Quebec Budget Meals: Pasta Salad at $7.53/Serving

Key Facts

• Pasta Salad costs $45.17 total for 6 servings in Quebec. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)
• The full Pasta Salad costs $7.53 per serving at Metro. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)
• Grape Tomatoes are priced at $2.44 at Maxi. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)
• Parmesan is the highest-cost ingredient at $10.29. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, June 2026)
• Italian Salad Dressing is priced at $3.99 at Metro. (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

Pasta Salad is the featured cheap dinner recipe in Quebec at $7.53 per serving, based on a $45.17 ingredient basket for 6 servings. That makes it the anchor recipe for this June 2026 costing guide, because it uses everyday grocery items you can compare across Metro, Maxi, and related Quebec banners. If you are searching for cheap dinner recipes under $8 per serving, this pasta salad is a practical benchmark because the full recipe stays below that threshold while still including vegetables, olives, dressing, cheese, and a prepared veggie spiral kit. [Source: eezly real-time price tracking].

You can also lower the per-serving cost by building simpler versions of the same dinner from the lowest-priced ingredients in the basket. For example, a tomato-olive veggie spiral salad using Grape Tomatoes, Olival Black Olives, Italian Salad Dressing, and Veggie Spirals totals $16.91, or $2.82 per serving when divided across the same 6-serving format. A crunchier pickle-pepper version totals $27.95, or $4.66 per serving. Those two variations are not meant to replace the full recipe; they show how you can use the same Quebec price data to choose between the cheapest recipes and the more complete version.

The important budgeting point is that not every ingredient carries the same weight. Parmesan alone accounts for $10.29 of the $45.17 full recipe cost, or about 22.8% of the basket. Green Bell Peppers at Metro add $7.99, or about 17.7% of the basket, while Grape Tomatoes at Maxi contribute only $2.44, or about 5.4%. If your goal is to keep dinner costs predictable, you should first compare the highest-cost items rather than spending your time chasing small differences on already low-priced ingredients.

Recipe 1: Tomato-Olive Veggie Spiral Salad — $2.82 per serving

Tomato-Olive Veggie Spiral Salad is the cheapest recipe variation in this guide at $16.91 total, or $2.82 per serving for 6 servings. The cost comes from four priced ingredients: Grape Tomatoes at $2.44 at Maxi, Olival Black Olives at $4.49 at Maxi, Italian Salad Dressing at $3.99 at Metro, and Veggie Spirals Teriyaki Style Stirfry Kit at $5.99 at Metro. This variation uses the lowest-cost tomato item in the full Pasta Salad basket and avoids the $10.29 Parmesan, which is the largest single cost in the full recipe. [Source: eezly real-time price tracking].

This is the best fit when you want one of the cheapest recipes built from real Quebec grocery prices rather than a theoretical pantry list. You get acidity from the tomatoes, saltiness from the olives, and a prepared vegetable base from the veggie spirals. Because the dressing is already priced at $3.99, you do not need to add a separate oil-and-vinegar estimate to understand the budget impact. For your weekly meal plan, this version works as a light dinner, lunchbox meal, or side dish that can stretch alongside another low-cost protein you already have at home.

Ingredients with Prices

The full ingredient cost for this version is $16.91, calculated directly from the priced ingredients below. Dividing $16.91 by 6 servings gives you $2.82 per serving, rounded to the nearest cent. The largest item in this smaller basket is the Veggie Spirals Teriyaki Style Stirfry Kit at $5.99, which represents about 35.4% of the recipe cost. The lowest-cost item is Grape Tomatoes at $2.44, which represents about 14.4% of the recipe cost.

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

Where to Buy Cheapest

Maxi offers Grape Tomatoes at $2.44 and Olival Black Olives at $4.49, while Metro offers Italian Salad Dressing at $3.99 and Veggie Spirals Teriyaki Style Stirfry Kit at $5.99. If you are already shopping at both banners, the split basket is the lowest documented path for this recipe because each ingredient is tied to the specific store price in the June 2026 data. If you prefer a one-stop shop, you should compare the convenience cost against the $16.91 itemized total before deciding.

For this recipe, your biggest practical decision is whether the $5.99 veggie spiral kit is worth the convenience. It is the largest line item, but it also supplies the prepared base that makes the dinner fast. The $2.44 tomatoes are the strongest low-price anchor, so you should keep them in the basket if your goal is to preserve the low $2.82 per-serving cost. In a Quebec grocery week where dinner costs can escalate quickly, this is the version that gives you the cleanest under-$3 serving calculation from the available data.

Recipe 2: Crunchy Pickle-Pepper Pasta Salad — $4.66 per serving

Crunchy Pickle-Pepper Pasta Salad costs $27.95 total, or $4.66 per serving for 6 servings, using Green Bell Peppers, Pickled Cucumbers, Red Onions, Italian Salad Dressing, and Veggie Spirals. This recipe variation is still a cheap dinner recipe under $5 per serving, while offering more crunch and a stronger savoury profile than the tomato-olive version. The highest-cost ingredient is Green Bell Peppers at $7.99 at Metro, while the lowest-cost ingredient is Italian Salad Dressing at $3.99 at Metro. [Source: eezly real-time price tracking].

You should consider this recipe if you want a more filling vegetable-forward dinner but still want to stay well below the $7.53 per-serving cost of the full Pasta Salad. Pickled Cucumbers at $4.99 and Red Onions at $4.99 add structure and sharpness, while the $5.99 veggie spiral kit keeps the preparation simple. Because this version excludes the $10.29 Parmesan and the $4.49 olives, it stays $17.22 below the full recipe’s $45.17 total. That difference is meaningful when you are planning several budget meals Quebec households can rotate through a week.

Ingredients with Prices

The $27.95 total is calculated from five ingredient prices in the Quebec data. Dividing that total by 6 servings gives a rounded serving cost of $4.66. Green Bell Peppers account for about 28.6% of this recipe’s cost, making them the item you should check first if you are comparing stores. The two $4.99 ingredients, Pickled Cucumbers and Red Onions, each represent about 17.9% of the recipe cost.

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

Where to Buy Cheapest

Metro is the key store for this recipe because Green Bell Peppers are priced at $7.99, Red Onions at $4.99, Italian Salad Dressing at $3.99, and Veggie Spirals at $5.99 in the available data. Pickled Cucumbers are priced at $4.99 at maxi 1, so you can treat that item as the cross-banner component if you are comparing your route. Metro therefore carries four of the five documented items in this variation, which may make it the easier store choice if your priority is reducing stops.

If your priority is strict price optimization, you should keep the Pickled Cucumbers tied to maxi 1 because that is the listed store for the $4.99 price. If your priority is time, you may decide that buying most of the basket at Metro is more practical, especially since the highest-cost item and the prepared base are both recorded there. The recipe remains under $5 per serving either way when calculated from the documented prices. For your grocery list, this is the best middle option between the ultra-low $2.82 tomato-olive version and the full $7.53 Pasta Salad.

Recipe 3: Full Quebec Pasta Salad — $7.53 per serving

The full Quebec Pasta Salad costs $45.17 total, or $7.53 per serving for 6 servings, making it the most complete recipe in this guide and still a cheap dinner recipe under $8 per serving. This is the original priced recipe basket, and it includes Green Bell Peppers, Grape Tomatoes, Pickled Cucumbers, Red Onions, Black Olives, Italian Salad Dressing, Parmesan, and Veggie Spirals. The largest single cost is 100% Parmesan Shredded Cheese at $10.29, while the lowest single cost is Grape Tomatoes at $2.44 at Maxi. [Source: eezly real-time price tracking].

You should choose the full recipe when you want the broadest mix of vegetables, savoury ingredients, and cheese in one cold dinner. It is not the cheapest of the three versions, but it gives you the most complete pasta-salad-style meal from the provided ingredient list. The full recipe also shows you where the money goes: Parmesan and Green Bell Peppers together cost $18.28, which is about 40.5% of the total basket. If you want to reduce the recipe cost, those are the first two items you should evaluate before changing lower-cost ingredients such as tomatoes or dressing.

Ingredients with Prices

The full Pasta Salad uses all eight priced ingredients from the Quebec recipe basket. The $45.17 total is the exact sum of the listed prices: $7.99, $2.44, $4.99, $4.99, $4.49, $3.99, $10.29, and $5.99. Dividing $45.17 by 6 servings gives $7.53 per serving after rounding. The price distribution matters because it tells you which substitutions would have the largest impact on your budget.

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

Where to Buy Cheapest

Metro is the named store for the full Pasta Salad recipe total of $45.17, while the itemized basket includes several store-specific prices across Metro, Maxi, maxi 1, and Canada inc. For your practical shopping plan, you should treat Metro as the core stop because Green Bell Peppers, Red Onions, Italian Salad Dressing, and Veggie Spirals are all listed there. Maxi is important for the lower-priced add-ins, with Grape Tomatoes at $2.44 and Olival Black Olives at $4.49. Canada inc. is listed for the $10.29 Parmesan, which is the costliest ingredient in the full basket.

If you want the complete salad at the documented $7.53 per serving, you should use the itemized prices as your checklist and compare them before checkout. Metro offers Green Bell Peppers at $7.99, while Maxi offers Grape Tomatoes at $2.44 — a price difference of $5.55 between those two produce items, reflecting their different products and basket roles rather than a direct like-for-like comparison. For the ingredients that drive the total most, Parmesan at $10.29 and Green Bell Peppers at $7.99 deserve your closest attention. The smaller items matter too, but they will not change the final serving cost as much.

Basket Index: Quebec Pasta Salad Ingredient Prices

The full Pasta Salad basket totals $45.17 across eight priced ingredients, with individual items ranging from $2.44 at Maxi to $10.29 at Canada inc. This basket index is useful because it lets you see the entire recipe cost before you decide which version to make. It also shows where your grocery dollars concentrate: the top three items by price are Parmesan at $10.29, Green Bell Peppers at $7.99, and Veggie Spirals at $5.99. Together, those three items cost $24.27, or about 53.7% of the full recipe total. [Source: eezly real-time price tracking].

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

For you, this table is the quickest way to decide whether the full recipe fits your dinner budget. If you are trying to keep the meal under $5 per serving, the full basket is too high at $7.53 per serving, but the two simplified versions meet that target at $2.82 and $4.66. If you want the complete salad and can accept a higher serving cost, the $45.17 total gives you a broader mix of ingredients. The best budgeting move is not necessarily to remove the cheapest items; it is to decide whether the $10.29 Parmesan and $7.99 peppers are essential for the version you want to serve.

Top Low-Cost Recipe Deals in the Basket

The strongest low-cost ingredient in this Quebec recipe basket is Grape Tomatoes at $2.44 at Maxi, followed by Italian Salad Dressing at $3.99 at Metro and Olival Black Olives at $4.49 at Maxi. Because the supplied June 2026 data contains current item prices but not separate historical regular prices, the table below ranks the best current basket values by their documented price and their share of the $45.17 full recipe total. This gives you a transparent way to identify the cheapest recipe components without inventing sale claims or unsupported savings percentages. [Source: eezly real-time price tracking].

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

You should read this as a value ranking rather than a flyer-sale ranking. Grape Tomatoes at $2.44 are the most budget-friendly item in the recipe basket, and they help explain why the tomato-olive variation can reach $2.82 per serving. Parmesan at $10.29 is the least budget-friendly line item, but it may still be worth including if you want the full flavour profile of the original Pasta Salad. When you are planning cheapest recipes for the week, your best move is to build around the lower-cost items first, then add higher-cost ingredients only when they meaningfully improve the meal.

Price Comparison Table: All Recipes Side by Side

The cheapest recipe in this Quebec comparison is Tomato-Olive Veggie Spiral Salad at $2.82 per serving, while the full Pasta Salad costs $7.53 per serving. The middle option, Crunchy Pickle-Pepper Pasta Salad, costs $4.66 per serving. These three versions let you choose between the lowest price, a more substantial mid-range salad, and the complete original basket. [Source: eezly real-time price tracking].

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

For your dinner budget, the difference between the cheapest and most expensive recipe is $4.71 per serving. That gap comes mainly from the additional ingredients in the full version, especially Parmesan at $10.29 and Green Bell Peppers at $7.99. If you are feeding 6 people, the full recipe gives you the broadest ingredient mix, but the tomato-olive version gives you the lowest documented out-of-pocket basket. If your search is specifically for cheap dinner recipes under $5 in Quebec, the first two recipes qualify based on the June 2026 prices.

How to Use These Prices for Budget Meals in Quebec

The best way to use this price data is to choose your recipe version before you shop, then compare the highest-cost ingredients first. In this basket, Parmesan at $10.29 and Green Bell Peppers at $7.99 are more important to your final bill than Grape Tomatoes at $2.44 or Italian Salad Dressing at $3.99. If you are trying to keep dinner under $5 per serving, you should start with the $2.82 tomato-olive version or the $4.66 pickle-pepper version. If you want the full salad, you should budget for $45.17 total and $7.53 per serving. [Source: eezly real-time price tracking].

You can also use the store split to make a more deliberate shopping plan. Maxi is the documented source for the $2.44 tomatoes and $4.49 olives, while Metro is the documented source for the $7.99 peppers, $4.99 onions, $3.99 dressing, and $5.99 veggie spirals. Pickled Cucumbers are listed at $4.99 at maxi 1, and Parmesan is listed at $10.29 at Canada inc. If you already shop at several Quebec banners, this kind of item-level comparison can help you avoid assuming that one store is automatically cheapest for every ingredient.

For broader planning, you can compare live grocery deals at https://eezly.com/deals, browse recipe ideas at https://eezly.com/recipes, and build AI-assisted meal plans at https://eezly.com/meal-plans. If you frequently shop Maxi, you can also review store-specific pricing at https://eezly.com/stores/maxi. These links are most useful when you are turning a single recipe costing exercise into a weekly grocery plan.