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Quebec Meal Plan: 7 Summer Dinners Under $7 Per Serving

June 26, 2026 · 14 min read · QC

Key Facts

According to eezly's real-time tracking of 196,000 products across 2,700 Canadian grocery stores, you can build a full week of seven distinct, family-sized dinners in Quebec with an average cost per serving under $7.00 as of June 2026. By strategically shopping at banners like Maxi, IGA, and Metro for the best prices on individual ingredients, the total grocery cost for these seven complete dinner recipes comes to $281.28. This plan is designed to offer variety, leverage seasonal ingredients, and provide hearty meals that can serve anywhere from four to ten people, making it a flexible option for Quebec families looking to manage their food budget without sacrificing flavour.

This guide breaks down the full seven-day dinner menu, provides a complete and itemized grocery list based on the lowest available prices, and offers strategies for meal prep to make your week easier. We will explore how splitting your shopping trip across different stores can yield significant savings and provide a clear blueprint for your weekly grocery run. 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.

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Your Quebec Summer Meal Plan: A Weekly Overview

Planning your weekly meals is the single most effective strategy for controlling your grocery spending. This week’s plan, curated using real-time price data from Quebec grocers, focuses on variety and value, ensuring your family enjoys delicious and diverse dinners. The total cost to purchase all the necessary ingredients for these seven recipes is $281.28. While this may seem like a significant upfront investment, it breaks down to an impressively low cost per meal, especially considering the generous serving sizes which often guarantee leftovers for lunch the next day.

The average cost per serving across all seven dinners is approximately $5.88. This figure demonstrates the power of strategic shopping and cooking at home, especially when compared to the rising cost of takeout or restaurant meals. Your week will feature a range of proteins, including lean ground beef, turkey, chicken, and a vegetarian tofu option, alongside plenty of fresh vegetables. From a hearty Ground Beef Curry to light and crisp Turkey Burgers, the menu is designed to appeal to a wide range of tastes.

The following table provides a high-level look at your dinner menu for the week. It outlines each day's featured recipe, the number of servings it yields, and the precise cost per serving. This allows you to see the value packed into each meal and plan for nights where you’ll have plenty of leftovers.

DayDinner RecipeTotal ServingsCost Per Serving
MondayCurry Tofu Noodle Stir Fry6$5.24
TuesdayTurkey Burgers6$5.08
WednesdayChicken, Rice & Vegetable Soup10$5.98
ThursdayGround Beef Curry8$4.97
FridayBunless Burgers (Beef)4$6.44
SaturdayChicken Rice Pasta and Vegetables6$6.64
SundayBok Choi Salad with Noodles8$6.78

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

This Week's Dinner Menu: Day by Day

Diving into the daily plan reveals a week of flavourful, budget-conscious meals. Each recipe has been costed using the lowest available ingredient prices across major Quebec grocery stores. Here’s what you’ll be enjoying for dinner this week.

Monday: Curry Tofu Noodle Stir Fry

You'll start the week with a vibrant and satisfying vegetarian dish. This Curry Tofu Noodle Stir Fry is quick to prepare, taking only about five minutes of prep time. The recipe combines the creaminess of coconut milk with the aromatic warmth of curry powder, balanced with fresh tomatoes and shallots. Silken tofu provides a plant-based protein source, and medium egg noodles make it a filling meal. At just $5.24 per serving and yielding six servings, it’s an economical and flavourful way to kick off your week. The total ingredient cost for this recipe is $31.42, with key items like Silken Tofu found for $2.79 at Maxi.

Tuesday: Turkey Burgers

For Tuesday, you can switch to a lighter, leaner protein with these delicious Turkey Burgers. This recipe is exceptionally quick, with a prep time of only five minutes. It uses extra lean ground turkey, which you can find for a great price of $6.00 at Maxi. Seasoned with mild taco seasoning and bound with egg whites and panko bread crumbs, these burgers are juicy and packed with flavour. This recipe makes six burgers at a cost of only $5.08 per serving, making it one of the most affordable meals of the week. Serve them on buns or in lettuce wraps for a lower-carb option.

Wednesday: Chicken, Rice & Vegetable Soup

Mid-week calls for a comforting and hearty meal that requires minimal effort. This Chicken, Rice & Vegetable Soup makes a massive batch of 10 servings, perfect for a large family or for ensuring you have leftovers for lunches. The recipe uses breaded chicken breast for convenience, alongside classic soup vegetables like carrots and celery, and earthy portabella mushrooms. A touch of half-and-half cream gives it a rich finish. The total cost for this large-yield soup is $59.76, which breaks down to a reasonable $5.98 per serving. Given the volume, this one recipe provides exceptional value.

Thursday: Ground Beef Curry

Thursday’s dinner is the most budget-friendly of the week: a flavourful Ground Beef Curry at just $4.97 per serving. This recipe yields eight generous portions, making it another fantastic option for batch cooking. It features a rich and aromatic sauce made with cinnamon, curry powder, garlic, ginger, and a high-quality rosée pasta sauce as a clever shortcut. The combination of lean ground meat (a beef, pork, and veal mix is specified) with cilantro and whole water chestnuts for texture creates a complex and satisfying dish. The total ingredient cost is $39.80, with the best price for the ground meat mix found at Alimentation Alexandra Cloutier Inc. for $12.12.

Friday: Bunless Burgers (Beef)

Celebrate the end of the work week with a classic: burgers. This Bunless Burgers recipe is a great low-carb, high-protein option. It features lean ground beef patties served on a bed of crisp Boston lettuce with Kumato tomatoes, marble cheddar cheese, and dill pickles. The focus is on the quality of the core ingredients. This recipe makes four servings at $6.44 per serving. You can find the required lean ground beef at Maxi for $10.00. While it's a simpler meal, it’s perfect for a casual Friday night and easily customizable with your favorite condiments.

Saturday: Chicken Rice Pasta and Vegetables

Your Saturday dinner is a colourful and wholesome stir-fry-style dish: Chicken Rice Pasta and Vegetables. This meal brings together breaded chicken breast, broccoli, celery, snow peas, and sweet green peppers in a creamy mushroom sauce. Served over rice noodles, it's a complete meal in one bowl that comes together in just 15 minutes of prep time. The recipe makes six servings at a cost of $6.64 each. The mix of fresh, crunchy vegetables with the tender chicken and creamy sauce is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser for a weekend family dinner.

Sunday: Bok Choi Salad with Noodles

End your week with a fresh and zesty Bok Choi Salad. This isn't your typical garden salad; it's a substantial meal featuring udon noodles, cranberries, and green onions, all tossed in a delicious homemade dressing of soy sauce, sesame oil, and peanut oil. The crunch of the fresh bok choy provides a refreshing contrast to the soft noodles. This recipe makes a large batch of eight servings at $6.78 per serving. It's a perfect meal for a warm summer evening and can be served as-is or supplemented with any leftover protein from earlier in the week, such as chicken or turkey.

The Complete Grocery List: Your Shopping Blueprint

To achieve the total weekly cost of $281.28, you'll need to purchase specific ingredients at the stores where they are priced lowest. This strategy, known as price matching or splitting your shop, is central to maximizing your grocery budget. Below is the comprehensive list of every ingredient needed for this week's seven dinner recipes, along with the store where you can find the best price as of June 2026. For a deeper dive into deals, you can explore the latest flyers and offers on eezly.com/deals.

Produce

Meat & Protein


Pantry & Dairy


Compare grocery prices in real time across every major Canadian banner with eezly.

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Where to Shop for the Best Prices in Quebec

The ingredient list above highlights a critical insight into modern grocery savings: loyalty to a single store can be costly. To secure the lowest possible total for this meal plan, your shopping strategy will involve visiting multiple banners. Based on the price data from eezly's AI-powered platform, your lowest total cost is achieved by purchasing specific items from Maxi, IGA, Metro, Costco, and other smaller grocers.

Maxi consistently offers the best prices for many pantry staples and some proteins, such as the Extra Lean Ground Turkey ($6.00) and Curry Powder ($2.50). Meanwhile, IGA is your go-to for certain produce items like Kumato Tomatoes ($6.49). Metro offers competitive prices on other fresh items, including Garlic ($1.99) and Celery ($4.99). This multi-store approach requires more planning but directly translates into significant savings on your final bill.

To simplify this process, you can use a tool like eezly to build your shopping list and see which store has the best price for each item before you leave home. By organizing your list by store, you can turn multiple stops into an efficient, money-saving trip. For instance, you could plan one trip to Maxi for all your pantry and meat needs, and another to IGA or Metro for specific produce, maximizing your savings without spending your whole day shopping. You can even generate entire AI-powered meal plans with optimized shopping lists to automate this process.

Meal Prep and Time-Saving Strategies

A great meal plan is only as good as your ability to execute it. A few hours of prep work on the weekend can make your weeknights significantly smoother and less stressful.

Sunday Prep Session

Batch Cooking for Leftovers


Several recipes in this plan are designed to produce large quantities. The Chicken, Rice & Vegetable Soup (10 servings) and the Ground Beef Curry (8 servings) are perfect examples. Embrace these leftovers. A serving of soup makes an excellent, quick lunch. The curry is often even more flavourful the next day. By planning to eat leftovers for lunch, you further reduce your weekly food costs and save time.

Beyond Dinner: Budgeting for Breakfast, Lunch, and Snacks

While this plan meticulously covers your dinners, a complete weekly food budget must also account for breakfast, lunch, and snacks. The key is to apply the same cost-saving principles: focus on low-cost, versatile staples.

For breakfast, consider items like large-format rolled oats, eggs, or whole-wheat bread. A large container of oats can provide breakfast for the entire week for just a few dollars. Eggs are a fantastic source of protein and can often be found on sale. For lunches, rely on dinner leftovers as your primary strategy. This is the most cost-effective approach. Supplement with a large loaf of bread and some simple fillings like cheese or hummus for variety.

For snacks, buying seasonal fruit in bulk is typically the best value. In June in Quebec, look for deals on local strawberries or other berries. A large tub of plain yogurt can also be a versatile, healthy, and affordable snack option that you can flavour yourself with fruit or a drizzle of honey, which is much cheaper than buying individual flavoured cups. By adding these staples to your shopping list from the most affordable stores, you can keep your entire weekly food budget in check.

Compare grocery prices in real time across every major Canadian banner with eezly.

Try eezly — Free

Comparison

DayDinner RecipeTotal ServingsCost Per Serving
MondayCurry Tofu Noodle Stir Fry6$5.24
TuesdayTurkey Burgers6$5.08
WednesdayChicken, Rice & Vegetable Soup10$5.98
ThursdayGround Beef Curry8$4.97
FridayBunless Burgers (Beef)4$6.44
SaturdayChicken Rice Pasta and Vegetables6$6.64
SundayBok Choi Salad with Noodles8$6.78

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

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the cheapest grocery store in Quebec?

There is no single "cheapest" grocery store for everything. According to eezly's real-time price tracking across 27 banners in Quebec, discount stores like Maxi and Super C often have the lowest prices on pantry staples and packaged goods. However, stores like IGA or Metro may have better weekly sales on specific produce or meat. The best strategy is to check prices for the items on your list and shop at the store that offers the lowest total bill, which may involve visiting more than one banner.

How much should a family in Quebec budget for groceries per week?

Grocery budgets vary widely based on family size, diet, and location. However, this meal plan demonstrates that a week of seven hearty dinners can be achieved for a total ingredient cost of $281.28, with an average cost per serving of around $5.88. To create a full budget, you would add the cost of breakfast, lunch, and snack staples, which could add another $50-$100 depending on your choices.

How can AI help me save money on groceries?

AI-powered platforms like eezly can help you save money by automating the price comparison process. Instead of manually checking flyers from Maxi, IGA, Metro, and Super C, an AI platform tracks 40 million price points per week across 2,700 stores. It can instantly show you the lowest price for each item on your list, build an optimized shopping cart that tells you where to buy what, and even generate entire [budget-friendly recipes](https://eezly.com/recipes) based on what's on sale that week.

Is it really worth visiting multiple grocery stores?

Yes, the savings can be substantial. For a curated basket of goods, the price difference between shopping at the most convenient store versus the cheapest combination of stores can be 15-30%. For this specific meal plan, achieving the $281.28 total requires buying items like Extra Lean Ground Turkey at Maxi ($6.00) and Kumato Tomatoes at IGA ($6.49). If you bought everything at one store, your total cost would likely be significantly higher.

What are the most budget-friendly meals in this plan?

The most budget-friendly meal in this plan is the Ground Beef Curry at $4.97 per serving, which makes a large batch of eight servings. The Turkey Burgers are also highly economical at $5.08 per serving. Both meals utilize ground meat, which is often more affordable than whole cuts, and are packed with flavour from inexpensive pantry seasonings.

Can I substitute ingredients in these recipes to save more money?

Absolutely. The prices here are based on the specific ingredients listed, but you can always make smart substitutions. If broccoli is expensive, you could use cauliflower. If a specific brand of pasta sauce is listed, a generic store brand on sale will work just as well. The key is to check prices on similar items using a tool like eezly and choose the one that offers the best value that week.

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