Why it works: Broccoli and onion match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and 3,292 recipes mention both. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓
The recipe
6 servingsIngredients
Contains: egg, milk, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Spread the finished mixture in a 9x13-inch baking dish once it is ready.
Place the frozen broccoli in a pan of boiling water for 3 minutes, then drain well and pat dry with paper towels.
In a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese, eggs, cream of chicken soup, bacon ranch dressing, sour cream, mayonnaise and flour until smooth.
Stir in the chopped onion and most of the shredded Cheddar cheese, reserving a handful for the top.
Fold the drained broccoli into the cheese mixture until evenly coated, then spread it evenly in the baking dish.
Toss the stuffing mix with the melted butter and scatter it over the top along with the reserved Cheddar.
Bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes, until bubbling and the center reaches 160°F (71°C) and the eggs are set.
Let the casserole rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Broccoli + oniontop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together3,292 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Chicken + oniontop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together17,808 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
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Cream cheese + ranchtop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together63 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).
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Cream cheese + creamtop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together1,087 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).
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Cream + ranchtop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together19 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (broccoli, cream cheese, egg, cream, chicken, ranch, flour):
- Potatobetter flavor fit
- Chiveabout as good a flavor fit
- Spinachabout as good a flavor fit
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against broccoli, cream cheese, egg, cream, chicken, ranch, flour. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
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