You May Be Curious, But Dr Pepper Baked Beans Just Aren't Worth It
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In the canned beans aisle at the grocery store, among familiar varieties such as brown sugar, barbecue, and hickory smoked, you might notice a seemingly out-of-place can featuring the Dr. Pepper logo. This soda-flavored product is bound to catch your eye with its unique branding, but consider yourself warned — while the novelty might tempt you to try a can for yourself, you may end up disappointed with your purchase.
Dr. Pepper baked beans have a 3.5-star rating on Walmart and a slightly better 3.8 on Amazon, showcasing a spectrum of opinions that swings from high praise to severe criticism. "It is unlike anything you've ever tasted before, but highly recommend," a five-star review raves. Just below it, someone else writes, "Please don't buy these for the flavor, that's all I have to say about that."
As with any product, of course, taste is subjective. However, both positive and negative reviews seem to agree that Dr. Pepper baked beans don't taste very much like Dr. Pepper and that they are fairly expensive for the amount of beans you're getting. Based on this feedback, it's safe to say these beans are ultimately not worth buying.
Are these baked beans actually made by Dr. Pepper?
Contrary to what you might assume, Dr. Pepper baked beans aren't a whimsical, limited-edition offering directly from the soda giant itself. Instead, the beans are a staple product from a brand ironically called Serious Bean Co., which previously made our list of six canned bean brands to buy, and six to avoid. The brand actually sells a pretty normal assortment of canned bean flavors like Southwest Smokehouse and Jalapeno Bacon, but the Dr. Pepper baked beans unsurprisingly seem to be the most talked about flavor.
With the Dr. Pepper logo slapped on the label, it's reasonable to believe that the beans inside are cooked in the soda, however upon closer inspection of the can, that doesn't appear to be the case. For starters, the label states, "made with brown sugar and the 23 flavors of Dr. Pepper," but it does not explicitly state that it's made with the soda. The ingredients list seems to confirm this, as it doesn't name Dr. Pepper, only spices, sugar, and "natural flavors." Considering it shares the same flavors that are in soda but doesn't contain the actual drink, this could definitely explain why so many customers have said the beans don't really taste like Dr. Pepper.
What Dr. Pepper baked beans taste like
Since according to most customers, the Dr. Pepper flavor is missing from the baked beans product that touts their name, you might be wondering what they actually taste like. The majority of the negative reviews report an overwhelming cherry taste, while some also highlight bitterness and overly sugary flavor. While one of the 23 flavors is rumored to be cherry, Dr. Pepper has never confirmed this ingredient or any of the other 22.
If Serious Bean Co. based its recipe off of the soda's rumored flavor blend — which is said to include primarily sweet and fruity flavors like vanilla, plum, molasses, prune, caramel, raspberry, cola, orange, root beer, blackberry, and lemon — it would definitely explain its sugariness. As for the bitterness, it could be from any one of the unnamed "natural flavors" that the company uses.
Unfortunately, even if you were to make Dr. Pepper baked beans from scratch with the actual soda, you may end up with a similarly off-putting flavor. It isn't unheard of to put soda in barbecue dishes like baked beans and pulled pork because it aids in caramelization and depth of flavor, however, Dr. Pepper is known for having a taste best described as medicinal, which may be due to ingredients like juniper, pepper, and black licorice. This flavor may work well in the form of a soda or even in other unusual meat marinades, but not so much in a can of beans.