Name: Green and Gold Rice Casserole
Ingredients: 1 cup chopped fresh parsley; 3/4 cup chopped green bell pepper; 1/2 cup chopped onion; 1 tablespoon butter or margarine; 1 10-3/4-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup; 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese, divided; 1/2 cup half and half; 1 teaspoon garlic salt; 1 teaspoon seasoned pepper; 1 tablespoon lemon juice; 3 cups cooked rice; 6 hard-cooked eggs, chopped; 1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs; Paprika (optional)

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).
Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Parsley + garlictop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,308 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Chicken + garlictop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,850 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).
Pepper + garlictop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,090 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Cream of chicken soup: Forms the creamy binding sauce that holds the rice and eggs together.
Cheddar cheese: Melts into the sauce for richness and adds a golden, browned topping.
Hard-cooked eggs: Add body and soft protein texture that thickens the casserole as it bakes.
Cooked rice: Provides the bulk and starch that gives the casserole its substance.
Half and half: Adds fat and moisture for a smoother, richer sauce.
Breadcrumbs: Toast on top in the oven to form a crisp, browned crust.

Swap the parsley

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

Thymefits about as well
Parsleythe original
Celeryfits about as well
Cuminfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, onion, butter, cream, chicken, cheddar cheese, garlic. 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
Cheddar Cheese	1 oz (28g)	113
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Green Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Soup	not in our table	0

Green and Gold Rice Casserole