Name: Breezy Chicken Casserole
Ingredients: 3 cups cooked rice; 3 cups coarsely chopped cooked chicken; 2 cups soft breadcrumbs; 3 eggs, slightly beaten; 3/4 cup chicken broth; 1/2 cup chopped green pepper; 1/2 cup chopped onion; 1/2 cup chopped celery; 1/2 teaspoon celery salt; 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt; 2 10-3/4-ounce cans condensed cream of mushroom soup, divided; 1/2 cup milk; 2 tablespoons butter or margarine; 2 tablespoons chopped pimiento; 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Why it works: Onion and garlic 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.

Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together16,012 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Rice + chickentop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,769 recipes

Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Onion + celerytop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,518 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,850 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

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 as it bakes.
Cooked chicken: Provides the main protein and substance of the casserole.
Eggs: Bind the mixture and help it set firm when baked.
Soft breadcrumbs: Add body and soak up liquid, helping the casserole hold together.
Cream of mushroom soup: Adds moisture, savory flavor and a creamy binding base.

The step that matters

Bake until set. Baking until the eggs firm up is what holds the casserole together when served. Pulling it too early leaves a loose, wet center that will not hold its shape.

Swap the celery

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, chicken, egg, pepper, onion, garlic, cream):

Turmericfits about as well
Parsleyfits about as well
Cuminfits about as well
Celerythe original

Fit is the average pairing score against rice, chicken, egg, pepper, onion, garlic, cream. 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
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Mushroom	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Soup	not in our table	0

Breezy Chicken Casserole