This Philly Cheese Steak Casserole is such an easy delicious dinner! Full of the Philly Cheese Steak flavor you love, but baked up in a delicious noodle casserole!
This super simple casserole recipe started off as a riff on some delicious Philly Cheese Steak pizza I ate at Chuck E. Cheese’s during my kid’s birthday party.
Yup. For real.
Since then it has become a crazy viral recipe.
This really simple casserole that can be done in 40 minutes has been viewed millions of times and has so many five star reviews.
“This has become a standard in our household. It’s our go-to when we want to cook for friends or family and everyone always loves it!” – John
Philly Cheese Steak Casserole Ingredients
This easy dinner is made with simple ingredients, which is one of the reasons it is so loved.
- Pasta
- Beef Stock
- Butter
- Garlic
- Ground Beef
- Cream Cheese
- Onion
- Green Pepper
- Mozzarella
- Provolone
How to Make Philly Cheese Steak Casserole
- Cook the noodles: To deepen the flavor in this recipe, we are cooking the noodles in beef stock. Be sure to reserve a cup of that starchy cooking stock before draining the noodles.
- Cook the ground beef: In an oven proof skillet, cook the ground beef.
- Sauté the vegetables: Add the onion and bell pepper to the ground beef and sauté to soften.
- Drain the excess grease: Very carefully, drain the excess grease from your skillet. I like to do this using the lid of skillet, and putting it just slightly ajar and tipping the skillet over my sink into a jar. The lid keeps the contents in the skillet, but that little crack lets out the grease.
- Add cream cheese and noodles: Stir in some cream cheese, the cooked noodles, and the reserved cooking liquid.
- Top with cheese and bake: Add a little bit of provolone to the top of your skillet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Why Reserve Pasta Water
Reserving pasta water is a great trick in cooking. Right before you drain the noodles you dip a glass measuring cup into the liquid and pull out 1/2 cup or more. The water (or in this case the water and beef stock mix) is full of starchiness from the noodles.
When you add starchy pasta water to a casserole like this, it helps pull the entire dish together in the most amazing way. I like using this trick in my Broccoli Pasta too.
Why Use Beef Stock
The beef stock is one of my favorite parts about this recipe. Cooking the noodles in the stock is a great way to deepen the flavor. With so few ingredients, this is an important one.
If you aren’t used to cooking your noodles in stock, I highly recommend it. It is something I do in a few recipes, like this Chicken Noodle Casserole, and it is a game changer.
PRO TIP: If you are budget conscious, buy stock base. It is a powder you buy near the stock, and mixing it with boiling water gives you stock. It is not the same caliber as actual stock, but it will definitely get the job done.
Storing Leftovers
Left overs can be stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
I would not recommend freezing this recipe. Since it is such a quick stove top recipe, I think it is worth it to just make it from scratch.
Other Great Recipes
If you are looking for more easy dinners, you have come to the right place, friends!
Other big hits are:
- Beef and Broccoli Only 25 minutes on the stove top!
- Chicken Spaghetti My kids LOVE this easy recipe.
- Turkey Meatloaf Easy to make, and the best tasting meatloaf ever.
If you make this recipe or any of my others, please come back and let me know what you think! I love hearing from you!
Philly Cheese Steak Casserole
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound small shells
- 32 ounces beef stock + 32 ounces water
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1 green pepper diced
- 1/2 yellow onion diced
- 1/2 cup reserved pasta water
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 6 slices provolone cheese
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine the beef stock with 32 ounces of water and cook the shells in it according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water.
- In an oven proof skillet (see note for alternative), melt the butter, cook the garlic clove for thirty seconds, then add the bell pepper and onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add in the ground beef, season with salt and pepper, and cook through. Drain the grease, then return to heat and stir in the cream cheese until melted.
- Stir in the reserved cooking liquid from the noodles, the noodles, and the shredded mozzarella.
- Top with sliced provolone. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the provolone is completely melted.
Notes
Clare says
This was outstanding! Everyone had seconds. The only thing I added was a few shakes of Worcertershire sauce to the beef mixture for some added flavor but I was surprised something this easy could be so delicious! Thank you
I’m so glad that everyone loved it, Clare!
Kristin says
Lovely recipe! We used frozen philly steak, whole grain pasta, added mushrooms, and subbed neufchatel cheese for cream cheese to lighten up slightly. Definitely adding this one into our rotation, thanks for the inspiration!
I’ms o glad you liked it!
Meranda says
This dish was absolutely wonderful. I did add a dash of Worcestershire in my ground beef and substituted neufachatel instead of cream cheese. Served with homeade garlic butter toast and it was a huge hit! I will be adding in this in my menu from now on. Thank you so much for the delicious recipe!
I’m so glad you liked it, Meranda!
Walt Moore says
Before I even put it in the oven I tasted it and it was wonderful the only thing I did different is I pureed my onion and colored bell peppers so that the 50 people I was making it for did not see them LOL
I hope everyone enjoyed it!
Cathy says
Can you use egg noodles instead?
I haven’t tried this one with egg noodles, but I can’t think why not.
Mary says
I made this for dinner tonight and was so hoping it would be one of those very rare dishes that would be deliscious exactly like the recipe was written. It almost made that rare list, however, it was quite bland. It was so easy and a joy to make and I will make it again, but I will definitely be adding a few more ingredients, including a lot more salt and pepp. I will probably add more garlic, some Montreal Steak Seasoning, and some worcestershire sauce. I think a whole yellow onion would also make it better. I love the cream cheese in this recipe and I know what ingredients to add to make it more to my family’s taste. But, thank you for a fast and easy recipe.
MELANIE HOWARD says
Do you need beef stock to boil the pasta in? Could I just use all water? I hate knowing that it will be dumped down the drain after the pasta is cooked. :)
You can just cook it in water. Though that will lessen some of that beef taste. I like to use beef stock base because it is really cost effective.
Jenn H says
I have made this meal several times now and it has become a staple in our dinner rotation. It is delicious and such a wonderful comforting dinner during the cold winter season! One time I had accidentally grabbed regular sized shell pasta and ended up preferring it over the small shells. Other than that, I’ve not made any tweaks to the recipe.
I’m so glad to hear that you love this one so much!
Sarah says
Really, good easy casserole recipe! I found it a little dry and somewhat bland as written so I now make it with a few additions: extra mozzarella cheese, one can of cream of mushroom soup, jar of sliced mushrooms, a whole onion, Worcestershire sauce, steak seasoning, and a dash of crushed red pepper flakes. Even with the additions, I still end up adding more pasta water because it needs the moisture but it completely comfort food and worth the few extra ingredients! Thank you!
Gina says
This recipe is fantastic! – It’s become a family favorite and I make it regularly now! Thanks so much for posting this to share! It’s a GEM!
I’m so glad to hear that you like it!