Name: Jalapenos with Cream Cheese
Ingredients: 6 fresh jalapenos (or as many as desired), split down the middle, seeds removed (so they're left as 'jackets'); 1 package Philly cream cheese- or other brand

Why it works: Jalapeno and cream cheese work together. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 190 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Jalapenos with Cream Cheese

Timeabout 15 minutes

Ingredients

6 fresh jalapenos (or as many as desired), split down the middle, seeds removed (so they're left as 'jackets')
1 package Philly cream cheese- or other brand

Directions

Prepare

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.

Fill and arrange

Fill the jalapeño jackets with cream cheese using a spoon.
Arrange the filled jalapeños on the baking sheet in a single row.

Bake

Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the peppers are cooked and the cheese is crusted and browned.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

55Calories

0 gProtein

5 gFat

1 gCarbs

Counts 2 of 3 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 2 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Jalapeno	1 pepper (14g)	4
Seed	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.

Jalapeno + cream cheesetop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together190 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Jalapeño peppers: Their split skins act as edible shells that hold the filling while the peppers soften.
Cream cheese: Fills the pepper halves and softens, then browns and crusts on the surface in the oven.

“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.