Name: Saucy Lima Beans
Ingredients: 3 cans butter beans or Lima beans, drained; 1 can tomatoes; 1 onion sliced; 1 green or red bell pepper sliced; 1 (14 oz.) bottle ketchup; 1 cup brown sugar; 12 slices bacon, fried, drained, and crumbled; 1 pound kielbasa, sliced

Why it works: Tomato and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,923 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Saucy Lima Beans

Ingredients

Directions

Mix all ingredients together in crockpot.
Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours, or on high for 2 1/2 hours.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

399Calories

14 gProtein

16 gFat

53 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Lima Bean	1/2 cup (85g) cooked	108
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bacon	1 slice cooked (8g)	43
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Bean	not in our table	0

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

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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.

Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,923 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ketchup + sugartop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together260 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,633 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together68,474 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Butter + oniontop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together42,912 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

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

What each ingredient does

Butter beans or lima beans: Provide the bulk of the stew and absorb the sauce's flavour as they cook.
Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and helps the sauce caramelise slightly during slow cooking.
Ketchup: Forms the tangy, sweet base of the sauce and adds acidity.
Bacon: Adds smoky, savoury fat and depth to the stew.
Kielbasa: Adds smoky, meaty flavour and fat that enriches the sauce.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, onion, pepper, ketchup, sugar):

Capsicumfits better
Mustardfits better
Leekfits better
Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, onion, pepper, ketchup, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.