❤️🫘 This Dr Pepper Baked Beans recipe is made with bacon, onions, peppers, and Dr. Pepper for elevated beans with a sweet, tangy, savory flavor! Hearty and easy to make, they’re guaranteed to be your new favorite baked beans recipe! They’re the perfect side dish for cookouts, potlucks, summer holidays, tailgating, and game day parties, or any time I need a comfort food recipe.
Sweet and Savory Dr Pepper Baked Beans
Not your average baked beans, these Dr Pepper baked beans differ from more traditional baked beans thanks to the unique ingredient list.
The sauce the baked beans simmer in is both savory and sweet and tangy from molasses, brown sugar, and apple cider vinegar. And there’s one secret ingredient: Dr Pepper soda. As the beans bake in the oven, the sauce thickens, and the sugars in the soda caramelize, creating amazing flavor.
Whether you want to make these for Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, summer barbecues, tailgating, or a wintertime comfort food, there’s no wrong season for these Dr Pepper and bacon baked beans! Serve them alongside crowd favorites, like ranch chicken meatballs and slow cooker chicken drumsticks, for a complete spread!
Ingredients You’ll Need
To make these easy baked beans with Dr Pepper, you’ll need the following easy-to-find and very common fridge and pantry ingredients, including the following:
- Thick-cut bacon
- Veggies: Yellow onion and red or green bell peppers
- Salt and black pepper
- Canned baked beans: I used Bush’s Original Canned Baked Beans, which I drained. You can also use prepared canned beans, like Bush’s Navy Beans, pinto beans, or cannellini beans. Or, make beans from scratch, following the method used for my Instant Pot Black Beans recipe, using dry “white beans” such as navy beans, great northern beans, cannellini beans, or pinto beans
- Ketchup
- Molasses: Unsulphured molasses, such as a brand like Grandma’s Original Molasses, is what I use and recommend. I do not recommend going with blackstrap molasses, as that’s even stronger and more potent tasting
- Light brown sugar
- Yellow mustard
- Apple cider vinegar
- Dr Pepper: I don’t recommend using diet Dr. Pepper or any other soda
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Dr Pepper Baked Beans
Making baked beans is easier than you think. Especially since I start out with canned baked beans to save a ton of time.
Follow these straightforward and easy steps:
- In an oven-safe cast-iron skillet, add the bacon and cook over medium heat until crispy. Remove it from the skillet and drain off all but 2 tablespoons of bacon grease.
- Add the onions, bell peppers, salt, and pepper, and sauté until softened.
- Add the cooked bacon back into the pan, the beans, ketchup, light brown sugar, mustard, vinegar, Dr Pepper, and stir to combine.
- Bake in a preheated oven until the sauce thickens before serving!
Slow Cooker Option
If you prefer to make slow cooker Dr Pepper baked beans, follow the instructions, cooking the bacon and sautéing the veggies. Then, combine the ingredients in a slow cooker, cover, and cook until thickened. Check out my maple bourbon slow cooker baked beans recipe for guidance!
What to Serve with Dr Pepper Baked Beans
Dr Pepper Baked Beans
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 slices thick-cut bacon, diced into bite-sized pieces
- 1 medium/large yellow onion, diced small
- 1 medium/large red or green bell pepper, diced small
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- three 15-ounce cans baked beans, drained*
- ½ cup ketchup
- ⅓ cup unsulphured molasses
- ¼ cup light or dark brown sugar, packed; optional and to taste**
- 2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- one 12-ounce can Dr Pepper soda
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- To a large cast iron skillet or an oven-safe skillet, add the bacon and cook over medium heat until crispy; stir intermittently. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels and set aside. Tips – I recommend a 12-inch cast iron skillet, although a 9-inch skillet will work, although it'll be fuller. I do not recommend using a nonstick skillet or Teflon-coated skillets because these beans will bake for 75-90 minutes and a heavy duty cast iron skillet is ideal, although use what you have that's oven-safe.
- Drain all but 2 to 3 tablespoons of the bacon grease.
- Add the onions, bell peppers, and saute over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes; stir intermittently.
- Add the cooked bacon, the canned baked beans, ketchup, molasses (use unsulphured and not blackstrap), optional brown sugar to taste, mustard, apple cider vinegar, Dr Pepper, and stir to combine. Tip – If you wanted to turn this into a slow cooker baked beans recipes, transfer it into your Crock-Pot right now, and cook on low for about 4-5 hours on low OR about 3-4 hours on high, or until desired consistency has been reached. All slow cookers vary so keep an eye on yours and cook as needed.
- Bake for 75 to 90 minutes, uncovered, or until the sauce has thickened and desired consistency has been reached. Stir every 30 minutes or so and check on how they look as they're baking.
- Serve immediately. Extra beans will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat gently in the microwave.
Notes
- Canned Baked Beans – I used Bush's Original Canned Baked Beans that I drain. Quick, easy, no planning!
- Canned Beans – We are taking the "baked" element out and simply used prepared canned beans. Drain and rinse them. I suggest using navy beans like Bush's Navy Beans, pinto beans, or cannellini beans. Again, quick, easy, no planning, and you may already have 3 cans of beans in your pantry.
- Dry Beans – You can make beans from scratch and then use those beans in the baked beans recipe. If you want a guide for how to make beans from scratch, my Instant Pot Black Beans recipe is great. Don't make black beans for this recipe. Use dry "white beans" such as navy beans, cannellini beans, or pinto beans. This is a more labor intensive and longer process but certainly is an option.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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