Cinnamon + Tomato
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,348 recipes, and they share 263 flavor molecules: the top 11% of all ingredient pairs.
Do cinnamon and tomato go together?
Yes. 1,348 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 263 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 11% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything cinnamon carries, tomato has too: 263 of cinnamon's 324 flavor molecules also occur in tomato. Among the shared key aromas are beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene) and guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
What each one brings
cinnamon
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 12% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 8% for tomato. It carries 61 molecules tomato doesn't have.
tomato
The caramel side. Caramel notes make up 4% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 1% for cinnamon. It carries 247 molecules cinnamon doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cumin: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with cinnamon, top 2% with tomato.
- Cardamom: top 1% of pairs with cinnamon, top 8% with tomato.
- Clove: top 1% of pairs with cinnamon, top 12% with tomato.
- Nutmeg: top 1% of pairs with cinnamon, top 15% with tomato.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with cinnamon and tomato
Mostly mains: 275 of the 356 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of cinnamon's flavor molecules (263 of 324) are also found in tomato, but tomato has 247 that cinnamon lacks. Cinnamon gives you part of tomato's character without most of its caramel side. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 263 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 61 only in cinnamon and the 247 only in tomato.
Cinnamon and tomato questions
Do cinnamon and tomato go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,348 recipes, and they share 263 flavor molecules: the top 11% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do cinnamon and tomato taste good together?
Almost everything cinnamon carries, tomato has too: 263 of cinnamon's 324 flavor molecules also occur in tomato. Among the shared key aromas are beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene) and guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
What goes with cinnamon and tomato?
Cumin is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with cinnamon and top 2% with tomato. Cardamom and clove also fit both.
What can you make with cinnamon and tomato?
Mostly mains: 275 of the 356 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Green Tomato Pickles, Tomato Catsup, Green Tomato Mincemeat, Tomato Relish.
Can I use tomato instead of cinnamon?
Only partly. Most of cinnamon's flavor molecules (263 of 324) are also found in tomato, but tomato has 247 that cinnamon lacks. Cinnamon gives you part of tomato's character without most of its caramel 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: Cinnamon vs Tomato. https://compkitchen.com/compare/cinnamon-vs-tomato. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_cinnamon_vs_tomato_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Cinnamon vs Tomato},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/cinnamon-vs-tomato},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.