Name: Skillet Chicken Pasta
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients: 1/2 (8 ounce) package spaghettini; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 8 roma (plum) tomatoes, halved and sliced; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano; 2 teaspoons dried basil; 1 pinch salt; 1 teaspoon ground black pepper; 1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar; 1 tablespoon ketchup; 3 tablespoons olive oil; 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips; 2 garlic cloves, crushed; 1 green bell pepper, chopped; 1 red bell pepper, chopped; 1 red onion, chopped; 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (optional); 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Why it works: Oregano and basil match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,390 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

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.

Oregano + basiltop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,390 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,539 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Tomato + basiltop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,979 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Tomato + oreganotop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,767 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Garlic + oreganotop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,756 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

Swap the plum

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, tomato, garlic, oregano, basil, pepper, sugar):

Limefits better
Lemonfits better
Avocadofits better
Plumthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, tomato, garlic, oregano, basil, pepper, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Parmesan Cheese	1 oz (28g)	110
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Plum	1 medium (66g)	30
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Mushrooms	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Basil	5 leaves fresh (2.5g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Skillet Chicken Pasta