Name: Endzone Enchiladas
Ingredients: 3 cups cooked rice; 1 15- to 16-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed; 1 11-ounce can corn, drained; 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature; 4 ounces mild goat cheese, room temperature; 1 medium tomato, chopped; 1/2 cup finely chopped onion; 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced; Vegetable oil for pan frying; 24 corn tortillas; Vegetable cooking spray; 2 10-ounce cans mild green enchilada sauce; 3 cups (12-ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese; 2/3 cup prepared salsa

Why it works: Cream cheese and goat cheese share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 44 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.

Cream cheese + goat cheesetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together44 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Beans + tomatotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,713 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Beans + corntop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,211 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Rice + beanstop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,017 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Rice + corntop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together933 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Cooked rice: Forms the bulk of the filling, giving body and a soft texture inside the tortilla.
Black beans: Add substance and earthy flavor, and help the filling hold together.
Cream cheese: Adds richness and creaminess that keeps the filling moist after baking.
Goat cheese: Contributes tangy flavor and a soft, creamy texture to the filling.
Corn tortillas: Wrap the filling and hold its shape while softening to become pliable for rolling.
Monterey jack cheese: Melts over the enchiladas, browning and binding them into a golden, gooey topping.

The step that matters

Heat the tortillas briefly until soft and pliable. Tortillas that are stiff or dry crack when rolled and tear around the filling. A few seconds of heat makes the starch and proteins more flexible, so they bend without breaking.

Swap the jalapeno

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, beans, corn, cream cheese, goat cheese, tomato, onion):

Cuminfits better
Garlicfits better
Corianderfits better
Jalapenothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against rice, beans, corn, cream cheese, goat cheese, tomato, onion. 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
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Corn Tortilla	1 medium flour (45g)	140
Vegetable	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Black Bean	1/2 cup canned (120g) drained	114
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Goat Cheese	1 oz (28g)	103
Cream Cheese	1 oz (28g)	99
Corn	1/2 cup kernels (82g)	77
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Enchilada	not in our table	0
Sauce	not in our table	0

Endzone Enchiladas