Name: Ground Beef and Vegetables Over Rice
Ingredients: 1 pound lean ground beef; 1 14-1/2- to 16-ounce can whole tomatoes (2 cups), with juice; 1 16-ounce can pork and beans in tomato sauce; 1 medium onion, sliced and separated into rings; 2 medium carrots, diced; 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning; 1 teaspoon salt, divided; 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided; 1 small zucchini, sliced; 3 tablespoons flour; 1/4 cup water; 3 cups hot cooked rice

Why it works: Tomato and beans match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,713 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. 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.

Tomato + beanstop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,713 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Beef + porktop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,690 recipes

Shared aroma: 12-methyltridecanal (tallowy, beefy).
Beans + carrottop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,443 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,555 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Tomato + carrottop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,606 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

Lean ground beef: Provides the main protein and savory meaty body of the skillet.
Whole tomatoes: Supply liquid and acidity that form the base of the sauce.
Pork and beans in tomato sauce: Adds starch and body, thickening the sauce while contributing sweetness.
Flour: Thickens the sauce as it heats, giving it a smooth, cohesive texture.

The step that matters

Thicken with flour mixed with water. Flour must be blended with cold water first so it disperses evenly; added dry it clumps. Stirring while the sauce simmers lets the starch swell and thicken it smoothly.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, tomato, pork, beans, sauce, carrot, pepper):

Capsicumfits better
Potatofits better
Spinachfits about as well
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, tomato, pork, beans, sauce, carrot, pepper. 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
Beef	100g cooked	250
Pork	100g cooked	242
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Cucumber	1/2 cup sliced (52g)	16
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Bean	not in our table	0
Water	not in our table	0

Ground Beef and Vegetables Over Rice