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.
Recipe Video
Notes
Stacie says
My family and I tried this and loved it. Big hit and making tonight thank you for sharing this and love more dinner ideas from you.
I’m so glad it was a hit!
BlackvelvetKitty says
In the midst of a kitchen reno left to a stove top and a toaster oven I was looking for some inspo for leftover steak that didn’t involve tortillas! Had grilled skirt steak, half of a green pepper and Annie’s white cheddar shells, milk and cream cheese. Sautéed the garlic, pepper and onions then added the leftover steak as written. Boiled noodles in broth and made the mac and cheese sauce with a spot of milk and cream cheese. Mixed all together with a touch of reserved broth and topped with parm (what we had) at last few minutes of baking in a sad little toaster oven. Amazing! Can’t wait to try it as written!
I’m so glad you found something that worked. Kitchen renovations are no joke!
Cynthia Shoup says
I will let you know how this turns out looks easy and sounds tas
Alex says
This recipe is the bomb. You should definitely make it. I tend to follow recipes pretty closely as I’m not a great cook but I did add cremini mushrooms along with about a 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese. Love it. Thank you, Lisa from all of us single guys trying to cook for ourselves.
I’m so glad that you liked it!
Michelle says
I made this last night and it was amazing! I made a few changes though. I had shaved beef in the freezer so I used that instead of hamburger. I had amazing egg noodles from Italy, so I used those. I had never cooked noodles in beef stock before, and OMG! So delicious! I switched out mozzerella cheese with chedder and switched out provolone with white American. This was SO delicious and easy!
I’m so glad you liked it! And yes! Cooking noodles and rice in broth is one of my favorite kitchen hacks!
Jan says
I made this recipe, and we enjoyed it, but in reheating 2 days later, it seemed a little bland. Any ideas on how to add something to the leftover casserole to enhance the flavor?
Hi Jan, I’m surprised to hear that, usually leftovers are more flavorful if anything. A little Worcestershire sauce in this would be really good. And garlic and onion powder are always good additions.
Amy Winsborrow says
Just made it, delicious kids loved it
Winning over kids is my favorite!
Cheryl says
I haven’t tried your recipe Lisa but im try familiar with it! Also great as a Chicken Philly Casserole too -grab a rotisserie chicken, shred it, change the seasoning and wee bit…game changer 😉
What a great idea!
Susan says
I would give this recipe 5 stars, it was absolutely phenomenal! It never even made it to the casserole. It was cooking in my large fry pan, and after mixing all the cheeses, I put a cover on it and stopped cooking to put in my baking dish. Family came by and started scooping out servings, and before I could bake it, it was gone! I don’t know how it tastes so much like a cheese steak sub being burger, but was amazing. The only thing I would add is when cooking the peppers and onions, I would throw in some mushrooms, as I do on an actual sub. Thank you!
I’m so glad to hear it was a hit with your family!
Kayla says
This is one of our favorite meals! I add mushrooms, a splash of Worcestershire and twice the amount of cheese. (Because we LOVE extra cheesy goodness at our house!) I’ve also frozen some in a little aluminum pan, and it was just as good reheated. My husband loves when I make this and he can take some for lunch to work the next day!
I’m so happy to hear this is such a hit, Kayla!