Tomato + Sesame
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 315 recipes, and they share 248 flavor molecules: the top 11% of all ingredient pairs.
Do tomato and sesame go together?
Yes. 315 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 248 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 11% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything sesame carries, tomato has too: 248 of sesame's 295 flavor molecules also occur in tomato. Among the shared key aromas are trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty) and 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
What each one brings
tomato
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 15% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 10% for sesame. It carries 262 molecules sesame doesn't have.
sesame
The roast. Roasted notes make up 11% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 5% for tomato. It carries 47 molecules tomato doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Beans: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with tomato, top 2% with sesame.
- Capsicum: top 1% of pairs with tomato, top 3% with sesame.
- Avocado: top 2% of pairs with tomato, top 1% with sesame.
- Chickpea: top 3% of pairs with tomato, top 1% with sesame.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with tomato and sesame
Mostly mains: 41 of the 53 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of sesame's flavor molecules (248 of 295) are also found in tomato, but tomato has 262 that sesame lacks. Sesame 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 47 only in sesame.
Tomato and sesame questions
Do tomato and sesame go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 315 recipes, and they share 248 flavor molecules: the top 11% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do tomato and sesame taste good together?
Almost everything sesame carries, tomato has too: 248 of sesame's 295 flavor molecules also occur in tomato. Among the shared key aromas are trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty) and 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
What goes with tomato and sesame?
Beans is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with tomato and top 2% with sesame. Capsicum and avocado also fit both.
What can you make with tomato and sesame?
Mostly mains: 41 of the 53 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Konkani Tomato Chutney, Sesame-Crusted Catfish with Sweet and Sour Sauce, Sun-Dried Tomato Hummus, Sun-Dried Tomato Hummus I.
Can I use sesame instead of tomato?
Only partly. Most of sesame's flavor molecules (248 of 295) are also found in tomato, but tomato has 262 that sesame lacks. Sesame 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 Sesame. https://compkitchen.com/compare/tomato-vs-sesame. Accessed 2026-11-05.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_tomato_vs_sesame_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Tomato vs Sesame},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/tomato-vs-sesame},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-05}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.