Lime + Orange
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 937 recipes, and they share 268 flavor molecules: the top 4% of all ingredient pairs.
Do lime and orange go together?
Yes. 937 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 268 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 4% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything lime carries, orange has too: 268 of lime's 299 flavor molecules also occur in orange. Among the shared key aromas are decanal (soap, orange peel) and eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
What each one brings
lime
The tartness. Sour notes make up 16% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 12% for orange. It carries 31 molecules orange doesn't have.
orange
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 16% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 10% for lime. It carries 198 molecules lime doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Coriander: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with lime, top 7% with orange.
- Lemon: top 1% of pairs with lime, top 1% with orange.
- Cardamom: top 1% of pairs with lime, top 2% with orange.
- Pomegranate: top 1% of pairs with lime, top 3% with orange.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with lime and orange
Spread across courses: mains lead with 65 of the 188 recipes with a course label, then drinks (59).
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Almost all of lime's flavor molecules (268 of 299) are also found in orange, but orange has 198 that lime lacks. Lime gives you part of orange's character without most of its fruit. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 268 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 31 only in lime and the 198 only in orange.
Lime and orange questions
Do lime and orange go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 937 recipes, and they share 268 flavor molecules: the top 4% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do lime and orange taste good together?
Almost everything lime carries, orange has too: 268 of lime's 299 flavor molecules also occur in orange. Among the shared key aromas are decanal (soap, orange peel) and eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
What goes with lime and orange?
Coriander is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with lime and top 7% with orange. Lemon and cardamom also fit both.
What can you make with lime and orange?
Spread across courses: mains lead with 65 of the 188 recipes with a course label, then drinks (59). Common dishes include Braised Duck with Orange-and-Lime Sauce, Perfect Margarita with Lime and Orange and Salt, Avocado Orange Juice Salsa, Beef Fajitas with Lime Sour Cream.
Can I use orange instead of lime?
Only partly. Almost all of lime's flavor molecules (268 of 299) are also found in orange, but orange has 198 that lime lacks. Lime gives you part of orange's character without most of its fruit. 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 Orange. https://compkitchen.com/compare/lime-vs-orange. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_lime_vs_orange_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Lime vs Orange},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/lime-vs-orange},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.