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Pairing

Basil + Tomato

123basil only 251shared 259tomatoonly Basil · 374 Tomato · 510
Circle size = number of flavor molecules on record. Overlap = molecules they share.

3,979 recipes mention both · top 2% of pairs

CompKitchen is a free flavor-pairing site: it compares the aroma molecules two foods share and how often cooks put them together. No account needed.

Overlap, weighted to rarer moleculesstrong
Mentioned together3,979 recipes
Ranktop 2% of pairs
Try them in the pairing tool Basil Tomato

Do basil and tomato go together?

Many recipes mention both. 3,979 recipes in our collection mention both, and they share 251 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 2% of a large random sample of ingredient pairs.

Add a third ingredient

  • Oregano: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with basil, top 2% with tomato.
  • Capsicum: top 3% of pairs with basil, top 1% with tomato.
  • Thyme: top 1% of pairs with basil, top 3% with tomato.
  • Olive: top 3% of pairs with basil, top 1% with tomato.

Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.

Recipes with basil and tomato

Mostly mains: 511 of the 640 recipes with a course label are mains (from a sample of 3,000 recipes that use both).

Basil Tomato SaladCashew-Crusted Catfish with Tomato Basil CreamChicken Tomato Basil Rice SoupChicken and Sun-Dried Tomato Sandwiches with Basil Olive PestoChicken with Basil TomatoesFresh Pasta with Mozzarella, Tomato and Basil

The count of 3,979 includes every recipe our index matched to both foods, some through an alternative or a related ingredient. This list is shorter because it shows only recipes whose ingredient lines name both. Open a few to see how they are used.

Search recipes with both →

Can you swap one for the other?

No. Basil and tomato are different kinds of food, so neither stands in for the other, whatever molecules they share. Treat them as partners, not stand-ins. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.

See the scienceshared molecules, aroma labels and where this pair ranks

What they have in common

More than half of basil's flavor molecules (251 of 374) also occur in tomato. Among the shared key aromas are 3-hexenal (apple, fruity) and damascenone (apple, rose). Shared chemistry is a reason to try a pair, not a promise that it works on the plate.

All 251 shared molecules

See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 123 only in basil and the 259 only in tomato.

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Basil and tomato questions

Do basil and tomato go together?

3,979 recipes in our collection mention both, and they share 251 flavor molecules, which puts them in the top 2% of random ingredient pairs.

What do basil and tomato have in common?

More than half of basil's flavor molecules (251 of 374) also occur in tomato. Among the shared key aromas are 3-hexenal (apple, fruity) and damascenone (apple, rose). Shared chemistry is a reason to try a pair, not a promise that it works on the plate.

What goes with basil and tomato?

Oregano is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with basil and top 2% with tomato. Capsicum and thyme also fit both.

What can you make with basil and tomato?

Mostly mains: 511 of the 640 recipes with a course label are mains (from a sample of 3,000 recipes that use both). Common dishes include Basil Tomato Salad, Cashew-Crusted Catfish with Tomato Basil Cream, Chicken Tomato Basil Rice Soup, Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomato Sandwiches with Basil Olive Pesto.

Can I use tomato instead of basil?

No. Basil and tomato are different kinds of food, so neither stands in for the other, whatever molecules they share. Treat them as partners, not stand-ins. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.

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Compare other ingredients

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Two ingredients gives the full side-by-side breakdown; add a third to see a similarity matrix across all of them (up to 6).

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
Plain text
CompKitchen (2026). Compound similarity analysis: Basil vs Tomato. https://compkitchen.com/compare/basil-vs-tomato. Accessed 2026-11-14.
BibTeX
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_basil_vs_tomato_2026,
  title  = {Compound similarity analysis: Basil vs Tomato},
  author = {{CompKitchen}},
  year   = {2026},
  url    = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/basil-vs-tomato},
  note   = {Accessed: 2026-11-14}
}

Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719458 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.