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Johnny Marzetti Casserole

"Kids love this buffet-ready casserole dish. My mother-in-law used to make a simpler version of this for my husband when he was growing up. This version pushes the flavor profile a bit. I prefer to have this dish sit overnight before baking as the flavors improve and the pasta absorbs some of the sauce so the consistency is just right."

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Johnny Marzetti Casserole

Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Johnny Marzetti Casserole

6 servings
Prep30 min
Cook1 hr 10 min

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1051Calories
79 gProtein
50 gFat
68 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Pork100g cooked242
Pasta1 cup cooked (140g)220
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Cheddar Cheese1 oz (28g)113
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Green Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By allrecipes. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Pasta + garlictop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,079 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  3. Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  4. Celery + tomatotop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,377 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  5. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pasta, beef, onion, celery, garlic, pepper, tomato):

  1. Cuminfits better
  2. Oreganofits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pasta, beef, onion, celery, garlic, pepper, tomato. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.