Name: Rice and Vegetable Frittata
Ingredients: 8 eggs, lightly beaten; 1/2 cup milk; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper; 3 cups cooked rice; 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese; 2 cups chopped tomatoes; 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms; 1/2 cup chopped green pepper; 1/2 cup sliced green onion; 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Why it works: Rice and tomato match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,065 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. 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.

Rice + tomatotop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,065 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Tomato + mushroomtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,719 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Milk + ricetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,374 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,923 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,633 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

Eggs: Set into a custard that binds the rice, cheese and vegetables together.
Cheddar cheese: Adds richness and flavor, and melts to help bind the frittata.
Cooked rice: Provides bulk and body so the frittata holds a sliceable structure.
Mushrooms: Contribute moisture and savory, earthy flavor when sauteed.
Milk: Adds moisture and softness to the egg mixture for a tender set.

The step that matters

Cook until the bottom is set before turning or broiling. Eggs set as their proteins coagulate with heat. If the base is cooked too hard or too fast, it browns and toughens before the top sets; if turned too early, the frittata breaks apart. Medium heat lets the bottom firm evenly first.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, milk, pepper, rice, cheddar cheese, tomato, mushroom):

Capsicumfits better
Potatofits better
Asparagusfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, milk, pepper, rice, cheddar cheese, tomato, mushroom. 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
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Cheddar Cheese	1 oz (28g)	113
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Green Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Mushrooms	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Rice and Vegetable Frittata