Name: Tofu Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients: 1 pound tofu, chopped into small pieces; 1/4 cup soy sauce; 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder; 2 tablespoons oil (optional); 1 medium onion, chopped; 2 carrots, diced; 1 green pepper, diced; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 6 cups tomato sauce; 1/2 teaspoon oregano; 1 tablespoon or more basil; 1/2 cup chopped parsley (optional)

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 ↓

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.

Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,076 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Carrot + clovetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,873 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Carrot + peppertop 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

Tofu: Provides protein and a firm, absorbent body that soaks up the marinade and sauce flavors.
Tomato sauce: Forms the liquid base of the sauce and carries the flavor of the other ingredients.
Onion: Builds sweetness and savory depth as it softens during sautéing.
Carrots: Add gentle sweetness and body as they soften in the simmering sauce.
Soy sauce: Adds salty, savory depth to the tofu during marinating.

The step that matters

Marinate the tofu for 30 minutes or longer. Tofu is bland on its own and absorbs liquid slowly, so a long marinade lets the soy sauce penetrate it. A short soak leaves the tofu tasting unseasoned against the sauce.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tofu, sauce, garlic, onion, carrot, pepper, tomato):

Cuminfits better
Parsleyfits better
Oreganofits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tofu, sauce, garlic, onion, carrot, pepper, tomato. 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
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Tofu	100g firm	76
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Basil	5 leaves fresh (2.5g)	1
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1

Tofu Spaghetti Sauce