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Green Bean Casserole Patty Melt

A classic dish gets a cheesy, patty makeover!

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Why it works: Butter and bread match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 27,145 recipes mention both. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

The recipe

Serves 4
Prep10 min
Cook15 min

Ingredients

Contains: egg, milk, wheat, soy (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.

  1. Melt half the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and cook, stirring, about 10 minutes until soft and golden. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

  2. In a bowl, gently mix the ground beef with the egg, soy sauce and milk. Shape into four patties and press a shallow dent in the center of each.

  3. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stir the cream of mushroom soup with the drained green beans for 4 minutes until hot. Keep warm. Reserve any extra soup for an optional garnish.

  4. Cook the patties in the same skillet over medium-high heat, about 4 minutes per side, until the internal temperature reaches 160°F (71°C). Transfer to a plate.

  5. Spread the remaining butter on one side of each bread slice. Place four slices butter side down in the skillet and top each with a slice of provolone.

  6. Top each cheese-covered slice with a patty, a spoonful of onion and a spoonful of the green bean mixture. Add the remaining bread slices, butter side up.

  7. Cook the sandwiches over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes per side until the bread is golden and the cheese melts. Spoon extra soup on top if using, and serve hot.

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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Butter + breadtop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together27,145 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Butter + milktop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together81,222 recipes

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

  3. Onion + beeftop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together17,091 recipes

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

  4. Butter + creamtop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together41,494 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  5. Milk + breadtop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together11,363 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

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 (butter, beef, cream, sauce, milk, egg, bread):

  1. Potatobetter flavor fit
  2. Asparagusabout as good a flavor fit
  3. Tomatoabout as good a flavor fit
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, beef, cream, sauce, milk, egg, bread. 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).