Tomato + Cabbage
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 333 recipes, and they share 270 flavor molecules: the top 12% of all ingredient pairs.
Do tomato and cabbage go together?
Yes. 333 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 270 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 12% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of cabbage's flavor molecules (270 of 391) also occur in tomato. Among the shared key aromas are 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea) and 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
What each one brings
tomato
The woody side. Woody notes make up 6% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 2% for cabbage. It carries 240 molecules cabbage doesn't have.
cabbage
The sulfurous side. Sulfurous notes make up 11% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 3% for tomato. It carries 121 molecules tomato doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Beans: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with tomato, top 8% with cabbage.
- Cucumber: top 4% of pairs with tomato, top 5% with cabbage.
- Broccoli: top 7% of pairs with tomato, top 2% with cabbage.
- Capsicum: top 1% of pairs with tomato, top 10% with cabbage.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with tomato and cabbage
Almost always mains: 53 of the 64 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: tomato has 240 molecules cabbage doesn't, and cabbage has 121 that tomato doesn't. Treat them as partners, not stand-ins. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 270 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 240 only in tomato and the 121 only in cabbage.
Tomato and cabbage questions
Do tomato and cabbage go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 333 recipes, and they share 270 flavor molecules: the top 12% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do tomato and cabbage taste good together?
More than half of cabbage's flavor molecules (270 of 391) also occur in tomato. Among the shared key aromas are 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea) and 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
What goes with tomato and cabbage?
Beans is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with tomato and top 8% with cabbage. Cucumber and broccoli also fit both.
What can you make with tomato and cabbage?
Almost always mains: 53 of the 64 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Cabbage Pudding with Tomato Sauce, Basmati Rice‑Stuffed Cabbage, Bulgur‑Stuffed Cabbage, Cabbage with Peas.
Can I use cabbage instead of tomato?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: tomato has 240 molecules cabbage doesn't, and cabbage has 121 that tomato doesn't. Treat them as partners, not stand-ins. 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: Tomato vs Cabbage. https://compkitchen.com/compare/tomato-vs-cabbage. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_tomato_vs_cabbage_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Tomato vs Cabbage},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/tomato-vs-cabbage},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.