Ontario: Curry Roasted Cauliflower $3.44 at Foodbasics

Key Facts

• Curry Roasted Cauliflower costs $13.75 total for 4 servings in Ontario (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• The cost per serving is $3.44 for this Ontario budget dinner (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Cauliflower is priced at $2.98 at Foodbasics for this recipe basket (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Olive oil is priced at $5.99 at Foodbasics in the costed basket (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Curry powder is priced at $1.99 at Foodbasics for the recipe (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Reduced Salt Pepper Gravy is priced at $2.79 at Fortinos (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Ontario price tracking covers active banners including Foodbasics, Fortinos, FreshCo, Metro, No Frills, Walmart, and Zehrs (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)

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.

Introduction: A $3.44 Ontario Dinner Built Around Cauliflower

Curry Roasted Cauliflower is the cheapest fully costed Ontario dinner in this dataset at $3.44 per serving. The full recipe costs $13.75 for four servings, which puts it squarely in the category of cheap dinner recipes under $4 per serving for Ontario households. If you are trying to build budget meals in Ontario without relying on meat, this recipe is also vegetarian and vegan according to its diet tags.

The core price advantage comes from using cauliflower as the main ingredient rather than a higher-cost protein. You buy the cauliflower, olive oil, and curry powder at Foodbasics, while the Reduced Salt Pepper Gravy is priced at Fortinos. That split matters because your cheapest basket is not always located at one banner, even when most of the ingredients come from one store.

For Ontario shoppers comparing budget meals, this recipe is practical because it uses only four priced ingredients and produces four servings. Your ingredient list is short, the cooking method is simple, and the final cost per plate stays low. If you are searching for “cheap dinner recipes under $4,” “budget meals Ontario,” or “cheapest recipes,” this is the clearest price-backed example in the May 2026 Ontario data.

Recipe 1: Curry Roasted Cauliflower — $3.44 per Serving

Curry Roasted Cauliflower costs $13.75 total and $3.44 per serving in Ontario. The recipe serves four people and uses cauliflower, olive oil, curry powder, and Reduced Salt Pepper Gravy, with the lowest priced basket coming primarily from Foodbasics and one ingredient from Fortinos. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

This is the strongest recipe choice if you want a low-cost, plant-based dinner with a defined price per serving. You are not paying for meat, seafood, or dairy, and the recipe remains compatible with vegetarian and vegan meal planning. The $3.44 serving cost also makes it useful for weekly dinner planning because you can estimate four plates without needing a long list of add-ons.

The preparation is straightforward. You cut the cauliflower into florets, coat it with olive oil and curry powder, roast it until browned and tender, then serve it with the Reduced Salt Pepper Gravy. Because the recipe has a 10-minute prep time, it is also suitable for weeknights when you want a budget meal but do not want a complicated cooking process.

Ingredients with Prices

The costed ingredient basket totals $13.75, and the arithmetic is direct: cauliflower at $2.98, olive oil at $5.99, curry powder at $1.99, and Reduced Salt Pepper Gravy at $2.79. Divided across four servings, the result is $3.44 per serving after rounding from $3.4375. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

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

The biggest single cost in this recipe is olive oil at $5.99, which represents the largest share of the basket. That does not mean you use the entire bottle in one meal in typical home cooking, but the costed basket reflects the priced product required to make the recipe. If you already have olive oil at home, your out-of-pocket trip cost may be lower, but the fully priced recipe cost remains $13.75 based on the May 2026 basket.

Where to Buy Cheapest

For this costed Ontario recipe, Foodbasics supplies three of the four priced ingredients: cauliflower at $2.98, olive oil at $5.99, and curry powder at $1.99. Fortinos supplies the Reduced Salt Pepper Gravy at $2.79. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

Your most efficient shopping plan is to treat Foodbasics as the main stop for the recipe and Fortinos as the store for the gravy component. That approach keeps the priced basket aligned with the lowest available data for each ingredient in the recipe. If you are already near both banners, splitting the basket can make sense; if not, you can use the table above to decide whether the extra stop fits your time and travel costs.

Among Ontario banners, the relevant names in this recipe are Foodbasics and Fortinos, but you may also compare nearby options such as FreshCo, No Frills, Walmart, Metro, Zehrs, Loblaws, and Real Canadian Superstore when planning a larger grocery trip. The recipe’s low cost comes from a simple basket, not from a long promotion list. For your weekly meal plan, the key is to preserve the low-cost structure: vegetable main, inexpensive seasoning, and one sauce.

Recipe 2: Curry Cauliflower With Pepper Gravy — $3.44 per Serving

Curry Cauliflower With Pepper Gravy uses the same Ontario-priced ingredient basket and costs $3.44 per serving. The total remains $13.75 for four servings because the dinner format uses the same cauliflower, olive oil, curry powder, and Reduced Salt Pepper Gravy tracked in May 2026. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

This version works best if you want a saucier dinner plate rather than a dry roasted vegetable side. You roast the cauliflower with curry powder and olive oil, then serve the Fortinos Reduced Salt Pepper Gravy over the top as the main finishing component. You can keep the dinner vegan and vegetarian according to the source diet tags while still making the plate feel more substantial.

From a budget standpoint, this version is useful because it does not add any extra priced ingredients. You are simply changing how you serve the same costed recipe basket. If your priority is keeping dinner under $4 per serving, you should avoid adding unpriced extras unless you have already checked them against your local Ontario prices.

Ingredients with Prices

The ingredient prices remain unchanged for this recipe format: cauliflower at $2.98 from Foodbasics, olive oil at $5.99 from Foodbasics, curry powder at $1.99 from Foodbasics, and Reduced Salt Pepper Gravy at $2.79 from Fortinos. The total is $13.75, and the four-serving cost is $3.44 per plate. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

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

For you as a shopper, the important point is that the gravy changes the eating experience without changing the costed ingredient list. The $2.79 gravy price at Fortinos is lower than the cauliflower price and much lower than the olive oil price in this basket. If you are cooking for a household that prefers sauced meals, this version may be easier to serve as a main dinner.

Where to Buy Cheapest

Foodbasics is the primary store for Recipe 2 because it carries the cauliflower, olive oil, and curry powder in the costed basket. Fortinos is the price source for the Reduced Salt Pepper Gravy at $2.79. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

Your buying sequence is simple: buy the three Foodbasics items together, then add the Fortinos gravy if you want the saucier version. This keeps your recipe cost at $13.75 for four servings. If you are already shopping at one Ontario banner for a larger grocery trip, compare the value of your time against the ingredient-level savings before making multiple stops.

This recipe is also a good example of how AI-powered grocery price comparison helps with practical meal planning. You are not just looking for the cheapest store overall; you are matching each ingredient to the best available price in the basket. That is particularly useful in Ontario, where banners such as Foodbasics, Fortinos, FreshCo, No Frills, Walmart, Metro, Loblaws, and Zehrs often compete closely across pantry staples and produce.

Recipe 3: Roasted Curry Cauliflower Dinner Plate — $3.44 per Serving

Roasted Curry Cauliflower Dinner Plate costs $3.44 per serving when prepared from the same Ontario-priced basket. The total remains $13.75 for four servings, with the cheapest tracked ingredient sources split between Foodbasics and Fortinos. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

This third format treats the cauliflower as the centre of the plate rather than as a side dish. You roast the cauliflower until browned, season it with curry powder, and finish it with the pepper gravy for a fuller dinner presentation. The recipe remains budget-friendly because you are not adding a separately priced grain, protein, or dairy component.

If you are trying to stretch your weekly grocery budget, this format is most useful when you want one inexpensive dinner that can fit into a larger meal plan. You can use the costed serving price as your benchmark. Any additional side you add should be compared against the $3.44 baseline so that your total dinner cost does not drift above your target.

Ingredients with Prices

This dinner plate version uses the same four priced ingredients: cauliflower at $2.98, olive oil at $5.99, curry powder at $1.99, and Reduced Salt Pepper Gravy at $2.79. The total cost is $13.75, and the serving count is four. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

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

The table also shows where your money goes. Olive oil is the largest priced component, while curry powder is the lowest priced item. When you are building the cheapest recipes for a week of dinners, that pattern matters because pantry products can raise the first-trip cost even when the per-meal usage is modest.

Where to Buy Cheapest

The cheapest costed source for this dinner plate is Foodbasics for cauliflower, olive oil, and curry powder, plus Fortinos for the Reduced Salt Pepper Gravy. The basket totals $13.75 and serves four. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

You should start with Foodbasics if your goal is to reproduce the lowest priced version of this recipe. The store accounts for $10.96 of the $13.75 basket through three ingredients: $2.98 cauliflower, $5.99 olive oil, and $1.99 curry powder. Fortinos accounts for the remaining $2.79 through the gravy.

That store split gives you a practical way to plan. If you are doing a one-stop shop, you may choose convenience; if you are optimizing by ingredient, you use the Foodbasics and Fortinos combination. For your broader grocery routine, you can also review current Ontario grocery deals at https://eezly.com/deals or browse recipe ideas at https://eezly.com/recipes before building a weekly basket.

Ontario Ingredient Basket Index for This Budget Dinner

The Ontario basket index for this article contains four priced ingredients and totals $13.75 for the costed recipe. Foodbasics supplies three ingredients worth $10.96, while Fortinos supplies one ingredient priced at $2.79. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

This basket index is useful because it shows the actual grocery components behind the $3.44 serving claim. Many cheap dinner recipes look affordable in theory but do not provide store-level prices. Here, you can see exactly where each dollar in the recipe is allocated.

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

For you, the basket index highlights a common grocery-budget issue: the most expensive item is not always the main ingredient. In this recipe, cauliflower is the centre of the meal, but olive oil is the highest priced product in the basket at $5.99. That means pantry staples can strongly affect your initial checkout total even when the dinner itself remains inexpensive per serving.

Top Costed Ingredient Opportunities in the Recipe Basket

The best price opportunities in this Ontario recipe basket are the specific tracked ingredient prices: curry powder at $1.99, Reduced Salt Pepper Gravy at $2.79, cauliflower at $2.98, and olive oil at $5.99. These prices create a four-serving dinner at $3.44 per serving. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

Because the supplied data does not include regular prices, the table below does not calculate savings percentages. Instead, it ranks the priced ingredients by their role in building a cheap Ontario dinner. This avoids overstating discounts while still giving you the real store-level prices needed to shop the recipe.

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

Your strongest cost-control move is to keep the recipe close to the priced basket. If you add ingredients without checking their Ontario prices, the meal can quickly move out of the cheap dinner category. If you want more budget meal planning options, you can compare meal ideas at https://eezly.com/meal-plans and review store-level prices through https://eezly.com/deals.

Price Comparison Table: Three Budget Dinner Formats Side by Side

All three dinner formats in this article cost $13.75 total and $3.44 per serving because they use the same Ontario-priced ingredient basket. The difference is not the grocery cost; it is how you serve the cauliflower, curry seasoning, olive oil, and gravy. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

This comparison helps you choose the version that best fits your household. If you want the most straightforward preparation, choose Curry Roasted Cauliflower. If you prefer a saucier meal, choose Curry Cauliflower With Pepper Gravy. If you want the recipe to function as the centre of dinner, choose the Roasted Curry Cauliflower Dinner Plate.

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

For your meal plan, the main takeaway is that recipe format can change satisfaction without changing the basket price. You can use one set of ingredients for different dinner presentations, which is helpful when you are trying to keep variety in a low-cost week. The $3.44 serving cost gives you a reliable benchmark for comparing other Ontario budget meals.

How to Shop This Recipe More Strategically in Ontario

The most strategic way to shop this recipe is to buy cauliflower, olive oil, and curry powder at Foodbasics, then buy Reduced Salt Pepper Gravy at Fortinos. That store combination produces the tracked $13.75 basket and $3.44 serving cost. Source: eezly real-time price tracking.

You should also think about how this recipe fits into a larger grocery trip. If you already need staples from Foodbasics, adding the cauliflower, oil, and curry powder to your cart is efficient. If you are near Fortinos or already shopping there, the $2.79 gravy is the remaining priced ingredient that completes the recipe.

For Ontario households, the broader lesson is that cheap dinner recipes depend on ingredient-level comparison, not just banner loyalty. Foodbasics may be the main store for this recipe, but the costed basket still uses Fortinos for one item. When you compare across Ontario banners, including No Frills, FreshCo, Walmart, Metro, Loblaws, Zehrs, and Real Canadian Superstore, you can make more precise choices for your own weekly menu.

If you want to continue comparing grocery prices, you can start with https://eezly.com/deals for current deal discovery, https://eezly.com/recipes for recipe ideas, and https://eezly.com/meal-plans for planned baskets. Those pages are most useful when you already know your serving target, because the most important number for dinner budgeting is not only the checkout total but the cost per serving.