Ontario Seasonal Recipes: $10.98 Pasta at Fortinos

May 25, 2026 · 15 min read · ON

Key Facts

Introduction

According to eezly's real-time tracking of 196,000 products across 2,700 Canadian grocery stores, Pasta with Tomato Sauce is $10.98 at Fortinos in Ontario as of May 2026. That makes it the lowest-cost recipe in this Ontario seasonal recipe collection, with a listed cost per serving of $2.75 for 4 servings. For your May grocery planning, the three provided Ontario recipes are Pasta with Tomato Sauce at Fortinos, GF Pasta with Meat Sauce at Foodbasics, and Chicken Stir-Fry at Fortinos, with individual ingredient prices also appearing at Foodbasics.

This guide focuses on seasonal recipes Ontario shoppers can price before they shop, using only the real recipe and ingredient costs provided for May 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.

For you, the practical takeaway is straightforward: if you want the lowest listed total cost in this collection, Pasta with Tomato Sauce at $10.98 is the starting point. If you want a meat-based pasta dinner, GF Pasta with Meat Sauce is listed at $21.50. If you want a vegetable-forward chicken meal, Chicken Stir-Fry is priced at $26.97, with broccoli, baby carrots, margarine, garlic powder, dark brown sugar, and boneless skinless chicken thighs included in the priced ingredient list.

Seasonal Recipes with Real Ingredient Costs

The Ontario seasonal recipe collection includes 3 priced recipes, with total costs ranging from $10.98 to $26.97 and store names including Fortinos and Foodbasics. Source: eezly real-time price tracking. If you are building a seasonal grocery list Ontario households can actually use, you need more than recipe inspiration; you need the cost of each meal, the number of servings, and the store where the priced recipe is anchored.

Each recipe below is presented as a self-contained grocery planning option. You can use the total cost when deciding what fits your weekly budget, and you can use the cost per serving when comparing meals for a household of four. Because the data comes from real recipe pricing rather than generic pantry assumptions, the comparison is especially useful when you are choosing between cheap seasonal meals Ontario stores can support in May.

Pasta with Tomato Sauce — $10.98 total, $2.75 per serving

Pasta with Tomato Sauce is the lowest-cost recipe in this Ontario collection at $10.98 total and $2.75 per serving at Fortinos. Source: eezly real-time price tracking. For you, this is the clearest budget anchor if your goal is a simple May dinner with a short priced ingredient list.

The priced ingredients are Pasta at $3.99 from Fortinos, Kumato Tomatoes at $5.99 from Fortinos, and Garlic at $1.00 from Foodbasics. The recipe serves 4 and has a listed prep time of 20 minutes, which makes it the quickest recipe in the provided Ontario collection. If you are comparing recipe costs Ontario-wide by meal type, this pasta dinner has the lowest listed cost per serving among the three recipes provided.

The key cost driver is the Kumato Tomatoes at $5.99 from Fortinos, which are priced higher than the pasta itself. Your most important shopping decision for this recipe is therefore not whether to make pasta, but how you plan your tomato purchase. Since the garlic is listed at $1.00 from Foodbasics and the other two ingredients are listed at Fortinos, your grocery list can be organized by store if you already shop both banners.

GF Pasta with Meat Sauce — $21.50 total, $5.38 per serving

GF Pasta with Meat Sauce costs $21.50 total and $5.38 per serving at Foodbasics in Ontario. Source: eezly real-time price tracking. This recipe is the middle-cost option in the collection and gives you a meat-based pasta dinner with 4 servings.

The priced ingredients are Gluten Free, Fusilli Pasta at $2.99 from Foodbasics, Medium Ground Beef at $15.60 from Foodbasics, Tomato Sauce at $1.87 from Foodbasics, and Yellow Onion at $1.04 from Fortinos. The recipe has a listed prep time of 30 minutes and includes diet tags indicating no fish, no lamb, no pork, and no shellfish. If you are shopping for a gluten-free pasta meal, this is the only recipe in the provided collection that explicitly prices gluten-free fusilli.

Your cost attention should go first to the Medium Ground Beef at $15.60 from Foodbasics. That single ingredient is the largest listed item in this recipe, while the Gluten Free, Fusilli Pasta is listed at $2.99 and Tomato Sauce at $1.87. If you are using eezly’s AI-powered grocery price comparison while planning your list, you would treat the beef as the ingredient most worth checking before you finalize your basket.

Chicken Stir-Fry — $26.97 total, $6.74 per serving

Chicken Stir-Fry costs $26.97 total and $6.74 per serving for 4 servings in Ontario, with the recipe anchored to Fortinos and ingredient prices also listed at Foodbasics. Source: eezly real-time price tracking. This is the highest-cost recipe in the provided seasonal collection, but it also includes the broadest priced ingredient list.

The priced ingredients are Broccoli at $4.49 from Fortinos, Baby Carrots at $5.99 from Foodbasics, Margarine at $3.99 from Fortinos, Garlic Powder at $1.54 from Fortinos, Dark Brown Sugar at $0.39 from Fortinos, and Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs at $10.57 from Foodbasics. The recipe serves 4 and has a listed prep time of 30 minutes. If your May dinner plan needs chicken and vegetables, this recipe gives you the most complete itemized list in the collection.

For your seasonal grocery list, the main proteins and produce items deserve the closest attention. Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs are listed at $10.57 from Foodbasics, Baby Carrots are listed at $5.99 from Foodbasics, and Broccoli is listed at $4.49 from Fortinos. The lower-priced supporting ingredients, such as Dark Brown Sugar at $0.39 and Garlic Powder at $1.54 from Fortinos, still matter because they complete the recipe without requiring you to guess at seasoning costs.

Recipe Cost Comparison

Pasta with Tomato Sauce is the lowest-cost Ontario recipe in this May 2026 collection at $10.98, while Chicken Stir-Fry is the highest at $26.97. Source: eezly real-time price tracking. If you are comparing cheap seasonal meals Ontario shoppers can make for 4 servings, your best first filter is total cost, followed by cost per serving and store name.

The comparison below uses only the three priced recipes provided for Ontario. It does not add pantry assumptions, substitute ingredients, or unlisted sale prices. That matters because recipe costs Ontario shoppers see in search results can become misleading when they mix real prices with estimated pantry staples. Here, every price in the table is tied to a named recipe, a listed store, and a May 2026 real-time price record.

RecipeTotal CostServingsCost Per ServingCheapest Store or Store Names
Pasta with Tomato Sauce$10.984$2.75Fortinos; Foodbasics ingredient row
GF Pasta with Meat Sauce$21.504$5.38Foodbasics; Fortinos ingredient row
Chicken Stir-Fry$26.974$6.74Fortinos; Foodbasics ingredient rows

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

The table shows a clear ordering for your meal plan. Pasta with Tomato Sauce is the budget-first choice at $10.98 and $2.75 per serving. GF Pasta with Meat Sauce sits in the middle at $21.50 and $5.38 per serving, which may suit you if you want a gluten-free pasta recipe with beef. Chicken Stir-Fry is the highest-priced recipe at $26.97 and $6.74 per serving, but it also includes chicken thighs and multiple vegetables or supporting ingredients.

You can use this comparison to decide how to sequence dinners through the week. If you need one lower-cost dinner to balance a more expensive protein meal, Pasta with Tomato Sauce can offset the higher price of Chicken Stir-Fry within your overall grocery plan. If your household wants both pasta and protein, GF Pasta with Meat Sauce gives you a priced option between the two. The most useful habit is to compare cost per serving before you compare recipe names, because cost per serving tells you what the meal does to your household budget.

Ingredient Price Highlights by Store

Foodbasics has the highest individual ingredient price in this collection, Medium Ground Beef at $15.60, while Fortinos has the lowest listed ingredient price, Dark Brown Sugar at $0.39. Source: eezly real-time price tracking. For your grocery planning, ingredient-level pricing is often more useful than recipe totals because it shows which items drive the bill.

The second table lists real ingredient rows from the provided recipes. You can use it to sort your own shopping list by store, or to identify the ingredients that deserve the most attention before you buy. This is especially helpful if you shop at both Fortinos and Foodbasics in Ontario, because all three recipes include at least one ingredient row from one of those two banners.

IngredientRecipePriceStore
PastaPasta with Tomato Sauce$3.99Fortinos
Kumato TomatoesPasta with Tomato Sauce$5.99Fortinos
GarlicPasta with Tomato Sauce$1.00Foodbasics
Gluten Free, Fusilli PastaGF Pasta with Meat Sauce$2.99Foodbasics
Medium Ground BeefGF Pasta with Meat Sauce$15.60Foodbasics
Tomato SauceGF Pasta with Meat Sauce$1.87Foodbasics
Yellow OnionGF Pasta with Meat Sauce$1.04Fortinos
BroccoliChicken Stir-Fry$4.49Fortinos
Baby CarrotsChicken Stir-Fry$5.99Foodbasics
MargarineChicken Stir-Fry$3.99Fortinos
Garlic PowderChicken Stir-Fry$1.54Fortinos
Dark Brown SugarChicken Stir-Fry$0.39Fortinos
Boneless Skinless Chicken ThighsChicken Stir-Fry$10.57Foodbasics

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

Several practical patterns emerge from these ingredient prices. Foodbasics appears on the largest protein items in the collection: Medium Ground Beef at $15.60 and Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs at $10.57. Fortinos appears on several produce and pantry ingredients, including Kumato Tomatoes at $5.99, Broccoli at $4.49, Pasta at $3.99, Margarine at $3.99, and Garlic Powder at $1.54.

For you, the most actionable takeaway is to separate “meal choice” from “ingredient pressure.” Pasta with Tomato Sauce is the lowest-cost recipe overall, but its Kumato Tomatoes at $5.99 are still a meaningful part of the meal’s cost. Chicken Stir-Fry is the highest-cost recipe, and its price is shaped by both Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs at $10.57 and Baby Carrots at $5.99. GF Pasta with Meat Sauce is heavily influenced by Medium Ground Beef at $15.60, while the pasta and sauce components are much lower at $2.99 and $1.87.

How to Build Your Seasonal Grocery List

Your most cost-controlled Ontario seasonal grocery list should start with Pasta with Tomato Sauce at $10.98, then add GF Pasta with Meat Sauce at $21.50 or Chicken Stir-Fry at $26.97 depending on your protein needs. Source: eezly real-time price tracking. When you build your May list this way, you are using real recipe costs rather than guessing at what dinner might cost once you reach the store.

Start by choosing your anchor meal. If your priority is the lowest listed dinner, choose Pasta with Tomato Sauce at $2.75 per serving. If your priority is a gluten-free pasta meal with beef, choose GF Pasta with Meat Sauce at $5.38 per serving. If your priority is a chicken-and-vegetable dinner, choose Chicken Stir-Fry at $6.74 per serving. Each option serves 4, so you can compare the recipes without adjusting serving sizes.

Next, organize your list by store. For Pasta with Tomato Sauce, your Fortinos items are Pasta at $3.99 and Kumato Tomatoes at $5.99, while Garlic is listed at $1.00 from Foodbasics. For GF Pasta with Meat Sauce, Foodbasics carries the Gluten Free, Fusilli Pasta at $2.99, Medium Ground Beef at $15.60, and Tomato Sauce at $1.87, while Yellow Onion is listed at $1.04 from Fortinos. For Chicken Stir-Fry, Fortinos appears on Broccoli, Margarine, Garlic Powder, and Dark Brown Sugar, while Foodbasics appears on Baby Carrots and Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs.

You can also plan by prep time. Pasta with Tomato Sauce is listed at 20 minutes, while GF Pasta with Meat Sauce and Chicken Stir-Fry are each listed at 30 minutes. If your weeknight schedule is tight, the 20-minute pasta recipe gives you the fastest option in the provided collection. If you have more time and want a protein-based meal, the two 30-minute recipes give you beef or chicken choices with fully priced ingredient rows.

For ongoing planning, you can compare more meals at https://eezly.com/recipes, check grocery pricing at https://eezly.com/deals, and explore meal-planning tools at https://eezly.com/meal-plans. If you want to understand how prices vary across stores, https://eezly.com/stores and https://eezly.com/blog are useful starting points. The important habit is to price the meal before you shop, because a recipe name alone does not tell you whether the total is $10.98, $21.50, or $26.97.

What These Ontario Recipe Costs Mean for May Meal Planning

The May 2026 Ontario recipe data shows that a simple pasta dinner can cost less than half the listed price of the chicken stir-fry recipe in this collection, based on the provided totals of $10.98 and $26.97. Source: eezly real-time price tracking. For you, that does not mean one recipe is automatically better; it means each recipe plays a different role in a practical grocery budget.

Pasta with Tomato Sauce is the natural budget meal. Its short list of three priced ingredients makes it easy to plan, and its $2.75 cost per serving gives you a low-cost base dinner. If you are planning seasonal recipes Ontario households can repeat during May, this is the recipe you would use when you want simplicity and predictable cost.

GF Pasta with Meat Sauce gives you a more substantial pasta option at $21.50. The Medium Ground Beef at $15.60 from Foodbasics is the defining cost, while the Gluten Free, Fusilli Pasta at $2.99 and Tomato Sauce at $1.87 keep the rest of the ingredient list relatively straightforward. This is the recipe to choose when you want a beef pasta dinner and need the gluten-free pasta component priced directly.

Chicken Stir-Fry is the most complete vegetable-and-protein option in the collection. With Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs at $10.57, Baby Carrots at $5.99, and Broccoli at $4.49, the recipe is built around fresh meal components rather than just a starch and sauce. If you are deciding whether the higher $26.97 total works for your budget, look at the ingredient mix and the $6.74 cost per serving rather than the total alone.

FAQ

What is the cheapest seasonal recipe in Ontario in May 2026?

The cheapest seasonal recipe in the provided Ontario collection is Pasta with Tomato Sauce at $10.98 total and $2.75 per serving at Fortinos. Source: eezly real-time price tracking. It serves 4 and includes Pasta at $3.99 from Fortinos, Kumato Tomatoes at $5.99 from Fortinos, and Garlic at $1.00 from Foodbasics.

What is the cheapest grocery store in Ontario for these seasonal recipes?

For these specific Ontario recipes, the store names tied to the priced recipes are Fortinos and Foodbasics. Pasta with Tomato Sauce is listed at Fortinos for $10.98, GF Pasta with Meat Sauce is listed at Foodbasics for $21.50, and Chicken Stir-Fry is listed at Fortinos for $26.97. The ingredient rows also show Foodbasics pricing on items such as Medium Ground Beef at $15.60 and Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs at $10.57.

Which Ontario recipe has the lowest cost per serving?

Pasta with Tomato Sauce has the lowest listed cost per serving at $2.75 in Ontario. It is followed by GF Pasta with Meat Sauce at $5.38 per serving and Chicken Stir-Fry at $6.74 per serving. All three recipes serve 4, so you can compare the cost per serving directly.

How much does Chicken Stir-Fry cost in Ontario?

Chicken Stir-Fry costs $26.97 total, or $6.74 per serving, for 4 servings in Ontario. Its priced ingredients include Broccoli at $4.49 from Fortinos, Baby Carrots at $5.99 from Foodbasics, and Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs at $10.57 from Foodbasics. The recipe has a listed prep time of 30 minutes.

How much does a gluten-free pasta dinner cost in Ontario?

GF Pasta with Meat Sauce costs $21.50 total, or $5.38 per serving, in Ontario. The recipe includes Gluten Free, Fusilli Pasta at $2.99 from Foodbasics, Medium Ground Beef at $15.60 from Foodbasics, Tomato Sauce at $1.87 from Foodbasics, and Yellow Onion at $1.04 from Fortinos.

How can AI help save on groceries in Ontario?

AI can help you compare ingredient prices before you build your grocery list, so you can see whether a recipe is closer to $10.98, like Pasta with Tomato Sauce at Fortinos, or $26.97, like Chicken Stir-Fry. eezly’s real-time price tracking covers 196,000 products across 2,700 Canadian grocery stores and 27 Canadian grocery banners, giving you a structured way to compare recipe costs and store-level ingredient prices.

What should I put on a seasonal grocery list in Ontario for these recipes?

For the lowest-cost recipe, your list would include Pasta at $3.99 from Fortinos, Kumato Tomatoes at $5.99 from Fortinos, and Garlic at $1.00 from Foodbasics for Pasta with Tomato Sauce. For a meat option, you could add Medium Ground Beef at $15.60 from Foodbasics for GF Pasta with Meat Sauce or Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs at $10.57 from Foodbasics for Chicken Stir-Fry.

Comparison

RecipeProvinceTotal CostCost Per Serving
Pasta with Tomato SauceON$10.98$2.75
GF Pasta with Meat SauceON$21.50$5.38
Chicken Stir-FryON$26.97$6.74

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best cheap seasonal meals in Ontario from this data?

The lowest-cost option is Pasta with Tomato Sauce at $10.98 total and $2.75 per serving at Fortinos in Ontario. GF Pasta with Meat Sauce costs $21.50 at Foodbasics, while Chicken Stir-Fry costs $26.97 at Fortinos.

Which Ontario recipe is best for a family of four?

All three provided Ontario recipes serve 4, so your choice depends on budget and meal type. Pasta with Tomato Sauce is $10.98, GF Pasta with Meat Sauce is $21.50, and Chicken Stir-Fry is $26.97.

What is the most expensive ingredient in the Ontario recipe list?

Medium Ground Beef is the highest-priced listed ingredient at $15.60 from Foodbasics for GF Pasta with Meat Sauce. Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs are also a major cost item at $10.57 from Foodbasics for Chicken Stir-Fry.

Which recipe has the fastest prep time?

Pasta with Tomato Sauce has the shortest listed prep time at 20 minutes and costs $10.98 at Fortinos. GF Pasta with Meat Sauce and Chicken Stir-Fry are each listed at 30 minutes.

How can I compare recipe costs Ontario shoppers actually pay?

Use real recipe totals and ingredient rows. In this Ontario collection, Pasta with Tomato Sauce is $10.98 at Fortinos, GF Pasta with Meat Sauce is $21.50 at Foodbasics, and Chicken Stir-Fry is $26.97 at Fortinos, based on eezly real-time price tracking.

Find the best grocery prices

Compare 196,000+ products across 3,150 Canadian stores.

Compare prices now