Manitoba Cheap Dinners: Brothy Rice Bowls $2.67

Key Facts

• Chicken with Rice costs $14.68 at Nofrills in Manitoba. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• The Chicken with Rice recipe serves 4 at $3.67 per serving. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Rice is priced at $8.99 at Nofrills. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• California Vegetable Blend Mixed Vegetables cost $4.00 at Nofrills. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Chicken Broth is priced at $1.69 at Nofrills. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)

Introduction: The Cheapest Manitoba Dinner Here Is $2.67 Per Serving

Brothy Rice Bowls are the cheapest recipe in this Manitoba dinner costing at $2.67 per serving. The calculation uses rice at $8.99 and chicken broth at $1.69, both priced at Nofrills in Manitoba, for a total basket cost of $10.68 divided across four servings. If you want a more complete dinner with vegetables, the full Chicken with Rice basket costs $14.68 and comes to $3.67 per serving, still keeping your meal under $4 per person.

This guide is built for you if you are searching for “cheap dinner recipes under $4,” “budget meals Manitoba,” or the “cheapest recipes” using current local grocery pricing. Manitoba grocery prices can vary by banner, and eezly’s real-time price tracking covers active provincial banners such as Costco, FreshCo, No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore, Safeway, Sobeys, Walmart, Superstore, and Wholesale Club. In the priced recipe data available for this article, Nofrills is the store attached to every ingredient: rice at $8.99, California Vegetable Blend Mixed Vegetables at $4.00, and chicken broth at $1.69.

The practical takeaway is straightforward: you can build a filling rice-based dinner in Manitoba for less than many single takeout entrées. Your best low-cost path is to use rice as the base, broth as the flavour builder, and frozen mixed vegetables when your budget allows the full $14.68 basket. For more recipe planning, you can also compare current meal ideas at https://eezly.com/recipes and build lower-cost baskets through https://eezly.com/meal-plans.

Recipe 1: Chicken with Rice — $3.67 per serving

Chicken with Rice costs $14.68 total and $3.67 per serving at Nofrills in Manitoba. The priced recipe serves four people and uses three tracked ingredients: rice at $8.99, California Vegetable Blend Mixed Vegetables at $4.00, and chicken broth at $1.69. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

This is the strongest all-purpose dinner in the set because it gives you a starch, vegetables, and a broth-based cooking liquid in one basket. For your weekly budget, the most useful number is the per-serving cost: $3.67. That puts the full recipe below the common “cheap dinner recipes under $4” threshold, while still giving you a warm, family-style meal that can be portioned for four dinners or two dinners plus leftovers.

The ingredient mix also helps you stretch the meal without adding more tracked cost. Rice provides the bulk of the dish, mixed vegetables add colour and texture, and broth gives the pan enough flavour that you do not need to rely on expensive sauces. If your goal is to keep a Manitoba grocery basket predictable, this recipe is easier to cost than meals built around highly variable fresh produce or meat cuts.

Ingredients with Prices

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

To prepare it as a simple weeknight dinner, you would cook the rice using broth as part of the liquid, then fold in the mixed vegetables near the end so they heat through without becoming mushy. If you are batch cooking, you can portion the finished dish into four containers immediately after cooking. Your per-container cost remains $3.67 when the full $14.68 basket is divided evenly.

Where to Buy Cheapest

Nofrills is the cheapest confirmed store for this Chicken with Rice basket in the Manitoba data provided, with a full recipe cost of $14.68. The same store carries rice at $8.99, California Vegetable Blend Mixed Vegetables at $4.00, and chicken broth at $1.69 in the tracked basket. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

For you, the key shopping decision is whether to buy the complete basket or only the components you need to restock. If you already have rice at home, your immediate out-of-pocket cost could be limited to the vegetables and broth, which together are $5.69 at Nofrills. If you are starting from an empty pantry, the full $14.68 basket is the more accurate dinner-cost number.

Among Manitoba banners, Nofrills is the only store name tied to these exact ingredient prices in the current recipe data. You can still compare active local banners such as Walmart, Real Canadian Superstore, Safeway, Sobeys, FreshCo, Costco, and Wholesale Club before you shop, especially when rice or frozen vegetables go on promotion. For current grocery comparisons, you can check https://eezly.com/deals before finalizing your basket.

Recipe 2: California Vegetable Rice Pilaf — $3.25 per serving

California Vegetable Rice Pilaf costs $12.99 total and $3.25 per serving when you use the tracked rice and mixed vegetables from Nofrills in Manitoba. The calculation uses rice at $8.99 plus California Vegetable Blend Mixed Vegetables at $4.00, divided across four servings. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

This version is useful when you want a meatless, no-fuss dinner built from shelf-stable and frozen staples. You use the rice as the base and the vegetable blend as the main add-in, which keeps the ingredient list short and the cost easy to understand. At $3.25 per serving, this pilaf stays below the $4 dinner benchmark and costs $0.42 less per serving than the full Chicken with Rice basket.

Your total savings compared with the full Chicken with Rice basket come from leaving out the broth. The full recipe basket is $14.68, while the rice-and-vegetable basket is $12.99, so your basket is $1.69 lower. That difference equals the tracked price of chicken broth at Nofrills, which makes this a straightforward substitution if you prefer to cook the rice with water and season from your pantry.

Ingredients with Prices

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

For cooking, you would prepare the rice first, then stir in the frozen mixed vegetables once the rice is nearly done. A covered pot allows the vegetables to steam through while the rice finishes absorbing liquid. If you keep basic seasonings at home, this is the lowest-cost way to turn the tracked $8.99 rice and $4.00 vegetable prices into a four-serving Manitoba dinner.

Where to Buy Cheapest

Nofrills is the cheapest confirmed store for the two tracked ingredients in this rice pilaf, with rice at $8.99 and mixed vegetables at $4.00. The two-item basket comes to $12.99, or $3.25 per serving for four servings. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

This recipe is a good fit when you want to minimize the number of items you buy. Instead of building a larger basket, you purchase two ingredients and still get four servings. Your checkout is also simpler: one grain item and one frozen vegetable item, both priced in the Manitoba recipe data at Nofrills.

If you are comparing Manitoba stores, focus on the rice price first because it is the largest line item in this basket. Rice at $8.99 represents most of the $12.99 total, while the vegetables add $4.00. A better rice price at another banner would change the economics more than a small difference on vegetables, so rice should be the first item you compare in your grocery app or flyer scan.

Recipe 3: Brothy Rice Bowls — $2.67 per serving

Brothy Rice Bowls cost $10.68 total and $2.67 per serving using rice at $8.99 and chicken broth at $1.69 from Nofrills in Manitoba. This is the cheapest recipe in the article, and it is the best fit when you need a very low-cost hot dinner from two tracked pantry-style ingredients. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

This recipe works because broth changes the flavour of a basic rice bowl without adding much cost. Chicken broth is the lowest-priced tracked ingredient in the basket at $1.69, and it helps turn the rice into a more savoury meal. Your total cost remains low because the basket excludes the $4.00 mixed vegetables, bringing the dinner down from $14.68 for Chicken with Rice to $10.68 for Brothy Rice Bowls.

The per-serving math is also useful for budget planning. At $2.67 per serving, this dinner is $1.00 less per serving than the full Chicken with Rice recipe at $3.67. Across four servings, your basket difference is $4.00, which is exactly the tracked price of the California Vegetable Blend Mixed Vegetables at Nofrills.

Ingredients with Prices

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

To prepare this as a dinner, you cook the rice with broth replacing part of the cooking water. The result is a simple, savoury rice bowl that can be portioned into four servings. If you later decide to add vegetables, the tracked $4.00 vegetable blend brings the basket back to the full $14.68 Chicken with Rice cost.

Where to Buy Cheapest

Nofrills is the cheapest confirmed store for the Brothy Rice Bowls basket in the Manitoba pricing data, with rice at $8.99 and chicken broth at $1.69. The two-item basket totals $10.68, which makes it the lowest-cost dinner option in this article. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

For your shopping list, this is the leanest basket: one bag or package of rice and one broth item. It is especially useful near the end of a pay cycle, when you want a hot dinner but do not want to add multiple fresh ingredients to your cart. You can also use it as a base meal and add pantry items you already own, while keeping the tracked grocery spend at $10.68.

When you compare this recipe with the full Chicken with Rice basket, the trade-off is nutrition and variety rather than cost complexity. The $2.67 serving price is lower, but the $3.67 Chicken with Rice serving adds mixed vegetables. If your priority is the cheapest possible dinner, choose Brothy Rice Bowls; if your priority is a more complete plate under $4, choose Chicken with Rice.

Manitoba Basket Index: Staple Prices Used in These Recipes

The Manitoba basket index for these recipes is anchored by three Nofrills prices: rice at $8.99, mixed vegetables at $4.00, and chicken broth at $1.69. Together, those ingredients create a full four-serving Chicken with Rice basket at $14.68, while two-item variations produce cheaper dinners at $3.25 and $2.67 per serving. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

Because the supplied recipe data prices all ingredients at Nofrills, the most reliable comparison is an itemized basket index rather than a cross-banner total. You can still use the index to decide which component matters most to your budget. Rice is the largest cost driver at $8.99, representing more than half of the full $14.68 basket, while broth is the smallest cost driver at $1.69.

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

For you, the basket index shows where to focus your comparison shopping. If you can find a lower rice price at another Manitoba banner, the savings will affect all three recipes. If you are choosing between the recipes without visiting multiple stores, the lowest-cost option is Brothy Rice Bowls at $10.68 total, followed by California Vegetable Rice Pilaf at $12.99 and Chicken with Rice at $14.68.

Top Priced Ingredients and Recipe Deals in Manitoba

The best priced dinner option in this Manitoba recipe set is Brothy Rice Bowls at $2.67 per serving, while the best complete vegetable-added option is Chicken with Rice at $3.67 per serving. The lowest individual ingredient price is chicken broth at $1.69 at Nofrills, followed by mixed vegetables at $4.00 and rice at $8.99. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

The table below lists the most useful priced items and recipe combinations from the available Manitoba data. Regular shelf prices outside the live price points were not included in the recipe feed, so the table focuses on verified current prices rather than unverified savings percentages. That keeps your planning grounded in prices you can actually use.

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

Your most actionable deal is the $1.69 broth because it changes the flavour of the meal at a low per-serving cost. Spread across four servings, the broth adds about $0.42 per serving. The mixed vegetables add $4.00 to the basket, or $1.00 per serving, which is the difference between the cheapest Brothy Rice Bowls and the full Chicken with Rice recipe.

Price Comparison Table: All Recipes Side by Side

Brothy Rice Bowls are the cheapest dinner at $2.67 per serving, followed by California Vegetable Rice Pilaf at $3.25 and Chicken with Rice at $3.67. All three recipes use Nofrills Manitoba prices from the same tracked ingredient set. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

This side-by-side comparison is the easiest way to choose your dinner based on your budget. If your ceiling is $3 per serving, Brothy Rice Bowls are the only option in this set that fits. If your ceiling is $4 per serving, all three recipes qualify as cheap dinner recipes under $4 in Manitoba.

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

The important difference is not only the price but the composition of the meal. Brothy Rice Bowls are cheapest because they use only rice and broth. California Vegetable Rice Pilaf adds mixed vegetables but skips broth, while Chicken with Rice includes all three tracked ingredients and gives you the most complete basket under $4 per serving.

How to Shop These Budget Meals in Manitoba

Your best Manitoba shopping strategy is to start with the rice price because rice at $8.99 is the largest ingredient cost in every recipe. The next decision is whether you want to add mixed vegetables for $4.00, broth for $1.69, or both. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

If you are shopping with a strict budget, build your basket in stages. First, buy rice and broth for the $10.68 Brothy Rice Bowls recipe. If you have another $4.00 available, add the California Vegetable Blend Mixed Vegetables and move up to the full $14.68 Chicken with Rice basket. This gives you a clear decision path at the store instead of making your grocery list from scratch in the aisle.

You should also compare these prices against other active Manitoba banners when you have time. The province’s active grocery banners include Costco, FreshCo, No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore, Safeway, Sobeys, Walmart, Superstore, and Wholesale Club. For a broader comparison before you shop, you can review current grocery deals at https://eezly.com/deals, browse recipes at https://eezly.com/recipes, and plan baskets at https://eezly.com/meal-plans.