Tomato + Lime
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,878 recipes, and they share 248 flavor molecules: the top 8% of all ingredient pairs.
Do tomato and lime go together?
Yes. 1,878 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 248 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 8% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything lime carries, tomato has too: 248 of lime's 299 flavor molecules also occur in tomato. Among the shared key aromas are beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene) and decanal (soap, orange peel).
What each one brings
tomato
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 15% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 10% for lime. It carries 262 molecules lime doesn't have.
lime
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 15% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 8% for tomato. It carries 51 molecules tomato doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Coriander: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with tomato, top 1% with lime.
- Avocado: top 2% of pairs with tomato, top 1% with lime.
- Cumin: top 2% of pairs with tomato, top 1% with lime.
- Lemon grass: top 10% of pairs with tomato, top 1% with lime.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with tomato and lime
Mostly mains: 257 of the 344 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of lime's flavor molecules (248 of 299) are also found in tomato, but tomato has 262 that lime lacks. Lime gives you part of tomato's character without most of its fruit. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 248 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 262 only in tomato and the 51 only in lime.
Tomato and lime questions
Do tomato and lime go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,878 recipes, and they share 248 flavor molecules: the top 8% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do tomato and lime taste good together?
Almost everything lime carries, tomato has too: 248 of lime's 299 flavor molecules also occur in tomato. Among the shared key aromas are beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene) and decanal (soap, orange peel).
What goes with tomato and lime?
Coriander is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with tomato and top 1% with lime. Avocado and cumin also fit both.
What can you make with tomato and lime?
Mostly mains: 257 of the 344 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Tomato Jalapeno Lime Juice, Appleby's Tequila Lime Chicken, Black Bean Salsa with Veggies and Lime, California Tomato Pasta.
Can I use lime instead of tomato?
Only partly. Most of lime's flavor molecules (248 of 299) are also found in tomato, but tomato has 262 that lime lacks. Lime gives you part of tomato'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: Tomato vs Lime. https://compkitchen.com/compare/tomato-vs-lime. Accessed 2026-11-03.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_tomato_vs_lime_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Tomato vs Lime},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/tomato-vs-lime},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-03}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.