Lime + Beans
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 700 recipes, and they share 224 flavor molecules: the top 6% of all ingredient pairs.
Do lime and beans go together?
Yes. 700 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 224 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 6% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of lime's flavor molecules (224 of 299) also occur in beans. Among the shared key aromas are linalool (floral, citrus) and nonanal (fat, citrus).
What each one brings
lime
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 15% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 6% for beans. It carries 75 molecules beans doesn't have.
beans
Much the same character. It carries 87 molecules lime doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cumin: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with lime, top 1% with beans.
- Avocado: top 1% of pairs with lime, top 1% with beans.
- Lemon grass: top 1% of pairs with lime, top 6% with beans.
- Coriander: top 1% of pairs with lime, top 6% with beans.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with lime and beans
Mostly mains: 71 of the 109 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Fairly well, for flavor. Each carries most of the other's flavor molecules (75% of lime's and 72% of beans's are shared). This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 224 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 75 only in lime and the 87 only in beans.
Lime and beans questions
Do lime and beans go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 700 recipes, and they share 224 flavor molecules: the top 6% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do lime and beans taste good together?
More than half of lime's flavor molecules (224 of 299) also occur in beans. Among the shared key aromas are linalool (floral, citrus) and nonanal (fat, citrus).
What goes with lime and beans?
Cumin is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with lime and top 1% with beans. Avocado and lemon grass also fit both.
What can you make with lime and beans?
Mostly mains: 71 of the 109 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Chili and Lime‑Grilled Shrimp with Seasoned White Beans and Rice, Black Bean Salsa with Veggies and Lime, Black Beans in Mango Sauce, Caribbean Black Beans with Mango Salsa.
Can I use beans instead of lime?
Fairly well, for flavor. Each carries most of the other's flavor molecules (75% of lime's and 72% of beans's are shared). This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
Compare other ingredients
Ranks compare this pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. Molecule counts are what the studies and databases we aggregate have reported for each ingredient: a measure of coverage, not a full census. How we score pairs
Cite this analysis
Compound Kitchen (2026). Compound similarity analysis: Lime vs Beans. https://compkitchen.com/compare/lime-vs-beans. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_lime_vs_beans_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Lime vs Beans},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/lime-vs-beans},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.