Ontario Chicken & Dumplings at Foodbasics: $5.09

Key Facts

• Chicken & Dumplings costs $40.72 for 8 Ontario servings. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Chicken & Dumplings costs $5.09 per serving at Foodbasics. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Boneless skinless chicken breasts are $10.74 at Foodbasics. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Low-fat cream of celery soup is $1.27 at Foodbasics. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Pillsbury pizza crust is $3.99 at Fortinos. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)

Introduction: Chicken & Dumplings Is the Cheapest Featured Dinner at $5.09 per Serving

Chicken & Dumplings is the cheapest recipe in this Ontario comparison at $5.09 per serving, based on a total ingredient cost of $40.72 for 8 servings. [Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026.] If you are searching for budget meals in Ontario that still feel like a complete dinner, this recipe gives you protein, vegetables, seasoning, soup base, and a dumpling-style dough component while staying close to the $5-per-serving mark.

The pricing advantage comes from splitting the basket between Foodbasics and Fortinos rather than assuming one store is cheapest for every item. Foodbasics carries the largest cost items in this basket, including boneless skinless chicken breasts at $10.74, celery at $3.48, low-fat cream of celery condensed soup at $1.27, whole water chestnuts at $0.99, and reduced sodium hickory smoked bacon at $9.49. Fortinos supplies the seasoning and dough items in this priced basket, including fine sea salt at $0.44, yellow onion at $1.04, bay leaf at $3.29, black pepper at $5.99, and Pillsbury pizza crust refrigerated pre-made dough at $3.99.

For you as an Ontario shopper, the key takeaway is not simply that one store wins the full meal. The practical move is to buy the main protein and soup base at Foodbasics, then use Fortinos for the lowest-priced seasoning and dough items captured in this basket. That is how the Chicken & Dumplings recipe lands at $40.72 total and $5.09 per serving, making it the best value among the three cheapest recipes costed below.

Recipe 1: Chicken & Dumplings — $5.09 per Serving

Chicken & Dumplings costs $40.72 total and $5.09 per serving for 8 servings in Ontario. [Source: eezly real-time price tracking.] This is the strongest budget dinner in the comparison because the total basket stretches across eight portions, which matters when you are cooking for a family or trying to create leftovers for lunch the next day. At $5.09 per serving, it fits squarely into the search category of cheap dinner recipes under $6 in Ontario.

This recipe works as a filling, cold-weather-style dinner built around chicken, celery, onion, condensed soup, and refrigerated dough. You also have several flavour builders in the basket: black pepper, fine sea salt, bay leaf, bacon, and water chestnuts. The price structure shows why family-sized recipes often outperform smaller meals: even when you buy full packages of seasonings and dough, the per-serving cost drops because the recipe makes 8 servings.

Ingredients with Prices

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

The most expensive ingredient in the Chicken & Dumplings basket is boneless skinless chicken breasts at $10.74 from Foodbasics, followed by reduced sodium hickory smoked bacon at $9.49 from Foodbasics and black pepper at $5.99 from Fortinos. Because those three items account for a large share of the basket, you should check them first when you are deciding whether this meal still fits your weekly grocery budget. The lowest-priced supporting ingredients are fine sea salt at $0.44 from Fortinos, whole water chestnuts at $0.99 from Foodbasics, yellow onion at $1.04 from Fortinos, and low-fat cream of celery condensed soup at $1.27 from Foodbasics.

Where to Buy Cheapest

Foodbasics is the key store for the main Chicken & Dumplings ingredients in this Ontario basket, with chicken breasts at $10.74, celery at $3.48, cream of celery soup at $1.27, water chestnuts at $0.99, and bacon at $9.49. Fortinos is where the lowest-priced seasoning and dough items appear in the same basket, including fine sea salt at $0.44, yellow onion at $1.04, bay leaf at $3.29, black pepper at $5.99, and Pillsbury pizza crust at $3.99. [Source: eezly real-time price tracking.]

For your shopping list, that means Foodbasics should be your first stop for the protein and core vegetables, while Fortinos fills in the flavour and dumpling-style dough components. You do not need to treat the recipe as a single-store shop if your goal is the lowest possible cost. You can use the Foodbasics items for the body of the meal and the Fortinos items for the supporting ingredients, which is exactly how this recipe reaches $5.09 per serving.

Recipe 2: Chicken, Celery and Water Chestnut Skillet — $5.67 per Serving

Chicken, Celery and Water Chestnut Skillet costs $22.68 total and $5.67 per serving when costed as 4 servings from the Ontario ingredient prices available in May 2026. [Source: eezly real-time price tracking.] This recipe is the second-cheapest option in the comparison, and it is useful when you want a simpler stovetop dinner with fewer packaged components than the Chicken & Dumplings basket.

This meal uses boneless skinless chicken breasts, celery, yellow onion, whole water chestnuts, fine sea salt, and black pepper. It avoids the refrigerated pizza crust, condensed soup, bacon, and bay leaf used in the larger dumplings recipe, which lowers the total grocery outlay from $40.72 to $22.68. Because the recipe is costed at 4 servings, however, the per-serving cost rises to $5.67, which is still a reasonable target for budget meals in Ontario.

Ingredients with Prices

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

The ingredient mix gives you a practical weeknight formula: chicken as the main protein, celery and onion for the vegetable base, water chestnuts for texture, and salt and pepper for seasoning. The black pepper price has a large effect on the total because the full priced item is $5.99 at Fortinos. If you already have black pepper at home, your out-of-pocket shop for this specific dinner would feel lower, but the recipe costing here uses the full item prices available in eezly’s May 2026 tracking.

Where to Buy Cheapest

Foodbasics supplies the three most important food components in this skillet: boneless skinless chicken breasts at $10.74, celery at $3.48, and whole water chestnuts at $0.99. Fortinos supplies the yellow onion at $1.04, fine sea salt at $0.44, and black pepper at $5.99. [Source: eezly real-time price tracking.]

For you, this recipe is best when you want a lower total checkout cost than the full Chicken & Dumplings meal. You give up the 8-serving scale of the dumplings recipe, but you also cut the ingredient list to six items. If your household is smaller, the $22.68 total may be easier to fit into a weekly shop than the $40.72 dumplings basket.

Recipe 3: Creamy Chicken and Celery Soup Bowls — $5.74 per Serving

Creamy Chicken and Celery Soup Bowls cost $22.96 total and $5.74 per serving when costed as 4 servings in Ontario. [Source: eezly real-time price tracking.] This is the third recipe in the comparison and is only $0.07 per serving more than the Chicken, Celery and Water Chestnut Skillet. The recipe is built around chicken, celery, onion, condensed soup, salt, and pepper, giving you a creamy dinner without the pizza crust or bacon used in the larger Chicken & Dumplings recipe.

This meal is useful when you want the comfort-food profile of Chicken & Dumplings but do not need the dough component. The low-fat cream of celery condensed soup is only $1.27 at Foodbasics, which helps keep the total cost controlled. The main cost driver remains the chicken breasts at $10.74 from Foodbasics, with black pepper at $5.99 from Fortinos also contributing a notable share of the basket.

Ingredients with Prices

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

The advantage of this recipe is its simplicity. You are buying six priced items rather than the ten items in Chicken & Dumplings, yet you still get a full dinner built around chicken and a creamy base. The trade-off is portion economics: at 4 servings, the per-serving cost is $5.74, compared with $5.09 for the 8-serving Chicken & Dumplings recipe.

Where to Buy Cheapest

Foodbasics is the best store in this priced basket for chicken breasts at $10.74, celery at $3.48, and low-fat cream of celery condensed soup at $1.27. Fortinos is the store for yellow onion at $1.04, fine sea salt at $0.44, and black pepper at $5.99. [Source: eezly real-time price tracking.]

If you are planning your shop, put Foodbasics first because the protein and soup base determine most of your dinner cost. Then add the Fortinos seasoning items if you do not already have them at home. You should compare this recipe against the Chicken & Dumplings option if you want leftovers, because the larger recipe is cheaper per serving even though the total basket costs more.

Ontario Basket Index: Ingredient Prices Across Foodbasics and Fortinos

The Ontario basket index shows Foodbasics carrying the key protein and soup-base items, while Fortinos supplies the lowest-priced seasoning and dough items captured in this recipe dataset. [Source: eezly real-time price tracking.] For your grocery planning, the clearest pattern is that Foodbasics anchors the main meal components and Fortinos fills in the pantry-style items in the priced basket.

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

This basket index is especially useful if you are building cheap dinner recipes from a limited number of ingredients. You can see that the lowest individual prices in the dataset include fine sea salt at $0.44 from Fortinos, whole water chestnuts at $0.99 from Foodbasics, yellow onion at $1.04 from Fortinos, and low-fat cream of celery condensed soup at $1.27 from Foodbasics. Those low-cost items help stretch the more expensive chicken and bacon components into a full dinner.

You should also notice that the recipe does not rely on premium specialty ingredients. The total cost is driven by familiar grocery staples: chicken, celery, onion, soup, dough, and seasonings. That is why this meal plan fits the practical definition of budget meals in Ontario: it uses ordinary supermarket items from banners you can recognize, including Foodbasics and Fortinos.

Top Low-Price Ingredients for These Ontario Recipes

The lowest-priced ingredient in this Ontario dinner basket is fine sea salt at $0.44 from Fortinos, followed by whole water chestnuts at $0.99 from Foodbasics and yellow onion at $1.04 from Fortinos. [Source: eezly real-time price tracking.] When you are trying to keep your dinner under $6 per serving, these smaller items matter because they add flavour and volume without pushing the recipe total far beyond the main protein cost.

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

The table also shows why you should be careful with pantry costing. Black pepper is priced at $5.99 at Fortinos, which is more than celery, soup, onion, salt, water chestnuts, bay leaf, or pizza crust in this basket. If your kitchen already has black pepper, you may not need to buy it again for this recipe cycle, but the published recipe costing includes the full price because the goal is to show a complete ingredient basket.

For an Ontario grocery trip, your best value comes from combining the low-priced flavour items with a recipe that makes more servings. That is why Chicken & Dumplings beats the two 4-serving recipes on a cost-per-serving basis. The larger recipe absorbs the cost of seasonings, dough, and vegetables across 8 servings, bringing the meal down to $5.09 per serving.

Price Comparison Table: Three Cheap Ontario Dinner Recipes Side by Side

Chicken & Dumplings is the cheapest recipe in this Ontario comparison at $5.09 per serving, while Chicken, Celery and Water Chestnut Skillet costs $5.67 and Creamy Chicken and Celery Soup Bowls cost $5.74. [Source: eezly real-time price tracking.] If you are choosing purely by per-serving cost, Chicken & Dumplings is your best option; if you are choosing by lower total checkout cost, the two 4-serving recipes require a smaller basket.

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

The per-serving ranking is straightforward. Chicken & Dumplings is cheapest at $5.09 per serving, the skillet is second at $5.67, and the creamy soup bowls are third at $5.74. Compared with the $5.74 soup bowls, Chicken & Dumplings is $0.65 less per serving, which is a meaningful difference if you repeat the recipe regularly.

Your decision may still depend on how you shop. If you need a lower total bill today, the $22.68 skillet or $22.96 soup bowl recipe may be easier to absorb than the $40.72 Chicken & Dumplings basket. If you are meal-prepping, feeding more people, or planning leftovers, the 8-serving Chicken & Dumplings recipe gives you the best per-serving value in this May 2026 Ontario price snapshot.

How to Shop These Budget Meals in Ontario

The best Ontario shopping strategy for these recipes is to buy the main chicken-based ingredients at Foodbasics and the supporting seasoning or dough items at Fortinos. [Source: eezly real-time price tracking.] You should treat the recipe as a split basket rather than assuming one banner is automatically cheapest for every ingredient.

Start with the Foodbasics items because they determine the structure of the meal. Boneless skinless chicken breasts are $10.74 at Foodbasics, celery is $3.48, low-fat cream of celery condensed soup is $1.27, whole water chestnuts are $0.99, and reduced sodium hickory smoked bacon is $9.49. These are the items that make the recipe feel like dinner rather than a side dish, so they should receive your first price check.

Then use Fortinos for the smaller basket components identified in the data. Fine sea salt is $0.44, yellow onion is $1.04, bay leaf is $3.29, black pepper is $5.99, and Pillsbury pizza crust is $3.99. If you already own seasonings, your immediate checkout cost may be lower than the full recipe basket, but for consistent recipe costing, the complete item prices are included here.

You can also use eezly’s AI-powered grocery price comparison tools when building a grocery list from these recipes. Relevant pages for your next shop include https://eezly.com/deals for current grocery deals, https://eezly.com/meal-plans for meal-planning ideas, and https://eezly.com/recipes for more recipe-based grocery costing. Those tools are most useful when you want to compare banners before you leave home instead of checking prices manually in-store.