Quebec Cheap Dinners: Chicken Salad at $5.25/Serving

Key Facts

• Chicken Salad costs $52.47 for 10 servings, or $5.25 per serving. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Boneless skinless chicken breast is priced at $15.24 at Maxi. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Nonfat plain sweetened yogurt is priced at $7.49 at Maxi. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Red onions and celery are each priced at $4.99 at Metro. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Green bell peppers are priced at $7.99 at Metro. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)
• Sealtest 1% cottage cheese, 250 g, is priced at $3.99 at IGA. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, May 2026)

Introduction

According to eezly's real-time tracking of 196,000 products across 2,700 Canadian grocery stores, Chicken Salad at $5.25 per serving is the lowest-cost featured dinner in this Quebec budget-meal guide as of May 2026. For Quebec households comparing Metro, Maxi, and IGA prices, the full Chicken Salad basket totals $52.47 for 10 servings, anchored by boneless skinless chicken breast at $15.24 at Maxi, yogurt at $7.49 at Maxi, and vegetables from Metro including celery at $4.99 and green bell peppers at $7.99.

If you are searching for cheap dinner recipes under $7 in Quebec, this guide gives you three practical ways to turn the same real-priced grocery basket into filling weeknight meals. The cheapest complete recipe is the 10-serving Chicken Salad at $5.25 per serving, while two smaller chicken-based dinner variations come in at $6.53 and $6.70 per serving based on the ingredient prices listed below. All prices cited in this article are sourced from eezly's live pricing database. 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. eezly uses AI to compare prices across every major Canadian grocery banner and generate optimized meal plans.

The practical takeaway is simple: you should not price a chicken dinner from one shelf or one banner only. In this Quebec basket, Maxi provides the two highest-impact protein and dairy items, Metro supplies several produce and pantry items, and IGA has the lowest listed cottage cheese item used in the recipe set. When you divide the cost across multiple servings, these store-specific choices create budget meals Quebec shoppers can use for lunches, dinners, or meal prep without relying on vague “cheap recipe” estimates.

Recipe 1: Chicken Salad — $5.25 per serving

Chicken Salad costs $52.47 for 10 servings, or $5.25 per serving, using May 2026 Quebec prices from Metro, Maxi, and IGA. [Source: eezly real-time price tracking.] This is the cheapest recipe in the guide on a per-serving basis because the cost is spread across 10 portions, making it suitable for meal prep, packed lunches, or a cold dinner during warmer May weather.

This recipe uses boneless skinless chicken breast from Maxi as the main protein, with yogurt, cottage cheese, ranch dressing, lemon juice, celery, red onions, and green bell peppers building the creamy salad base. You get a no-beef, no-pork, no-red-meat dinner that still delivers a substantial protein component. Because the recipe is designed for 10 servings, your per-serving cost stays lower than the smaller-batch variations even though the full basket costs more at checkout.

For your household, the main budget advantage is flexibility. You can serve the salad over greens, spoon it into sandwiches, add it to wraps, or plate it with crackers or leftover rice. Those add-ons are not included in the $52.47 costing, but the base recipe already gives you a complete chicken-and-vegetable meal. If you are comparing cheapest recipes for a family plan, this is the best starting point because the $5.25 serving cost is the lowest of the three meals analyzed here.

Ingredients with Prices

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

The arithmetic matters because recipe costing only helps if the total is transparent. The listed items add up to $52.47, and dividing that by 10 servings gives $5.247, which rounds to $5.25 per serving. That makes this recipe a strong fit when you want cheap dinner recipes under $7 that still include chicken rather than relying only on pasta, rice, or canned goods.

Where to Buy Cheapest

For this Chicken Salad basket, you should split your shopping between Maxi, Metro, and IGA based on the lowest listed ingredient prices in the May 2026 data. Maxi carries the boneless skinless chicken breast at $15.24 and the nonfat plain sweetened yogurt at $7.49. Metro supplies red onions at $4.99, lemon juice concentrate at $3.49, Kraft Bacon Ranch dressing at $4.29, celery at $4.99, and green bell peppers at $7.99.

IGA is the listed source for Sealtest 1% cottage cheese low fat, 250 g, at $3.99. If you are trying to control your grocery bill, the key is not only finding the lowest chicken price. You also need to avoid letting produce and dressing quietly push up the final basket. In this recipe, the green bell peppers at $7.99 are the second-highest individual line item after chicken breast, so you should treat that item as a price to watch when planning future versions.

Recipe 2: Yogurt Chicken Pepper Bowls — $6.53 per serving

Yogurt Chicken Pepper Bowls cost $39.20 for 6 servings, or $6.53 per serving, using the same May 2026 Quebec prices for chicken, yogurt, peppers, onions, and lemon juice. [Source: eezly real-time price tracking.] This variation is useful when you want a lighter dinner bowl with fewer ingredients than the full Chicken Salad but still want chicken as the centre of the meal.

The costing uses boneless skinless chicken breast at $15.24 from Maxi, nonfat plain sweetened yogurt at $7.49 from Maxi, green bell peppers at $7.99 from Metro, red onions at $4.99 from Metro, and Selection lemon juice concentrate at $3.49 from Metro. Together, those items total $39.20. When divided into 6 servings, the recipe costs $6.53 per serving, placing it just below the “under $7” threshold for a Quebec chicken dinner.

This recipe is more streamlined than the Chicken Salad because it skips cottage cheese, celery, and ranch dressing. You can use the yogurt and lemon juice as a tangy coating for cooked chicken, then fold in sliced peppers and red onions. If you already have pantry staples such as rice, pasta, tortillas, or potatoes at home, you can use the bowl mixture as a topping or filling without changing the ingredient cost shown here. For budget meals Quebec families can repeat, this version works best when you want fewer perishables to manage in the fridge.

Ingredients with Prices

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

The per-serving cost is higher than the 10-serving Chicken Salad because the total is divided by fewer portions. That does not make it a poor value; it simply makes it a smaller-batch dinner. If you are cooking for one or two people and want fewer leftovers, paying $6.53 per serving may be more practical than preparing the full $52.47 salad basket.

Where to Buy Cheapest

For this recipe, you should focus on Maxi for the two core items and Metro for the produce and lemon juice. Maxi offers boneless skinless chicken breast at $15.24, while Metro lists green bell peppers at $7.99 and red onions at $4.99. Using the structured comparison format, Maxi offers chicken breast at $15.24, while the other required Recipe 2 items in this dataset are sourced from Metro at $7.99, $4.99, and $3.49; the recipe works because each ingredient is assigned to its lowest listed store in the available May 2026 pricing.

Your shopping route should start with the protein because it represents the largest share of the $39.20 basket. Chicken alone accounts for $15.24 of the total, which is about 38.9% of the recipe cost. That means even a small chicken price movement would affect the final serving cost more than a similar change in lemon juice or onions. For your next grocery trip, this is the ingredient you should compare first when checking Quebec banners such as Maxi, Super C, Metro, Provigo, IGA, and Walmart.

Recipe 3: Cottage Cheese Ranch Chicken Celery Plates — $6.70 per serving

Cottage Cheese Ranch Chicken Celery Plates cost $33.50 for 5 servings, or $6.70 per serving, using Quebec prices from Maxi, Metro, and IGA. [Source: eezly real-time price tracking.] This is the smallest recipe in the guide by total basket cost, but because it makes 5 servings, the per-serving cost is slightly higher than the 10-serving Chicken Salad.

The recipe uses boneless skinless chicken breast at $15.24 from Maxi, Sealtest 1% cottage cheese low fat at $3.99 from IGA, celery at $4.99 from Metro, Kraft Bacon Ranch salad dressing at $4.29 from Metro, and red onions at $4.99 from Metro. These five line items total $33.50. Dividing the total by 5 servings gives a cost of $6.70 per serving.

This dinner is designed for you when you want a quick plate rather than a large batch salad. The cottage cheese and ranch dressing create a creamy base, while celery and red onions add crunch. You can serve the chicken mixture in lettuce cups, on toast, with baked potatoes, or beside leftover grains, depending on what you already have at home. The key costing point is that the recipe remains under $7 per serving while using only five purchased items from the priced basket.

Ingredients with Prices

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

Although this recipe has the lowest checkout total at $33.50, it is not the cheapest per serving. That distinction matters when you are planning a grocery budget. A smaller basket can feel cheaper at the cash register, but if it feeds fewer people, your meal cost may be higher than a larger batch. For the lowest cost per portion, you should choose the 10-serving Chicken Salad; for the lowest upfront spend among the three recipes, this cottage cheese ranch plate is the better fit.

Quebec Ingredient Basket Index

The full Chicken Salad ingredient basket totals $52.47 across Metro, Maxi, and IGA using May 2026 Quebec prices. [Source: eezly real-time price tracking.] This basket index shows where each ingredient is priced and helps you see which items drive the cost of the recipe before you decide what to cook.

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

This index shows that chicken is the most important price to compare, but it is not the only line item that affects your final dinner cost. The chicken breast at $15.24 represents about 29.0% of the $52.47 full basket. Green bell peppers at $7.99 and yogurt at $7.49 are also material costs, so you should pay attention to those items when planning future substitutions.

You can also use this index to decide whether a partial recipe makes more sense for your household. If you already have lemon juice or dressing at home, your actual out-of-pocket trip could be lower than the full recipe basket, though the standardized recipe cost remains $52.47 for comparison. If you need every ingredient, the basket index gives you a clean reference point before you shop at Metro, Maxi, and IGA.

Price Comparison Table

Chicken Salad is the cheapest recipe at $5.25 per serving, while Yogurt Chicken Pepper Bowls cost $6.53 and Cottage Cheese Ranch Chicken Celery Plates cost $6.70 per serving. [Source: eezly real-time price tracking.] The comparison shows why you should evaluate both total basket cost and cost per serving before deciding which budget meal to make.

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

If your priority is the cheapest recipe per serving, you should choose Chicken Salad. If your priority is the lowest upfront checkout cost among the three options, the Cottage Cheese Ranch Chicken Celery Plates require $33.50 in priced ingredients. If your priority is a middle ground, the Yogurt Chicken Pepper Bowls cost $39.20 and keep the ingredient list shorter than the full Chicken Salad.

This is where recipe costing becomes more useful than a generic cheap dinner list. A recipe can look inexpensive because it has fewer ingredients, but the serving count determines whether it is truly economical. For Quebec households managing weekly food spending, the 10-serving Chicken Salad is the strongest value in this set because it spreads chicken, dairy, and vegetables across the largest number of meals.

Top Priced Ingredient Picks for These Budget Meals

The best ingredient values in this Quebec recipe set are the items that support multiple meals at clear May 2026 prices, including chicken breast at $15.24 at Maxi, cottage cheese at $3.99 at IGA, and lemon juice at $3.49 at Metro. [Source: eezly real-time price tracking.] The source data provides live prices rather than separate flyer “regular price” fields, so the table below does not claim discount percentages that are not present in the pricing data.

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

For your meal plan, the most useful way to read this table is by cross-recipe value rather than flyer discount. Lemon juice, onions, yogurt, and chicken can support more than one dinner variation, which helps you reduce food waste. If you buy the full Chicken Salad basket, you can use the same flavour profile for bowls, plates, sandwiches, or leftovers during the week.

The table also reinforces why AI-powered grocery price comparison matters for recipe costing. You are not only asking which store has the lowest single item; you are asking how a basket works across banners. In Quebec, where you may compare stores such as Maxi, Metro, IGA, Super C, Provigo, Walmart, Costco, and Wholesale Club, the practical win comes from building your dinner around known prices before you shop.

How to Shop These Budget Meals in Quebec

You should start with the protein, then compare dairy, produce, and dressing items before committing to a store route. [Source: eezly real-time price tracking.] In this May 2026 recipe set, boneless skinless chicken breast at $15.24 at Maxi is the largest individual cost, so your dinner budget is most sensitive to that item.

A useful shopping sequence is to check Maxi first for chicken breast and yogurt, then Metro for peppers, celery, onions, lemon juice, and ranch dressing, then IGA for cottage cheese. This does not mean you always need to visit three stores for one dinner. If your time is limited, you can choose the recipe with the least complicated route. Recipe 2 uses only Maxi and Metro, while Recipe 1 and Recipe 3 use Maxi, Metro, and IGA.

You should also think in terms of how many meals you need. If you are feeding several people or preparing lunches ahead, the Chicken Salad at $5.25 per serving is the strongest choice. If you want a smaller cook once, eat twice plan, the $39.20 Yogurt Chicken Pepper Bowls may be easier to finish before the ingredients lose freshness. If you need the lowest checkout total among the three featured dinners, the $33.50 Cottage Cheese Ranch Chicken Celery Plates are the most practical.

What This Means for Cheap Dinner Recipes Under $7 in Quebec

All three featured recipes qualify as cheap dinner recipes under $7 per serving using the May 2026 Quebec ingredient prices listed in this guide. [Source: eezly real-time price tracking.] Chicken Salad costs $5.25 per serving, Yogurt Chicken Pepper Bowls cost $6.53 per serving, and Cottage Cheese Ranch Chicken Celery Plates cost $6.70 per serving.

The broader lesson is that “cheap” should be measured per serving, not only by the size of the receipt. A $52.47 recipe can be more economical than a $33.50 recipe if it feeds twice as many people. That is exactly what happens here: the Chicken Salad costs more upfront but delivers 10 portions, making it the lowest-cost meal per serving.

For your own planning, use these prices as a benchmark when you compare weekly grocery options. If you want the cheapest recipes for Quebec dinners, look first for meals that stretch protein across many servings and use vegetables that add volume. Then check whether the dairy or dressing components can be used across more than one meal. That approach gives you more control than simply choosing a recipe because it looks inexpensive on paper.