These homemade Dr. Pepper baked beans with bacon start with simple canned beans and turn into a sweet, salty, glazy, delicious side dish. Easy stovetop-to-oven preparation, all in one skillet.

Cast iron skillet filled with baked beans with cans of Dr. Pepper next to skillet.

One long term goal I’ve had for this blog is to fill in any recipe “gaps” so that this site is a useful resource for as many occasions and meals as possible.

Even after eight years of blogging full time, my recipe library is still missing things like an Easter ham (although I have a crock pot green bean casserole recipe to go with it!) and prime rib (although I have the mashed potatoes with heavy cream to go with it!).

A gap that I’m filling in today is cast iron baked beans, with this Dr. Pepper baked beans recipe. It’s one of my very favorite side dishes for ribs, or just about anything else.

Cast iron skillet filled with Dr. Pepper baked beans, with spoon dishing out some beans.

After a lot of time spent researching how to make baked beans with bacon, I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s three main ways to make them:

1.) Buy the ready-to-eat canned kind and heat them up. Personally, I don’t prefer these. There’s also a 1a.) where people will buy canned prepared baked beans and then “doctor them up” by adding bacon and other things, but I’ll pass.

2.) Make them completely from scratch, using dried beans. To be honest, I don’t have much experience cooking with dried beans except for my old fashioned ham and bean soup, as I prefer using canned beans for things like leftover turkey chili and taco soup slow cooker.

3.) Start with plain, canned beans and add all of the ingredients to make them into sweet, salty, glazy, delicious baked beans. This is what I’m doing with this Dr. Pepper baked beans recipe.

Closeup of glazy beans and bacon with spoon in them.

What is in this Dr. Pepper baked beans recipe?

  • canned beans – I used Great Northern beans for these Dr. Pepper beans, but just about any canned bean can be a blank slate for baked beans, including cannellini, pinto and navy beans.
  • bacon no need to cook the bacon in the oven first for these Dr. pepper beans with bacon, we’ll be cooking it right in the skillet! Real pork bacon is best here (and in bacon grease gravy), so save the turkey bacon for breakast, and check out my tutorials on how to cook turkey bacon in the oven and turkey bacon in an air fryer.
  • onion – half of an onion; yellow or white is best. But red onion would also work for cast iron baked beans if you have it.
  • garlic two cloves, mince them up!
  • Dr. Pepper or any type of cola, like root beer or Coca Cola.
  • molasses – this adds sweetness to this Dr. Pepper baked beans recipe and make the beans glazy.
  • ketchup this adds a bit of acidity and umami to the skillet baked beans.
  • light brown sugar – you can’t have baked beans without brown sugar!
  • apple cider vinegar the acidity helps balance the sweetness in this Dr. Pepper baked beans recipe.
  • Worcestershire sauce this adds a distinct umami flavor that really can’t be replicated! It’s also key in my chicken stroganoff and mini shepherd’s pies.
  • spices – you’ll need ground mustard, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper.
Cast iron skillet filled with glazed Great Northern beans with bacon, with wooden serving spoon resting on small blue dish next to skillet.

How to make Dr. Pepper beans:

Grab a skillet (I like to use cast iron for baked beans, as well as orange glazed chicken and blistered shishitos) and cook some chopped bacon until it crisps up, then transfer the bacon to a paper towel to drain.

Use some of the bacon drippings to cook chopped onion, and then a little garlic for these skillet baked beans.

Then, you’ll be stirring in everything that makes the sauce for these Dr. Pepper beans – Dr. Pepper, molasses, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, ground mustard, Worcestershire, salt, pepper and cayenne.

You’ll also be adding the beans at this step. Simmer the Dr. Pepper beans mixture on the stovetop until everything is reduced by about a third. This gives the cast iron baked beans a head start on getting tender, and the liquid starts to reduce to a sauce.

Stir in the cooked bacon, then transfer the skillet to the oven and bake 1 hour. Whip up some steak lettuce wraps or a smoked salmon BLT for dinner while you bake the beans.

You can stir the Dr. Pepper baked beans once, halfway through, if you remember, but it’s not necessary! At the end of the hour, the sauce should be thick, glazy and delicious.

Skillet of glazed Great Northern beans, with a can of Dr. Pepper next to skillet.

What main dish should I serve with these easy baked beans with bacon?

My favorite entree to go with this Dr. Pepper baked beans recipe is baby back ribs, like my root beer ribs or crock pot ribs (don’t forget the dry rub for ribs). Country style pork ribs oven are another great (cheap!) option.

These Dr. Pepper beans are also delicious served with chicken, like drumsticks marinated in buttermilk chicken marinade, breasts marinated in Greek marinade for chicken, or buttermilk chicken tenders.

Cast iron baked beans also make a great side dish for burgers, like my umami burger recipe or bloody mary burger, or hot dogs like my Sonoran hot dog recipe.

This Dr. Pepper baked beans recipe is also so good when paired with a simple salmon sandwich.

Cast iron skillet filled with baked beans with cans of Dr. Pepper next to skillet.

Dr. Pepper Baked Beans with Bacon

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

These homemade Dr. Pepper baked beans with bacon start with simple canned beans and turn into a sweet, salty, glazy, delicious side dish. Easy stovetop-to-oven preparation, all in one skillet.

Ingredients

  • 4 slices bacon, diced
  • 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cans (15 ounces each) Great Northern beans (rinse and drain one can, leave other can with all liquid in it)
  • 3/4 cup Dr. Pepper
  • 1/3 cup molasses
  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons ground mustard
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In medium cast iron or other oven-proof skillet, cook bacon over medium heat 4 to 6 minutes or until crisp, stirring frequently. 
  2. Use slotted spoon to transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate. Leave 1 tablespoon bacon drippings in skillet; remove and discard remaining drippings. 
  3. Add onion to skillet and cook 2 to 3 minutes or until softened, stirring frequently. Add garlic and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
  4. Stir in all beans (and the liquid from the one can), Dr. Pepper, molasses, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, ground mustard, Worcestershire, salt, pepper and cayenne.
  5. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 5 to 7 minutes or until mixture is reduced by about a third.
  6. Stir in reserved bacon. Transfer skillet to oven and bake 1 hour or until sauce is thickened and glazy, stirring once halfway through, if possible.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 214Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 304mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 4gSugar: 22gProtein: 8g

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