For the Best Ever Stuffing, Make It Wisconsin-Style

Beer, cheese, and sausage make this stuffing extra special.

By
Ivy Manning
Ivy Manning
Ivy Manning
Ivy Manning is the author of 10 cookbooks including the best seller Instant Pot Miracle 6 Ingredients or Less. She has 2 decades of experience teaching cooking classes and writing articles for magazines and online outlets including Bon Appetit, Cooking Light, Better Homes and Gardens, Simply Recipes, and many others. 
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Updated November 18, 2024
Ivy Manning
Two hands holding a green casserole dish of Wisconsin-style stuffing over a yellow doily on a wooden tabletop

Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Hannah Greenwood

It wasn’t until I became an adult and left my home state of Wisconsin that I learned that putting beer and cheese in Thanksgiving stuffing is not a common practice. My non-Midwestern friends mocked me, but after they tried my stuffing with all its lovely crisped cheese edges and amped-up tangy flavor, they saw the wisdom in the Wisconsin way of doing things.

Why do we add beer and cheese to stuffing? The most obvious reason is we Wisconsinites make a lot of beer and we’re the dairy state, so we have a lot of the stuff around. Every Thanksgiving afternoon, football will be on the TV, a cheese and summer sausage platter will be out on the coffee table, and my family will all be tinkering around the kitchen, beer in hand.

But availability isn’t the only reason for the beer in our stuffing. It turns out that lager-style beer works just as well as wine for deglazing the pan after sautéing the sausage and aromatics for the stuffing. In fact, the subtle flavor of beer pairs brilliantly with the sausage and sage flavors in stuffing. Plus, I prefer to save the nice wine for sipping at the meal. 

Overhead view of a green casserole dish of Wisconsin-style stuffing over a yellow doily on a wooden tabletop

Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Hannah Greenwood

Choosing the Right Cheddar

Yes, there’s plenty of very mild cheddar cheese coming out of Wisconsin. But there are also award-winning artisan cheesemakers who produce some incredibly good aged cheddar cheese. The stuff is so good it can be used much as you would Parmigiano Reggiano to add tangy flavor and umami to savory foods.

My family is partial to Gibbsville sharp cheddar, but any artisan aged cheddar will work. The only rule is that we never use bagged, pre-shredded cheese, it contains starches that keep it from clumping together and it doesn’t meld into stuffing as well as freshly grated cheese.

What Makes This Stuffing Especially Great

The best thing about my stuffing is the textural contrast between the moist center and the crispy edges. To that end, I coat the baking pan with a dusting of cheddar cheese before we put the stuffing in the pan.

Liberally spread butter in a baking pan, add grated cheese and rotate and tap the pan around so the cheese coats it evenly. It’s just like greasing and flouring a cake pan, only with cheese! The coating crisps up in the oven to create an irresistible crispy cheese exterior to the stuffing.

Stuffed With Stuffing

Overhead view of a green casserole dish of Wisconsin-style stuffing with a serving spoon over a yellow doily on a wooden tabletop

Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Hannah Greenwood

Wisconsin Stuffing

Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 80 mins
Chill 20 mins
Total Time 110 mins
Servings 6 to 8 servings
Yield 1 (9x13-inch) baking dish
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Ingredients

  • 1 ciabatta loaf or other rustic open-structured bread (about 1 pound 4 ounces)

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided

  • 2 cups (5 ounces) freshly grated aged cheddar cheese, divided

  • 3/4 pound breakfast sausage or bratwurst (casing removed)

  • 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

  • 3 stalks celery, sliced

  • 2 clove garlic cloves, minced

  • 4 teaspoons dried sage

  • 1 teaspoon dried savory or thyme

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

  • 1 cup lager beer

  • 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken or turkey broth

  • 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley, optional

Method

  1. Prepare the bread cubes:

    Tear the bread into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces and place in a large mixing bowl. You should have about 12 cups of bread cubes. Let stand uncovered to dry out for at least 24 hours and up to 2 days.

    Simple Tip!

    If you didn’t plan ahead, you can spread the bread cubes out on 1 or 2 large baking sheets and bake at 250°F until dry to the touch, about 20 minutes.

  2. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

    Spread 2 tablespoons of butter evenly on the bottom and sides of a 9x13 (3 1/2 to 4-quart) glass or ceramic baking dish. Sprinkle 1 cup of the cheese evenly in the baking dish, rotating the pan so the cheese sticks evenly to the sides. Set aside.

    Overhead view of a green casserole dish with the cheese spread around the surface for Wisconsin Stuffing recipe

    Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Hannah Greenwood
  3. Brown the sausage:

    Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking the meat up with a spatula, until browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon and discard the drippings.

  4. Sauté the aromatics and deglaze:

    Return the skillet to medium-high heat and add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Add the onions and celery and sauté until the onions are tender and beginning to take on color, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic, sage, savory or thyme, salt, and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 45 seconds.

    Add the beer to the skillet and boil, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan, until the beer has reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the broth and simmer for 2 minutes.

    Overhead view of a saucepan with a wooden spoon after adding the onions and celery for Wisconsin Stuffing recipe

    Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Hannah Greenwood
  5. Combine the ingredients:

    Pour the contents of the skillet over the bread cubes. Add the sausage and stir to combine. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until no longer steaming hot, about 20 minutes.

    Fold in the remaining 1 cup of cheese and the parsley, if using. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. The unbaked stuffing can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours before baking; cover once completely cool.

    Overhead view of a saucepan with a wooden spoon after adding all the remaining ingredients for Wisconsin Stuffing recipe

    Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Hannah Greenwood
  6. Bake:

    Spray a piece of foil with nonstick cooking spray and cover the baking dish tightly, sprayed side down. Bake for 45 minutes.

    Uncover and continue to bake until the top is browned and crispy, 15 minutes. Serve immediately. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge, tightly covered, for up to 5 days. Reheat in a microwave or 350°F degree oven until piping hot.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
492 Calories
28g Fat
41g Carbs
17g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6 to 8
Amount per serving
Calories 492
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 28g 36%
Saturated Fat 13g 65%
Cholesterol 67mg 22%
Sodium 933mg 41%
Total Carbohydrate 41g 15%
Dietary Fiber 3g 9%
Total Sugars 5g
Protein 17g
Vitamin C 2mg 9%
Calcium 266mg 20%
Iron 3mg 18%
Potassium 377mg 8%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.