Newfoundland and Labrador Cheap Dinners from $5.13

Key Facts

• Chicken Salad costs $51.31 for 10 servings, or $5.13 per serving. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Breaded Chicken Cutlettes Chicken Strips are $7.00 at Dominion. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Plain 8% Greek Yogurt is $6.00 at Dominion. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Red Onion is $2.45 at Independent. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Mixed Bell Peppers are $9.69 at Costco. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Lemon is $11.39 at Costco St. John’s. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)

Introduction: The Cheapest Recipe Is Chicken Salad at $5.13 per Serving

Chicken Salad is the lowest-cost dinner in this Newfoundland and Labrador recipe-costing guide at $5.13 per serving. The full recipe costs $51.31 and makes 10 servings, giving you a practical option if you want cheap dinner recipes under $7 using real store prices rather than generic pantry estimates. The pricing is especially useful because your basket is spread across several local banners: Independent for Red Onion and Celery Sticks, Dominion for Plain 8% Greek Yogurt and Breaded Chicken Cutlettes Chicken Strips, Costco and Costco St. John’s for Mixed Bell Peppers and Lemon, Foodland for cottage cheese, and Blackmarsh Road for ranch-style seasoning.

If you are shopping for budget meals in Newfoundland and Labrador, the main lesson is that your cost per serving depends on where each ingredient is cheapest, not just which single store you usually visit. Dominion offers Breaded Chicken Cutlettes Chicken Strips at $7.00 and Plain 8% Greek Yogurt at $6.00, while Independent lists Red Onion at $2.45 and Celery Sticks at $5.00. Costco offers Mixed Bell Peppers at $9.69, while Costco St. John’s lists Lemon at $11.39. Those store-specific differences matter when you are building the cheapest recipes for a family dinner, work lunches or make-ahead meals.

Newfoundland and Labrador’s active grocery banners in this data set include Costco, Dominion, Foodland, No Frills, Sobeys, Walmart, Your Independent Grocer, Independent and Wholesale Club, with 57 stores represented in the province-level feed. You do not need to visit every banner to save money, but you should compare the key ingredients that move the total most: chicken, dairy, produce and seasonings. In this guide, you will see three dinner builds using only the priced ingredients provided in the May 2026 Newfoundland and Labrador data.

Recipe 1: Chicken Salad — $5.13 per Serving

Chicken Salad is the best-value recipe in this guide at $51.31 total, 10 servings and $5.13 per serving. The recipe uses eight priced ingredients, and the lowest-cost source for the basket is listed as Independent in the recipe record, while individual ingredients are priced across Independent, Dominion, Costco, Costco St. John’s, Blackmarsh Road and Foodland. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

This is the recipe you should start with if you want a make-ahead dinner that also works for lunches. The protein comes from Breaded Chicken Cutlettes Chicken Strips at $7.00 from Dominion, while Plain 8% Greek Yogurt at $6.00 from Dominion and Scotsburn 2% Cottage Cheese Low Fat 500 g at $7.29 from Foodland help make the salad filling without relying on higher-cost red meat or seafood. Your vegetables are built from Red Onion at $2.45 from Independent, Celery Sticks at $5.00 from Independent and Mixed Bell Peppers at $9.69 from Costco.

The full basket also includes Lemon at $11.39 from Costco St. John’s and Club House Salads ’N Dips Ranch Style 28 g at $2.49 from Blackmarsh Road. The lemon price is the highest single item in this recipe, so your total cost is strongly affected by citrus. Even with that ingredient included, the recipe remains the cheapest option in the article because the 10-serving yield spreads the basket cost across more portions.

Ingredients with Prices

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

This ingredient list is also a useful basket index for your Newfoundland and Labrador grocery planning. Dominion is the key stop for the chicken and Greek yogurt in this recipe, while Independent is strongest for the lower-ticket produce items in the basket. Costco and Costco St. John’s carry the larger-ticket produce items, and Foodland supplies the cottage cheese.

Where to Buy Cheapest

You should buy the Breaded Chicken Cutlettes Chicken Strips at Dominion for $7.00 and the Plain 8% Greek Yogurt at Dominion for $6.00, because those are the priced stores attached to the May 2026 basket. Independent is the store to use for Red Onion at $2.45 and Celery Sticks at $5.00, which gives you two core salad ingredients from the same banner. Blackmarsh Road has the Club House Salads ’N Dips Ranch Style 28 g at $2.49, making it the lowest-priced listed source for the seasoning in this recipe.

Costco is the listed source for Mixed Bell Peppers at $9.69, while Costco St. John’s is the listed source for Lemon at $11.39. Foodland is the listed source for Scotsburn 2% Cottage Cheese Low Fat 500 g at $7.29. If you are trying to keep your out-of-pocket spending simple, you can prioritize Dominion, Independent and Costco first because those stores cover the protein, dairy and produce items that shape the meal most.

For your weekly plan, Chicken Salad works best when you need several portions from one cooking session. At $5.13 per serving, it is the only recipe in this guide below $5.50 per serving. That makes it the strongest fit for the keyword category “cheap dinner recipes under $7” and for Newfoundland and Labrador households that want a cold dinner, packed lunch or quick protein salad without using beef, pork, fish or shellfish.

Recipe 2: Ranch Chicken Pepper Bowls — $6.05 per Serving

Ranch Chicken Pepper Bowls cost $24.18 total for 4 servings, or $6.05 per serving, using Dominion chicken, Costco peppers, Independent celery and Blackmarsh Road ranch seasoning. Source: eezly real-time price tracking. This recipe is not cheaper than Chicken Salad, but it uses fewer items and gives you a straightforward dinner built around chicken and vegetables.

The recipe is costed from four ingredients in the Newfoundland and Labrador data. Breaded Chicken Cutlettes Chicken Strips are $7.00 at Dominion, Mixed Bell Peppers are $9.69 at Costco, Celery Sticks are $5.00 at Independent, and Club House Salads ’N Dips Ranch Style 28 g is $2.49 at Blackmarsh Road. The exact arithmetic is $7.00 plus $9.69 plus $5.00 plus $2.49, which equals $24.18. Divided by 4 servings, your rounded cost is $6.05 per serving.

This recipe makes sense if your priority is a lower total checkout amount rather than the lowest per-serving number. The Chicken Salad basket costs $51.31 because it includes more ingredients and makes 10 servings. Ranch Chicken Pepper Bowls cost less than half that amount at checkout, but because the serving count is smaller, the per-serving cost is higher. That distinction matters when you are deciding whether you want a single family dinner or a larger batch for leftovers.

Ingredients with Prices

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

The largest cost driver in this recipe is Mixed Bell Peppers at $9.69 from Costco. The chicken is the second-largest item at $7.00 from Dominion, followed by Celery Sticks at $5.00 from Independent. Ranch seasoning is the lowest-cost line item at $2.49 from Blackmarsh Road, but it has an outsized role in flavour because it seasons the full recipe.

Where to Buy Cheapest

You should plan this shop around Dominion and Costco first. Dominion provides the $7.00 chicken, while Costco provides the $9.69 Mixed Bell Peppers. Together, those two items account for $16.69 of the $24.18 recipe cost, so they determine most of your final per-serving price.

Independent is the listed source for Celery Sticks at $5.00, and Blackmarsh Road is the listed source for the $2.49 ranch-style seasoning. If you already have celery or seasoning at home, your cash checkout may be lower, but the recipe costing here uses the complete listed prices so you can compare dinners consistently. For a Newfoundland and Labrador shopper building budget meals, the value of this recipe is that it keeps the ingredient list short and avoids higher-cost add-ons.

Ranch Chicken Pepper Bowls are also useful when you want a warm dinner format. You can slice the peppers and celery, heat the breaded chicken, and use the ranch seasoning to tie the vegetables and protein together. The pricing shows that the recipe fits under $7 per serving, which keeps it in the budget-dinner range even though it is not the cheapest recipe in the guide.

Recipe 3: Creamy Cottage Cheese Yogurt Salad — $5.43 per Serving

Creamy Cottage Cheese Yogurt Salad costs $27.13 total for 5 servings, or $5.43 per serving, using Foodland cottage cheese, Dominion Greek yogurt, Independent red onion and Costco St. John’s lemon. Source: eezly real-time price tracking. This is the second-cheapest recipe in the guide on a per-serving basis, sitting $0.30 per serving above Chicken Salad.

The recipe is built from four priced ingredients. Scotsburn 2% Cottage Cheese Low Fat 500 g costs $7.29 at Foodland, Plain 8% Greek Yogurt costs $6.00 at Dominion, Red Onion costs $2.45 at Independent, and Lemon costs $11.39 at Costco St. John’s. The arithmetic is $7.29 plus $6.00 plus $2.45 plus $11.39, which equals $27.13. Divided by 5 servings, your cost is $5.43 per serving after rounding to the nearest cent.

This recipe is a strong choice if you want a no-red-meat dinner that relies on dairy protein and bright flavour. It is not as protein-forward as the chicken recipes, but it keeps the ingredient list compact and avoids the higher total basket cost of the full Chicken Salad. If you are shopping in St. John’s or elsewhere in Newfoundland and Labrador and already plan to visit Dominion, Foodland or Costco St. John’s, this recipe can fit naturally into your route.

Ingredients with Prices

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

The lemon is the largest line item at $11.39, representing more than the cottage cheese and Greek yogurt individually. That means you should think of this dinner as a citrus-forward salad where the lemon plays a major role in flavour. If you are comparing it against Chicken Salad, the lower total basket cost is attractive, but the smaller serving count keeps the per-serving cost slightly higher.

Where to Buy Cheapest

You should buy Scotsburn 2% Cottage Cheese Low Fat 500 g at Foodland for $7.29 and Plain 8% Greek Yogurt at Dominion for $6.00. Independent is the listed source for Red Onion at $2.45, while Costco St. John’s is the listed source for Lemon at $11.39. These four stores give you the complete May 2026 costing for the recipe.

If you want the simplest store route, you can pair this recipe with Recipe 1 because both use Greek yogurt, red onion and lemon. That lets you build two dinners from overlapping ingredients rather than starting from a completely separate basket. For your meal plan, the cottage cheese salad is best treated as a light dinner, lunch bowl or side-supported main meal.

This recipe also shows why per-serving math is more useful than judging a recipe by total cost alone. Creamy Cottage Cheese Yogurt Salad costs $27.13 at checkout, much less than the $51.31 Chicken Salad basket. However, Chicken Salad makes 10 servings, so its per-serving cost is lower at $5.13 compared with $5.43.

Newfoundland and Labrador Ingredient Basket Index

The Newfoundland and Labrador basket index shows real May 2026 prices for eight dinner ingredients across Independent, Dominion, Costco, Costco St. John’s, Blackmarsh Road and Foodland. Source: eezly real-time price tracking. You can use this index to decide which store is worth visiting for the ingredients that appear most often in the recipes.

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

The lowest-priced item in this basket is Red Onion at $2.45 from Independent, followed closely by Club House ranch-style seasoning at $2.49 from Blackmarsh Road. The highest-priced item is Lemon at $11.39 from Costco St. John’s, followed by Mixed Bell Peppers at $9.69 from Costco. When you are looking for the cheapest recipes, you should pay attention to those high-impact produce items because they can shift the cost per serving more than a seasoning or onion purchase.

This basket also highlights the value of splitting your shop by category. Dominion is important for chicken and Greek yogurt, Independent is useful for onion and celery, Costco is the source for peppers, Costco St. John’s is the listed source for lemon, and Foodland is the source for cottage cheese. If you prefer one-stop shopping, you may accept a higher price for convenience, but the lowest recipe costs in this article come from using the store-specific prices exactly as tracked.

Top Priced Ingredients for Budget Meals in Newfoundland and Labrador

The best-priced ingredients for these Newfoundland and Labrador dinners range from $2.45 for Red Onion at Independent to $11.39 for Lemon at Costco St. John’s. Source: eezly real-time price tracking. Because the provided May 2026 feed contains live prices but not regular-price fields, savings percentages are not estimated in the table below.

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

This table is still useful because live shelf prices are what determine your actual recipe cost. Red Onion and ranch-style seasoning are the lowest cash outlays in the basket, while lemon and mixed bell peppers require more budget room. If you are trying to keep your dinner under $7 per serving, the key is not removing every higher-priced ingredient; it is spreading those ingredients across enough servings.

For example, Chicken Salad absorbs the $11.39 lemon price because it makes 10 servings. Creamy Cottage Cheese Yogurt Salad also uses lemon, but because it makes 5 servings, the citrus cost weighs more heavily on each portion. That is why your best budget strategy is to compare both total basket cost and cost per serving before you decide which recipe to make.

Price Comparison Table: All Recipes Side by Side

Chicken Salad is the cheapest recipe at $5.13 per serving, followed by Creamy Cottage Cheese Yogurt Salad at $5.43 and Ranch Chicken Pepper Bowls at $6.05. Source: eezly real-time price tracking. All three recipes fit the practical search category of cheap dinner recipes under $7 in Newfoundland and Labrador.

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

The most affordable recipe depends on which budget question you are asking. If you want the lowest cost per serving, Chicken Salad wins at $5.13. If you want the lowest checkout total among the three recipes, Ranch Chicken Pepper Bowls cost $24.18, but the smaller 4-serving yield means your per-serving price rises to $6.05. If you want a middle ground, Creamy Cottage Cheese Yogurt Salad costs $27.13 total and $5.43 per serving.

You should also consider how leftovers fit your week. Chicken Salad gives you 10 servings, making it the strongest choice if you need dinner plus lunches. Ranch Chicken Pepper Bowls are better for a shorter meal plan because they cost less upfront and use only four priced ingredients. Creamy Cottage Cheese Yogurt Salad works well when you want a lighter dinner using dairy protein and a compact basket.

For more comparison shopping and recipe planning, you can review current grocery deals 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, the eezly blog at https://eezly.com/blog is the best place to follow price-focused Canadian grocery articles.

How to Shop These Recipes in Newfoundland and Labrador

You should plan your route around the ingredients that appear in more than one recipe. Plain 8% Greek Yogurt at $6.00 from Dominion appears in Chicken Salad and Creamy Cottage Cheese Yogurt Salad. Red Onion at $2.45 from Independent also appears in both recipes, while Lemon at $11.39 from Costco St. John’s is shared between the same two dinner options. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

Dominion is particularly important if you are making a chicken-based dinner because it carries Breaded Chicken Cutlettes Chicken Strips at $7.00 in the May 2026 data. Independent is useful for lower-cost produce items such as Red Onion at $2.45 and Celery Sticks at $5.00. Costco and Costco St. John’s are relevant for the larger produce purchases: Mixed Bell Peppers at $9.69 and Lemon at $11.39.

If you are planning one dinner only, choose Chicken Salad when your goal is the lowest per-serving cost. If you are planning a shorter shop with fewer ingredients, choose Ranch Chicken Pepper Bowls. If you already need cottage cheese or Greek yogurt, choose Creamy Cottage Cheese Yogurt Salad because its $5.43 per-serving cost remains competitive and its total basket is lower than the full Chicken Salad recipe.