Dr. Pepper Sloppy Joes

by Sabrina Snyder

Last Update:

18 Comments

5 from 4 votes
6 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
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Dr. Pepper BBQ Sloppy Joes are smothered in a sweet and savory sauce that even the kids will love and they are ready to devour in 30 minutes.

It’s easy to love delicious, classic Ultimate Sloppy Joes, but it’s also fun to try new variations on Sloppy Joes Recipes. If you love the sweet and savory flavor of this recipe, make sure to check out Root Beer Sloppy Joes.

Meat mixture served on bun with bun open
Sloppy Joe mix in pan with ingredients on the side
Close up of meat in pan with spoon
bun with meat mixture served on plate with Dr Pepper
Recipe Snapshot

Why You’ll Love These Sloppy Joe?

  • There is no spicy heat and have a subtle smoky cherry Dr. Pepper flavor.
  • The kids are going to love this variation and ask for it again!

Sabrina’s Dr. Pepper Sloppy Joes Recipe

These Sloppy Joes have a mild, sweet sauce that is perfect for kids parties or family friendly dinners. There’s no spicy heat and everyone will love the subtle smoky cherry Dr. Pepper flavor. When you think of Dr. Pepper, or cola in general, naturally you are thinking of it as a drink. But cooking with cola is an amazing way to get a different depth of flavor. In this Sloppy Joe meat filling, the soda makes the sauce thick and adds sweetness without overpowering the dish. Along with tasty BBQ flavor, there are hints of cherry cola too!

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Dr. Pepper BBQ Sloppy Joes Recipe

Dr. Pepper BBQ Sloppy Joes are smothered in a sweet and savory sauce that even the kids will love and they are ready to devour in 30 minutes.
Yield 6 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Meat mixture served on bun with bun open
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 1 1/2 pounds ground beef , 85/15
  • 1 yellow onion , diced
  • 1/2 green bell pepper , chopped
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
  • 14.5 ounces diced tomatoes , drained
  • 1/2 cup maraschino cherries , chopped
  • 2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • 1 cup Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 6 brioche buns , toasted

Instructions

  • In a large skillet add the beef, onions, green bell peppers, salt and pepper, cooking well, breaking it apart but leaving some chunks for 5-6 minutes.
  • Add in the canned diced tomatoes, cherries, cherry juice, beef broth, bbq sauce, and Worcestershire sauce, cooking until the sauce starts to evaporate and the mixture becomes "sloppy", about 5-6 minutes.
  • Spoon the mixture onto the brioche buns.

Nutrition

Calories: 507kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 77mg | Sodium: 1361mg | Potassium: 730mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 236IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 139mg | Iron: 5mg

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Sabrina’s Tips

The easy homemade barbecue sauce used in these Dr. Pepper BBQ Sloppy Joes is made from common pantry ingredients. It takes about 30 minutes, so you will want to make it ahead or plan an extra 30 minutes for cooking time. Once you taste the thick, sticky sweet sauce you’ll know it’s worth the extra time!

Table of contents

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About this Recipe

These mouthwatering Sloppy Joes are about to be your new favorite tailgate, party, or weeknight dinner! They are so easy to make and packed with flavor! The spicy, fruity cola brings out both the sweet and savory flavors in a simple Homemade Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce. Instead of using artificially flavored Cherry Dr. Pepper, there are maraschino cherries and cherry juice to add another layer of natural sweetness and flavor. After one bite, you’ll be hooked on using Dr. Pepper in all your glazes and sauces.

Ingredients

  • Beef: Lean ground beef is the best for this recipe. High fat ground beef will cook down too much so compensate if need be. This recipe calls for one pound ground beef, but you can double everything to make more!
  • Bell Peppers: This recipe calls for green peepers, but you can use the less bitter red, orange, or even yellow bell peppers (also called capsicum). You can also leave it out, but remember you are removing probably a half cup or more of ingredients, so it will be saucier.
  • Maraschino Cherries: These will add a distinct sweet and fruity flavor to your meat and balance the savory salty flavors.
  • BBQ Sauce: Not just any BBQ sauce, this Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce is the key ingredient to giving this Sloppy Joe it’s unique flavor and set them apart from any other recipe you have tried.

Can this be made ahead of time?

If you know you won’t have extra time to make the BBQ sauce and meat filling at the same time, make the sauce the night before. Or if you are really busy at dinner time (who hasn’t been there), make these sandwiches in the slow cooker. You don’t even have to prep the sauce ahead. Simply dump all the ingredients over the browned meat, stir, and dinner is ready when you get home.

Pairing Suggestions

This sweet and savory recipe goes great with all the classic barbecue side dishes like Mac and Cheese and Coleslaw. To compliment the sweet flavor of this sandwich, you can also cook up some Crispy Sweet Potato Fries for a sweet and savory side.

How to Store

  • Serve: These sandwiches are best served fresh once they are assembled. You can keep the filling warm in a slow cooker for up to 4 hours or at room temperature for 2 hours.
  • Store: Store the filling separately in an air tight container and assemble the sandwiches right before you want to serve. The filling can be kept refrigerated for up to 4 days.
  • Freeze: Cool the beef mixture completely and place in a sealed container. Freeze filling for up to 3 months and thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

Ideas to Serve

The meat mixture in this recipe works great as a topping for hot dogs and Tater Tot Waffles or as the filling in these Grilled Cheese Sloppy Joes! Everyone will love the unique flavor this add to an already delicious meal!

Slow Cooker Method

  • Brown the ground beef in a skillet with the onions and bell peppers, drain grease.
  • Add the beef mixture to the crockpot along with the remaining ingredients (minus the buns) and stir to combine.
  • Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 4 hours.
  • Stir before serving on brioche buns.

Frequent Questions

Why is my meat mixture dry?

Make sure not to cook down the sauce too much, sometimes the Sloppy Joes can get dry. You’re looking for a consistency where you can see the individual bits of meat, but not dry enough where they don’t cling to each other in sauce.

Are the ingredients for this the same as canned Sloppy Joe?

If you look at the back of the store bought sauce, many of the ingredients are similar, though this recipe is not exactly like a homemade version of the canned Sloppy Joes. This is also not the same as if you grew up eating Sloppy Joes made with tomato sauce.

Variations

  • BBQ Sauce: If you don’t want to make BBQ sauce from scratch, substitute ¾ cup store bought BBQ sauce, 1 can Dr. Pepper, and reduce to ¼ cup beef broth.
  • Pineapple: You can use diced pineapple and pineapple juice (from the can) instead of the maraschino cherries.
  • Peppers: Sliced pickled peppers like piquanté peppers would taste delicious in these Sloppy Joes. You can also add jalapeños, pepperoncinis, or banana peppers, depending on the level of spice you like.
  • Pork: Pork and Dr. Pepper are amazing together. Make Dr. Pepper Pork Sloppy Joes by using ground pork sausage, or blend of ground pork and sausage.
  • Toppings: Top Sloppy Joes with crispy fried onion, Fritos, cooked bacon, or other crunchy toppings to add texture.

More Delicious Sloppy Joe Recipes

Pin image for Sloppy Joes with Dr Pepper

Photos used in previous versions of the post.

Dr Pepper Sloppy Joes collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  2. Hello Sabrina! Can you clarify the substitute recipe for the Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce? Do you just mix 3/4 cup store bought BBQ sauce, 1 can Dr. Pepper, and 1/4 cup beef broth — and then reduce to BBQ sauce consistency? Thanks in advance for the help, I’m looking forward to making the recipe!

    Reply

    2. Thanks for following up. I was actually wondering about the substitute for the Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce. In the variations sections, it says:

      “BBQ Sauce: If you don’t want to make BBQ sauce from scratch, substitute 3/4 cup store bought BBQ sauce, 1 can Dr. Pepper, and reduce to 1/4 cup beef broth.”

      The last part of that sentence has me confused. Do you just mix the three ingredients and then reduce? Help! 🙂

      Reply

      1. Sorry for the confusion. Instead of the sauce you can add the two ingredients above and lessen the beef broth to only 1/4 cup.

        Reply

  6. I don’t see the recipe for Dr. Pepper bbq sauce. It’s just listed as an ingredient with no instructions on how to make it.

    Reply

    1. I’ve edited to show a link to the recipe for the sauce. Not sure why it wasn’t showing up when it originally posted. You can use the search bar on the site too if the link isn’t sticking. I hope you enjoy it!

      Reply

  8. You’re saying Dr Pepper BBQ sauce as one of the the ingredients, not how to make it!
    Should it be only Dr Pepper as the ingredient?

    Reply