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Salad

Red Bean and Rice Salad

A salad of cooked rice, beans, tomatoes, cheese, onion, and dressing, chilled before serving.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 10 ingredients
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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 ↓

Red Bean and Rice Salad

Timetwo or more hours chilling

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Measure rice into a mixing bowl.

  2. Rinse and drain the beans.

  3. Drain the tomatoes and chop them (save the juice for another use).

Make the salad

  1. Add the drained beans, tomatoes, cheese, and onion to the rice.

  2. Combine the salad dressing, lemon juice, garlic powder, and pepper.

  3. Add the dressing mixture to the rice mixture, toss, and season with salt to taste.

Chill and serve

  1. Cover and chill for two or more hours. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

540Calories
22 gProtein
11 gFat
93 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 11 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Pinto Bean1/2 cup (86g) canned122
Cheddar Cheese1 oz (28g)113
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Limejuice of 1 lime (44ml)11
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Salad Dressingnot in our table0

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.

  1. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Beans + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,713 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together27,047 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  4. Tomato + garlictop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  5. Rice + beanstop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,017 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

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

What each ingredient does

Cooked rice
Forms the bulk of the salad and absorbs the dressing's flavor.
Kidney or pinto beans
Add body, protein-rich texture, and a firm bite to the salad.
Peeled tomatoes
Contribute moisture and mild acidity that brightens the salad.
Cheddar cheese
Adds richness and fat, softening slightly as the salad sits.
Italian salad dressing
Supplies oil and acid that coat the rice and carry the seasonings.

The step that matters

Bring to room temperature before serving. Chilled fats and starches taste muted and firm; letting the salad warm slightly releases the aromas of the dressing and seasonings and softens the cheese.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, beans, tomato, cheddar cheese, onion, garlic, pepper):

  1. Avocadofits better
  2. Limefits better
  3. Mangofits better
  4. Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against rice, beans, tomato, cheddar cheese, onion, garlic, pepper. 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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