Name: Chicken and Pimento Skillet
Ingredients: 1 large white onion, minced; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; 2 cans cream of mushroom soup; 2 cans cream of chicken soup; ½ cup old English cheese, grated; 1/2 cup milk; 1/2 cup water; 1 teaspoon curry powder; 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme; 1/8 teaspoon dried basil; 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano; 5 pounds chicken, cooked and cubed; 4 ounce jar pimentos; 2 teaspoons salt; 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper; ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

Why it works: Mushroom and chicken are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,172 recipes. Both carry 1-butyl acetate, which smells fruity, banana. 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.

Mushroom + chickentop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,172 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-butyl acetate (fruity, banana).
Mushroom + thymetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,557 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Onion + thymetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together11,171 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Butter + mushroomtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,525 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

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

What each ingredient does

Cream of mushroom soup: Forms the creamy base that binds the chicken and pimentos together.
Cream of chicken soup: Adds body and moisture so the filling stays saucy rather than dry.
Old english cheese: Melts into the sauce, adding sharp flavor and richness.
Chicken: Provides the main protein and substance of the casserole.
Butter: Adds fat and flavor while softening the onion.
Parmesan cheese: Browns on top during baking, giving a golden, savory crust.

Swap the thyme

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

Garlicfits better
Thymethe original
Celeryfits less well
Nutmegfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, butter, cream, mushroom, chicken, cheese, milk. 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
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Parmesan Cheese	1 oz (28g)	110
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Mushroom	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Turmeric	1 tsp ground (3g)	9
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Thyme	1 tsp dried (1.4g)	4
Basil	5 leaves fresh (2.5g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Soup	not in our table	0
Water	not in our table	0
Pimento	not in our table	0

Chicken and Pimento Skillet