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
Kristine says
This is excellent! I will double the veggies next time because I love them and add extra provolone. I have never been a fan of provolone cheese but it tastes terrific on this casserole.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
I’m so happy you liked it Kristine!
Brent says
First time I made, I too thought it was delicious, but a bit greasy. Made it again and drained the beef and increase the reserved broth.. Much better. Yes, this one will be a regular !!
DJ says
Wow, this was great!
Followed the recipe exactly, but of course I forgot to reserve the liquid I cooked the pasta in, as always… :(
Added a half cup of water with a tsp of Worcestershire instead…
One question: you didn’t mention what to do with the garlic cloves before cooking. I cooked then whole, and pulled them out when the ground beef was done.
Boiling the pasta in beef stock made all the difference too…
I’m originally from South Jersey, and now live in Maine… This recipe was a great take on a Philly/South Jersey staple…
Kids loved it too… Definitely entering the rotation!
You are absolutely right! I can’t believe I never realized that it doesn’t say that you mince the garlic. I’m so sorry!
DM says
That’s OK, thanks for the reply :)
Dawn says
Wonderful recipe! I did add mushrooms because we love them on our cheese steak subs. I will definitely be making this again. Thanks!
I’m so glad you liked it Dawn!
Ronnie Davis says
I would add mushrooms, and use red,orange and yellow peppers!!! The other green peppers have a slight bitter flavor!!!
Annette says
I have no idea how this recipe from long ago popped up on my fb feed but so glad it did! Made it tonight and it was so very yummy!
I’m so glad you liked it Annette!
Matthew says
Great recipe! I made one change though, I used sirloin steak cut in thin strips instead of ground beef and it came out amazing!
Glad you liked it Matthew!
Kristina says
This was absolutely amazing. Thanks for posting!
I’m so happy you liked it!
Barbara F. says
This was so bland. I made it last night and it was begging for a flavor injection. Hubby didn’t like the cream cheese. I like the premise of this recipe, so I’m not giving up on it. I’ll try it again with cream of mushroom soup instead of cream cheese and figure out a way to get more flavor in. I may even try it with turkey sausage rather than ground beef.
Tastes for sure vary, so I get it. I would add two cloves of garlic and if you like spice some red pepper flakes. It will definitely vary from that Philly Cheesesteak taste, but you might like it more.
Joni says
We are Philly cheesesteak junkies, and this recipe is awesome!!! I use mushrooms instead of bell pepper because that’s how we like our cheesesteaks, and I add a little more mozzarella than is called for, but this is a great dish!!! I’ve made it 3 or 4 times and we’re hooked!
Well this is high praise. Thank you!