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Healthy Tofu Chili

A spicy tofu chili served over brown rice, topped with onion, cheese, and avocado.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 17 ingredients
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Why it works: Garlic and onion 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 ↓

Healthy Tofu Chili

Time30 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the tofu

  1. In a mixing bowl, combine tofu, garlic, chili powder, and Worcestershire sauce; set aside.

Make the chili

  1. Saute onion, green pepper, and carrot in soy oil until onion becomes transparent.

  2. Add tofu mixture, cook and stir for 3 minutes over medium heat.

  3. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, kidney beans, basil, cumin, cayenne, and optional tomato paste.

  4. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

  5. Season with salt to taste.

Serve

  1. Serve over brown rice.

  2. Garnish with minced raw onion, grated cheddar cheese, and avocado, as desired.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

434Calories
18 gProtein
7 gFat
78 gCarbs

Counts 12 of 13 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Tofu100g firm76
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Basil5 leaves fresh (2.5g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Red Kidney Beannot in our table0

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. Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  3. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  4. Clove + carrottop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,873 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  5. Pepper + carrottop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,555 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

Firm tofu
Provides protein-rich body that crumbles into the chili in place of meat.
Kidney beans
Add starchy bulk and a firm, hearty texture to the chili.
Tomato sauce
Forms the liquid base and adds acidity and savory depth as it simmers.
Chili powder
Supplies the main chili flavor and warm aroma.
Onion
Adds sweetness and savory depth when softened in oil.

Swap the tomato

The recipe marks tomato as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tofu, clove, garlic, sauce, onion, pepper, carrot):

  1. Spinachfits better
  2. Capsicumfits about as well
  3. Chivefits about as well
  4. Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tofu, clove, garlic, sauce, onion, pepper, carrot. 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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