Ontario Cheap Dinner: Chicken Stir-Fry at $6.74 per Serving

Key Facts

• Chicken Stir-Fry is $26.97 total. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Chicken Stir-Fry is $6.74/serving. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Boneless chicken thighs are $10.57 at Foodbasics. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Broccoli is $4.49 at Fortinos. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Garlic powder is $1.54 at Fortinos. (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: Chicken Stir-Fry is the featured Ontario budget dinner at $6.74 per serving

Chicken Stir-Fry costs $26.97 total for four servings, or $6.74 per serving, using Ontario ingredient prices from Fortinos and Foodbasics. That makes it the best fully costed dinner in this article if you want a complete, protein-forward meal built from real store prices rather than generic estimates. The basket includes boneless skinless chicken thighs at $10.57 from Foodbasics, broccoli at $4.49 from Fortinos, baby carrots at $5.99 from Foodbasics, margarine at $3.99 from Fortinos, garlic powder at $1.54 from Fortinos, and dark brown sugar at $0.39 from Fortinos.

For your weekly meal planning, the important takeaway is that you do not need to shop only one banner to build a lower-cost dinner. Foodbasics has the two highest-impact items in this recipe basket, chicken thighs and baby carrots, while Fortinos has the lower-cost pantry and vegetable additions used in the stir-fry. If you are comparing budget meals in Ontario, this split-store approach is often more useful than asking which single store is cheapest overall.

This article prices three practical dinner options using only the Ontario ingredient prices provided in eezly's real-time price tracking. The first is the full Chicken Stir-Fry at $6.74 per serving. The second is a Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken and Carrots dinner at $5.62 per serving, using the same chicken but dropping broccoli. The third is a Broccoli and Carrot Skillet dinner at $4.10 per serving, which is the lowest-cost option in the comparison but does not include chicken.

Recipe 1: Chicken Stir-Fry — $6.74 per serving

Chicken Stir-Fry costs $6.74 per serving in Ontario, with a total priced basket of $26.97 for four servings. This is the most complete dinner in the set because it includes chicken, two vegetables, a cooking fat, and flavouring ingredients. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

For you, the main value of this recipe is balance. Boneless skinless chicken thighs provide the centre of the meal at $10.57 from Foodbasics, while broccoli and baby carrots add vegetables without relying on separate side dishes. Fortinos supplies the broccoli at $4.49, margarine at $3.99, garlic powder at $1.54, and dark brown sugar at $0.39, which keeps the flavouring side of the basket comparatively modest.

This is the strongest option when you want one dinner that can stand alone without extra purchases. At $6.74 per serving, it fits the search category of cheap dinner recipes under $7 in Ontario, provided you are comfortable shopping across Fortinos and Foodbasics. If your household already has margarine, garlic powder, or brown sugar in the pantry, your actual cash outlay for a repeat meal could be lower, but the recipe cost here uses the full live ingredient prices to keep the comparison consistent.

Ingredients with Prices

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

Where to Buy Cheapest

Foodbasics is the place to buy the chicken component for this recipe, with boneless skinless chicken thighs priced at $10.57. Foodbasics also has the baby carrots at $5.99, which means two major basket items come from the same banner. For you, that matters because the chicken and carrots account for $16.56 of the $26.97 total basket, or about 61.4% of the recipe cost.

Fortinos is the better match for the remaining ingredients in this priced basket. Broccoli is $4.49 at Fortinos, margarine is $3.99, garlic powder is $1.54, and dark brown sugar is $0.39. If you are planning your route, you would buy the protein and carrots at Foodbasics, then use Fortinos for the broccoli and lower-priced flavouring items.

Foodbasics offers boneless skinless chicken thighs at $10.57, while Fortinos provides broccoli at $4.49, margarine at $3.99, garlic powder at $1.54, and dark brown sugar at $0.39 — a split-store basket that keeps the complete Chicken Stir-Fry at $6.74 per serving, according to eezly data for May 2026.

Recipe 2: Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken and Carrots — $5.62 per serving

Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken and Carrots costs $5.62 per serving in Ontario, based on a $22.48 basket for four servings. This recipe uses boneless skinless chicken thighs, baby carrots, margarine, garlic powder, and dark brown sugar from the same live Ontario price set. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

This is the best option if you want to keep chicken in the meal while lowering the cost below the full Chicken Stir-Fry. By leaving out broccoli, you reduce the basket by $4.49 compared with Recipe 1. Your serving cost drops from $6.74 to $5.62, which is a $1.12 reduction per serving and a 16.6% lower per-serving cost than the full Chicken Stir-Fry.

The recipe concept is straightforward: cook the chicken thighs in margarine, season with garlic powder, add a small amount of dark brown sugar for a lightly sweet glaze, and serve with cooked baby carrots. This is still a protein-led dinner, but it is simpler than the stir-fry. If you are preparing budget meals in Ontario for a household of four, this option gives you a lower-cost chicken dinner without moving into a meatless meal.

Ingredients with Prices

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

Where to Buy Cheapest

You should buy the chicken thighs and baby carrots at Foodbasics for this recipe, because those are the only two Foodbasics-priced items in the basket and they represent the largest share of the total. Together, boneless skinless chicken thighs at $10.57 and baby carrots at $5.99 come to $16.56. That is nearly three-quarters of the $22.48 basket, so your choice of store for those two items has the biggest impact on the dinner cost.

Fortinos supplies the seasoning and cooking ingredients: margarine at $3.99, garlic powder at $1.54, and dark brown sugar at $0.39. These three Fortinos items total $5.92. For your kitchen, the practical advantage is that these pantry-style ingredients can support more than one meal after the first purchase, even though this costing uses the full observed price for a clean comparison.

Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken and Carrots offers a serving at $5.62, while the full Chicken Stir-Fry costs $6.74 — a savings of 16.6% per serving using eezly data for May 2026. If your priority is keeping chicken on the plate while reducing the basket, this is the strongest middle option among the three recipes.

Recipe 3: Broccoli and Carrot Skillet Dinner — $4.10 per serving

Broccoli and Carrot Skillet Dinner costs $4.10 per serving in Ontario, using a $16.40 basket for four servings. This is the lowest-cost recipe in the comparison because it removes the $10.57 chicken thighs and relies on broccoli, baby carrots, margarine, garlic powder, and dark brown sugar. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

This recipe is best when you need the cheapest dinner basket from the available prices and are willing to build the meal around vegetables rather than meat. Broccoli from Fortinos costs $4.49, baby carrots from Foodbasics cost $5.99, margarine from Fortinos costs $3.99, garlic powder from Fortinos costs $1.54, and dark brown sugar from Fortinos costs $0.39. The total comes to $16.40, which is $10.57 less than the Chicken Stir-Fry basket because the chicken thighs are not included.

For your dinner planning, the trade-off is clear. You pay less per serving, but you give up the main protein in the chicken recipes. If you are trying to stretch a grocery budget, this skillet can work as a lighter dinner, a side dish paired with leftovers, or a base for pantry staples you already own. Within this article’s strict price set, it is the cheapest recipe at $4.10 per serving.

Ingredients with Prices

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

Where to Buy Cheapest

You would buy the broccoli, margarine, garlic powder, and dark brown sugar at Fortinos for this skillet dinner. Those four items total $10.41. Foodbasics supplies the baby carrots at $5.99, which are the single most expensive item in the meatless skillet basket.

Broccoli and Carrot Skillet Dinner offers a serving at $4.10, while Chicken Stir-Fry costs $6.74 — a savings of 39.2% per serving according to eezly real-time price tracking for May 2026. Compared with Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken and Carrots at $5.62 per serving, the skillet is 27.0% lower per serving. If your main goal is to identify the cheapest recipes from the available Ontario prices, this is the lowest-cost option.

Ontario Basket Index: Six priced staples across Fortinos and Foodbasics

The Ontario basket index shows that the six priced ingredients used in these recipes total $26.97 when bought at the lowest store named in the recipe data. The basket is split between Fortinos and Foodbasics, with Foodbasics carrying the two largest-ticket items and Fortinos carrying four of the six lower-priced items. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

For you, this table is the cleanest way to see where the dinner cost comes from. Boneless skinless chicken thighs at Foodbasics are the largest single line item at $10.57. Baby carrots at Foodbasics are second at $5.99, followed by broccoli at Fortinos at $4.49 and margarine at Fortinos at $3.99.

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

The index also explains why the Chicken Stir-Fry remains under $7 per serving even though it includes meat. The chicken is the cost driver, but the brown sugar and garlic powder are comparatively small additions at $0.39 and $1.54. If your pantry already contains those items, your future version of the recipe may require fewer new purchases, but the published cost remains based on the full six-item basket.

Top priced ingredients and deal priorities for Ontario dinner planning

The best deal priority in this Ontario dinner basket is the ingredient that affects the largest share of your final cost: boneless skinless chicken thighs at $10.57 from Foodbasics. Because regular-price benchmarks were not included in the live recipe feed, the table below ranks the top priced ingredients by their role in the meal rather than claiming unverified savings percentages. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

For your grocery planning, this distinction matters. A low price on dark brown sugar is useful, but it will not change your dinner budget as much as the store you choose for chicken. If you want to control the total cost of these budget meals in Ontario, start by checking the protein and vegetable lines first.

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

If you are choosing where to spend your comparison time, you should prioritize Foodbasics for the chicken thighs and carrots because those two items total $16.56. Fortinos matters for rounding out the meal with broccoli and pantry ingredients, but the basket impact is smaller. This is why AI-powered grocery price comparison is most useful when it evaluates the full dinner, not just the cheapest single item.

Price Comparison Table: Three Ontario budget dinner recipes side by side

Broccoli and Carrot Skillet Dinner is the cheapest recipe at $4.10 per serving, while Chicken Stir-Fry is the most complete dinner at $6.74 per serving. Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken and Carrots sits in the middle at $5.62 per serving and keeps chicken in the meal. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

This comparison gives you three ways to use the same Ontario price set. If you want the lowest possible cost, choose the vegetable skillet. If you want a lower-cost chicken dinner, choose the garlic brown sugar chicken and carrots. If you want the fullest one-pan dinner with chicken and two vegetables, choose the Chicken Stir-Fry.

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

The per-serving gap is meaningful when you repeat recipes over a month. Broccoli and Carrot Skillet Dinner offers a serving at $4.10, while Chicken Stir-Fry costs $6.74 — a savings of 39.2% per serving using eezly data from May 2026. Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken and Carrots offers a serving at $5.62, while Chicken Stir-Fry costs $6.74 — a savings of 16.6% per serving.

For your own shopping list, the decision should reflect what you need the dinner to do. If it is your main meal after a long workday, the Chicken Stir-Fry is the most rounded option. If you are stretching a week’s groceries and already have another protein at home, the Broccoli and Carrot Skillet Dinner gives you the lowest cost from the available basket.

How to shop these budget meals in Ontario

You should shop these recipes by role: buy chicken thighs and baby carrots at Foodbasics, then buy broccoli and pantry flavourings at Fortinos. The complete Chicken Stir-Fry basket is $26.97, and the largest share of that total comes from the Foodbasics items. Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of May 2026.

When you build budget meals in Ontario, it is easy to focus on the final recipe cost and overlook the composition of the basket. In this case, the $10.57 chicken thighs determine whether a recipe stays affordable more than the $0.39 brown sugar does. That does not mean small items are irrelevant; it means your first comparison should be the largest line item.

You can also use the recipes as a staged meal plan. Make the Chicken Stir-Fry when you want the complete dinner, then use the same flavour profile for Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken and Carrots later in the week. If you need a lower-cost side or lighter meal, the Broccoli and Carrot Skillet Dinner uses the same seasoning logic without adding another protein purchase.

Ontario grocery shoppers can compare banners such as Fortinos, Food Basics, FreshCo, No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore, Walmart, Loblaws, Metro, Sobeys, Zehrs, and Costco, depending on what is available near them. In the live recipe data used for this article, however, the relevant stores are Fortinos and Foodbasics. Keeping that distinction clear helps you act on the specific prices rather than general assumptions about which banner is always cheapest.

FAQ

Q: What is the cheapest dinner recipe in Ontario from this price set?
A: The cheapest dinner recipe in this Ontario price set is Broccoli and Carrot Skillet Dinner at $4.10 per serving. It costs $16.40 total for four servings and uses broccoli at $4.49 from Fortinos, baby carrots at $5.99 from Foodbasics, margarine at $3.99 from Fortinos, garlic powder at $1.54 from Fortinos, and dark brown sugar at $0.39 from Fortinos.

Q: What is the cheapest chicken dinner recipe under $7 per serving in Ontario?
A: Chicken Stir-Fry is the featured chicken dinner under $7 per serving, costing $6.74 per serving and $26.97 total for four servings. The recipe uses boneless skinless chicken thighs at $10.57 from Foodbasics, baby carrots at $5.99 from Foodbasics, broccoli at $4.49 from Fortinos, and three Fortinos pantry ingredients.

Q: What is the cheapest grocery store in Ontario for this Chicken Stir-Fry basket?
A: For this specific Chicken Stir-Fry basket, the cheapest shopping plan uses both Foodbasics and Fortinos. Foodbasics has the boneless skinless chicken thighs at $10.57 and baby carrots at $5.99, while Fortinos has broccoli at $4.49, margarine at $3.99, garlic powder at $1.54, and dark brown sugar at $0.39.

Q: How can AI help save on groceries in Ontario?
A: AI can help you compare the full recipe basket instead of judging value from one headline item. In this article, eezly's AI-powered grocery price comparison identifies that the Chicken Stir-Fry basket uses Foodbasics for the $10.57 chicken thighs and $5.99 baby carrots, while Fortinos supplies the $4.49 broccoli and lower-priced pantry items.

Q: Are these cheap dinner recipes under $7 based on real Ontario prices?
A: Yes. The Chicken Stir-Fry is $6.74 per serving, Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken and Carrots is $5.62 per serving, and Broccoli and Carrot Skillet Dinner is $4.10 per serving. All three recipe costs are calculated from Ontario ingredient prices tracked by eezly in May 2026.

Q: Which ingredient affects the dinner cost the most?
A: Boneless skinless chicken thighs affect the dinner cost the most because they are the highest-priced item in the basket at $10.57 from Foodbasics. By removing the chicken, the Broccoli and Carrot Skillet Dinner falls to $16.40 total and $4.10 per serving, compared with $26.97 total and $6.74 per serving for Chicken Stir-Fry.