Philly Cheesesteak Pasta is a crowd-pleaser! Inspired by the famous sandwich, this dish combines a saucy provolone cheese sauce, seasoned beef, cavatappi pasta, and a mix of veggies. What’s not to love?!
Prefer chicken over beef? Try our Baked Ziti With Chicken which is our take on a Philly Cheesesteak casserole using chicken instead!
Philly Cheesesteak Pasta Bake
Few things beat a good cheesy pasta bake and this Philly Cheesesteak Pasta Recipe does not disappoint! It’s pure comfort food and a huge favorite every time we serve it. From the saucy Provolone cheese sauce to the Italian-seasoned ground beef to the perfect crisp-tender sautéed veggies–every bite is an experience!
Quick Tip
Try some of our other favorite pasta bake recipes like this one pan Tuna Casserole, this Healthy Pasta Bake, or this irresistibly cheesy Baked Ziti.
What Pasta To Use
The pasta you see in these pictures and recipe is Cavatappi.
Cavatappi is a corkscrew-shaped macaroni pasta and it makes for a fun and unique addition to this Philly Cheesesteak Pasta. That said, don’t get hung up on the pasta shape, because there are plenty of options that work.
Other great options: ziti, penne, rigatoni
Quick Tip
If you’d like to make Philly Cheesesteak Pasta Shells, dice up the veggies instead of thinly slicing and sauté as instructed in the recipe. Make a double batch of the provolone cream sauce. Mix together the cooked beef, sautéed veggies, and 1/2 of provolone cream sauce. Stuff this mixture into al dente cooked shells and top with the remaining cream sauce and slices of Provolone. Bake until the cheese is melty on top and enjoy!
How To Make Philly Cheesesteak Pasta
This recipe has four components: pasta, beef, vegetables, and Provolone cream sauce.
Boil the pasta in a separate pot. Cook the beef, vegetables, and sauce in the same pan at different times to layer flavors. When removing the beef, leave the browned bits in the pan. Whisk these into the sauce to add incredible depth of flavor to the final dish.
Quick Tip
What are browned bits? These are caramelized pieces of meat left in the pan after cooking. They are cooked again in wine, broth, or other liquids, adding deep, rich flavor to the sauce or gravy. For this Philly Cheesesteak Pasta, we’ll use those browned bits to enhance the Provolone cream sauce!
What Kind Of Sauce Is Good For Philly Cheesesteak?
A Provolone Cheese sauce! This sauce pulls all the flavors together beautifully and adds that classic cheesesteak feel. Here are a few sauce tips:
- Use these ultra-thin provolone slices for the sauce and the topping! We take 6 slices out of the package for topping the casserole later and then dice up the rest into small pieces for the cheese sauce (you should get about 1 cup).
- Don’t use pre-shredded cheese in the cream sauce. Pre-shredded packaged cheese has a cellulose coating that keeps it from melting as smoothly. It tends to make the sauce overly gummy and doesn’t mix as well with the other ingredients.
Variations
Recipe Variations
- Philly cheesesteak pasta with steak. Use very thinly sliced steak instead of ground beef
- Philly cheesesteak pasta with cream cheese. Add in 2 ounces softened cream cheese to the provolone cream sauce
- Prepare a Philly Cheesesteak Pasta Skillet by assembling everything together in an oven safe skillet and baking in that!
- Lighten this dish up: Use a lean (93/7) ground beef, replace the whole milk with 2% or 1% milk (slightly less creamy/thick sauce), leave off the Provolone cheese topping.
Below are our top two tips for making the best possible pasta bake!
The Secrets To A Philly Cheesesteak Pasta
- Under-boil the pasta. Since we’ll bake the pasta after it’s been cooked, make sure to drain it 1 minute before the package suggests for al dente. This way, as it bakes it will end up perfectly tender instead of perhaps mushy.
- Season every step. Seasoning is key for this dish, and we want to season as we go (remember, the cheese adds extra salt). Salt the pasta water while cooking the ziti, season the vegetables, season the beef, and season the Provolone cheese sauce. Taste everything as you cook and add a bit more seasoning if any flavors seem flat.
What Sides Go With Philly Cheesesteak Pasta
This pasta is has a good heartiness, so it’s best paired with something light, fresh, and crunchy. Here are some of our favorite side dishes to serve alongside:
- A quick, crunchy veggie salad like this Garden Salad, an everyday Salad Recipe, or this Italian Salad
- Some fresh fruit or combination of fruit like in this Winter Fruit Salad or summer Fruit Salad
- A side of roasted veggies like Roasted Broccoli, Roasted Carrots, or Roasted Asparagus
What Dessert Goes Well With Philly Cheesesteak Pasta
Now we’re on to my favorite part of the meal! 🙂 Here are our favorite desserts to serve alongside this pasta dish:
- Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cheesecake Bars (with a Graham Cracker Crust)
- Best Chocolate Cake Recipe
- Malted Milkshake or a Strawberry Milkshake
- Peanut Butter Bars
Philly Cheesesteak Pasta
Ingredients
For the Pasta:
- 3-1/4 cups dry pasta (10 oz.) pasta (we use cavatappi; ziti, penne, rigatoni all work great)
- Fine sea salt & pepper
For the Veggies
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup thinly-sliced yellow onion (1 small onion)
- 2 small green peppers, thinly sliced
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms (baby bella or crimini)
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
For the Beef:
- 1 lb. lean (93/7) ground beef
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
For the Provolone Sauce:
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup provolone cheese, finely diced (See Note 1)
- 6 slices ultra-thin provolone cheese
- Optional: fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- PREP: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Generously grease a 9x13-inch pan and set aside.
For the Pasta:
- PASTA: Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Generously salt the water (I add 2 teaspoons salt) and then add in the pasta. Cook according to package instructions MINUS 1 minute (Note 2). Strain the pasta through a colander and then dump into the prepared 9x13-inch pan.
For the Beef:
- In a very large cast-iron skillet, drizzle in 1 tbsp. olive oil and heat to high heat. Once oil is hot, add in the ground beef. Top with 1 tbsp Italian seasoning, plus salt & pepper to taste (I add 1 tsp fine sea salt & 1/2 tsp pepper). Let beef sear a few minutes; then use a wooden spoon to crumble and cook until it is completely browned through. Use a slotted spoon to remove the beef from pan right and onto the pasta in the pan. If there is more than 1 tbsp fat, drain it off. Don't wipe out pan.
For the Veggies
- In the same pan used for the beef, add the butter. Reduce heat to medium-high. Add the thinly sliced onion, green pepper, mushrooms, and garlic. Season to taste (I add 1/4 tsp of salt & pepper). Sauté the veggies, stirring occasionally, until they are softened and golden brown, about 7-10 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the red wine vinegar. Pour the peppers and onions on top of the beef and pasta. Don't wipe out pan.
For the Provolone Sauce:
- Return same pan to heat. Add in 4 tbsp butter and heat to medium heat. Let the butter melt and then whisk in 1/4 cup flour. Keep whisking for a minute or until you cook out all of the raw flour taste. Gradually add the milk while whisking constantly. Season to taste (I add 1/2 tsp salt & pepper). Whisk until milk is fully incorporated and sauce begins to thicken, about 5 minutes.
- Remove pan from the heat and whisk. Add in 1 cup diced provolone cheese and stir gently with a wooden spoon. Use a spatula to scrape every bit of this cheese sauce from the pot right into the pan with the pasta, beef, and veggies. Gently stir everything in the pan together until ingredients are well incorporated and evenly coated in cheese sauce. Spread in an even layer.
- Place the slices of provolone on top of the pan. Bake, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is nice and melted on top. Remove and serve, garnish if desired with fresh chopped parsley.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was absolutely delish! I followed the recipe pretty close but only had thin cut steak. It cooked up beautifully with the bell peppers, mushrooms and onions. And did I mention the cheese sauce! Yum! I will definitely be making this again! Thank you so much!
Yay! So happy to hear this was a hit 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
I add a lil more cheese but my husband and me love this recipe . Absolutely love not using tons of dishes and pans to make to. I hate washing dishes.
There are few things better than eating a good dinner and having little clean up! So glad you guys loved this Philly cheesesteak Pasta! Thanks for your comment! 🙂
Hi! I was wondering if you have ever frozen leftovers?
I personally haven’t; I don’t know that it would do super well with all the dairy and pasta though :/
Made this tonight!!!! So good. We are from Philly and know our cheese steaks and this was great! I did use shaved beef instead of ground beef to give it a more cheese steak feel. Do not skip the provolone topping!!!!!
What a compliment! Thanks so much for your comment Katy! So glad you guys enjoyed! 🙂
My family & I LOVED it! So delicious; it tastes exactly like a philly cheese steak without the bread.
So thrilled to hear that! 🙂
There is NEVER peppers or mushrooms in cheesesteak.
The only way I eat my cheesesteaks!! If I’m at a restaurant and they don’t have peppers on the cheesesteak I won’t order it, and if they have mushrooms it’s even better! To each their own.
Philly native here. The more famous places (Pat’s or Geno’s) only do beef, cheese and onion but if you go to another place like Jim’s you can add mushrooms and peppers. I prefer mine with mushrooms and peppers!!
YES there is lol
Is this Philly cheese steak salad to be eaten warm? If I make it fit a picnic pot luck would I keep it warm in the crock pot ? Or is it eaten cold? Thank you
Yes, it’s supposed to be eaten warm! It’s not a salad 🙂 Enjoy Andrea!
Definitely gonna make this for my son! he would luv it!
Love all of the classic flavors in this dish! 🙂
Thank you so much! 🙂