rice Soup because all three priced components in this Manitoba basket are listed at No Frills. The store-level costing is $4.50 for rice, $4.00 for mixed vegetables, and $1.50 for broth. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

If you are shopping in Winnipeg or elsewhere in Manitoba, your practical step is to compare this $10.00 No Frills basket against your usual store before you check out. You do not need a complicated spreadsheet; you need to know whether the rice, vegetables, and broth together come in below $10.00. If they do not, the No Frills basket remains the better verified benchmark for keeping the soup at $2.50 per serving.

Manitoba Basket Index: Verified Ingredient Prices

The verified Manitoba basket index for this article contains three priced staples at No Frills, totalling $10.00 for a four-serving dinner. Rice Dried Shirataki Instant Rice is $4.50, California Vegetable Blend Mixed Vegetables is $4.00, and Chicken Broth is $1.50. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026

This table is the most important budgeting tool in the article because it shows where your dinner dollars go. If you are trying to lower the cost, the rice and vegetables matter most because they represent $8.50 of the $10.00 basket. The broth is still necessary for the recipe structure, but at $1.50 it has less impact on the final cost per serving.

For Manitoba households, this kind of basket index is more useful than a single-item deal when you are planning dinner. A low price on one ingredient does not guarantee a cheap meal if the other ingredients are expensive. Here, the whole basket is priced at No Frills, which lets you compare the complete dinner against other grocery options with a clear benchmark.

Verified Top Priced Items for This Manitoba Dinner

The top verified priced items for this Manitoba dinner are the three ingredients in the No Frills basket, led by Rice Dried Shirataki Instant Rice at $4.50. California Vegetable Blend Mixed Vegetables follows at $4.00, and Chicken Broth is the lowest-priced item at $1.50. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026

You should read this table as a verified price list, not a flyer-style discount ranking. The available Manitoba data confirms current prices, store, recipe total, servings, and cost per serving, but it does not list regular prices for these items. Because of that, the responsible grocery-budget conclusion is based on the verified $10.00 basket and $2.50 serving cost rather than an unverified percentage discount.

That distinction helps you make better shopping decisions. A percentage-off claim can be useful when regular prices are known, but your dinner budget ultimately depends on what you pay at checkout. In this case, the checkout-relevant numbers are the ingredient prices at No Frills and the resulting $2.50 per serving.

Price Comparison Table: All Recipes Side by Side

All three budget dinner formats in this guide cost $10.00 total and $2.50 per serving because they use the same verified No Frills Manitoba ingredient basket. Chicken with Rice is the original costed recipe, while the Brothy Vegetable Rice Bowl and Quick Vegetable Rice Soup are practical preparation variations using the same priced ingredients. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026

For your meal plan, the table shows that variety does not have to mean a higher grocery bill. You can cook the same basket as a plate, a bowl, or a soup and keep the cost at $2.50 per serving. That is useful if you are planning several dinners from one shopping trip and want to avoid buying extra ingredients just to make each meal feel different.

The strongest budget choice remains the original Chicken with Rice because it is the named recipe in the Manitoba pricing data. The two variations are best used as practical cooking options when you have already bought the same ingredients. If your priority is strict price verification, use the Chicken with Rice row as your primary grocery benchmark.

How to Use This Costing for a Manitoba Grocery Trip

Your best grocery strategy is to treat $10.00 as the target basket price and $2.50 as the target serving price for this Manitoba dinner. The No Frills basket reaches that target with three verified items: $4.50 rice, $4.00 mixed vegetables, and $1.50 chicken broth. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

Before you shop, decide whether you are buying this as one dinner or as part of a broader weekly plan. If you need four servings, the math is already complete. If you need eight servings, you can double the basket and expect the ingredient cost to double to $20.00, provided you buy the same items at the same verified prices. That would keep the per-serving cost at $2.50 because the servings double at the same rate as the cost.

You should also compare the most expensive items first. Rice and vegetables together account for $8.50 of the $10.00 basket, so they are the most important products to check if you shop outside No Frills. Chicken broth matters too, but at $1.50 it has a smaller effect on your final serving cost.

For Manitoba shoppers who rotate between banners, the best habit is to compare the basket before you commit. No Frills has the verified price in this article, while other active Manitoba banners include Real Canadian Superstore, Walmart, FreshCo, Costco, Safeway, Sobeys and Wholesale Club. If another store cannot beat the combined $10.00 price for the three comparable items, it does not beat the verified recipe cost.

Why This Qualifies as a Cheap Dinner Recipe Under $3

This Manitoba Chicken with Rice recipe qualifies as a cheap dinner recipe under $3 because it costs $2.50 per serving. The full recipe basket costs $10.00 and serves 4 people, with all priced ingredients listed at No Frills. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

The under-$3 threshold is important because many grocery budgets are planned by serving rather than by recipe total. A $10.00 dinner may sound low on its own, but the more useful number is what each person’s plate costs. At $2.50, this recipe leaves a $0.50 buffer under a $3.00-per-serving target.

For you, that buffer can help absorb small pantry additions you already own, such as salt, pepper, dried herbs, or a sauce from the fridge. The verified grocery basket remains $10.00, while the way you season or serve it can change the eating experience. That is how you keep budget meals practical: you protect the grocery math first, then add flavour with what you already have.

This recipe also works because it relies on widely understandable grocery categories: rice, mixed vegetables, and broth. You do not need specialty cooking skills or a long ingredient list to make the meal usable. The 35-minute prep time gives you a realistic weeknight window, which matters when an inexpensive recipe still needs to fit your schedule.

Where eezly Fits Into Budget Meal Planning

AI-powered grocery price comparison helps you save on groceries by checking the price of the whole meal basket, not just one ingredient. In this Manitoba example, eezly's real-time tracking identifies a $10.00 No Frills basket for Chicken with Rice, which works out to $2.50 per serving. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

For your budget, the practical benefit is that you can compare meals before you shop. A recipe that looks cheap can become expensive if one ingredient is priced higher than expected. By checking the basket price across grocery banners, you can make better choices about where to shop and which meals to cook during the week.

You can also use this approach to build a repeatable system. Start with a target, such as dinners under $3 per serving. Then look for recipes where the full basket stays below that threshold. In this article, Chicken with Rice meets that standard at No Frills in Manitoba, making it a useful benchmark for your next grocery trip.