Tomato + Arugula
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 246 recipes, and they share 17 flavor molecules: the top 18% of all ingredient pairs.
Do tomato and arugula go together?
Yes. 246 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 17 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 18% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of arugula's flavor molecules (17 of 32) also occur in tomato. Among the shared key aromas are 2,4-decadienal (seaweed) and 2-hexenal (green, leafy). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What each one brings
tomato
The tartness. Sour notes make up 14% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 0% for arugula. It carries 493 molecules arugula doesn't have.
arugula
The sulfurous side. Sulfurous notes make up 32% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 3% for tomato. It carries 15 molecules tomato doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Olive: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with tomato, top 17% with arugula.
- Basil: top 1% of pairs with tomato, top 19% with arugula.
- Cucumber: top 4% of pairs with tomato, top 15% with arugula.
- Capsicum: top 1% of pairs with tomato, top 24% with arugula.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with tomato and arugula
Mostly mains: 12 of the 20 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: tomato has 493 molecules arugula doesn't, and arugula has 15 that tomato 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 17 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 493 only in tomato and the 15 only in arugula.
Tomato and arugula questions
Do tomato and arugula go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 246 recipes, and they share 17 flavor molecules: the top 18% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do tomato and arugula taste good together?
More than half of arugula's flavor molecules (17 of 32) also occur in tomato. Among the shared key aromas are 2,4-decadienal (seaweed) and 2-hexenal (green, leafy). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What goes with tomato and arugula?
Olive is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with tomato and top 17% with arugula. Basil and cucumber also fit both.
What can you make with tomato and arugula?
Mostly mains: 12 of the 20 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Avocado, Tomato and Arugula Sandwich, Pasta with Scallops, Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Arugula, Roasted Eggplant, Tomato and Arugula Salad, Arugula Salad with Tofu Croutons.
Can I use arugula instead of tomato?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: tomato has 493 molecules arugula doesn't, and arugula has 15 that tomato 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: Tomato vs Arugula. https://compkitchen.com/compare/tomato-vs-arugula. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_tomato_vs_arugula_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Tomato vs Arugula},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/tomato-vs-arugula},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.