Recipe updated: April 2nd, 2024
This ground beef Philly cheesesteak is so easy to make in the skillet and is so good! With the perfect combination of lean ground beef, red bell peppers, onions, seasonings, and Italian blend shredded cheese all spread on a hoagie roll, it is certain to become a family favorite for the whole family.
This easy dinner recipe is a variation of our easy Philly cheesesteaks recipe with thinly sliced sirloin steak instead of the ground beef we are using in this recipe today. Both of these great dinner sandwiches serve well with potato salad, mac and cheese, French fries, onion rings, potato wedges, or boiled baby potatoes.
🍴 Key Ingredients
- 2 large red bell peppers – diced
- 1 large yellow onion – diced
- 2 pounds of lean ground beef
- 3 tablespoons of butter – melted
- 1 package of French hoagie rolls – or your choice of dinner rolls
- 1/4 teaspoon of table salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper
- 2 cups of Italian blend shredded cheese
- 1 ½ tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
- 3/4 cup of beef broth
👩🍳 How to Make Ground Beef Philly Cheesesteak
These step-by-step instructions are accompanied by detailed photos for enhanced clarity and guidance.
Step 1. Cut the Red Bell Pepper
Wash two red bell peppers under cold running water. On a cutting board or your favorite workplace, cut the large red bell peppers in half and clean out the seeds inside the peppers and discard them. Throw away the inner seeds. Then cut the peppers into small chunks or dice them. You can also slice the red bell peppers julienne style if you prefer. Set the red bell peppers aside for now.
Step 2. Chop the Onions
Next, chop one large onion into pieces, the same way we did with the red bell peppers. And again, it is your choice of how you would like to cut them, whether it be diced, julienne style, or chunks. Whichever way you choose to cut them, cut both the red bell peppers and the onions the same, that way they will cook evenly with each other. We cut our red bell peppers and onions a little bit bigger than the standard diced. Set the onions aside for now.
Step 3. Brown the Ground Beef
Put two pounds of lean ground beef in a large skillet and brown the ground beef over medium-high heat. With a flat spatula, keep turning the ground beef over and chopping it as it cooks in the frying pan so all sides get cooked. Brown the lean ground beef for about 10 minutes, give or take, or until no pink is showing.
Note: Do not completely ignore the ground beef frying in the skillet. Keep an eye on it and keep turning it over as it browns while we prepare the hoagie rolls in the next couple of steps. If medium-high heat is too hot, turn the burner down to medium heat.
Step 4. Melt the Butter
While the ground beef is browning in the frying pan, put 2 tablespoons of butter into a microwave-safe bowl. Melt it in the microwave for 20 seconds. Set the melted butter aside for a minute while we prepare the rolls in the next step.
Step 5. Spread Butter on Rolls
Take however many hoagie rolls you need out of the package. We used three rolls. Cut or open each roll to separate the top from the bottom. With a basting brush, apply the melted butter on the halves of each roll. Set the rolls aside for now while we get back to the ground beef mixture.
Step 6. Remove Excess Fat
When the ground beef is getting close to done, if you haven’t already, turn the burner down to medium heat. After the ground beef is completely browned, remove any excess grease in the frying pan that you don’t want. Discard the grease in a paper towel and throw it in the trash, instead of dumping it in the sink. Grease isn’t good for the drain pipes.
Tip: An easy way to remove the grease from the frying pan is to move the ground beef to one side of the pan while slightly tilting the pan in the opposite direction of the ground beef. Scoop up the grease with a couple of paper towels and discard.
Step 7. Add the Red Peppers and Onions
Once the excess fat is removed from the browned ground beef, add the red bell peppers and onions we diced earlier to the browned ground beef.
Step 8. Combine the Ground Beef Mixture
Stir the red bell peppers and onions together with the browned ground beef. Let the ground beef mixture simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables start to soften up a bit.
Step 9. Toast the Rolls
Put the rolls on a baking sheet or broiler pan and put them under the broiler in the oven for about 1-2 minutes or less, or until a deep brown crust appears. Keep an eye on the hoagie rolls, as they will brown quickly. The crunchy bread is what makes the sandwich taste fantastic. Use heat-resistant oven mitts when placing them in the oven and when removing them from the oven so you don’t burn yourself from the hot pan.
Step 10. Add the Seasonings
Add 1/4 teaspoon of table salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper together with the ground beef mixture.
Step 11. Add the Cheese
Sprinkle 2 cups of Italian blend shredded cheese in the frying pan together with the Philly cheesesteak mixture. Give the mixture a good stir. The medium heat will melt the cheese perfectly.
Step 12. Add Worcestershire Sauce and Beef Broth
Add 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce and 3/4 cup beef broth together with the ground beef Philly cheesesteak mixture. Stir the meat mixture until thoroughly blended. Let the mixture simmer for 5 to 10 minutes so the beef broth can thicken up a bit. When it is thick enough and heated through to your liking, scoop out a couple of spoonfuls and spread it on each of the hoagie rolls.
✨ Recipe Variations
- Add a green bell pepper instead of the red bell pepper, or add both. Dice the green pepper the same as the red pepper, or you can also slice them if you prefer.
- Using white onions is okay instead of yellow onions.
- You can use different kinds of cheese for this recipe such as mozzarella cheese, Cheez whiz, American cheese, or slices of provolone cheese.
- Add some garlic powder or onion powder when browning the ground beef.
- You can choose whichever rolls you prefer such as Hawaiian rolls, hamburger buns or Brioche buns, or even wheat rolls.
❓ FAQs
Put any leftover ground beef Philly cheesesteak in an airtight container, then put it in the refrigerator until you are ready to eat it. I don’t know how long you keep leftovers in the refrigerator, but I always like to eat my leftover food within three days. After that, it starts to look funny to me, but you can use your own judgment on that. The CDC and the Food and Drug Administration always have very good information about the length of time food can be kept in the refrigerator.
Yes, you can freeze any leftover ground beef Philly cheesesteak. Put the leftovers in a freezer-safe container. It can be in the freezer for about 3 or 4 months. However, the sooner you use it the better, just let it thaw in the refrigerator the night before, then reheat it on the stove or in the microwave.
💭 Final Thoughts
You and your family are going to love this Philly cheesesteak skillet recipe just as much as we do. The balance of browned ground beef together with onions, seasonings, melty cheese, and the crunch of bell peppers, is a delight to the taste buds. It’s a delicious and satisfying sandwich you will want to make over and over again. Our entire family loves it.
When you want to make the perfect weeknight meal but just don’t have much time, this is an easy meal for you to make. It’s quick, easy, and uses simple ingredients which are probably already in your kitchen.
🗂️ Recipe Card
Ground Beef Philly Cheesesteak (Skillet)
🫕 Equipment
- Sharp knife (to dice vegetables)
- Baking sheet (to toast rolls under the broiler)
- Basting brush (or butter knife)
🧂 Ingredients
- 2 large red bell peppers (diced)
- 1 large yellow onion (diced)
- 2 lb lean ground beef
- 3 tbsp butter (melted)
- 1 package hoagie rolls
- 1/4 tsp table salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 cups Italian blend cheese (shredded)
- 1½ tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 3/4 cup beef broth
👩🍳 Instructions
- Dice the red bell peppers and the onion on the cutting board.
- Brown the lean ground beef in a large skillet on medium-high heat.
- While the ground beef is browning, melt the butter for 20 seconds in the microwave.
- Separate the hoagie rolls and place them on a baking sheet. Brush the melted butter on each of the halves with a basting brush. Set aside for now.
- After the ground beef is browned, drain the excess fat out of the skillet. Turn the burner down to medium heat.
- Add the diced red bell peppers and the diced onions to the browned ground beef. Mix thoroughly. Simmer until vegetables start to soften.
- In the meantime, while the veggies are simmering, broil the hoagie rolls under the broiler just until browned. Keep an eye on them, they will brown fast. Use heat-resistant oven mitts when placing and removing them from the broiler. Set aside for now.
- Add the salt and pepper to the ground beef mixture. Mix thoroughly.
- Sprinkle the cheese on the ground beef mixture. Mix thoroughly while the cheese melts.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce and beef broth to the ground beef mixture. Mix thoroughly. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes to thicken the beef broth.
- Serve over the toasted hoagies rolls.
*️⃣ Recipe Notes
- Add some diced green bell peppers.
- Use a different kind of cheese such as Provolone cheese or mozzarella cheese.
- Add garlic powder or onion powder.
- You can use whatever bread you prefer such as Hawaiian rolls, hamburger buns, or wheat rolls.
🥰 More Favorite Recipes You Will Love
- How to Make Tuna Salad – Tuna salad with mayonnaise, relish, garlic powder, diced red onion, ground black pepper, and salt. Delicious!
- Potato Salad with Eggs and Mustard – This tasty potato salad has nine ingredients – potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, celery, onions, sweet relish, mayo, yellow mustard, and salt and pepper for the seasonings.
- Egg Salad – This egg salad is so easy to make and has an amazing flavor. Made with hard-boiled eggs, mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, and ground black pepper.
A wife, a mother to a son and a daughter, and a grandmother to three granddaughters. Flo loves sharing recipes passed down from her own mother, her mother-in-law, and her grandmother as well as new recipes created with her daughter, Tamara Ray.
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