Name: Super Simple Spinach Soufflé
Ingredients: 1/2 cup chopped onion; 1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach; 4 eggs, separated; 1 10-3/4 ounce can cream of mushroom soup; 1/2 cup sour cream; 1/2 teaspoon seasoned pepper; dash ground nutmeg; 2 cups cooked rice; 2 eggs, beaten; 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese; 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese; 2 cups grated Cheddar cheese, divided

Why it works: Spinach and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 603 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. 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.

Spinach + nutmegtop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together603 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Spinach + mushroomtop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together778 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
Spinach + peppertop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,400 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together13,015 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Onion + spinachtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,336 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs: Egg whites whipped and folded in create lift, while yolks add richness and help bind the custard.
Cream of mushroom soup: Adds moisture and savory body to the mixture, keeping the soufflé from drying out as it bakes.
Sour cream: Adds moisture and tang, making the mixture creamier and more tender.
Cooked rice: Adds bulk and body, giving the soufflé a light, sturdy texture that holds its structure.
Frozen chopped spinach: Supplies the main vegetable flavor and moisture; it must be well drained so the batter is not watery.
Cottage cheese: Adds moisture and soft creaminess, along with savory dairy flavor.

The step that matters

Fold the egg whites gently into the rice mixture. Whites whipped to stiff peaks trap air that makes the soufflé rise. Overmixing or deflating them during folding removes that air, leaving a dense result.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (spinach, egg, cream, mushroom, pepper, nutmeg, rice):

Asparagusfits better
Shallotfits better
Chivefits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against spinach, egg, cream, mushroom, pepper, nutmeg, rice. 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
Cheddar Cheese	1 oz (28g)	113
Parmesan Cheese	1 oz (28g)	110
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Cottage Cheese	1/2 cup (113g) 2%	98
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Mushroom	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Spinach	1 cup raw (30g)	7
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Soup	not in our table	0

Super Simple Spinach Soufflé