Name: Borracho Bean Soup
Ingredients: 1 - 16 oz. jar Tejano salsa, mild, medium or hot; 1 - 16 oz. jar of water; 4 - 15.5 oz. cans Trappey's pinto beans (flavored with slab bacon); 1 - small onion chopped (use red onion for added color); 1 - small bundle cilantro chopped (remove half of the stems); 1 - Tbsp. Tony Chachere's seasoning; 1 - Tsp. garlic powder (to taste)

Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Borracho Bean Soup

Timeapproximately 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 - 16 oz. jar Tejano salsa, mild, medium or hot
1 - 16 oz. jar of water
4 - 15.5 oz. cans Trappey's pinto beans (flavored with slab bacon)
1 - small onion chopped (use red onion for added color)
1 - small bundle cilantro chopped (remove half of the stems)
1 - Tbsp. Tony Chachere's seasoning
1 - Tsp. garlic powder (to taste)

Directions

Put everything into a pot (except cilantro) and bring to a boil for approximately 10 minutes.
Add the cilantro last.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

236Calories

13 gProtein

4 gFat

38 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Pinto Bean	1/2 cup (86g) canned	122
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bacon	1 slice cooked (8g)	43
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1
Water	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.

Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Beans + garlictop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,935 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Beans + oniontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,242 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

Pinto beans: Provides the bulk and starchy body that thickens the soup.
Tejano salsa: Supplies tomato acidity and chili heat that season the broth.
Onion: Adds savory aroma and mild sweetness as it softens in the hot liquid.
Cilantro: Adds fresh, bright herbal aroma that fades with prolonged heat.

The step that matters

Add the cilantro last. Cilantro's bright aroma comes from volatile compounds that break down with prolonged heat, so adding it at the end keeps its fresh flavor.

Swap the beans

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, garlic):

Sesamefits better
Chickpeafits better
Cashew nutfits better
Beansthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, garlic. 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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Borracho Bean Soup