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Rice and Cheese Casserole

A casserole of cooked rice, bacon, onions, celery, olives, and cheese baked with cream of chicken soup.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Celery and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,193 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Rice and Cheese Casserole

Oven375°F
Time15 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Fry bacon in a large skillet until crisp.

  2. Remove bacon from the pan and drain well on absorbent paper; crumble into small pieces.

  3. Drain all but 3 tablespoons of drippings from the pan.

  4. Add onion and celery to the pan; cook until tender.

Make the filling

  1. Remove the pan from heat and stir in rice, olives, thyme, salt, and pepper.

  2. Heat the soup and 1 cup of cheese in a saucepan until the cheese has melted.

  3. Add the sauce and bacon to the rice mixture.

Bake

  1. Transfer the mixture into a buttered 1-quart casserole dish; top with the remaining 1 cup of cheese.

  2. Bake at 375°F for 15 minutes.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

642Calories
48 gProtein
23 gFat
60 gCarbs

Counts 11 of 13 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Chicken100g cooked165
Cheddar Cheese1 oz (28g)113
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bacon1 slice cooked (8g)43
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Olive1 large (4g)4
Thyme1 tsp dried (1.4g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Drippingnot in our table0
Soupnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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.

  1. Celery + thymetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,193 recipes

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

  2. Thyme + peppertop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,585 recipes

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

  3. Olive + thymetop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together4,948 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).

  4. Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together16,012 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  5. Rice + chickentop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,769 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).

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 soaks up the sauce and drippings.
Condensed cream of chicken soup
Provides moisture and a creamy binding sauce that holds the casserole together.
Sharp cheddar cheese
Melts into the sauce and browns on top, adding richness and savory flavor.
Bacon
Adds smoky, salty flavor and crisp texture throughout the casserole.
Onion
Softens during cooking and adds sweetness and aroma to the base.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (celery, rice, olive, thyme, pepper, cream, chicken):

  1. Tomatofits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Potatofits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against celery, rice, olive, thyme, pepper, cream, chicken. 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.

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