Name: Gold Medal Broccoli Rice
Ingredients: 3/4 cup chopped onion; 3/4 cup chopped celery; Vegetable cooking spray; 3 cups cooked rice; 1 10-ounce package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed; 1 10-3/4-ounce can low-fat cream of mushroom soup; 3/4 cup (6 ounces) grated Cheddar cheese, divided; 1/2 cup light sour cream; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Why it works: Celery and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,012 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. 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.

Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together16,012 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Celery + broccolitop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together807 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Onion + broccolitop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,294 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Onion + celerytop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,518 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Celery + ricetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,169 recipes

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

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 casserole and absorbs moisture from the soup and sour cream.
Cream of mushroom soup: Provides a creamy binding sauce that holds the casserole together as it bakes.
Cheddar cheese: Melts into the mixture and forms a golden, savory topping.
Sour cream: Adds tang and moisture, keeping the filling creamy rather than dry.
Chopped broccoli: Adds vegetable bulk and a mild, earthy flavor to the filling.

The step that matters

Cooking the onion and celery until tender crisp. Softening the vegetables before baking releases their moisture and sweetness now, so they do not stay raw or release excess water into the casserole during the bake.

Swap the broccoli

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, celery, rice, cream, mushroom, cheddar cheese, pepper):

Potatofits better
Capsicumfits better
Spinachfits better
Broccolithe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, celery, rice, cream, mushroom, cheddar cheese, pepper. 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
Vegetable	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Cheddar Cheese	1 oz (28g)	113
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Broccoli	1 cup chopped (156g)	55
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Mushroom	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Soup	not in our table	0

Gold Medal Broccoli Rice