Name: Broccoli and Rice Casserole I
Ingredients: ¾ cup chopped onion; ¾ cup chopped celery; 2 tablespoons butter or margarine; 3 cups cooked rice; 1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped broccoli, cooked and drained; 1 can (10¾ oz.) cream of chicken soup; 4 oz Cheez Whiz; ¼ teaspoon salt; ¼ teaspoon pepper; ⅛ teaspoon hot sauce; ½ cup grated cheddar cheese

Why it works: Celery and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,012 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. 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.

Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together16,012 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Rice + chickentop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,769 recipes

Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Celery + broccolitop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together807 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Onion + broccolitop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,294 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,518 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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 casserole and absorbs the sauce as it bakes.
Cream of chicken soup: Provides the creamy binding sauce that holds the casserole together.
Cheez whiz: Adds smooth melted cheese flavor and helps the sauce stay creamy.
Broccoli: Contributes the main vegetable texture and flavor.
Butter or margarine: Adds fat that softens the onion and celery and carries flavor.
Grated cheddar cheese: Melts over the top to form a golden, savory topping.

The step that matters

Bake until hot and bubbly, then add cheese. Baking until the center is hot and bubbling ensures the casserole is heated through. Adding the cheese only for the final few minutes lets it melt without overbrowning or turning greasy.

Swap the broccoli

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, celery, butter, rice, cream, chicken, pepper):

Potatofits better
Leekfits better
Carrotfits better
Broccolithe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, celery, butter, rice, cream, chicken, 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Cheddar Cheese	1 oz (28g)	113
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Broccoli	1 cup chopped (156g)	55
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Soup	not in our table	0

Broccoli and Rice Casserole I