Name: Salsa Bean Dip
Ingredients: 1 can refried beans (17 oz); 1/4 cup salsa picante, salsa casera or salsa roja (4 oz, Del Monte, etc); 1 cup diced green chilies, drained (4 oz); 1/3 cup shredded cheddar or Jack cheese; tortilla chips (plain flavor)

Why it works: Beans and cheese work together. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 741 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Salsa Bean Dip

Ingredients

1 can refried beans (17 oz)
1/4 cup salsa picante, salsa casera or salsa roja (4 oz, Del Monte, etc)
1 cup diced green chilies, drained (4 oz)
1/3 cup shredded cheddar or Jack cheese
tortilla chips (plain flavor)

Directions

Make the dip

Mix beans, salsa, and chilies in skillet.
Heat through. Put in serving dish.

Top and serve

Top with cheese.
Serve with tortillas.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

388Calories

19 gProtein

22 gFat

30 gCarbs

Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 4 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Tortilla Chip	1 medium flour (45g)	140
Cheddar Cheese	1 oz (28g)	113
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Bean	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.

Beans + cheesetop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together741 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

Refried beans: Provide the thick, creamy body that makes up most of the dip.
Salsa: Adds moisture and acidity that brighten the flavor of the beans.
Green chilies: Add mild heat and a fresh, vegetal flavor to the dip.
Cheddar or jack cheese: Melts over the warm dip to add richness and savory flavor.

“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.