Dill + Onion
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,639 recipes, and they share 225 flavor molecules: the top 12% of all ingredient pairs.
Do dill and onion go together?
Yes. 1,639 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 225 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 12% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of dill's flavor molecules (225 of 342) also occur in onion. Among the shared key aromas are 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea) and decanal (soap, orange peel).
What each one brings
dill
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 14% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 4% for onion. It carries 117 molecules onion doesn't have.
onion
The sulfurous side. Sulfurous notes make up 13% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 3% for dill. It carries 140 molecules dill doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Fennel: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with dill, top 11% with onion.
- Potato: top 3% of pairs with dill, top 3% with onion.
- Parsley: top 1% of pairs with dill, top 9% with onion.
- Carrot: top 1% of pairs with dill, top 6% with onion.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with dill and onion
Mostly mains: 295 of the 429 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: dill has 117 molecules onion doesn't, and onion has 140 that dill 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 225 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 117 only in dill and the 140 only in onion.
Dill and onion questions
Do dill and onion go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,639 recipes, and they share 225 flavor molecules: the top 12% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do dill and onion taste good together?
More than half of dill's flavor molecules (225 of 342) also occur in onion. Among the shared key aromas are 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea) and decanal (soap, orange peel).
What goes with dill and onion?
Fennel is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with dill and top 11% with onion. Potato and parsley also fit both.
What can you make with dill and onion?
Mostly mains: 295 of the 429 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Awesome Cucumber Dill Dip, Bistro Potato Salad with Caramelized Onions, Broccoli Almondine in Dilled Cream Sauce, Cabbage Salad with Dill.
Can I use onion instead of dill?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: dill has 117 molecules onion doesn't, and onion has 140 that dill 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: Dill vs Onion. https://compkitchen.com/compare/dill-vs-onion. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_dill_vs_onion_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Dill vs Onion},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/dill-vs-onion},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.