Name: Beef and Corn Casserole I
Ingredients: 2 tbsp oil; 1 green pepper, chopped; 1 onion, chopped; 1 lb lean ground beef; 2 cups corn kernels; salt; 2 firm ripe tomatoes, peeled and sliced; 1 cup buttered bread crumbs

Why it works: Corn and tomato match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,099 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓

Beef and Corn Casserole I

Oven350°F

Time25 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the filling

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Heat the oil in a skillet, add the pepper and onion, and cook, stirring often, until the onion is soft.
Add the ground beef, breaking it up into small bits, and cook until it loses its redness.
Stir in the corn and salt to taste.

Assemble and bake

Place in a baking dish.
Cover with tomato slices.
Sprinkle the crumbs over the top.
Bake 25 minutes, or until the crumbs are brown.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

998Calories

45 gProtein

31 gFat

133 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 8 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Beef	100g cooked	250
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Corn	1/2 cup kernels (82g)	77
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	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.

Corn + tomatotop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,099 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Onion + beeftop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,092 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,923 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Beef + tomatotop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,448 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,633 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

Ground beef: Provides the main protein and savory body of the casserole.
Corn kernels: Adds sweetness and a tender, juicy texture to the filling.
Tomatoes: Add moisture and acidity that brighten the filling as they cook.
Buttered bread crumbs: Form a crisp, browned topping as the casserole bakes.
Onion: Softens and sweetens as it cooks, building savory flavor.

The step that matters

Browning the ground beef. Cooking the beef until it loses its redness and breaking it into small bits ensures it is evenly cooked and develops flavor through browning. Leaving it pink or in large clumps yields a dull, unevenly cooked filling.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, beef, corn, tomato, bread):

Capsicumfits better
Potatofits better
Carrotfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, beef, corn, tomato, bread. 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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Beef and Corn Casserole I