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Philly Cheese Steak Skillet

Whether you scoop it onto a toasted hoagie to make a delicious sandwich, or eat it as is, this easy Philly cheese steak skillet is a dream dinner, and it’s ready in 30 minutes.

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bell peppers, onions, steak and melted cheese in a cast iron skillet for a philly cheese steak skillet

Philly Cheese Steak Skillet—Any Takers?

Raise your hand if you are a Philly cheese steak sandwich lover? The flavors of this iconic sandwich take me back to summers in LA. My sisters and I would grab a cheese steak and some garlic fries from a hole-in-wall restaurant, and hit the beach with no SPF and our straps down. Digging into that thinly cut steak, mushrooms, peppers, onions and melted cheese all warm and saucy in a toasted hoagie roll while laying on the beach in that warm SoCal sun? What’s not to love? My mouth is watering just thinking of it.

I’ve taken those memories and turned America’s most famous sandwich into melty, cheesy, steak-and-veggie-packed one-pan skillet dinner. (That just so happens to also be low-carb). Excited to add this to your weekly dinner rotation? So are we.

Close up of Philly Cheese Steak Skillet dinner recipe

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What Cut of Meat is Best for a Philly Cheese Steak Skillet?

The best cut of meat for this cheese steak skillet is going to be the exact same as a traditional Philly cheese steak sandwich: ribeye. However, ribeye tends to be on the pricier side when it comes to cuts of meat so we recommend using either skirt steak or flat iron. Whatever cut you choose—ribeye, skirt steak or flat iron—look for lots of marbling. Sliced super thin, any of these three cuts of beef will yield gorgeously tender results.

Ingredients laid out for Philly cheese steak, cheese, red and green bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, garlic.

How to Make a Philly Cheese Steak Skillet.

Perfecting the Vegetables

Starting with a hot skillet—we prefer cast iron—add mushrooms to a dry pan. No need for oil or butter—trust us on this one! Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and cook until just golden brown. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, along with the onions and bell peppers. Continue cooking just until onions and peppers begin to brown. You want them to still have a little bite, so a long sauté isn’t necessary.

How to Cook Steak for Cheese Steak

As we mentioned, achieving tender bites of meat has a lot do with the cut you choose from your butcher. Cutting the steak as thin as possible helps as well. Our trick for super-thinly sliced steak? Freeze the meat for an hour or two before slicing. Freezing the meat will make it much easier to slice. A super-sharp knife helps, too.Lastly, a cast iron skillet is key. Cooking steak in a cast iron skillet allows you to cook the meat at a very high heat, yielding tender bites of steak with deliciously crispy edges. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, now is a great time to purchase one.

The Cheese in Cheese Steak

Provolone or cheese whiz are the two most traditional Philly cheese steak cheeses. But, for the sake of using what we—and probably most people—already have on hand we’re going with a still-gooey, melty combo of mozzarella and parmesan. Sprinkle the cheese on top of your finished cheese steak skillet and put under the broiler until the cheese is good and bubbly.

Mushrooms sautéing in a pan
Steak searing in a pan
red and green bell peppers with steak in a pan
steak, red and green bell peppers mushrooms and onion in a pan

Cheese Steak Skillet or Sandwich?

One of our favorite parts about this one-pan dinner is its versatility! If you’re on the hunt for a one-and-done low-carb dinner, this meat-and-veggie loaded cheese steak skillet is your new best friend. As for the rest of the population, this skillet dinner is ideal for batch-cooking cheese steak sandwiches. Simply toast some hoagie rolls, spread with a little mayonnaise, then evenly divide the prepared dish into the warm bread and enjoy.

Cheese sprinkled over steak, mushrooms, bell peppers, onions in a pan.
Cheese melted over steak, mushrooms, bell peppers, onions in a pan.

Equipment Needed to Make this Cheese Steak Skillet

More One-And-Done Dinner Ideas:

We all love a good one-pan dish. Easy to make and easy to clean. Hard to beat that, especially when cooking for a crowd. Here are three of our current go-to one-pan dinners:

Philly Cheese Steak Skillet dinner with a serving spoon
close up of Philly Cheese Steak Skillet

One-Skillet Dinner Never Had It So Good.

Blown away by this one-pot wonder? Well, we hope you snap a photo of your finished dish and maybe even a video of the beautiful person you share it with. Tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Happy eating!

Philly Cheese Steak Skillet

  • Serves: 6
  • Prep Time:  10 min
  • Cook Time:  25 min
  • Calories: 500

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs rib eye (to save money, go with skirt, flank or flat iron steak)
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1/2 lb mushrooms, quartered
  • 1 green bell pepper
  • 1 large white onion
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan

Method

  1. Slice your steak of choice as thin as possible.
    Note:In order to achieve this, try fry freezing your cut of meat for an 2 hours before slicing with a sharp knife.
  2. Generously season steak with salt and pepper.
  3. In a medium sized skillet add mushrooms to dry pan over medium/high heat. Sprinkle with 1 tsp salt and cook until just golden brown. Add in 2 tbsp olive oil along with onions and bell peppers and continue cooking until onions and peppers begin to brown. About 3-5 minutes on high heat.
  4. Remove vegetables from hot pan and add 1 tbsp of olive oil. Heat up oil until smoking and add in steak in small batches, be sure not to crowd or your edges won’t get crispy! Allow to cook for 1-2 minutes per side. Continue until steak is all cooked and add vegetables back into skillet along with garlic. Continue cooking until garlic is fragrant.
  5. Remove dish from heat and top with mozzarella and parmesan. With broiler set to low, place prepared skillet in oven on center rack and allow to cook until cheese is completely melted. Top with green onions and serve warm

Note: If you aren’t going for low-carb, scoop into a toasted hoagie roll.

Nutrition Info

  • Per Serving
  • Amount
  • Calories500
  • Protein36 g
  • Carbohydrates8 g
  • Total Fat36 g
  • Dietary Fiber2 g
  • Cholesterol20 mg
  • sodium1009 mg
  • Total Sugars4 g

Philly Cheese Steak Skillet

Questions & Reviews

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  • Becky

    do you put the minced garlic with the peppers and onions?

    The garlic is added in step #4 when you add the veggies back into the skillet! Enjoy!

  • Barbara Bruce

    Made this tonight. Absolutely delicious and incredibly simple to make. I served it on toasted kaiser rolls. Definitely going to be my go to recipe when I need a cheese steak.

    Thanks Barbara, so glad you enjoyed it! Love to hear it's your new cheese steak go-to!

  • Jennifer

    We made this tonight and it was super tasty! I was scavenging the pan for the bits on the bottom. Will definitely again!

    Yay! Thanks so much for letting us know!