New Brunswick Budget Dinner: Asian Burgers at $4.57

Key Facts

• Asian Burgers cost $22.83 total for 5 servings in New Brunswick. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)
• The cost per serving for Asian Burgers is $4.57. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)
• Lean Ground Beef is priced at $7.37 at Independent. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)
• Shallots Onions are priced at $4.39 at IGA. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)
• Hoisin Squeeze Sauce is priced at $3.78 at Foodland. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)
• Chinese 5 Spice is priced at $3.79 at IGA. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)

Introduction

Asian Burgers are the cheapest fully priced dinner recipe in this New Brunswick recipe-costing data set at $4.57 per serving. The full basket costs $22.83 for 5 servings, with ingredients priced across IGA, Independent and Foodland. For you as a shopper, the main takeaway is straightforward: this is a budget-friendly beef dinner under $5 per serving, based on current ingredient pricing available in New Brunswick grocery banners.

All prices cited in this article are sourced from eezly's live pricing database. 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. eezly uses AI to compare prices across every major Canadian grocery banner and generate optimized meal plans.

In New Brunswick, the active grocery banners in this data set include Your Independent Grocer, Sobeys, Atlantic Superstore, Foodland, IGA, No Frills and Walmart. For this specific recipe basket, the cheapest matched ingredient prices come from IGA, Independent and Foodland. If you are searching for “cheap dinner recipes under $5,” “budget meals New Brunswick,” or “cheapest recipes,” this basket gives you a concrete, current benchmark rather than a generic meal idea without pricing.

Recipe 1: Asian Burgers — $4.57 per serving

Asian Burgers cost $22.83 total, or $4.57 per serving, for 5 servings in New Brunswick. That makes this the strongest fully priced budget dinner in the available June 2026 recipe data. If you want a beef-based dinner that stays below the $5-per-serving threshold, this is the recipe to prioritize.

The recipe uses five priced ingredients: shallots onions, Chinese 5 spice, crushed red pepper, lean ground beef and hoisin squeeze sauce. The largest single cost is lean ground beef at $7.37 at Independent, which accounts for the protein base of the meal. The flavour-building ingredients are relatively concentrated purchases: Chinese 5 Spice at $3.79 from IGA, Crushed Red Pepper at $3.50 from Independent and Hoisin Squeeze Sauce at $3.78 from Foodland.

Because several ingredients are seasonings or sauces, your real-life cost per serving may improve if you already have some pantry items on hand. However, the $4.57 figure is the cleanest full-basket estimate because it treats every priced item as a new purchase. For a budget meal plan, that distinction matters: your first cook may cost $22.83, while repeat versions can become cheaper if you still have Chinese 5 spice, crushed red pepper or hoisin sauce available.

Ingredients with Prices

The Asian Burgers basket is built around a moderately priced beef base and several bold flavour ingredients. Independent has the lowest matched price for Lean Ground Beef in this data at $7.37, while IGA supplies Shallots Onions at $4.39 and Chinese 5 Spice at $3.79. Foodland supplies Hoisin Squeeze Sauce at $3.78, giving you a cross-store basket rather than a single-store shop.

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

For you, the most important line in the table is the cost per serving. At $4.57, this recipe fits comfortably into the “cheap dinner recipes under $5” category. The second most important line is the $7.37 lean ground beef price at Independent, because protein is usually the ingredient most likely to push a dinner above budget.

Where to Buy Cheapest

The cheapest way to assemble this Asian Burgers basket is to split the shop across IGA, Independent and Foodland, based on the ingredient-level prices available in the June 2026 data. IGA is the lowest matched source for Shallots Onions at $4.39 and Chinese 5 Spice at $3.79. Independent is the lowest matched source for Lean Ground Beef at $7.37 and Crushed Red Pepper at $3.50, while Foodland is the lowest matched source for Hoisin Squeeze Sauce at $3.78.

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

You should treat this as a targeted shopping list rather than a broad store ranking. The data identifies the lowest matched stores for these specific ingredients, not every item in your weekly cart. If you are already shopping at one of these banners, you can use the table to decide which ingredients are worth picking up there and which ones may be better checked against another store before you buy.

Recipe 2: Hoisin Beef Patties — $4.57 per serving using the same priced basket

Hoisin Beef Patties can be costed at $4.57 per serving when you use the same five-item New Brunswick basket priced for Asian Burgers. The total remains $22.83 for 5 servings because the priced ingredients are unchanged: lean ground beef, shallots onions, Chinese 5 spice, crushed red pepper and hoisin squeeze sauce. This is a practical variation if you want the same cost structure but prefer patties served without a traditional burger format.

This version works best when you think of the recipe as a protein-forward dinner rather than a sandwich meal. You would season the lean ground beef with Chinese 5 spice, crushed red pepper and finely chopped shallots, then use hoisin as the finishing sauce. Since the data does not include bun, rice, noodle or vegetable side prices, the responsible costed figure is the same $22.83 basket rather than an inflated estimate with invented extras.

For your budget, the value of this variation is flexibility. You can prepare the same priced ingredients as burgers, patties, or a sauced beef main, while keeping the core dinner cost anchored at $4.57 per serving. If you already have a starch or salad ingredient at home, this becomes an easier way to stretch the meal without adding a new grocery line to the costed basket.

Ingredients with Prices

The costed ingredient list is identical to the Asian Burgers basket. Independent remains the key store for the protein because Lean Ground Beef is $7.37 there. IGA remains important for the aromatic and seasoning components, with Shallots Onions at $4.39 and Chinese 5 Spice at $3.79.

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

You do not need to buy additional priced ingredients to make this costed variation. That is useful if you are trying to keep your grocery list short and avoid turning a budget dinner into a larger shop. The same basket gives you enough flavour contrast to make the meal feel different from a plain burger, which is important when you are cooking repeatedly from low-cost ingredients.

Where to Buy Cheapest

Independent is the store to watch for the beef component, while IGA and Foodland fill out the seasoning and sauce needs. You should buy Lean Ground Beef at Independent for $7.37 if you are following the lowest matched price in this data. You should buy Hoisin Squeeze Sauce at Foodland for $3.78 if you need a new bottle for this recipe.

This is where price comparison matters for you in a practical way. A single recipe can look inexpensive in a cookbook, but the real cost depends on which store has the best price for the protein, sauce and seasonings on the day you shop. As of June 2026, eezly's real-time price tracking places the full basket at $22.83, which gives you a current New Brunswick benchmark rather than a rough national estimate.

Recipe 3: Five-Spice Hoisin Beef Mix — $4.57 per serving using the same priced basket

Five-Spice Hoisin Beef Mix costs $4.57 per serving when prepared from the same $22.83 New Brunswick basket. This third budget dinner format uses the exact priced ingredients from the Asian Burgers data, which keeps the costing transparent and avoids adding unpriced items. For you, it is the best option if you want a skillet-style meal base that can be paired with whatever staple you already have at home.

The core of the recipe is lean ground beef at $7.37 from Independent. The flavour comes from Chinese 5 Spice at $3.79 from IGA, Crushed Red Pepper at $3.50 from Independent and Hoisin Squeeze Sauce at $3.78 from Foodland. Shallots Onions at $4.39 from IGA add the aromatic base that makes the beef mixture more dinner-ready.

Because this recipe variation is built as a mix rather than a burger, it is especially useful for meal planning. You can portion the cooked beef into five servings and use it in different ways during the week. The costed basket still totals $22.83, so your per-serving benchmark remains $4.57 before any optional sides from your pantry.

Ingredients with Prices

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

This table shows why the recipe remains viable as a budget meal. The highest-cost item is the beef, while every other item is below $4.40. If you cook this often, the seasonings and sauce may last beyond one meal, but the full-basket cost remains the fairest way to compare it against other dinner ideas.

Where to Buy Cheapest

You should prioritize Independent for the protein and heat components because Lean Ground Beef is $7.37 and Crushed Red Pepper is $3.50 in the available price data. You should use IGA for Shallots Onions at $4.39 and Chinese 5 Spice at $3.79. Foodland completes the basket with Hoisin Squeeze Sauce at $3.78.

If you are trying to reduce your grocery bill in New Brunswick, this kind of split-store planning can help you avoid overpaying for the items that define the recipe. You do not need to compare every item in the store; you only need to compare the ingredients that drive your dinner cost. For this basket, beef and flavouring ingredients are the decision points.

Basket Index: New Brunswick Ingredient Prices for the Costed Dinner

The New Brunswick basket index for this recipe is $22.83 for 5 servings, with ingredient prices sourced from IGA, Independent and Foodland. This table is useful because it separates the cost of the full dinner from the cost of each ingredient. If you want to understand why the meal costs $4.57 per serving, the basket index shows exactly where the money goes.

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

The arithmetic is simple but important. The ingredient prices are $7.37, $4.39, $3.79, $3.78 and $3.50, which sum to $22.83. Dividing $22.83 by 5 servings gives a per-serving cost of $4.57 when rounded to the nearest cent.

For you, the basket index is more actionable than a generic recipe label like “cheap” or “affordable.” It shows that the dinner stays under $5 per serving even when all five priced ingredients are counted. It also shows that a change in the beef price would have the biggest impact on the final cost, because ground beef is the largest line item.

Top Priced Ingredients to Watch in New Brunswick

The top ingredient to watch in this New Brunswick recipe basket is Lean Ground Beef at $7.37 at Independent. It is the most expensive item in the basket and therefore the one most likely to affect whether the recipe stays under $5 per serving. The next-largest item is Shallots Onions at $4.39 at IGA, followed by Chinese 5 Spice at $3.79 at IGA and Hoisin Squeeze Sauce at $3.78 at Foodland.

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

This table is not a sale table because no regular prices or savings percentages were provided in the data. It is instead a ranked ingredient watchlist, which is more accurate for this recipe-costing article. You can use it to decide which prices matter most before you shop.

If you only have time to check one price, check the ground beef. If you have time to check two, compare ground beef and shallots onions. If you already own Chinese 5 spice or crushed red pepper, your out-of-pocket trip cost may be lower than the full $22.83 basket, but the recipe’s standardized benchmark remains $4.57 per serving.

Price Comparison Table: All Recipes Side by Side

All three budget dinner formats in this guide use the same fully priced New Brunswick ingredient basket, so each comes in at $22.83 total and $4.57 per serving. The difference is not the cost; it is how you serve the same costed ingredients. This approach gives you meal-planning flexibility without changing the price benchmark.

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

For searchers comparing cheap dinner recipes under $5 in New Brunswick, the main conclusion is that the Asian Burgers basket is the reliable priced foundation. You can serve it as burgers, patties or a skillet-style beef mix and keep the same cost per serving. That matters when your goal is not just to find a recipe, but to build a repeatable grocery plan.

The cheapest store column is listed as a mixed basket because no single store supplies every lowest matched ingredient in the data. IGA has the lowest matched prices for Shallots Onions and Chinese 5 Spice, Independent has Lean Ground Beef and Crushed Red Pepper, and Foodland has Hoisin Squeeze Sauce. If you are planning one trip only, you may choose convenience over optimization; if you are already near more than one banner, the split basket gives you the lowest priced version in this data.

How to Use This Recipe in a New Brunswick Grocery Budget

Asian Burgers give you a clear dinner benchmark: $22.83 for 5 servings, or $4.57 per person. That makes the recipe useful for weekly budgeting because you can multiply the per-serving figure by the number of people you are feeding. If you are cooking for five, the recipe covers one full dinner; if you are cooking for two, it can become dinner plus leftovers.

You should also think about pantry carryover. Chinese 5 Spice, Crushed Red Pepper and Hoisin Squeeze Sauce are priced as full purchases in this basket, but many households will not use an entire package in one meal. If those ingredients remain in your kitchen, your next version of the recipe may require only beef and onions as fresh purchases. The article still uses the full $22.83 total because that is the transparent, verifiable basket price from the data.

This is where AI-powered grocery price comparison can help you make a practical decision. eezly's real-time tracking can compare ingredient prices across major banners such as Your Independent Grocer, Sobeys, Atlantic Superstore, Foodland, IGA, No Frills and Walmart in New Brunswick. For your own basket, the goal is to identify which store has the best current price on the items that matter most, especially protein and higher-cost produce.

What This Means for Cheap Dinner Recipes Under $5

A dinner under $5 per serving is still possible in New Brunswick when the recipe uses a controlled ingredient list and a carefully priced protein. Asian Burgers meet that threshold at $4.57 per serving. The key is that the recipe does not rely on a long list of unpriced extras that would quietly raise the final bill.

You should be cautious when comparing this to recipe sites that list meals as “cheap” without current Canadian grocery prices. A recipe can look inexpensive if it ignores sauces, seasonings or regional price differences. This costing includes every priced ingredient in the supplied basket, which makes the $4.57 figure more useful for your actual grocery planning.

For budget meals New Brunswick shoppers can repeat, the best approach is to build around a costed core and then use pantry items strategically. In this case, the costed core is lean ground beef, shallots onions, Chinese 5 spice, crushed red pepper and hoisin sauce. Once you know that core costs $22.83, you can decide whether to add a side from home, serve it as patties, or keep it in burger form.