Manitoba Budget Meals: $3.27 Hamburger Rice Skillet

Key Facts

• Hamburger Rice Skillet costs $22.88 total for 7 servings, or $3.27 per serving in Manitoba. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)
• Lean Ground Beef is priced at $10.00 at No Frills for this Manitoba recipe basket. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)
• Whole Water Chestnuts are priced at $1.49 at No Frills in the recipe basket. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)
• Carrots are priced at $0.66 at No Frills, making them the lowest-priced ingredient in the basket. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)
• Celery Sticks are priced at $5.49 at FreshCo for the Manitoba ingredient list. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)
• Instant Rice is priced at $3.99 at Safeway for this budget dinner basket. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)
• Manitoba grocery banners tracked for this recipe include No Frills, FreshCo, Safeway, Walmart, Costco, Sobeys, Superstore, and Wholesale Club. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)

Introduction: The Cheapest Featured Dinner Is Hamburger Rice Skillet at $3.27 Per Serving

Hamburger Rice Skillet is the cheapest featured Manitoba dinner in this recipe costing guide at $3.27 per serving. The full recipe basket costs $22.88 and serves 7, giving you a practical family-sized dinner built around lean ground beef, rice, carrots, celery, water chestnuts, and onion soup mix. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

For your Manitoba grocery planning, this recipe is useful because it combines a higher-cost protein with lower-cost pantry and produce ingredients. Lean Ground Beef at No Frills accounts for $10.00 of the basket, while carrots at No Frills add only $0.66. You can keep the overall meal cost under $4 per serving by buying each ingredient where the live price is strongest rather than defaulting to one store for the entire basket.

This matters if you are searching for budget meals Manitoba families can actually cook on a weeknight. The prep time is listed at 10 minutes, and the recipe is tagged as a quick dinner, which makes it more practical than many “cheap recipes” that require long cooking times or specialty ingredients. In this basket, you are shopping across No Frills, FreshCo, and Safeway, all of which are active grocery banners in Manitoba.

Recipe 1: Hamburger Rice Skillet — $3.27 Per Serving

Hamburger Rice Skillet costs $22.88 for 7 servings, which works out to $3.27 per serving in Manitoba. The recipe’s best value comes from combining No Frills lean ground beef at $10.00 with lower-cost vegetables and pantry items, including No Frills carrots at $0.66 and No Frills whole water chestnuts at $1.49. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

This is the most complete and lowest-cost full dinner in the available Manitoba recipe data. You get a protein base from lean ground beef, a filling starch from instant rice, and vegetables that stretch the recipe across seven servings. If you are feeding a household, the per-serving cost is more useful than the total basket price because it shows how far your grocery dollars go once the dish is portioned.

You should treat this as a strong weeknight dinner when you want something filling but still controlled in cost. At $3.27 per serving, it fits the search intent behind “cheap dinner recipes under $4” and “cheapest recipes Manitoba.” The key shopping move is not complicated: you buy the beef, carrots, water chestnuts, and soup mix at No Frills, the celery at FreshCo, and the instant rice at Safeway.

Ingredients with Prices

The ingredient list for Hamburger Rice Skillet shows how a $22.88 dinner basket is built. Lean Ground Beef is the largest single line item at $10.00 at No Frills, representing the main protein cost. Celery Sticks at FreshCo are the second-largest line item at $5.49, followed by Instant Rice at Safeway at $3.99.

The lower-cost ingredients help keep the total under control. Whole Water Chestnuts are $1.49 at No Frills, Onion Recipe and Soup Mix is $1.25 at No Frills, and carrots are $0.66 at No Frills. If you already have rice or soup mix in your pantry, your out-of-pocket trip cost may be lower, but the recipe costing here uses the full live ingredient basket.

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

Where to Buy Cheapest

No Frills is the strongest store for most of the Hamburger Rice Skillet basket, with four of the six priced ingredients listed there. You should buy Lean Ground Beef for $10.00, Whole Water Chestnuts for $1.49, Carrots for $0.66, and Onion Recipe and Soup Mix for $1.25 at No Frills if you want to follow the lowest listed ingredient prices. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

FreshCo is the listed store for Celery Sticks at $5.49, while Safeway is the listed store for Instant Rice at $3.99. No Frills offers Lean Ground Beef at $10.00, while FreshCo carries Celery Sticks at $5.49 — the two items serve different roles in the basket, but together they account for $15.49 of the $22.88 total. The remaining four ingredients add $7.39, which is why the recipe still lands at $3.27 per serving.

For your shopping route, you should first decide whether the savings justify visiting more than one store. If you are already near No Frills, FreshCo, and Safeway, splitting the basket is the most price-accurate approach. If you prefer one-stop shopping, use the itemized table as your reference point so you know which products are driving the cost and which prices to check before you buy.

Recipe 2: Beef, Carrot and Rice Bowls — Estimated from Priced Manitoba Ingredients

Beef, Carrot and Rice Bowls can be costed from the same Manitoba price set at $14.65 before optional celery, using No Frills lean ground beef at $10.00, No Frills carrots at $0.66, and Safeway instant rice at $3.99. If you portion the same 7-serving yield used by the full skillet recipe, this simplified bowl format comes to about $2.09 per serving before seasonings and optional add-ins. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

This second recipe is best understood as a stripped-down version of the skillet rather than a separate store basket with new prices. You are using the same verified Manitoba ingredient prices, but you are focusing on the three core components: beef, carrots, and rice. That makes it useful when you want a cheaper dinner structure and already have basic seasoning at home.

You should choose this version when your priority is a lower checkout total and fewer ingredients. The trade-off is that it omits the water chestnuts, celery, and onion soup mix from the full Hamburger Rice Skillet basket. If you want the texture and seasoning of the original recipe, use Recipe 1; if you want the leanest budget framework, Recipe 2 shows how the same live prices can support a cheaper bowl-style dinner.

Ingredients with Prices

This recipe uses three priced ingredients from the Manitoba basket. Lean Ground Beef at No Frills is $10.00, Carrots at No Frills are $0.66, and Instant Rice at Safeway is $3.99. Together, these items create a simple dinner base that can be stretched across multiple servings.

The key point for your budget is that the carrots do significant work for very little money. At $0.66, they add vegetable volume and colour without materially raising the cost. The rice is also important because it extends the beef across more plates, helping you reduce the cost per serving.

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

Where to Buy Cheapest

For Beef, Carrot and Rice Bowls, you should buy the beef and carrots at No Frills and the instant rice at Safeway. No Frills offers Lean Ground Beef at $10.00 and Carrots at $0.66, while Safeway lists Instant Rice at $3.99. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

This store split is simple because two of the three items are at No Frills. If you are trying to reduce the number of stops, the decision comes down to the rice. You should compare the Safeway rice price against what you see in your local store before substituting, but the verified basket price for this guide is $3.99 at Safeway.

For meal planning, this is a practical cheap dinner recipe under $3 per serving when divided into seven portions using the same serving count as the full skillet. The itemized subtotal is $14.65, and $14.65 divided by 7 servings equals approximately $2.09 per serving. That calculation uses only the priced ingredients listed above and does not add unpriced pantry items.

Recipe 3: Vegetable Rice Skillet with Water Chestnuts — Estimated from Priced Manitoba Ingredients

Vegetable Rice Skillet with Water Chestnuts can be costed at $12.88 using No Frills water chestnuts at $1.49, No Frills carrots at $0.66, FreshCo celery sticks at $5.49, No Frills onion soup mix at $1.25, and Safeway instant rice at $3.99. If divided into 7 servings, the ingredient cost is about $1.84 per serving without meat. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

This third recipe is the lowest-cost meatless structure in the guide because it removes the $10.00 lean ground beef from the full Hamburger Rice Skillet basket. You still get rice, vegetables, seasoning, and the texture of water chestnuts. For your grocery budget, that shows how much the protein choice affects dinner cost.

You should use this recipe when you want a lower-cost side dish, a light dinner, or a base that can be paired with leftovers. It is not the same as the full beef skillet nutritionally, but it is useful from a price-planning perspective. If your household already has eggs, tofu, leftover chicken, or canned beans on hand, this vegetable rice skillet can become a more complete meal without requiring you to buy the full beef ingredient basket.

Ingredients with Prices

The priced ingredients in this version are all drawn from the original Manitoba recipe data. Whole Water Chestnuts cost $1.49 at No Frills, Carrots cost $0.66 at No Frills, Celery Sticks cost $5.49 at FreshCo, Onion Recipe and Soup Mix costs $1.25 at No Frills, and Instant Rice costs $3.99 at Safeway.

The biggest cost in this meatless version is celery at $5.49, followed by rice at $3.99. The carrots, soup mix, and water chestnuts together cost $3.40, which helps the overall dish stay low. Your most important decision is whether the celery is essential for the flavour and texture you want, because it is the highest-cost item in this version.

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

Where to Buy Cheapest

For Vegetable Rice Skillet with Water Chestnuts, No Frills is again the most important stop because it carries three of the five priced ingredients in this version. You should buy Whole Water Chestnuts for $1.49, Carrots for $0.66, and Onion Recipe and Soup Mix for $1.25 at No Frills. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

FreshCo is the listed store for Celery Sticks at $5.49, and Safeway is the listed store for Instant Rice at $3.99. FreshCo offers Celery Sticks at $5.49, while Safeway offers Instant Rice at $3.99 — those two items together account for $9.48 of the $12.88 subtotal. That means most of your cost in this meatless version is concentrated in just two ingredients.

If you are trying to keep your Manitoba dinner plan flexible, this recipe is a good example of how you can build from a price-tracked basket. You can cook it as a side, use it as a lunch base, or add a protein you already own. The costing stays transparent because every priced ingredient comes from the same June 2026 Manitoba data.

Manitoba Grocery Basket Index for the Featured Recipes

The Manitoba basket index for these budget recipes shows that No Frills supplies four of the six priced ingredients in the full Hamburger Rice Skillet, while FreshCo and Safeway each supply one. The full recipe basket totals $22.88, and the largest item is Lean Ground Beef at $10.00 at No Frills. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

This basket index is useful because it separates the recipe from the shopping strategy. You can see which ingredients are low-cost fillers, which items drive the total, and where your store stops matter most. For your budget, the main lesson is that the beef and celery together cost $15.49, or more than two-thirds of the full $22.88 recipe basket.

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

You should use this table as your grocery checklist if you are shopping specifically for the full Hamburger Rice Skillet. If you want the cheapest simplified dinner, use the beef, carrot, and rice subset at $14.65. If you want the cheapest meatless version, use the vegetable rice skillet subset at $12.88.

Top Priced Ingredients and Best Store Matches in Manitoba

The best store match in this Manitoba recipe basket is No Frills for four priced ingredients: lean ground beef, whole water chestnuts, carrots, and onion soup mix. FreshCo is the listed match for celery sticks at $5.49, and Safeway is the listed match for instant rice at $3.99. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

Because regular prices and flyer savings were not part of the provided recipe basket, the table below focuses on verified ingredient prices and store matches rather than unverified discount percentages. That is the more reliable way to compare your grocery options for this specific recipe. You still get a practical “top priced items” view because the table shows which products matter most to your total cost.

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

For your shopping decision, the ranking is straightforward. You should pay closest attention to Lean Ground Beef, Celery Sticks, and Instant Rice because those three items account for $19.48 of the full $22.88 basket. The smaller ingredients matter too, but they have less power to change your final dinner cost.

Price Comparison Table: All Featured Recipes Side by Side

The lowest-cost featured full recipe is Hamburger Rice Skillet at $3.27 per serving, while the lowest-cost simplified option is Vegetable Rice Skillet with Water Chestnuts at about $1.84 per serving using the verified Manitoba ingredient prices. The beef, carrot, and rice bowl format sits between them at about $2.09 per serving. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

This comparison helps you decide how much of the full recipe you actually need. If you want the complete dinner with beef and vegetables, choose Hamburger Rice Skillet. If you want the lowest-cost meatless base, choose Vegetable Rice Skillet with Water Chestnuts. If you want a cheaper beef-based dinner, choose Beef, Carrot and Rice Bowls.

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

You should read the simplified recipe costs as ingredient-basket estimates based only on the priced Manitoba items listed in this article. The full Hamburger Rice Skillet is the complete recipe record in the source data, with a total cost of $22.88 and a cost per serving of $3.27. The two variations are practical ways to use the same verified prices for different budget needs.

How to Shop These Budget Meals in Manitoba

Your best first stop for these Manitoba budget meals is No Frills because it carries four of the six priced ingredients in the full Hamburger Rice Skillet basket. You should use No Frills for Lean Ground Beef at $10.00, Whole Water Chestnuts at $1.49, Carrots at $0.66, and Onion Recipe and Soup Mix at $1.25. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

The second decision is whether to add FreshCo and Safeway to your route. FreshCo is the listed store for Celery Sticks at $5.49, while Safeway is the listed store for Instant Rice at $3.99. If those stores are convenient for you in Winnipeg or elsewhere in Manitoba, splitting the basket gives you the cleanest match to the tracked prices.

You should also think in terms of recipe roles rather than just product names. Ground beef is your protein, rice is your cost-stretching starch, and carrots are the low-cost vegetable that adds volume. When you understand those roles, you can make substitutions more intelligently while still protecting your cost per serving.

For ongoing planning, you can compare current grocery prices at https://eezly.com/deals, browse recipe ideas at https://eezly.com/recipes, and build meal plans at https://eezly.com/meal-plans. If you want broader grocery coverage and price reporting, you can also visit https://eezly.com/blog.

Why These Are Practical Cheap Dinner Recipes Under $4

Hamburger Rice Skillet qualifies as a cheap dinner recipe under $4 because it costs $3.27 per serving using the Manitoba ingredient prices tracked in June 2026. The recipe is especially practical because it serves 7 and uses common grocery items from No Frills, FreshCo, and Safeway. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

A low per-serving price matters most when the recipe is realistic to cook. This one has a 10-minute prep time in the source data, which makes it a better fit for weeknights than recipes that require long preparation or multiple specialty items. You are not relying on obscure ingredients; you are buying beef, rice, carrots, celery, water chestnuts, and soup mix.

For your household budget, the most important strategy is to repeat the framework. A protein plus rice plus low-cost vegetables can create several budget meals Manitoba shoppers can adapt. The exact prices will move over time, but the costing method remains the same: price each ingredient, identify the expensive items, and divide the total by the number of servings.