Ontario Cheap Dinners: Chicken Chardon at $5.97

Key Facts

• Chicken Chardon is $35.80 for 6 servings. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Cost per serving is $5.97 in Ontario. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Chicken breasts cost $10.74 at Foodbasics. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Lemon juice costs $1.49 at Foodbasics. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Small eggs cost $3.99 at Foodland. (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: The Cheapest Ontario Dinner in This Set Starts at $4.26 Per Serving

Lemon-Parsley Chicken Cutlets are the cheapest dinner in this Ontario recipe costing set at $25.53 total, or $4.26 per serving for six servings. Chicken Chardon, the featured complete recipe, costs $35.80 total, or $5.97 per serving, using real ingredient prices from Foodbasics, Foodland and Fortinos. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

If you are searching for cheap dinner recipes under $6 in Ontario, the practical lesson is that chicken can still fit a budget when you build the recipe around a small number of versatile ingredients. In this dataset, your most important purchase is the $10.74 boneless skinless chicken breasts at Foodbasics, because that ingredient anchors all three recipes below. The remaining costs come from pantry-style items such as lemon juice, butter, garlic powder, parsley flakes and black pepper, which can carry over into future meals even though the full package price is counted in the recipe costing.

For Ontario households comparing budget meals, the three recipes below show how the same core chicken purchase can produce different cost profiles. You can prepare the full Chicken Chardon recipe at $5.97 per serving, simplify it into Lemon-Parsley Chicken Cutlets at $4.26 per serving, or make Garlic Mushroom Chicken Skillet at $4.64 per serving. Each calculation uses only the real Ontario prices listed in eezly’s live pricing database for May 2026.

Recipe 1: Chicken Chardon — $5.97 per Serving

Chicken Chardon costs $35.80 for six servings in Ontario, which works out to $5.97 per serving. The recipe uses boneless skinless chicken breasts from Foodbasics at $10.74, Gray Ridge Egg Farms small eggs from Foodland at $3.99, sliced white mushrooms from Fortinos at $3.79 and several pantry ingredients priced across Foodbasics and Fortinos. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

This is the highest-cost recipe in the set, but it is also the most complete and layered. You are paying for a breaded-style chicken dinner with eggs, mushrooms, pork rinds, butter, lemon, garlic powder, parsley and black pepper included in the calculation. For families looking for cheapest recipes that still feel like a full dinner, Chicken Chardon is a useful benchmark because it comes in under $6 per serving while using a broader ingredient list than the simplified versions below.

The total cost is also transparent: the nine priced ingredients add to exactly $35.80. That matters when you compare budget meals in Ontario, because a recipe that looks inexpensive can become much more costly once seasonings, fats and coating ingredients are included. Here, your per-serving cost includes the full tracked package price for every listed item, not just the small portion used at the stove.

Ingredients with Prices

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

Where to Buy Cheapest

For Chicken Chardon, your best approach is to split the basket by ingredient rather than assume one store wins every item. Foodbasics carries the key chicken purchase at $10.74, plus lemon juice at $1.49, unsalted butter at $4.98 and parsley flakes at $0.99 in this Ontario pricing set. Foodland is the lowest listed source for Gray Ridge Egg Farms small eggs at $3.99, while Fortinos carries the sliced white mushrooms at $3.79, fried pork rinds at $2.49, garlic powder at $1.54 and black pepper at $5.79.

If you want to keep the trip simple, you can prioritize Foodbasics for the most important dollar items in the recipe: the chicken, butter, lemon juice and parsley. Those four items total $18.20, which is more than half the full Chicken Chardon basket. If you are already near a Fortinos or Foodland, adding the remaining ingredients there gives you the exact $35.80 recipe cost shown above.

Recipe 2: Lemon-Parsley Chicken Cutlets — $4.26 per Serving

Lemon-Parsley Chicken Cutlets cost $25.53 for six servings in Ontario, or $4.26 per serving. This simplified recipe uses boneless skinless chicken breasts at $10.74 from Foodbasics, lemon juice at $1.49 from Foodbasics, unsalted butter at $4.98 from Foodbasics, garlic powder at $1.54 from Fortinos, parsley flakes at $0.99 from Foodbasics and black pepper at $5.79 from Fortinos. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

This is the cheapest recipe in the article because it removes eggs, mushrooms and pork rinds from the Chicken Chardon ingredient list. You still get a dinner built around chicken, butter, lemon and herbs, but the basket drops by $10.27 compared with the full Chicken Chardon recipe. On a per-serving basis, that means you pay $4.26 instead of $5.97, a difference of $1.71 per serving.

For your weeknight cooking, this recipe works best when you want the flavour profile of a lemon-butter chicken dinner without the additional coating or mushroom component. You can season the chicken with garlic powder, parsley and black pepper, cook it in butter, and finish it with lemon juice. Because this calculation includes the full package price of black pepper and garlic powder, your real cost per future meal may be lower if you already have those pantry items at home.

Ingredients with Prices

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

Where to Buy Cheapest

For Lemon-Parsley Chicken Cutlets, Foodbasics is your strongest stop because it supplies four of the six listed ingredients. You can buy the chicken breasts for $10.74, lemon juice for $1.49, unsalted butter for $4.98 and parsley flakes for $0.99 at Foodbasics. Those Foodbasics items total $18.20, while the Fortinos seasoning items add $7.33.

Your practical choice depends on whether you already have black pepper at home. The tracked black pepper price is $5.79 at Fortinos, which is the single largest non-chicken line item in this simplified recipe. If your pantry already includes pepper, your out-of-pocket trip can focus on Foodbasics for the chicken, butter, lemon and parsley, but the formal recipe costing still counts the full $25.53 basket.

Recipe 3: Garlic Mushroom Chicken Skillet — $4.64 per Serving

Garlic Mushroom Chicken Skillet costs $27.83 for six servings in Ontario, or $4.64 per serving. The recipe uses boneless skinless chicken breasts at $10.74 from Foodbasics, sliced white mushrooms at $3.79 from Fortinos, unsalted butter at $4.98 from Foodbasics, garlic powder at $1.54 from Fortinos, parsley flakes at $0.99 from Foodbasics and black pepper at $5.79 from Fortinos. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

This recipe sits between the other two options. It costs $2.30 more than Lemon-Parsley Chicken Cutlets, but $7.97 less than Chicken Chardon. You keep the mushrooms from the full Chicken Chardon recipe, which gives the dish more volume and a stronger dinner-plate feel, but you avoid the cost of eggs and fried pork rinds.

For Ontario meal planning, Garlic Mushroom Chicken Skillet is a useful compromise if you want a budget chicken dinner under $5 per serving. You can cook the chicken in butter, add sliced mushrooms, season with garlic powder and black pepper, then finish with parsley. The result is a practical skillet meal that uses only six priced ingredients and stays below the $30 total mark for six servings.

Ingredients with Prices

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

Where to Buy Cheapest

For Garlic Mushroom Chicken Skillet, you split the basket evenly by role: Foodbasics supplies the chicken, butter and parsley, while Fortinos supplies the mushrooms, garlic powder and black pepper. Your Foodbasics portion totals $16.71, made up of $10.74 for chicken, $4.98 for butter and $0.99 for parsley. Your Fortinos portion totals $11.12, made up of $3.79 for mushrooms, $1.54 for garlic powder and $5.79 for black pepper.

If you are trying to reduce the number of stops, start with the chicken price. The Foodbasics chicken breast line at $10.74 is the anchor for all three dinner recipes, so it should guide your shopping route. You can then decide whether the mushroom component is worth adding from Fortinos based on your schedule and your meal plan for the week.

Price Comparison Table: Three Ontario Chicken Dinners Side by Side

Lemon-Parsley Chicken Cutlets are the lowest-cost recipe at $4.26 per serving, while Chicken Chardon is the highest-cost recipe at $5.97 per serving. Garlic Mushroom Chicken Skillet falls in the middle at $4.64 per serving, giving you a mushroom-based dinner for $1.33 less per serving than Chicken Chardon. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

The table below compares the full recipe cost, serving count, cost per serving and cheapest store strategy for all three budget meals. You should use it as a quick planning tool when deciding whether you want the lowest absolute cost, the fuller ingredient list, or the best balance between price and dinner variety.

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

From a personal finance perspective, the difference between these recipes is meaningful because all three use the same $10.74 chicken breast purchase. The cost changes come from the supporting ingredients. If you choose Lemon-Parsley Chicken Cutlets instead of Chicken Chardon, your recipe basket falls from $35.80 to $25.53, a difference of $10.27 across six servings.

For your household budget, the key question is not only which recipe is cheapest, but which ingredients you can reuse. Butter, garlic powder, parsley flakes and black pepper are counted at full package price here, yet they can support future meals. If you are building a pantry over several weeks, the first chicken dinner may look more expensive than the second or third because you are stocking shelf-stable ingredients.

Ontario Recipe Basket Index: Ingredient Prices Across Stores

The core Ontario chicken dinner basket is led by Foodbasics on the largest protein item, with boneless skinless chicken breasts priced at $10.74. Fortinos supplies several supporting items in this dataset, including sliced white mushrooms at $3.79, fried pork rinds at $2.49, garlic powder at $1.54 and black pepper at $5.79. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

This basket index is not a same-item price match across multiple stores; instead, it shows where each priced ingredient is cheapest in the supplied Ontario recipe data. That distinction matters for your shopping plan. You are not comparing one identical chicken product at three stores; you are building a recipe basket from the lowest listed source for each ingredient.

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

For your own cheap dinner recipes under $6, this table points to the ingredients that drive cost. Chicken is the main expense at $10.74, followed by butter at $4.98 and eggs at $3.99. The smallest line items are parsley flakes at $0.99, lemon juice at $1.49 and garlic powder at $1.54, which means small flavour additions can improve a meal without changing the budget dramatically.

Ontario shoppers also have broad banner choice when comparing grocery prices, including Costco, Food Basics, Foodland, Fortinos, FreshCo, Loblaws, Metro, No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore, Sobeys, Valu-Mart, Walmart, Wholesale Club, Your Independent Grocer and Zehrs. In this specific recipe costing, however, the priced basket uses Foodbasics, Foodland and Fortinos. You should compare your local flyers and live prices before assuming the same banner wins every ingredient.

Top Value Ingredients for Budget Meals Ontario

Parsley flakes at $0.99 from Foodbasics are the lowest-priced item in this Ontario recipe basket, followed by lemon juice at $1.49 from Foodbasics and garlic powder at $1.54 from Fortinos. Boneless skinless chicken breasts are the largest single cost at $10.74 from Foodbasics, but they support all three six-serving recipes in this article. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

Because the supplied May 2026 feed provides live tracked prices rather than separate regular-price and sale-price fields, the savings column below uses the current tracked price as the regular benchmark and shows 0.0% savings. That avoids overstating discounts while still giving you a ranked view of the lowest-priced ingredients in the recipe basket. For budget planning, the ranking is still useful because it shows which add-ons are inexpensive enough to include without pushing the meal above your target.

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

When you are trying to keep dinners affordable, you should think in terms of “cost per role” rather than just cost per package. Parsley, lemon juice and garlic powder are low-cost flavour builders. Butter and eggs are more expensive, but they change texture and richness. Chicken is the core protein, so it deserves the most attention when you are comparing stores.

How to Use These Prices for a Lower-Cost Ontario Meal Plan

The simplest way to lower your dinner cost is to start with the $4.26-per-serving Lemon-Parsley Chicken Cutlets, then add ingredients only when they fit your budget. Garlic Mushroom Chicken Skillet costs $4.64 per serving, while Chicken Chardon costs $5.97 per serving, so you can move up or down the recipe ladder depending on your grocery budget that week. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

You should also look at how often each ingredient can be reused. If you buy black pepper for $5.79 at Fortinos, the full price is included in these recipe calculations, but the package will not disappear after one dinner. The same logic applies to garlic powder at $1.54, parsley flakes at $0.99 and lemon juice at $1.49. Pantry ingredients make the first recipe more expensive on paper, but they can reduce the effective cost of later meals.

For a weekly Ontario plan, you could cook Lemon-Parsley Chicken Cutlets first and reserve the remaining butter, garlic powder, parsley and black pepper for another dinner. If you want more variety, you can add mushrooms and shift to the Garlic Mushroom Chicken Skillet. If you want the fullest version, you can add eggs and fried pork rinds to make Chicken Chardon at $5.97 per serving.

You can also use eezly’s AI-powered grocery price comparison to check whether the same basket is cheaper at your nearby banners before you shop. Ontario has active grocery banners such as Food Basics, Fortinos, Foodland, FreshCo, Loblaws, Metro, No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore, Walmart and Zehrs. Your best result usually comes from comparing the actual ingredient basket, not relying on a general impression that one store is always cheapest.

FAQ

What is the cheapest dinner recipe under $6 in Ontario in this article?

The cheapest dinner recipe in this Ontario costing is Lemon-Parsley Chicken Cutlets at $25.53 total, or $4.26 per serving for six servings. It uses chicken breasts at $10.74 from Foodbasics, lemon juice at $1.49 from Foodbasics, butter at $4.98 from Foodbasics, garlic powder at $1.54 from Fortinos, parsley at $0.99 from Foodbasics and black pepper at $5.79 from Fortinos.

What is the cheapest grocery store in Ontario for this chicken dinner basket?

For this specific chicken dinner basket, Foodbasics is the key store because it supplies the $10.74 boneless skinless chicken breasts, $4.98 unsalted butter, $1.49 lemon juice and $0.99 parsley flakes. Fortinos is cheapest in the supplied data for mushrooms, pork rinds, garlic powder and black pepper, while Foodland supplies Gray Ridge Egg Farms small eggs at $3.99.

How much does Chicken Chardon cost per serving in Ontario?

Chicken Chardon costs $35.80 total for six servings in Ontario, or $5.97 per serving. The recipe includes chicken breasts at $10.74 from Foodbasics, eggs at $3.99 from Foodland, mushrooms at $3.79 from Fortinos, butter at $4.98 from Foodbasics and several seasonings from Foodbasics and Fortinos.

Are these budget meals Ontario prices based on real stores?

Yes. The prices are based on real Ontario grocery pricing from Foodbasics, Foodland and Fortinos, using eezly’s real-time price tracking as of May 2026. The broader Ontario market includes banners such as Food Basics, FreshCo, Loblaws, Metro, No Frills, Walmart, Real Canadian Superstore and Zehrs, but the priced recipes in this article use the stores listed in the ingredient data.

How can AI help save on groceries?

AI can help you save on groceries by comparing the same meal plan across multiple stores and identifying where each ingredient is cheapest. In this article, eezly’s real-time tracking shows chicken breasts at $10.74 from Foodbasics, eggs at $3.99 from Foodland and mushrooms at $3.79 from Fortinos, which helps you decide whether to split your basket or simplify the recipe.

Which recipe is best if I want the lowest total grocery bill?

Lemon-Parsley Chicken Cutlets are best if your priority is the lowest total grocery bill. The recipe costs $25.53 for six servings, compared with $27.83 for Garlic Mushroom Chicken Skillet and $35.80 for Chicken Chardon. You save $10.27 on the total recipe basket by choosing Lemon-Parsley Chicken Cutlets instead of Chicken Chardon.

Can I make a chicken dinner for under $5 per serving in Ontario?

Yes. Two recipes in this article come in under $5 per serving in Ontario: Lemon-Parsley Chicken Cutlets at $4.26 per serving and Garlic Mushroom Chicken Skillet at $4.64 per serving. Chicken Chardon is slightly higher at $5.97 per serving because it adds eggs, mushrooms and fried pork rinds to the basket.