Philly cheesesteaks are one of my favorite comfort foods. I usually don’t purchase steak often because of the cost, but was recently surprised to find thinly sliced pre-packaged steak at my local grocery store for a very reasonable price. So of course I had to give it a try! I added sautéed bell peppers, onions and mushrooms to bulk up the sandwiches, melted provolone cheese on top, and placed it all inside a big hoagie roll. These were so good and very filling. Five large Philly cheesesteak sandwiches for just a little over $3 a sandwich…I’ll take that all day long!
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Growing up, whenever we ate at the food court in the mall, my #1 favorite place to eat was the Philly cheesesteak restaurant. I would skip over the pizza and burgers and go straight for those cheesy, tender, steak sandwiches. So today I’m excited to recreate and put my own spin on an American classic for a party of 5 on a budget!!😉
What are Philly Cheesesteaks?
Philly Cheesesteaks are sandwiches made with thinly sliced steak and cheese and served on a long hoagie roll. Although its origins are sometimes debated, the Philly Cheesesteak is mostly known for being created in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the early 1900’s. Common variations throughout the years have included sautéed onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms. Regardless of how you like to eat your cheesesteak, this popular recipe has been well-loved by many!
Ingredients Needed
Here’s everything you need to make this easy Philly Cheesesteak recipe:
- Steak: To keep things budget-friendly and to save on time, we used thinly pre-shaved beef steak. You can usually find it in the ground meat section of your grocery store. I did notice and test a couple different types of shaved beef, so I’ll go into more details below.
- Mushrooms: Sliced baby bella mushrooms are included to add more flavor to the cheesesteaks and to bulk up the servings.
- Peppers and Onion: Sautéed bell peppers and onion add lots of great flavor and texture to this cheesesteak recipe.
- Cheese: Provolone cheese is my favorite with cheesesteaks, but you can substitute with white American, Swiss or even Cheez Whiz if you’re really going for that classic Philly cheesesteak taste!
- Rolls: Hoagie rolls are traditional and a perfect vessel for holding all of that cheesesteak goodness. You can find them packaged in the bread aisle, but if you want to splurge a little, try getting the fresh hoagies in the bakery section.
- Seasoning: A mix of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce is used to season the beef and vegetables. The Worcestershire sauce is my secret ingredient and adds so much flavor, so I wouldn’t skip it!
Let’s Talk Steak!
A lot of Philly cheesesteak recipes use ribeye or sirloin as their meat of choice, but both of those can be quite pricey. It also takes a little extra time to thinly slice all of that meat. But if you didn’t already know, you can actually find pre-packed thinly sliced steak in the meat section of the grocery store.
During testing I tried two different types – one that’s listed as “Beef shaved steak” and another that’s listed as “Ribeye shaved steak.” The ribeye shaved steak was a much better quality and tasted a lot better than just the “beef shaved steak. The ribeye shaved steak is a little more expensive than just the beef shaved steak, but feel free to use either one based on your budget.
These shaved steak packages primarily come in 12-14oz. sizes, which is only enough to make roughly 3-4 large sandwiches. This is why the mushrooms, peppers and onions are added in this recipe to help bulk up the servings.
Recipe Tips and Variations
- This recipe makes 5 huge sandwiches, but you can cut each of these in half to make 10 servings if you’re trying to serve them at a tailgate party or potluck!
- Not a mushroom fan? No worries, I really only added them to bulk up the filling and stretch the servings to five. But you can totally leave them off and just include the sautéed peppers and onions. You may only be able to make four large sandwiches without the mushrooms.
- You can add more cheese to your sandwiches if you really want to make them extra cheesy. I used enough cheese to cover most of the cheesesteak in the skillet, but feel free to add 1-3 more slices over the top of the skillet or on each individual sandwich.
Serving Suggestions
We paired these Philly cheesesteaks with some quick air fryer french fries, but you can also serve them with our popular oven baked steak fries or make a quick batch of air fryer sweet potato fries.
As for toppings, you can certainly keep it simple and leave it as is with just the peppers, onions and mushrooms. Or try adding some shredded lettuce, tomato, pickled jalapeños, or even slow-cooked caramelized onions would taste really good!!
Philly Cheesesteak Recipe
Servings 5 (1 sandwich each)Ingredients
- 8 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced ($2.69)
- 1 green bell pepper ($0.89)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.42)
- 4 Tbsp butter, divided ($0.53)
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil, divided ($0.08)
- 12-14 oz. shaved beef steak ($6.00)
- 3/4 tsp salt ($0.03)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce ($0.10)
- 5 hoagie rolls ($3.82)
- 6 slices provolone ($1.64)
Instructions
- Start by prepping the vegetables. Slice the green bell pepper, onion, and mushrooms.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp of butter and 1 Tbsp cooking oil. Once the skillet is hot add in the sliced mushrooms. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the mushrooms start to soften.
- Next add in the sliced onions and bell pepper to the skillet. Stir and cook for another 3 minutes or until the veggies have softened. Remove all the vegetables from the skillet to a separate plate and set aside.
- In the same skillet add 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp cooking oil. Add the shaved beef steak to the skillet and cook until browned and cooked through.
- Now add the sautéed peppers, onions, and mushrooms back to the skillet with the steak, then add in the salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and worcestershire sauce. Stir and cook for 1-2 minute to allow the vegetables to heat back up.
- Spread the provolone cheese slices on top of the beef and vegetables in the skillet. Turn the heat off. Allow the residual heat to melt the cheese.
- While the steak is cooking or while the cheese is melting, go ahead and toast the hoagie rolls. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place 5 rolls on a baking sheet, spread the remaining 2 Tbsp of softened butter inside the hoagie rolls, and toast in the oven for a few minutes until golden brown. Make sure to keep an eye on them. Once toasted, remove the sheet pan from the oven and set the rolls to the side.
- Fill each hoagie roll evenly with the steak and cheese mixture. Serve these Philly cheesesteaks with your favorite spreads and toppings like mayo, shredded lettuce, tomato, or sliced jalapeños. Enjoy!
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Nutrition
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How to Make Philly Cheesesteaks – Step by Step Photos
Start by prepping the vegetables. Slice 1 green bell pepper, 1 onion, and 8 oz. baby bella mushrooms.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp of butter and 1 Tbsp cooking oil. Once the skillet is hot add in the sliced mushrooms. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the mushrooms start to soften.
Next add in the sliced onions and bell pepper. Stir and cook for another 3 minutes or until the peppers and onions have softened. Remove all the vegetables from the skillet to a separate plate and set aside.
In the same skillet add another 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp cooking oil. Add 12-14oz. of shaved beef steak to the skillet and cook until browned and cooked through.
Now add the sautéed peppers, onions, and mushrooms back to the skillet with the cooked steak along with 3/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper, and 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce. Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes to allow the vegetables to heat back up.
Spread 6 slices of provolone cheese on top of the steak in the skillet. Turn the heat off. Allow the residual heat to melt the cheese.
While the steak is cooking or while the cheese is melting, go ahead and toast the hoagie rolls. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place 5 rolls on a baking sheet, spread the remaining 2 Tbsp of softened butter inside the hoagie rolls, and toast in the oven for a few minutes until golden brown. Make sure to keep an eye on them. Once toasted, remove the sheet pan from the oven and set aside.
Now all that’s left to do is fill each hoagie roll evenly with the steak and cheese mixture. You can also spread some mayo on the inside of each roll if you prefer.
Serve these Philly cheesesteaks with your favorite spreads and toppings like mayo, shredded lettuce, tomato, or sliced jalapeños. And of course you have to have some crispy fries or chips on the side. Yum!! Tell me, what’s your favorite Philly cheesesteak toppings?
Simple and really good!
I just made this recipe and it is delicious! Definitely going to be a keeper here! Thanks so much!
That’s awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed it :)
I made this using leftovers from a basic pressure cooked shredded beef roast. It was great.
Oh wow, I love that idea! Thanks for sharing :)
Delicious and super easy to make!
I shaved a sirloin steak and salt and peppered it an hour before cooking. Instead of putting the provolone in the skillet to melt, I put the meat/pepper/onion mixture on the toasted buns then added the provolone and melted it under the broiler for a few minutes. I knew I was going to have leftovers and this way I could put “fresh” cheese on when I made new sandwiches. I’m thinking of dipping in au jus next time. I’ve never had a “real” philly cheesesteak sandwich and thought this was delicious.
Yes, an au jus dipping sauce would be delicious! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for sharing :)
Really good timing on this! I had basically everything on hand, including some mushrooms that were on the edge and needed using. I ended up making my own rolls, so this was just a lovely, nice project for the day. Thank you!! This was really good.
Wow, homemade rolls! I bet that was delicious. Glad you enjoyed the recipe :)
One of my favorite sandwiches… Delicious! I like to add Cheez Whiz to the steak/vegetable mixture. The combination of the Cheez Whiz and provolone are out of this world! If you can’t find shaved steak that’s affordable, ground beef works well and tastes great. I call that version, “Poor Man’s Cheesesteak.”
🤣🤣🤣🤣 this monstrosity has NOTHING to do with a REAL cheesesteak
So many things about this are not “philly” cheese steaks. Cheese is debatable, but wiz or American 99% of the time. Wit or wit-out is the only real option. That’s the onions. Gimme a “wiz wit” any day of the week. Peppers and mushrooms, tourists only. Never saw that til I moved down to Tennessee. Toasted roll? Nope, steamed over the meat and cheese as it finishes. And finally, the actual best cheese steak joint isn’t even in Philly, it’s across the river on Haddon Ave in Camden, NJ called Donkey’s Place.
Pretty sure they use donkey meat at Donkey’s. That food is disgusting. I’m not convincenced anyone that says it’s the best isn’t just parroting Bourdain. And don’t be a big dummy by responding with, “Oh, you’re probably a Pat’s or Geno’s fan!” Um, no. They are equally as bad.
Growing up in Philly in 60s. . Minute steak AND cheese whiz. That a Philly cheese steak FOREVER
I love Cheese Steaks born and raised in Philadelphia PA aka Philly,,my DNA is Pretzels and Cheese Steak lived in Philly for 50 years now I’m in the deep South GA and mis them so much, Jersey mike’s is as close as we can get to a good one,,no Pretzels.
Yet
Another Jersey Mike’s fan household here–and this recipe cuts their price by 2/3. I haven’t found the thin sliced steak in my local supermarkets, but I usually just grab a package of inexpensive cube steaks to slice up–the same thing as Kellner’s “minute” steaks, which they were called while I was growing up in Iowa in the 1950s. I like mine with an addition of some pickled jalapeno, and use ripe bell pepper instead of green.