Broccoli + Apple
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 289 recipes, and they share 251 flavor molecules: the top 16% of all ingredient pairs.
Do broccoli and apple go together?
Yes. 289 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 251 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 16% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything broccoli carries, apple has too: 251 of broccoli's 298 flavor molecules also occur in apple. Among the shared key aromas are 2-hexenal (green, leafy) and 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
What each one brings
broccoli
The sulfurous side. Sulfurous notes make up 9% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 2% for apple. It carries 47 molecules apple doesn't have.
apple
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 27% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 10% for broccoli. It carries 271 molecules broccoli doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Pear: the best fit for both, top 13% of pairs with broccoli, top 1% with apple.
- Cranberry: top 7% of pairs with broccoli, top 3% with apple.
- Rhubarb: top 3% of pairs with broccoli, top 9% with apple.
- Quince: top 11% of pairs with broccoli, top 1% with apple.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with broccoli and apple
Mostly mains: 39 of the 64 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of broccoli's flavor molecules (251 of 298) are also found in apple, but apple has 271 that broccoli lacks. Broccoli gives you part of apple's character without most of its fruit. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 251 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 47 only in broccoli and the 271 only in apple.
Broccoli and apple questions
Do broccoli and apple go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 289 recipes, and they share 251 flavor molecules: the top 16% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do broccoli and apple taste good together?
Almost everything broccoli carries, apple has too: 251 of broccoli's 298 flavor molecules also occur in apple. Among the shared key aromas are 2-hexenal (green, leafy) and 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
What goes with broccoli and apple?
Pear is the best third ingredient: top 13% of pairs with broccoli and top 1% with apple. Cranberry and rhubarb also fit both.
What can you make with broccoli and apple?
Mostly mains: 39 of the 64 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Broccoli and Apple Soup, Somali Broccoli and Apple Salad, Apple Coleslaw, Apple Marshmallow Coleslaw.
Can I use apple instead of broccoli?
Only partly. Most of broccoli's flavor molecules (251 of 298) are also found in apple, but apple has 271 that broccoli lacks. Broccoli gives you part of apple'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: Broccoli vs Apple. https://compkitchen.com/compare/broccoli-vs-apple. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_broccoli_vs_apple_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Broccoli vs Apple},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/broccoli-vs-apple},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.