Name: Shepherd's Pie with Creole Seasoning
Ingredients: 1 medium onion; 1 large bell pepper; 1 lb ground beef; ¾ tsp Tony,s creole seasoning; 1 pkg onion soupe mix; 1 tsp A1 steak sauce; 1 tsp liquid smoke; 2 cans mixed veg (drained); 1 can corn; 3/4 cup sour cream; Approx 1 cup shredded sharp chedder cheese; mashed or whipped potatoes (shredded hash browns)

Why it works: Onion and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. 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.

Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,023 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Corn + potatotop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together938 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,092 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,052 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Pepper + potatotop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,305 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 savory base of the filling and carries most of the flavor.
Sour cream: Adds moisture and richness to the filling so it stays creamy after baking.
Sharp cheddar cheese: Melts into the potato topping and adds savory flavor and browning.
Potatoes: Form the crisp-edged topping that seals and insulates the filling.
Mixed vegetables: Add bulk, sweetness and texture to the filling.

The step that matters

Draining the fat after browning the beef. Excess fat left in the pan would pool under the topping and make the filling greasy and loose, so draining it helps the dish set and keeps the texture clean.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, beef, sauce, corn, cream, cheese, potato):

Capsicumfits better
Tomatofits about as well
Onionthe original
Asparagusfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, beef, sauce, corn, cream, cheese, potato. 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
Beef	100g cooked	250
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Corn	1/2 cup kernels (82g)	77
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Sauce	not in our table	0
Smoke	not in our table	0

Shepherd's Pie with Creole Seasoning