Dr Pepper Blasted launched nationwide Sept. 14 on tenders, tender bites, and wings, and runs through Nov. 16. It is a hand-applied seasoning, not a sauce, and it costs nothing extra.
Slim Chickens is putting Dr Pepper on your chicken. Dry.
Dr Pepper Blasted arrived at all domestic locations on Sept. 14 and runs through Nov. 16, available on tenders, tender bites, and wings.
What is Dr Pepper Blasted?
A proprietary dry seasoning built around Dr Pepper‘s blend of 23 flavors, made with Keurig Dr Pepper.
Kitchen staff apply it by hand after the chicken comes out of the fryer, so it sticks to the hand-breaded coating rather than sitting on top in patches. Sweet and savory, according to the company.
Chief marketing officer Patrick Noone said the chain does not add flavors to its tenders lightly, since tenders and sauce are the whole reason anyone knows them. “Dr Pepper Blasted cleared that bar,” he said, adding that Slim Chickens is the only place in the country selling it.
What Dr Pepper Blasted is not
It is not a sauce. The chicken is not brined in Dr Pepper. The chicken is not marinated in Dr Pepper.
That distinction matters more than it sounds. Soda-braised and soda-glazed chicken is a real thing, and it goes sticky and sweet fast. A dry rub does something else entirely, closer to a seasoned fry than a barbecue wing.
Whether it works is a separate question, and the internet is already split between people planning a road trip for it and people making the obvious jokes.
Why launch in September?
Football.
Trish Riddle, senior vice president of foodservice at Keurig Dr Pepper, made the same point from the beverage side, pointing at tailgates and watch parties as the natural moment for it.
Dry rubs and shaker seasonings have been having a run across fast food generally. Jollibee rolled out Jolly Flavor Fries. McDonald’s has McShaker Fries. Seasoning is cheap to add, easy to market and does not require retraining a kitchen.
Keurig Dr Pepper had a busy Monday
The same day Slim Chickens launched Dr Pepper Blasted, Smalls Sliders announced the return of its Dr Pepper Swirl shake plus a new Dirty Dr Pepper, running through Oct. 11.
Two restaurant collaborations, two chains, one beverage brand, same news cycle. That is a coordinated push into foodservice rather than a coincidence.
Where can you get it?
Any domestic Slim Chickens, through Nov. 16.
The chain opened in 2003 in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and now runs more than 300 locations, concentrated across the South and Midwest, with additional restaurants in the United Kingdom and other international markets.
The Dr Pepper promotion is domestic only. UK locations are out.
Nothing has been said about whether the seasoning shows up in a bottle later, and nothing suggests it will. Sixty-three days, then it goes away.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
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Hat Tips:
Slim Chickens via PR Newswire (Sept. 14, 2026), the launch announcement, the product description and the Noone and Riddle statements
Nation’s Restaurant News, reporting by Alicia Kelso (Sept. 14, 2026), the seasoning trend context and the Jollibee and McDonald’s comparisons
RestaurantNews.com (Sept. 14, 2026), the Smalls Sliders Dr Pepper announcement on the same day
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