When I heard that Johnsonville and Dr Pepper had collaborated on a Dr Pepper inspired sausage, I was just as excited as the next guy. A totally normal amount of excitement. Nothing weird about it at all.
I found a pack of five sausages at my local Safeway store on March 18, 2026. This was about two weeks after the formal release date, but I live on the West Coast and sometimes it takes longer. They were on sale for $5.99 for 5 sausages. That’s not a bad deal on its own, but I had some lofty plans for these brats and the budget was going to get bigger.
Let’s start out with the basics. Comparing the labels of the “Dr Pepper Inspired” sausages and Johnsonville’s Original Bratwurst reveals that the Dr Pepper version contains additional sugar and molasses. Most of the other differences are obscured in the other “natural flavors”. Based on taste alone, I’d say that they went for cherry and clove as the most dominant notes. I tried the sausage a few different ways, so let me get into the review from a few different angles.
Plain Dr Pepper Inspired Sausage Review
I grilled up one of the links as plain as plain could be. I sampled it without a bun, and then with a bit of mustard. Overall, this was a good sausage. Unsurprisingly, it was a bit sweeter than a standard bratwurst, and the sweetness gave hints of breakfast sausage (but without the sage). The flavor was reminiscent of Dr Pepper, especially those hints of cherry and clove. It’s interesting, and I think that the “inspired” descriptor in the name is very appropriate.
Cooked in Dr Pepper Review
People cook beer brats in beer, so it seemed appropriate to cook Dr Pepper Inspired Sausage in Dr Pepper. I brought a liter of Dr Pepper up to a rolling simmer and poached a few sausage links until they were just under 165 degrees. From there I tossed them on a hot grill for a few minutes to add a bit of a sear. I sampled the Dr Pepper cooked Dr Pepper Inspired Sausage in a simple Outdoor Roll to see how much the cooking method impacted the flavor.
This was an improvement. One benefit of the poach and then sear method is that the sausages seemed to retain more of their natural juices. They stayed plump and seared evenly. I believe that the sugars from the Dr Pepper helped cure and glaze the casings so that they roasted more evenly. It also enhanced the Dr Pepper flavor significantly so that you were immediately hit with the spiced fruit cola notes before tasting the savory pork filling. If you don’t mind the sweetness, this method is pretty effective.
Dr Pepper Inspired Sausage with Dr Pepper 9 Ways Review
This is where things got nutty. After I bought the sausages I kept thinking about other sausage toppings that could be “Dr Pepper Inspired”. It started out fairly innocent, but there was probably a point where I should have exercised some restraint. Here are the 9 different Dr Pepper components in my creation:
- Johnsonville Dr Pepper Inspired Sausage (obviously)
- Dr Pepper Poaching Liquid (to cook the sausage)
- Dr Pepper Compound Butter
- Dr Pepper Mustard
- Dr Pepper Cream Cheese
- Stubb’s Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce (purchased from Amazon)
- Dr Pepper Caramelized Onions
- Dr Pepper Pickled Jalapeños
- Dr Pepper Marshmallow Fluff
I don’t think I need to justify those first two components, but let me explain the rest. To make my compound butter I reduced a 12 ounce can of Dr Pepper down to one ounce of concentrate. I poured about a teaspoon of that syrup into some softened butter, then I spread that on the roll for my sausage. Just assume that every other component will be at least a little sweet and taste at least a little like Dr Pepper.
The mustard used that same syrup, and I added it to one side of the roll while the cream cheese (also “doctored” with the syrup) was on the other. Cream cheese on a hot dog or sausage is a Seattle traditional, and you shouldn’t knock it until you try it. The Stubb’s Dr Pepper BBQ sauce was something I randomly found on Amazon and it’s pretty tasty. I put a modest line of it directly on top of the dog.
After that I layered on the Dr Pepper caramelized onions. The recipe for those was as simple as pouring in some Dr Pepper while cooking down the onions. The jalapeños took a bit more effort, though. I boiled 1 cup of white vinegar, 1 cup of Dr Pepper, and about a tablespoon of salt. I sliced a few jalapeños very thin, layered them in a glass jar, sprinkled in a few peppercorns, and then poured as much of the hot vinegar solution as I could. After letting it sit on the counter for about 30 minutes I put it in the fridge to cool down.
You might remember the Fluffy Dr Pepper recipe that was popular for a bit back in 2025. You add marshmallow fluff to the inside of a glass and then pour in your Dr Pepper. It gives a somewhat marshmallowy flavor to your drink, but it also kills the carbonation. I took inspiration from that and added Dr Pepper syrup to marshmallow fluff and drizzled that on top of the dog as well.
When you add up all those components, you get a 9 Way Dr Pepper Inspired Sausage. It was super messy, both in terms of presentation and flavor. When you take your first bite you’re hit with a lot of familiar sweet flavors, and then the rich pork sausage fighting for a place at the table. All at once you experience savory Dr Pepper, spicy Dr Pepper, marshmallow Dr Pepper, vinegary Dr Pepper, cheesy Dr Pepper, and even oniony Dr Pepper. Does it work? Tough to say, but I ate the whole thing. Twice. You should watch the videos that I made and decide for yourself.
Dr Pepper Inspired Sausage Infused Dr Pepper
You can’t eat something like that without a proper beverage, and given the theme of the meal I knew that I needed something in the Dr Pepper family. However, I hate letting things go to waste, so I decided to make use of that leftover braising liquid from when I cooked the sausages. You know, the pot of Dr Pepper that was shining with sausage grease. I poured it into a blender, threw in half of a plain Dr Pepper Inspired Sausage, and then another sausage half complete with its bun. This was all pulsed gently in the blender and left to cool overnight in my fridge.
The next day I strained out as many of the solids as I could and poured the liquid into a Drinkmate carbonation bottle. Drinkmate’s system lets you carbonate whatever beverages you want, and I was confident it would do a great job with this mixture. After a couple pumps of carbonation, it was ready to serve.
I poured it out over a fancy oversized ice cube and dove in. It looked more like beef stock than Dr Pepper at this point…but sparkling. The pork flavors hit me first and slowed me down. After that I started tasting shadows of Dr Pepper, like a fond memory of a distant relative. It took a lot of willpower to get through the glass, but get through the glass I did.
Was it refreshing? Absolutely not. It was thick and coating and savory and strange. Like carbonated soup. Do I recommend that you try it? Absolutely. Misery loves company.
Sodafry 