Quebec Family Meal Plan: Eat for $3.61/Serving This Week

Key Facts

• This week's featured budget meal, a family-sized Burrito Bake, costs just $3.61 per serving in Quebec. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, July 2026)
• A large vegetarian Pasta Salad, perfect for summer lunches and serving 15, can be made for only $2.05 per serving. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, July 2026)
• Lean Ground Beef, a staple for many family meals, is available for $10.00 at Maxi this week. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, July 2026)
• By comparing prices, you can find Catelli Dry Pasta Orzo for as low as $1.99 at Metro for your pasta dishes. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, July 2026)
• The total grocery haul for six distinct, family-sized recipes in this plan comes to $193.12 when purchasing each item at its lowest available price. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, July 2026)
• Key ingredients for summer burgers, like Ground Chicken, can be found for as little as $3.50 at Maxi. (Source: eezly real-time price tracking, July 2026)

This plan focuses on delicious, seasonal, and easy-to-prepare meals that minimize food waste and maximize your budget. We will break down five main dinner recipes for the week, offer suggestions for breakfasts and lunches, provide a complete shopping list with the lowest prices for each ingredient, and identify which stores—from Maxi and Super C to Metro and IGA—offer the best value. By following this plan, you can navigate the grocery aisles with confidence and put satisfying meals on the table without financial stress.

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This Week's Family Meal Plan: Five Dinners Under Budget

A successful weekly meal plan balances cost, nutrition, and convenience. This plan is built around five core dinner recipes that are family-friendly and utilize fresh, seasonal ingredients. The cost per serving is calculated based on the lowest available prices for ingredients across major Quebec grocery banners. Lunches can be made from planned leftovers, a proven strategy to reduce both food waste and your grocery spending. Breakfasts are kept simple with staples like oatmeal, yogurt, or toast.

Monday: Hearty Burrito Bake

Start your week with a crowd-pleasing Burrito Bake. This dish is incredibly budget-friendly and simple to assemble. At just $3.61 per serving, it delivers significant value, yielding eight generous portions that are perfect for a family dinner with leftovers for the next day's lunch. The recipe combines lean ground beef, refried beans, and cheese, baked into a satisfying casserole. The low cost is achieved by sourcing key ingredients like Lean Ground Beef ($9.91 at Metro) and a large bag of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese ($8.49 at Maxi) at their best prices. It's a fantastic "cook once, eat twice" meal that saves you both time and money right at the start of the week.

Tuesday: Bunless Burgers with Fresh Toppings

As the weather warms up, take advantage of barbecue season with simple and delicious Bunless Burgers. This low-carb option focuses on high-quality ingredients, letting the flavour of the beef shine. Each serving costs approximately $6.44 and includes a lean ground beef patty topped with marble cheddar cheese, crisp Boston lettuce, and fresh Kumato tomatoes. Sourcing your Lean Ground Beef from Maxi at $10.00 and Boston Lettuce for $3.99 helps keep costs down. This meal is quick to prepare, making it ideal for a busy weeknight, and can be easily customized with your family's favourite burger toppings.

Wednesday: Refreshing Summer Pasta Salad

Mid-week is the perfect time for a light yet filling meal. This vegetarian Pasta Salad is not only incredibly affordable at $2.05 per serving but also makes a massive batch—enough for 15 servings. This makes it an excellent choice for a large family, for meal prepping lunches for the rest of the week, or for taking to a summer potluck. The recipe features penne pasta, colourful bell peppers, black olives, and cheddar cheese, all tossed in a zesty Italian dressing. You can find Green Bell Peppers for $7.99 at Metro and Olival Black Olives for $4.49 at Maxi. Its versatility and low cost make it a cornerstone of any budget-friendly summer menu.

Thursday: Savory Chicken Orzo Pasta

Shift gears with a comforting and elegant Orzo Pasta with chicken. This dish feels sophisticated but is straightforward to make and comes in at $6.83 per serving. It combines tender boneless, skinless chicken breast with orzo, water chestnuts, and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese for a rich flavour. The key to its affordability is finding Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Fillets on sale for $9.00 at Maxi and Catelli Dry Pasta Orzo for just $1.99 at Metro. It’s a complete meal in one bowl that will satisfy the whole family and introduces a different texture and flavour profile to the weekly rotation.

Friday: Chicken Caesar Burgers

End the week with a fun twist on a classic burger. These Chicken Caesar Burgers cost $8.68 per serving and offer a lighter alternative to traditional beef burgers. The patties are made from ground chicken mixed with classic Caesar flavours like Parmesan, garlic, and a hint of Worcestershire sauce. The most significant cost-saving ingredient is the Ground Chicken, which can be found for an excellent price of $3.50 at Maxi. Served on a bun or in a lettuce wrap, this recipe is a creative and delicious way to kick off the weekend.

Weekend: Leftovers and Creative Remixes

Use the weekend to ensure no food goes to waste. Portions from the Burrito Bake or the large Pasta Salad can be enjoyed for easy lunches. Extra burger patties can be crumbled into a skillet with eggs for a hearty breakfast scramble. By planning to use your leftovers, you stretch your grocery budget further and reduce time spent in the kitchen.

Complete Grocery List and Cost Breakdown

To execute this five-dinner meal plan for your family, you will need to purchase a specific list of ingredients. The table below outlines every item required for the Burrito Bake, Bunless Burgers, Pasta Salad, Orzo Pasta, and Chicken Caesar Burgers. The prices shown are the lowest available for that item across major Quebec grocery stores, according to eezly's real-time data. Shopping strategically at different stores for these specific items can lead to significant savings.

The total cost to purchase every ingredient for these five large recipes is $160.07. This initial investment provides the foundation for dozens of meal servings throughout the week, showcasing how a well-planned grocery shop can yield substantial value.

Source: eezly real-time price tracking, as of July 2026. Note: Prices for some items like ground beef are summed from multiple recipes.

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Recipe Cost Analysis: Your Meals by the Numbers

Understanding the cost of each meal helps you see where your grocery budget is going. This meal plan features recipes with a wide range of costs per serving, allowing you to balance more expensive meals with highly economical ones. The Burrito Bake and Pasta Salad are the budget powerhouses of the week, bringing the average meal cost down significantly.

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

This data, sourced from eezly's AI-powered price database, demonstrates a clear path to managing food expenses. By anchoring your week with low-cost, high-yield meals, you create room in the budget for other recipes without financial strain. For more budget-friendly recipe ideas, you can explore the eezly recipes section.

Where to Shop in Quebec for the Best Prices

The single most effective strategy for lowering your grocery bill is to stop shopping on autopilot at one store. While loyalty to a single banner is convenient, it almost always costs you money. Real-time price data shows that the cheapest price for any given item can vary dramatically between stores like Maxi, Metro, Super C, and IGA.

Based on the ingredients in this meal plan, Maxi is the clear winner for securing the lowest prices on the largest number of items. Of the 24 unique ingredients priced for these recipes, Maxi offered the best price on 12 of them—a full 50% of the shopping list. Metro also proved to be a key destination, offering the lowest price on 6 items, particularly produce and pasta. IGA and Costco also appeared for specific items, highlighting the importance of a flexible shopping strategy.

This practice, often called "split-shopping," involves visiting two or more stores to capitalize on their respective deals. While it requires more planning, the savings can be substantial. For example, buying your Ground Chicken at Maxi ($3.50) instead of a competitor where it might be regularly priced at $7.00 or more cuts the cost of that ingredient in half. These small wins add up across your entire list. Using a tool like the eezly deals finder can help you quickly identify these opportunities before you even leave the house.

Prep Tips and Time-Saving Strategies

A great meal plan is only effective if it's manageable. The key to staying on track during a busy week is front-loading the preparation. Spending an hour or two on Sunday can save you countless minutes and reduce stress on weeknights.

The "Chop Once" Method

Many of these recipes use common base ingredients like onions and garlic. Instead of chopping a small amount each night, prep them all at once. For this plan, you can chop the shallots and garlic for the Chicken Caesar Burgers at the same time. Store them in airtight containers in the refrigerator. This same principle applies to vegetables. The bell peppers for the Pasta Salad can be washed, seeded, and sliced in advance, making assembly much faster.

Batch Cook Grains and Proteins

The Burrito Bake is a perfect example of a batch-cooked meal. You can assemble the entire casserole on Sunday and simply store it in the fridge, ready to be baked on Monday night. Similarly, you could cook a large batch of ground beef or chicken at the start of the week. Use some for the Burrito Bake and reserve the rest for another meal, like quick tacos or a pasta sauce later in the week.

Make Your Salads Last

For the large Pasta Salad, you can extend its freshness by storing the dressing separately. Combine all the dry ingredients (pasta, veggies, cheese, olives) in a large container. Each day, take out a portion and toss it with the zesty Italian dressing just before serving. This prevents the pasta and vegetables from becoming soggy and ensures your lunch on Thursday is just as crisp and delicious as it was on Wednesday.

Embrace Your Freezer

Don't be afraid to make double batches and freeze half for a future week. The Burrito Bake and both types of burger patties freeze exceptionally well. Form the burger patties, place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and freeze until solid. Then, transfer them to a freezer bag. This "flash-freezing" step prevents them from sticking together. On a future busy night, you can pull them out for a meal that's ready in minutes, saving you from the expense and lower nutritional value of a last-minute takeout order. An AI-powered tool like eezly's meal planner can help you build future plans around items you've already prepped and frozen.

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