New Brunswick Cheap Dinners From $5.19 a Serving

Key Facts

• Crunchy Garden Salad costs $31.13 for 6 servings, or $5.19 per serving. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)
• Big Salad costs $96.54 for 12 servings, or $8.04 per serving at Independent. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)
• Radishes are priced at $2.99 at Independent, the lowest individual ingredient in this recipe set. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)
• Compliments Croutons Lightly Seasoned 145 g cost $3.19 at IGA. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)
• Iceberg Lettuce 1 Count costs $4.99 at Co-op Beaubear. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)
• Radicchio 1 Count costs $15.38 at Foodland, the highest-priced ingredient listed. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)

Introduction

Crunchy Garden Salad is the cheapest featured budget dinner recipe in New Brunswick at $5.19 per serving. It uses seven priced ingredients from Co-op Beaubear, Independent, IGA and other New Brunswick grocery options, with a total recipe cost of $31.13 for 6 servings. If you are searching for cheap dinner recipes under $6, this is the strongest option in the June 2026 price set because it keeps the ingredient list short while still including vegetables, crunch and a seed-based topping.

For this New Brunswick recipe costing guide, all prices cited 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. 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.

The prices below reflect real ingredient costs from stores and banners available in New Brunswick, including Independent, Co-op Beaubear, IGA, Costco and Foodland. You can use the recipes as written, or you can treat them as flexible dinner templates: if you already have pantry dressing, oil, vinegar, salt or pepper at home, your actual out-of-pocket cost may be lower than the full ingredient basket shown here.

Recipe 1: Crunchy Garden Salad — $5.19 per serving

Crunchy Garden Salad costs $31.13 for 6 servings, or $5.19 per serving, making it the cheapest recipe in this New Brunswick comparison. The lowest-priced ingredient in this recipe is radishes at $2.99 from Independent, while the main produce base is Iceberg Lettuce 1 Count at $4.99 from Co-op Beaubear. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of June 2026.

This recipe is designed for nights when you want a cold, filling dinner without relying on meat, fish or shellfish. You build the meal around iceberg lettuce, pickling cucumbers, radishes, red pepper, baby carrots, sunflower seeds and croutons. The result is a vegetarian dinner salad that has texture from the croutons, protein-adjacent satiety from sunflower seeds and enough volume from vegetables to work as a light main course.

For your budget, the key advantage is that no single ingredient in this recipe costs more than $5.49. Pickling Cucumbers are $5.49 at Co-op Beaubear, while Whole Sweet Red Peppers are $4.49 at Independent. That keeps the ingredient risk low: you are not building the entire dinner around one high-priced specialty item, which is important when you are trying to keep budget meals in New Brunswick predictable.

Ingredients with Prices

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

To prepare it, chop the iceberg lettuce, cucumbers, radishes and red pepper into bite-size pieces. Add baby carrots either whole or sliced, then finish with sunflower seeds and croutons just before serving so they keep their texture. If you are using pantry dressing, add it at the table rather than mixing the whole bowl in advance, especially if you want leftovers for the next day.

Where to Buy Cheapest

Co-op Beaubear is the best stop for the core produce base of this recipe because it has Iceberg Lettuce 1 Count at $4.99, Pickling Cucumbers at $5.49 and Compliments Roasted Salted Sunflower Seeds 450 g at $4.99. Independent is strongest for the lower-cost fresh add-ins, with Radishes at $2.99 and Whole Sweet Red Peppers at $4.49. IGA rounds out the basket with Baby Carrots 907 g at $4.99 and Compliments Croutons Lightly Seasoned 145 g at $3.19.

If you want to minimize the number of stores, you can still use this recipe as a price benchmark. Your best-priced listed version uses multiple banners, but the important takeaway is the item-level ceiling: every ingredient in this recipe is priced between $2.99 and $5.49. When you compare in your own area, you can use those numbers as reference points and avoid overpaying for a simple salad basket.

Recipe 2: Spinach Tomato Supper Salad — $6.25 per serving

Spinach Tomato Supper Salad costs $50.03 for 8 servings, or $6.25 per serving, using New Brunswick prices from Costco, IGA, Independent and Foodland. The largest price in this recipe is Sweet Bell Pepper Yellow at $11.66 from Foodland, while Spinach is $5.09 at Costco. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of June 2026.

This recipe is still within the “cheap dinner recipes under $7” range, but it is more expensive than the Crunchy Garden Salad because it uses tomatoes, green onions, yellow pepper and cranberries. You are paying more for colour, sweetness and variety. That can be worthwhile if you are trying to serve a dinner salad that feels more substantial than a basic chopped vegetable bowl.

The best budget move is to treat the higher-priced ingredients as flavour accents rather than bulk fillers. Savoura greenhouse red Tomatoes cost $9.90 at IGA, and Green Onions (Scallions) cost $7.99 at Costco. You can stretch those items across 8 servings by chopping them finely and distributing them evenly through the spinach and celery base.

Ingredients with Prices

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

To assemble the salad, start with spinach as the base, then add chopped celery, tomatoes, shallots, green onions and yellow pepper. Cranberries should be added last so they remain distinct and bring sweetness to each serving. If you are serving this as dinner, pair it with a pantry starch such as toast, rice or leftover potatoes if you already have them, but the recipe costing above includes only the priced ingredients provided.

Where to Buy Cheapest

Costco is the strongest listed source for Spinach at $5.09 and Green Onions at $7.99. IGA provides the tomatoes at $9.90 and Shallots Onions at $4.39, making it important for the flavour base of the recipe. Independent contributes Celery Sticks at $5.00 and Cranberries at $6.00, while Foodland is the listed source for Sweet Bell Pepper Yellow at $11.66.

Your best practical approach is to check the high-impact items first. In this recipe, the Sweet Bell Pepper Yellow at $11.66 and Savoura greenhouse red Tomatoes at $9.90 together account for a large share of the total. If your goal is to keep the meal below $6.25 per serving, you should be especially careful with those two ingredients before adding them to your cart.

Recipe 3: Big Salad — $8.04 per serving

Big Salad costs $96.54 for 12 servings, or $8.04 per serving, with the full priced basket assigned to Independent and ingredients sourced across Independent, Co-op Beaubear, IGA, Costco and Foodland. The most expensive single ingredient is Radicchio 1 Count at $15.38 from Foodland. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of June 2026.

This is the most expensive recipe in the comparison, but it also serves the most people. Big Salad works best when you are feeding a larger household, preparing a potluck-style dinner or making a main-course salad with broad variety. The ingredient list includes cranberries, celery, cucumbers, iceberg lettuce, shallots, green onions, radishes, red pepper, yellow pepper, radicchio, carrots, sunflower seeds, spinach, tomatoes and croutons.

At $8.04 per serving, Big Salad is not the cheapest of the three recipes, but it remains useful if you care about variety and leftovers. You get both iceberg lettuce and spinach, two pepper types, two onion styles, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes and crunchy toppings. If your priority is the lowest possible dinner cost, choose Recipe 1; if your priority is a bigger vegetarian spread, Big Salad gives you the widest range of ingredients.

Ingredients with Prices

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

For preparation, wash and dry the greens thoroughly before chopping. Combine iceberg lettuce, spinach and radicchio first, then fold in cucumbers, celery, carrots, peppers, radishes, onions and tomatoes. Add cranberries, sunflower seeds and croutons just before serving so the sweet and crunchy ingredients stay noticeable across all 12 portions.

Where to Buy Cheapest

Foodland is where the highest-priced specialty items appear in this recipe: Sweet Bell Pepper Yellow at $11.66 and Radicchio 1 Count at $15.38. IGA is important for several mid-priced items, including Shallots Onions at $4.39, Baby Carrots 907 g at $4.99, Savoura greenhouse red Tomatoes at $9.90 and Compliments Croutons Lightly Seasoned 145 g at $3.19. Independent provides several practical add-ins, including Cranberries at $6.00, Celery Sticks at $5.00, Radishes at $2.99 and Whole Sweet Red Peppers at $4.49.

If you are managing a grocery budget closely, you should pay attention to the specialty ingredients before committing to the full version. Radicchio alone costs $15.38, which is more than the combined price of Radishes at $2.99, Whole Sweet Red Peppers at $4.49 and Compliments Croutons at $3.19. You can still use the full recipe for entertaining, but for regular weeknight dinners, the lower-cost Crunchy Garden Salad is the better match.

Price Comparison Table: All Recipes Side by Side

Crunchy Garden Salad is the lowest-cost dinner at $5.19 per serving, while Big Salad is the highest at $8.04 per serving. The difference between those two cost-per-serving figures is $2.85, which matters if you are repeating the recipe several times in a month. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of June 2026.

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

The comparison shows that the cheapest recipes are not always the smallest recipes. Spinach Tomato Supper Salad costs $50.03 in total, which is higher than the $31.13 Crunchy Garden Salad, but it also serves 8 people instead of 6. Big Salad has the highest total cost, but it stretches to 12 servings and may work better when you need leftovers or a larger shared meal.

For searchers looking specifically for budget meals in New Brunswick, the useful threshold is $6.25 per serving. Two of the three recipes fall at or below that level: Crunchy Garden Salad at $5.19 and Spinach Tomato Supper Salad at $6.25. If your goal is to stay under $6 per serving, Recipe 1 is the only one in this data set that qualifies.

New Brunswick Basket Index: Ingredient Prices by Store

The lowest individual item in this New Brunswick basket index is Radishes at $2.99 from Independent, while the highest is Radicchio 1 Count at $15.38 from Foodland. Independent offers Radishes at $2.99, while Foodland charges $15.38 for Radicchio 1 Count — a difference of $12.39 between the lowest and highest listed produce items. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

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

This basket index is useful because it separates everyday salad builders from premium or specialty ingredients. If you want to keep your dinner cost low, you should prioritize the items under $5.50: radishes, croutons, shallots, red peppers, lettuce, carrots, spinach and cucumbers. These ingredients support multiple recipes and give you more flexibility than a single high-priced item.

The table also shows why the cheapest recipes are built around repeatable staples. Iceberg lettuce at $4.99, carrots at $4.99 and cucumbers at $5.49 can carry a large bowl without pushing the per-serving cost too high. When you add higher-priced items such as tomatoes, yellow pepper or radicchio, the recipe becomes more colourful but less suitable for a strict grocery budget.

Top Priced Ingredients and Best Budget Signals

The best budget signal in this recipe set is the cluster of useful ingredients priced below $5.50, including Radishes at $2.99 from Independent and Compliments Croutons at $3.19 from IGA. No regular prices were provided in the source data, so this table ranks the strongest priced ingredients by their listed June 2026 price rather than by claimed discount. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

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

You should read this table as a practical shopping shortlist. The strongest values are not necessarily promotional discounts; they are the ingredients that help you build cheap dinners because their actual listed prices are relatively low. In recipe costing, a dependable $2.99 or $3.19 item often matters more than a flashy premium ingredient, because it can appear in multiple meals without raising the serving cost sharply.

The absence of regular-price and savings-percentage fields does not reduce the usefulness of the comparison. For meal planning, the important number is the price you would use in your basket today. These are the real June 2026 prices that determine whether your salad dinner lands near $5 per serving or climbs closer to $8 per serving.

How to Use These Prices for Budget Meals in New Brunswick

For New Brunswick budget meals, you should build your dinner around the lowest-cost ingredients first, then add higher-priced produce only when it improves the meal enough to justify the cost. Radishes at $2.99 from Independent, croutons at $3.19 from IGA and iceberg lettuce at $4.99 from Co-op Beaubear are stronger budget anchors than Radicchio at $15.38 from Foodland. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

A good rule is to choose one base, two crunchy vegetables, one sweet or sharp accent and one topping. For example, the Crunchy Garden Salad uses iceberg lettuce as the base, cucumbers and carrots for crunch, red pepper for colour, and sunflower seeds plus croutons for texture. That structure keeps your dinner satisfying without requiring every premium ingredient in the full Big Salad basket.

You can also use these prices to decide when a recipe is better for a household dinner versus a larger gathering. The $31.13 Crunchy Garden Salad is easier to justify for a weeknight meal because it serves 6 at $5.19 each. The $96.54 Big Salad makes more sense when you need 12 servings and want a broader spread, because the total bill is much higher even though the per-serving cost stays below $9.

FAQ

Q: What is the cheapest dinner recipe in New Brunswick in this price comparison?
A: The cheapest dinner recipe in this New Brunswick comparison is Crunchy Garden Salad at $31.13 for 6 servings, or $5.19 per serving. It uses Iceberg Lettuce 1 Count at $4.99 from Co-op Beaubear, Radishes at $2.99 from Independent, Baby Carrots 907 g at $4.99 from IGA and other listed ingredients from June 2026 pricing.

Q: What is the cheapest grocery store in New Brunswick for these salad ingredients?
A: No single store is cheapest for every ingredient in this recipe set, but Independent has several of the lowest-priced items, including Radishes at $2.99, Whole Sweet Red Peppers at $4.49, Celery Sticks at $5.00 and Cranberries at $6.00. Co-op Beaubear is also important for Iceberg Lettuce 1 Count at $4.99, Pickling Cucumbers at $5.49 and Sunflower Seeds at $4.99.

Q: Are there cheap dinner recipes under $6 in New Brunswick?
A: Yes. The Crunchy Garden Salad comes in under $6 per serving, with a calculated cost of $5.19 per serving based on a $31.13 ingredient basket and 6 servings. It is the only recipe in this data set below $6 per serving as of June 2026.

Q: Which recipe is best for feeding a larger group on a budget?
A: Big Salad is the largest recipe, serving 12 people at $8.04 per serving and a total cost of $96.54. It is not the cheapest per serving, but it includes the broadest ingredient mix and may be the better choice when you need a large vegetarian dinner or shared salad.

Q: Which ingredient should I watch most closely if I want to keep costs down?
A: Radicchio 1 Count at $15.38 from Foodland is the highest-priced ingredient in the full Big Salad recipe. If you are trying to keep your grocery bill lower, you should compare that item carefully or choose the Crunchy Garden Salad, which avoids radicchio and stays at $5.19 per serving.

Q: How can AI help save on groceries in New Brunswick?
A: AI can help you compare ingredient prices across banners before you build your meal plan. eezly’s real-time tracking identifies item-level prices such as Radishes at $2.99 from Independent, Spinach at $5.09 from Costco and Croutons at $3.19 from IGA, so you can plan recipes around lower-cost ingredients instead of guessing in the aisle.

Q: What are the best budget meals New Brunswick shoppers can make with these prices?
A: Based on the June 2026 ingredient prices, the best budget meal is Crunchy Garden Salad at $5.19 per serving, followed by Spinach Tomato Supper Salad at $6.25 per serving. Big Salad costs $8.04 per serving, so it is better suited for larger meals where variety matters more than reaching the lowest possible serving cost.