Name: Cheesy Spinach Casserole
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 25 min
Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients: 1 pound organic baby spinach; 4 ounces white button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced; 1 Tablespoon olive oil; 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter,divided; 3 - 4 Tablespoons dry sherry; 1/2 cup whole milk; 1/2 cup heavy cream; 2 cloves garlic, smashed; 1/4 cup chopped onion; 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour; 3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt or more to taste; 1 cup grated Jarlsberg cheese; Freshly ground black pepper; 1/4 cup Panko crumbs; 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese; 1 1/2 Tablespoons butter, melted; 1-quart casserole dish

Why it works: Mushroom and sherry are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,176 recipes. Both carry 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol, which smells smoky, clove. 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.

Mushroom + sherrytop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,176 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol (smoky, clove).
Spinach + olivetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,971 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
Spinach + mushroomtop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together778 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
Mushroom + olivetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,571 recipes

Shared aroma: trans,trans-2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

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

Flavor stand-ins for the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (spinach, mushroom, olive, butter, sherry, milk, cream):

Thymebetter flavor fit
Garlicbetter flavor fit
Nutmegbetter flavor fit
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against spinach, mushroom, olive, butter, sherry, milk, cream. 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).

Cheesy Spinach Casserole