Name: Cabbage Casserole IV
Ingredients: 1 medium cabbage -- chopped fine; 2 tablespoons flour; 1 cup velveeta cheese -- cubed (small); 1 cup milk; 1 can cream of chicken soup; 1 medium onion -- chopped; 3/4 cup bread crumbs; 1 tablespoon bacon grease or butter; salt and pepper -- to taste

Why it works: Cheese and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,130 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Cabbage Casserole IV

Oven350°F

Time20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

Boil cabbage for 10 minutes, then drain and rinse.
Sauté onions until clear in bacon grease or butter, then remove from pan.

Make the sauce

Mix flour with remaining bacon grease; add a little butter if necessary to make a paste.
Add milk, soup and cheese.
Return onions to pan.
Season to taste.
Cook until thickened, stirring constantly.

Bake and serve

Put cabbage in a casserole dish.
Pour sauce over and mix.
Sprinkle breadcrumbs over top and dot with margarine.
Cook in a 350°F oven for 20 minutes.
If breadcrumbs are not brown, broil for a couple of minutes.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1183Calories

68 gProtein

43 gFat

130 gCarbs

Counts 11 of 12 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 11 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Broccoli	1 cup chopped (156g)	55
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bacon	1 slice cooked (8g)	43
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Soup	not in our table	0

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.

Cheese + breadtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,130 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Cabbage + oniontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,001 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Chicken + oniontop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,814 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
Cheese + milktop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,426 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Milk + breadtop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together11,466 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Cabbage: Forms the bulk of the dish and softens as it cooks, giving the casserole its body.
Flour: Thickens the milk and soup into a smooth sauce that clings to the cabbage.
Velveeta cheese: Melts into the sauce, adding creaminess and rich, savory flavor.
Milk: Forms the liquid base of the sauce along with the soup.
Cream of chicken soup: Adds savory flavor and body to the sauce.
Onion: Adds sweetness and aroma as it softens and turns clear in the fat.

The step that matters

Cook the sauce until thickened, stirring constantly. Flour thickens only when heated long enough to gelatinize its starch. Stirring prevents lumps and scorching on the bottom of the pan, so the sauce turns smooth and coats the cabbage.

Swap the cabbage

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, cheese, milk, cream, chicken, onion, bread):

Potatofits better
Asparagusfits better
Leekfits better
Cabbagethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, cheese, milk, cream, chicken, onion, bread. 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.

Brown Bread461 recipes

Chicken Broth257 recipes

Chicken Soup156 recipes

Macaroni and Cheese102 recipes

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Cabbage Casserole IV