Dr Pepper Recipes

I cook with Dr Pepper more than I should admit. These are the 34 that actually work, every one of them made in my own kitchen with real measurements: sticky slow cooker pulled pork, fall-off-the-bone ribs, fudgy chocolate cake, and the 15 drinks and cocktails most people come here for.

What can you make with Dr Pepper? Three things, mostly. It braises meat into something dark and sticky, which is the pulled pork, ribs, brisket and carnitas end of this page. It replaces the liquid in chocolate bakes and leaves a faint spiced edge behind, which is the cake, cupcakes and brownies. And it mixes, which is what most people actually arrive looking for: the 23 flavors already lean on cherry, vanilla and baking spice, so bourbon, rum and whiskey need no help at all. There is even breakfast: Dr Pepper pancakes.

34 of the 51 recipes below are ones I have cooked myself, with weights and timings I checked rather than copied. The other 17, the newest additions, are written up from their standard method and marked as such until I have made them. Last updated October 6, 2026. For every drink in one place, see the Dr Pepper drinks and cocktails guide.

What kind of Dr Pepper recipe do you want?

Dinner, dessert, breakfast or a drink: here is what the collection holds and the best recipe to start with in each group. The filters below narrow the cards the same way.

Kind of recipeRecipesBest one to start with
Cocktails and mixed drinks17Dr Pepper bourbon smash
Floats, shakes, punches and soft drinks11Dr Pepper float
Savory dinners, mostly barbecue11Dr Pepper pulled pork
Desserts: cakes, pies and bakes10Dr Pepper chocolate cake
Breakfast1Dr Pepper pancakes
Quick and easy28Dr Pepper float
Slow cooker7Dr Pepper carnitas
Sides, sauces and marinades4Dr Pepper BBQ sauce
By the occasion:

51 recipes

Cooking with Dr Pepper: common questions

What are the best Dr Pepper recipes?

The ones I would make first, all tested in my kitchen: slow cooker pulled pork for dinner, Dr Pepper chocolate cake for dessert, a Dr Pepper float when you want something in five minutes, and a bourbon smash for a drink. The BBQ sauce is the one I keep in the fridge, because it finishes half the savory recipes here.

How do you use Dr Pepper in cooking?

Four ways. As a braising liquid for tough cuts, like pot roast and pulled pork. Reduced into a glaze or sauce, like the glazed ham and pork chops. As the liquid in chocolate bakes, from cake to Dr Pepper pie. And in breakfast, where Dr Pepper pancakes use it in the batter. Regular Dr Pepper works best in all four, because the sugar does part of the job.

What is good to mix with Dr Pepper?

Without alcohol: coconut syrup and cream, which makes a dirty Dr Pepper, or vanilla ice cream, which makes a float or a milkshake. With alcohol: bourbon, spiced or dark rum, Tennessee whiskey and amaretto, because they share its vanilla, cherry and spice. Every pairing, with a drink for each, is in the Dr Pepper drinks and cocktails guide.

What is a dirty Dr Pepper?

Dr Pepper with a flavored syrup and a splash of cream, usually coconut syrup, half and half and lime over pebble ice. No alcohol. The full build and variations are in dirty Dr Pepper.

What is a Flaming Dr Pepper, and does it contain Dr Pepper?

A bar shot with no Dr Pepper in it: amaretto, sometimes with a lit layer of high-proof liquor, dropped into beer. The no-flame version and the safety notes are in Flaming Dr Pepper.

What is hot Dr Pepper?

Dr Pepper heated to about 180°F and poured over a thin slice of lemon, a winter drink the company introduced in 1958. The method and the story are in hot Dr Pepper.

Why does Dr Pepper work so well on meat?

It brings sugar, color and a gentle acidity to a braise, and its spice notes land somewhere near a barbecue rub, which is why it tastes deliberate rather than like a novelty. The sticky finish on the ribs and the pulled pork comes from a separate Dr Pepper BBQ sauce brushed or tossed on at the end; most of the braising liquid itself gets skimmed off.

Can you cook with Diet or Zero Sugar Dr Pepper?

Yes, with one caveat. Dr Pepper Zero Sugar and Diet Dr Pepper bring the flavor but no sugar, so anything that relies on the soda alone to thicken or turn sticky will come out thinner and less glossy. They also lose sweetness on the stove: the FDA notes that aspartame, the sweetener in both, is not heat stable. Where the recipe has its own sugar, like the brown sugar and molasses in the BBQ sauce, the swap matters much less. In drinks they work fine.

Is there a Dr Pepper cookbook?

There was. In 1965 the Dr Pepper Company published a booklet called Cookin' with Dr Pepper, with more than 50 ways to use it in cakes, dips, vegetables and above all savory meat dishes. Taste of Home cooked the pot roast from its cover, and my Dr Pepper pot roast follows the same idea. The company later put out a second booklet, Cooking with Dr Pepper and 7 UP, reprinted as late as 2001. This page is an independent collection, not either of those.