Name: All-American Pizza Burgers
Ingredients: 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef; 1 1/2 lbs turkey sausage; 1 1/2 teaspoons salt; 1 teaspoon pepper; vegetable cooking spray; 1 (14 ounces) jar pizza sauce, divided; 3/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese; 1 medium onion, chopped; 12 slices mozzarella cheese; 12 hamburger buns

Why it works: Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,093 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. 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.

Parmesan cheese + mozzarella cheesetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,093 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,092 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Beef + turkeytop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together248 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,971 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together68,474 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

What each ingredient does

Lean ground beef: Supplies protein and fat that bind the patties and keep them juicy.
Turkey sausage: Adds fat and seasoning that make the patties more flavorful and moist.
Parmesan cheese: Adds salty, savory flavor and browns slightly on the hot patty.
Mozzarella cheese: Melts into a stretchy layer that gives the burger a pizza-like texture.
Pizza sauce: Adds moisture, tomato acidity, and sweetness that balance the rich meat.
Onion: Contributes sharp aroma and sweetness, mellowing when cooked.

The step that matters

Cook the patties until done. Ground meat mixes surface bacteria throughout, so it must be cooked fully through, not just browned outside. Pressing down on the patties squeezes out juices and dries them, so avoid it.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, turkey, pepper, sauce, parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese):

Tomatofits better
Capsicumfits better
Onionthe original
Spinachfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, turkey, pepper, sauce, parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese. 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Beef	100g cooked	250
Pork	100g cooked	242
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Vegetable	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Parmesan Cheese	1 oz (28g)	110
Mozzarella Cheese	1 oz (28g)	85
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Pizza	not in our table	0
Sauce	not in our table	0

All-American Pizza Burgers