Cheesy, ultra-comforting, and beyond rich, these From-scratch Philly Cheesesteaks will easily become one of your family favorite recipes! Tender ribeye steak with sautéed onions and peppers all tossed in melty provolone cheese and cradled in a hoagie roll make this sandwich utopia.

Let’s talk about these AH-mazing Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, shall we?

We've been making these for years, and after putting an additional cheesy twist on them that took the sandwiches from great to spectacular, we have never looked back. These are, hands down, one of our favorite casual dinners.

We first stumbled upon this recipe from The Little Kitchen and had it saved for what seemed like forever before making them, but once we did, we were totally hooked!

These sandwiches are the ultimate comfort food and we're so excited to share them with you today.

History of Philly Cheesesteak

As the name suggests, the Philly Cheesesteak was invented in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the 1930s by Pat and Harry Olivieri.

Their original cheesesteak featured sautéed onions and steak on a hoagie roll until a manager at their Ridge Avenue location added provolone on top.

What stands out

This Philly Cheesesteak is sandwich utopia. With beef, onions, and peppers swimming in a butter base and mixed with cheese there are ample reasons to love this sandwich.

Double cheese: Not only does the meat mixture mix up with melty cheese it’s also topped with additional cheese in the end.
Ultimate comfort food: It’s warm, hearty, and stick to your ribs rich.
Ready in under an hour: With half of the time being hands-off, oven baking time, this is a great weeknight dinner recipe!

The Ingredients

Beef: We highly recommend ribeye for a tender, melt-in-your-mouth sandwich. See some tips below on selecting and slicing the meat. If you need to find a substitute, look for well-marbled meat such as short rib or hanger steak.
Hoagie Roll: The reliable roll for cradling the juicy mixture of cheesy beef, onions, and peppers. You could also use a large baguette cut into 4 sections, sausage rolls, or any other “roll” type vessel of your choosing. We caution you not to use a roll that is too soft or all of the juices may cause it to become too soggy. If you want to go authentic, try ordering Amoroso’s Hoagie Rolls.
Bell Pepper + Onion: Traditionalists will scoff at using peppers in a cheesesteak, but we think it adds a great amount of flavor. You can omit them if you’d like.
Cheese: Sliced provolone for cooking in the onion, pepper, and steak mixture as well as topping the sandwich. You can substitute any good melty cheese that you’d like (American or Velveeta are great, too) or use Cheez Wiz for a truly authentic sandwich!

A standby Cut of Meat for Philly Cheesesteaks

This is, without a doubt, THE most important part of these sandwiches.

We've tried many cuts of meat in these and ribeye is far and away a house standby. It cooks up amazingly tender and gives the sandwiches that buttery, melt-in-your-mouth texture. We know that good ribeye can be on the pricey side, but it is absolutely, totally worth it here. Others we've tried range from okay to totally tough. We highly, highly recommend splurging for the ribeye here – you will be SO glad that you did!

To cut the steak, freeze the meat for about 20 to 30 minutes to get it firm but not completely frozen. Then, using a sharp knife, slice thin slices, against the grain at ¼-inch thick or thinner.

(Bonus tip – if you have a butcher counter at your local grocery store, ask them to thinly slice the ribeye for you and half of the work is done! Just give it a good chop at home.)

Serving Suggestions

Toppings: If you want to deviate from the original there are a number of additional toppings to include such as mushrooms, jalapeñoes, shredded lettuce, and even ketchup (gasp!).

Some of our favorite sides to go with these from-scratch Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches include:

Making Ahead

If you are planning to make these sandwiches in advance or save them for later eating here are a few time-saving tips, as well as ways to freeze the sandwiches for the future.

Slice the meat in advance. Better yet, if you have a butcher counter at your local grocery store, ask them to thinly slice the ribeye for you, and half of the work is done! Just give it a good chop at home.
Freezing Directions: Follow the steps until you fill the hoagies with the beef and onion mixture. Allow to cool completely and then wrap tightly in foil. Store in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag until you are ready to make the sandwiches.
Reheat from frozen: Place foil-wrapped sandwiches in the oven at 350° and bake for 30 minutes.

Common questions

Watch the Recipe Video:

Rich Sandwiches to Try Next

These Philly cheesesteak sandwiches are reliable for A straightforward weeknight meal, game day food, having friends over for lunch… basically ANYTHING. They’re a huge favorite in our house and we hope you love them too!

Photography by Ari Laing

Philly Cheesesteak

Yield: 4 sandwiches
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 40 minutes

Ingredients

4 hoagie or sub rolls, sliced in half lengthwise
4 tablespoons salted butter, divided
½ ( 0.5 ) green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 white onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
1½ pounds ( 680.39 g ) ribeye steaks, thinly sliced, then roughly chopped
Salt & pepper
12 slices provolone cheese

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place each hoagie roll on a large square of aluminum foil; set aside.
Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add the pepper and onion to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are completely cooked down and starting to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove to a plate and set aside.
Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in the now-empty skillet. Season the beef with salt and pepper and add to the skillet, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, add back in the peppers and onions and stir to combine. Place 4 slices of the provolone cheese over the mixture and let sit for a minute or two until it starts to melt, then stir into the beef and vegetable mixture until completely combined. Turn off the heat.
Divide the meat mixture between the four hoagie rolls, topping each with 2 slices of the provolone cheese. Wrap and roll each one tightly in foil, place in the oven, and heat for 30 minutes. Serve warm.

Notes

Steak: Ribeye is the recommended cut of meat. If you need to substitute, look for a well-marbled (more fat = more tender) alternative such as short rib or hanger steak (if you have a butcher counter at your store, they would definitely be able to help with an appropriate substitute based on their inventory).

Rolls: Use hoagie rolls, a cut-up baguette, or order Amoroso’s Hoagie Rolls to make them authentic!

Peppers: While we love the flavor they add, you can omit them if desired.

Cheese: Provolone is fantastic in these sandwiches, but you can substitute American cheese, Velveeta, or Cheez Wiz for a great melty, traditional cheesesteak.

Freezing Directions : Follow the steps until you fill the hoagies with the beef and onion mixture. Allow to cool completely and then wrap tightly in foil. Store in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag until you are ready to make the sandwiches. Place foil-wrapped sandwiches in the oven at 350° and bake for 30 minutes.

Leftovers: Store any leftover sandwiches wrapped well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the oven, toaster oven or microwave.

Recipe adapted from The Little Kitchen.

Photography by Ari Laing