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Cheddar-Rice Pepper Cups

Cheddar rice pepper cups are stuffed green peppers filled with tofu, vegetables, rice, and cheddar cheese, baked until melted.

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Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Cheddar-Rice Pepper Cups

Oven350 degrees
Time25 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the peppers

  1. Cut peppers in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Cook in boiling salted water for 5 minutes; drain.

  2. Arrange cut side up in 12x8x2-inch baking dish; sprinkle with salt.

Make the filling

  1. Cook tofu, vegetables and garlic in butter in large skillet until vegetables are tender crisp.

  2. Toss with rice, 1 cup cheese, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper.

Bake and serve

  1. Fill each pepper half with 2/3 cup mixture. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees 25 minutes.

  2. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese over cups. Bake 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

563Calories
21 gProtein
26 gFat
62 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Cheddar Cheese1 oz (28g)113
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Tofu100g firm76
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)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.

  1. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  3. Pepper + celerytop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together16,012 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  4. Radish + garlictop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together199 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Celery + clovetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together4,668 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).

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

What each ingredient does

Green peppers
Form the edible cups that hold the filling while they bake.
Firm tofu
Adds protein-rich body and a mild, soft texture to the filling.
Cooked rice
Bulks out the filling and gives it a light, fluffy texture.
Cheddar cheese
Melts into the filling and forms a savory, browned topping.
Butter or margarine
Adds fat for cooking the vegetables and a rich flavour.

The step that matters

Bake covered, then uncover for the cheese. Covering the peppers traps steam so the pepper walls soften and the filling heats through; the final short bake melts the cheese without drying the filling.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, tofu, onion, celery, radish, garlic, butter):

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Turmericfits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, tofu, onion, celery, radish, garlic, butter. 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.

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