PEI Cheap Dinners Using $3.00 No Frills Cooked Ham

Key Facts

• Cooked Ham is $3.00 at No Frills in PEI (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)
• Cinnamon Sticks are $1.49 at Rass in PEI (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)
• Curry Powder is $2.29 at Rass in PEI (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)
• Burger Patty is $3.69 at Independent in PEI (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)
• Ground Beef Curry costs $70.33 for 8 servings (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)
• Ground Beef Curry costs $8.79 per serving in PEI (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 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

Spiced Ham and Tomato Stew is the cheapest featured dinner in this Prince Edward Island recipe costing, at $7.26 per serving using Cooked Ham at $3.00 from No Frills, Curry Powder at $2.29 from Rass, and Red Tomatoes On The Vine at $11.66 from Co-op Morell. Source: eezly real-time price tracking. If you are searching for cheap dinner recipes under $9 in PEI, this is the lowest-cost recipe in the three-meal comparison because it uses a $3.00 protein item rather than the $23.13 Lean Ground Beef Burgers package used in the Ground Beef Curry.

The practical takeaway for your grocery list is that you should build the lowest-cost dinner around No Frills Cooked Ham, then use Rass for low-priced spices and Co-op Morell or Foodland only where the recipe requires those specific ingredients. You do not need to buy everything at one store if your goal is the cheapest recipes; the lowest priced basket is assembled across multiple Prince Edward Island stores. That is especially important in PEI, where your choice between No Frills, Rass, Co-op Morell, Foodland, and Independent changes the final recipe cost by several dollars.

For this article, “cost per serving” is calculated from the exact ingredient prices listed in eezly’s real-time price tracking as of June 2026. Each recipe below uses only the priced ingredients available in the PEI data set, and each total is the arithmetic sum of those ingredients. Where a recipe uses four servings, the cost per serving is the total recipe cost divided by four; where the Ground Beef Curry uses the provided eight-serving recipe record, the cost per serving is the listed $8.79.

Recipe 1: Spiced Ham and Tomato Stew — $7.26 per serving

Spiced Ham and Tomato Stew costs $29.03 for four servings, or $7.26 per serving, making it the cheapest recipe in this Prince Edward Island comparison. Source: eezly real-time price tracking. Your main savings come from using Cooked Ham at $3.00 from No Frills as the protein, while the flavour base comes from Curry Powder at $2.29 and Cinnamon Sticks at $1.49 from Rass.

This recipe is designed for a simple weeknight dinner where you simmer tomatoes, shallots or onions, cooked ham, curry powder, cinnamon, and water into a stew-style dish. You can serve it as a bowl on its own, or over pantry rice, potatoes, or bread if those are already in your kitchen. The costed recipe below does not add unpriced pantry items to the total, so the $29.03 total reflects only the tracked PEI prices used in the calculation.

For your shopping strategy, you should not treat the cheapest recipe as a single-store basket. The low cost depends on splitting the shop: No Frills for the $3.00 Cooked Ham, Rass for $1.49 Cinnamon Sticks and $2.29 Curry Powder, Co-op Morell for $11.66 Red Tomatoes On The Vine, Foodland for $6.59 Shallots Onions, and No Frills again for $4.00 Spring Water. That multi-store approach is why this meal lands below the Ground Beef Curry even though both recipes use aromatic ingredients.

Ingredients with Prices

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

Where to Buy Cheapest

No Frills gives you the lowest-cost anchor ingredient for this recipe, with Cooked Ham at $3.00 and Spring Water at $4.00 in the PEI data. Source: eezly real-time price tracking. Rass is the best stop for the spice portion of this dinner, with Cinnamon Sticks at $1.49 and Curry Powder at $2.29, keeping the seasoning cost below $4 before tax and deposit considerations.

You should use Co-op Morell only for the tomato component in this version because the tracked Red Tomatoes On The Vine price is $11.66. Foodland supplies Shallots Onions at $6.59, which is a meaningful part of the final $29.03 recipe total. If you already have onions, curry powder, or cinnamon in your pantry, your out-of-pocket cost for this meal can be lower, but the costed comparison uses the complete tracked basket so the recipe remains transparent.

For budget meals in Prince Edward Island, this recipe is the clearest example of how one inexpensive protein changes the economics of dinner. Cooked Ham at No Frills is $3.00, while Lean Ground Beef Burgers at Co-op Morell are $23.13; those are not identical products, but the difference shows why your protein choice drives the total. When you are planning cheap dinner recipes under $9, start with the protein price first, then add vegetables and spices after.

Recipe 2: Tomato-Ginger Patty Skillet — $8.61 per serving

Tomato-Ginger Patty Skillet costs $34.42 for four servings, or $8.61 per serving, using Burger Patty at $3.69 from Independent and Ginger at $3.50 from No Frills. Source: eezly real-time price tracking. This is the second-cheapest recipe in the comparison and gives you a lower-cost alternative to the $8.79-per-serving Ground Beef Curry while still using a beef-style centrepiece.

The recipe combines Burger Patty, Red Tomatoes On The Vine, Ginger, Garlic, Shallots Onions, and Cilantro Coriander into a skillet-style meal. You would brown the patty, break it into pieces, add chopped shallots or onions, garlic, and ginger, then simmer the mixture with tomatoes until it becomes a saucy dinner base. Cilantro Coriander finishes the dish and adds freshness, but it also adds $2.49 from Co-op Morell to the final cost.

Your best move for this recipe is to buy the protein at Independent rather than building the meal around the larger Lean Ground Beef Burgers package. The Independent Burger Patty is $3.69, while Lean Ground Beef Burgers 4 Patties are $23.13 at Co-op Morell. Those package formats are different, but if your objective is a low total recipe cost for a four-serving dinner, the smaller $3.69 patty price keeps the skillet below $9 per serving.

Ingredients with Prices

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

Where to Buy Cheapest

Independent is the key store for this recipe because it carries the Burger Patty at $3.69 in the PEI pricing data. Source: eezly real-time price tracking. No Frills contributes the Ginger at $3.50, while Foodland accounts for the two largest aromatic items: Garlic at $6.49 and Shallots Onions at $6.59.

You should pay close attention to the combined price of aromatics in this skillet because Garlic and Shallots Onions together cost $13.08. That is more than the $3.69 Burger Patty and the $3.50 Ginger combined. If your goal is to control your grocery bill, you should check whether you already have garlic or onions at home before buying full packages for this recipe.

Co-op Morell supplies two items in this skillet: Red Tomatoes On The Vine at $11.66 and Cilantro Coriander 1 Bunch at $2.49. Together, those two items represent $14.15 of the $34.42 recipe total. For a PEI shopper comparing budget meals, the lesson is that garnish and produce can cost more than the protein in a small-format recipe, so your cheapest recipes are usually the ones that reuse herbs and vegetables across multiple dinners.

Recipe 3: Ground Beef Curry — $8.79 per serving

Ground Beef Curry costs $70.33 for eight servings, or $8.79 per serving, making it the highest-cost recipe in this under-$9 PEI dinner comparison. Source: eezly real-time price tracking. The recipe is still under the $9 threshold, but the $23.13 Lean Ground Beef Burgers 4 Patties package at Co-op Morell drives the total higher than the ham-based and single-patty recipes.

This is the most complete and robust recipe in the data set, with spices, aromatics, tomatoes, water, beef, and additional listed items all included in the $70.33 total. The ingredient list includes Cinnamon Sticks at $1.49 and Curry Powder at $2.29 from Rass, Ginger at $3.50 and Spring Water at $4.00 from No Frills, Garlic at $6.49 and Shallots Onions at $6.59 from Foodland, and Red Tomatoes On The Vine at $11.66 plus Lean Ground Beef Burgers at $23.13 from Co-op Morell.

For your dinner planning, Ground Beef Curry is the best choice when you want a larger batch. At eight servings, it is built for leftovers, shared meals, or next-day lunches. The cost per serving remains just below $9 because the recipe spreads the higher beef cost across eight portions, but the total checkout amount is more than double the $29.03 ham stew.

Ingredients with Prices

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

Where to Buy Cheapest

Rass is the cheapest source in the PEI data for the curry spice base, with Cinnamon Sticks at $1.49 and Curry Powder at $2.29. Source: eezly real-time price tracking. No Frills supports the recipe with Ginger at $3.50, Spring Water at $4.00, Cooked Ham at $3.00, and Poultry Pan at $2.00, while Foodland supplies Garlic at $6.49 and Shallots Onions at $6.59.

Co-op Morell is the major cost centre for this curry because Lean Ground Beef Burgers 4 Patties are $23.13 and Red Tomatoes On The Vine are $11.66. Those two Co-op Morell items alone add up to $34.79, which is nearly half of the $70.33 recipe total. If you are trying to keep your PEI grocery basket under control, you should recognize that the beef and tomatoes, not the spices, are what move the final price.

Independent appears in the Ground Beef Curry data with Burger Patty at $3.69. When you compare that with Lean Ground Beef Burgers 4 Patties at $23.13 from Co-op Morell, you can see why package size and product format matter. You should compare the exact product you need before assuming the larger package is the better fit for a specific dinner.

Price Comparison Table

Spiced Ham and Tomato Stew is the lowest-cost dinner at $7.26 per serving, followed by Tomato-Ginger Patty Skillet at $8.61 and Ground Beef Curry at $8.79. Source: eezly real-time price tracking. For cheap dinner recipes under $9 in Prince Edward Island, all three recipes qualify, but they produce different checkout totals and different leftover strategies.

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

The cheapest recipe is not the one with the lowest spice cost; it is the one with the lowest protein anchor. You pay $3.00 for Cooked Ham at No Frills in the stew, $3.69 for Burger Patty at Independent in the skillet, and $23.13 for Lean Ground Beef Burgers 4 Patties at Co-op Morell in the curry. Because protein prices dominate recipe totals, you should start your meal planning by comparing the meat or prepared protein line first.

If you want leftovers, Ground Beef Curry may still be the more practical choice despite the higher $70.33 total. It produces eight servings, so your cost per serving remains $8.79. If you want the lowest immediate checkout total, the $29.03 Spiced Ham and Tomato Stew is the better budget meal for Prince Edward Island.

PEI Basket Index: Ingredient Prices Across Stores

No Frills has the lowest single priced protein in this PEI basket with Cooked Ham at $3.00, while Co-op Morell carries the highest priced listed protein package with Lean Ground Beef Burgers 4 Patties at $23.13. Source: eezly real-time price tracking. For your grocery list, the basket index shows why moving between No Frills, Rass, Foodland, Co-op Morell, and Independent can matter more than choosing a recipe from memory.

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

Rass stands out for low-cost seasoning because Cinnamon Sticks and Curry Powder together cost $3.78. No Frills stands out for low-cost utility ingredients, with Cooked Ham at $3.00, Ginger at $3.50, Spring Water at $4.00, and Poultry Pan at $2.00 elsewhere in the recipe data. Co-op Morell becomes more important when you need tomatoes, cilantro, or the larger beef package.

You should use this basket index as a planning tool rather than a rigid shopping route. If you are already visiting Foodland for Garlic at $6.49 and Shallots Onions at $6.59, it may make sense to buy both aromatics together. If your main concern is finding the cheapest recipes, however, the strongest value signals in this PEI data are the $3.00 Cooked Ham at No Frills, $1.49 Cinnamon Sticks at Rass, and $2.29 Curry Powder at Rass.

Top Price Opportunities for PEI Budget Dinners

The strongest PEI budget-dinner price opportunity is Cooked Ham at $3.00 from No Frills, because it anchors the lowest-cost recipe at $7.26 per serving. Source: eezly real-time price tracking. The table below lists tracked prices and uses the same tracked price as the comparison price where no separate regular price is provided, so the savings column is shown as 0.0% rather than estimated.

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

For your practical shopping list, the most useful prices in this table are the ones below $4. Cooked Ham at $3.00 from No Frills gives you the cheapest protein anchor, Burger Patty at $3.69 from Independent gives you a small-format beef option, and Ginger at $3.50 from No Frills supports multiple meals. Rass also performs well on spices, with Cinnamon Sticks at $1.49 and Curry Powder at $2.29.

Because no separate regular prices are included in the PEI data, this table avoids invented discounts. That matters for your grocery planning because a “deal” should be based on a verifiable price, not an assumed markdown. The best interpretation is that these are the lowest useful tracked prices for building cheap dinner recipes under $9 in Prince Edward Island as of June 2026.

How to Build Budget Meals in Prince Edward Island From These Prices

You can build budget meals in Prince Edward Island by anchoring dinner around the lowest priced protein, then adding aromatics only when they can be reused across recipes. Source: eezly real-time price tracking. In this data set, that means starting with Cooked Ham at $3.00 from No Frills, Burger Patty at $3.69 from Independent, or Lean Ground Beef Burgers 4 Patties at $23.13 from Co-op Morell depending on whether you want the lowest total cost or the largest batch.

Your first decision is serving count. The Spiced Ham and Tomato Stew costs $29.03 for four servings, while Ground Beef Curry costs $70.33 for eight servings. The curry has a higher checkout total, but it gives you twice as many servings and stays at $8.79 per serving, which is still within the cheap dinner recipes under $9 category.

Your second decision is store routing. Rass offers Curry Powder at $2.29 and Cinnamon Sticks at $1.49, while No Frills offers Cooked Ham at $3.00 and Ginger at $3.50. Foodland is relevant for Garlic at $6.49 and Shallots Onions at $6.59, and Co-op Morell is relevant for Red Tomatoes On The Vine at $11.66, Cilantro Coriander at $2.49, and Lean Ground Beef Burgers at $23.13.

Your third decision is whether an ingredient will be used once or across several dinners. Garlic at $6.49 and Shallots Onions at $6.59 can look expensive inside a single four-serving recipe, but they become more reasonable if you use them across multiple meals. For the strict recipe-costing tables here, however, each recipe carries the full tracked price of the item used.

For ongoing comparison shopping, you can check current grocery deals at https://eezly.com/deals, browse meal planning tools at https://eezly.com/meal-plans, and compare recipe ideas at https://eezly.com/recipes. If you want broader grocery coverage and price stories, https://eezly.com/blog is the best place to keep reading. These resources are most useful when you are deciding whether to shop at No Frills, Rass, Foodland, Co-op Morell, Independent, Sobeys, Atlantic Superstore, Walmart, or Your Independent Grocer in PEI.