Beans + Tomato
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 2,713 recipes, and they share 272 flavor molecules: the top 1% of all ingredient pairs.
Do beans and tomato go together?
Yes. 2,713 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 272 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 1% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything beans carries, tomato has too: 272 of beans's 311 flavor molecules also occur in tomato. Among the shared key aromas are 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea) and trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
What each one brings
beans
The roast. Roasted notes make up 7% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 5% for tomato. It carries 39 molecules tomato doesn't have.
tomato
The fresh, green side. Green notes make up 14% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 9% for beans. It carries 238 molecules beans doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Chickpea: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with beans, top 3% with tomato.
- Cumin: top 1% of pairs with beans, top 2% with tomato.
- Green beans: top 1% of pairs with beans, top 5% with tomato.
- Avocado: top 1% of pairs with beans, top 2% with tomato.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with beans and tomato
Almost always mains: 725 of the 868 recipes with a course label are mains (from a sample of 3,000 recipes that use both).
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Almost all of beans's flavor molecules (272 of 311) are also found in tomato, but tomato has 238 that beans lacks. Beans gives you part of tomato's character without most of its fresh, green side. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 272 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 39 only in beans and the 238 only in tomato.
Beans and tomato questions
Do beans and tomato go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 2,713 recipes, and they share 272 flavor molecules: the top 1% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do beans and tomato taste good together?
Almost everything beans carries, tomato has too: 272 of beans's 311 flavor molecules also occur in tomato. Among the shared key aromas are 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea) and trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
What goes with beans and tomato?
Chickpea is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with beans and top 3% with tomato. Cumin and green beans also fit both.
What can you make with beans and tomato?
Almost always mains: 725 of the 868 recipes with a course label are mains (from a sample of 3,000 recipes that use both). Common dishes include Green Beans, Tomatoes and Pine Nuts, Plaki Beans in Tomato Sauce, Sautéed Shelley Beans with Garlic and Tomato, Spicy Black Beans with Tomatoes, Onions, and Cilantro.
Can I use tomato instead of beans?
Only partly. Almost all of beans's flavor molecules (272 of 311) are also found in tomato, but tomato has 238 that beans lacks. Beans gives you part of tomato's character without most of its fresh, green side. 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: Beans vs Tomato. https://compkitchen.com/compare/beans-vs-tomato. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_beans_vs_tomato_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Beans vs Tomato},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/beans-vs-tomato},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.