Name: Christmas Eve Manicotti
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: Crepes:; 4 eggs; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 2 cups all-purpose flour; 2 1/4 cups milk; 1/4 cup melted butter; 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, or more as needed; Filling:; 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach - thawed, drained, and squeezed dry; 1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese; 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened; 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese; 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley; 3 tablespoons chopped green onion; 1 tablespoon onion powder; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 2 eggs, lightly beaten; 2 cups prepared marinara sauce, or as needed; 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, or to taste

Why it works: Cream cheese and parmesan cheese match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 311 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. 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.

Cream cheese + parmesan cheesetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together311 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Butter + cream cheesetop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,747 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Butter + parmesan cheesetop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,163 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Spinach + ricotta cheesetop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together250 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

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

Swap the spinach

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, flour, milk, butter, ricotta cheese, cream cheese, parmesan cheese):

Chivefits about as well
Spinachthe original
Asparagusfits about as well
Potatofits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, flour, milk, butter, ricotta cheese, cream cheese, parmesan cheese. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Ricotta Cheese	1/2 cup (124g) part-skim	174
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Parmesan Cheese	1 oz (28g)	110
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Cream Cheese	1 oz (28g)	99
Mozzarella Cheese	1 oz (28g)	85
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Green Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Spinach	1 cup raw (30g)	7
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Christmas Eve Manicotti