Name: Baked Vegetarian Chimichangas
Ingredients: 1 cup chopped onions; 6 cloves garlic, minced; 1 cup roughly-chopped mushrooms (optional); 2 teaspoons olive oil; 1 (7 ounce) can chopped green chilies; 1 (16 ounce) can vegetarian refried beans; 1 1/2 cups of your favorite salsa; 2 cups cooked brown rice; 1 (16 ounce) can regular black beans; 1 (16 ounce) can black soybeans; 1 ripe avocado, pitted,peeled,and cubed (optional); 1/2 teaspoon salt, to taste; 1-2 teaspoon chili powder, to taste; 2 teaspoons powdered cumin; 3 tablespoons sour cream (or non-dairy equivalent); 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese or soy cheese; grated cheddar cheese or soy cheese (to garnish); flour tortillas (large burrito size)

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 ↓

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).
Garlic + olivetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Beans + ricetop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,017 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Olive + beanstop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,470 recipes

Shared aroma: trans,trans-2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
Garlic + beanstop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,935 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

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

What each ingredient does

Black soybeans: Adds protein-rich body and a firm, chewy texture to the filling.
Brown rice: Adds bulk and a firm, grainy texture that helps the filling hold together.
Vegetarian refried beans: Bind the filling into a creamy, spreadable mass that stays moist inside the tortilla.
Cheddar cheese: Melts into the filling and browns on top, adding richness and savory flavor.
Onions: Caramelize when sautéed, adding sweetness and depth to the filling.

The step that matters

Folding and sealing the chimichangas. If the filling is overfilled or the folds are loose, the tortilla can split or leak during frying or baking. Keeping the filling to about 3/4 to 1 cup and folding the sides in before rolling seals the packet.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, garlic, mushroom, olive, beans, rice, soybean):

Cuminfits better
Thymefits better
Corianderfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, garlic, mushroom, olive, beans, rice, soybean. 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
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Avocado	1 medium (150g)	240
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Tortilla	1 medium flour (45g)	140
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Black Bean	1/2 cup canned (120g) drained	114
Cheddar Cheese	1 oz (28g)	113
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Mushroom	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Bean	not in our table	0
Soybean	not in our table	0
Burrito	not in our table	0

Baked Vegetarian Chimichangas