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Frito Pie

My mom was a born and bred Texan and taught me how to cook. One of her go-to meals was Frito Pie and it was a family favorite. Not gourmet, but oh so good!

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Frito Pie

Why it works: Beans and onion match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,242 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Frito Pie

Serves 8
Prep10 min
Cook45 min

Ingredients

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

165Calories
8 gProtein
10 gFat
12 gCarbs

Counts 3 of 5 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 3 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Beannot in our table0
Waternot in our table0

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

By tastykitchen. 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. Beans + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,242 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Beans + cheesetop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together741 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Cheese + oniontop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,849 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beans, cheese):

  1. Tomatofits better
  2. Welsh onionfits better
  3. Mustardfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beans, cheese. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.