Philly Cheese Steak Sloppy Joes with peppers, onions, and provolone will make you forget canned sauce and make you LOVE sloppy joes again!
Sloppy Joes are such and easy Sandwich Recipe that always make the perfect family meal. I love this Philly Cheese Steak version as well as some of my other popular variations like Cheeseburger Sloppy Joes and Pot Roast Sloppy Joes!
Sabrina’s Philly Cheese Steak Sloppy Joes
My Philly Cheese Steak Sloppy Joe recipe came together almost accidentally. I already had Philly Cheese Steak Grilled Cheese sandwiches in my weeknight dinner rotation for years, and one day I’d made a skillet of the meat filling but didn’t have sandwich bread. With just a few adjustments to make the mixture extra gooey and “sloppy,” I created this sloppy joe version, which may be even more of a crowd-pleaser.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 small yellow onion , diced
- 1 small green bell pepper , diced
- 8 ounces brown mushrooms , minced
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 cup beef broth
- 8 ounces Provolone Cheese Slices , chopped (use 6oz if you don't want it very cheesy)
- 6 brioche hamburger buns
Instructions
- Add the ground beef to a large cast iron skillet (this browns very well) and brown on medium-high heat until a deep brown crust appears before breaking the beef apart.
- Stir the ground beef and brown until a deep crust appears on about 50 or so percent of the beef.
- Remove the beef (you can leave the fat) and add the butter and the onions and bell peppers and mushrooms.
- Let brown for 1-2 minutes before stirring, then let brown for another 1-2 minutes before stirring again.
- Add the beef back into the pan.
- In a small cup mix the beef broth and cornstarch together
- Add the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, salt, black pepper, beef broth/cornstarch mixture into the pan.
- Cook until the mixture is only slightly liquidy (about 75% of the mixture is above liquid), 3-5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, add in the provolone cheese. Start with half the cheese and then add a bit more at a time until it's as cheesy as you like it.
- Served on toasted brioche buns.
Nutrition
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Table of Contents
Chef’s Note
EDITED: You guys are amazing! In just 7 16 30 days after my original post my readers loved this recipe so much it was re-pinned over 125,000 175,000 520,000 times. If you want to read some reviews from people who have already made the recipe, check out the “tried it” responses on this pin (then re-pin it to keep this magic going!).
Alternative Cooking Techniques
Slow Cooker
- To make this recipe in the slow cooker, add the Ingredients (minus the cheese and buns) to the slow cooker and cook on low for 4 hours.
- Use half the amount of beef broth.
- If the sauce is not thick add in another 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon room temperature water. Cook for an additional 30 minutes on low.
Variations
This Hamburger Helper version is the second variation of this that I ended up making a week after preparing these sloppy joes for the first time. I posted a recipe for this too, but here is a quick summary:
- Cook exactly as described except double the broth (leave the cornstarch the same).
- Do not rinse your macaroni, the starch will keep the sauce thickened.
- At the step where you’d add the cheese, instead add the macaroni.
- Stir it well together and cook for 30 seconds or until thickened.
- Add in the Provolone Cheese and stir for just a couple of seconds, and serve immediately.
The following images have been used in previous versions of this post:
I made this for dinner tonight and it was sooooo good!! Very flavorable and I didn’t change a thing, except used a beef bullion powder instead of broth. Everyone loved it!! Glad I seen the recipe.
Thanks Michele!
My son and I made this together last night. Awesome!!!!!!!!!
Thanks Joy!
Great meal! My husband loved it! I will definitely be making it again!
Fantastic! So glad you both enjoyed it!!
I just have to say how delicious these were! Easy to make and sooooo yummy!
Thanks Alli!
One of my kids is currently getting ready to chow down on his THIRD sloppy joe! THESE ARE DELICIOUS!!!!!!! Definitely adding these to our normal rotation and look forward to the cheers I receive when the kids ask whats for dinner. 🙂
Sounds like a total parent WIN!! So glad everyone enjoyed it!!
Can I use shredded mozzarella or parmesan cheese instead of provolone?
Yes, but I would suggest shredding your own. It just blends better into the dish and you’ll still have that cheesy goodness!
I didn’t have provolone cheese but so I used the pepper jack I had on hand and it was delicious! My hubby loves spicy food so I think that made it even better. I ate mine without a bun and hubby and son had 3 sandwiches each!. HUGE hit in this house! Added to my favorite recipes!
That’s a great suggestion for anyone wanted a little bit of kick in the dish!
I made this a few days ago. It was good, but nothing extraordinary. There was no reaction from my kids either way. When they really like something they make it a priority to tell me so I’ll be sure to make it again. This will go in my “Just another meal” file.
Just wow. SMH
Absolutely DEEE licious!!! I made it with ground turkey. So good!!!
Would this work with ground chicken? Would you change anything if using chicken?
Absolutely and maybe just to kick up the steak-y flavor a bit of steak sauce?
Made this just now for hubby & me. We put the beef mixture on wraps, it was a homerun! Thank you.
Any chance you could make this without the cornstarch and it turn out? Maybe reducing the amount of beef broth and letting it simmer down?
Letting it simmer down would just make less moisture, the idea of the cornstarch would be to create a gravy. Could you sub flour or would that not work for your needs?
Just made this, but instead of the buns I used uncut hoagie rolls, cut a hole in one side to hollow it out a little and stuffed it with the mixture (My autistic son doesn’t like getting his hands dirty at all). A bit cleaner of a meal but still delicious!
What a great idea! I’m so glad you all enjoyed it!
8 oz of cheese – is that a cup or 1/2 pound?
Yes, it’s 1/2 pound provolone cheese slices, chopped. Hope you enjoy!
Made this for dinner tonight and the family loved it! I doubled the recipe so we could have leftovers. Being newly retired, it’s a struggle coming up with a lunch menu daily. Figuring out “what’s for dinner” was challenging enough! Thanks for a recipe that I know will be added to our rotation of favorites.
So glad I was able to help out! I take it as a huge compliment that it’ll be added to your rotation!
The biggest hit yet with everyone in the family! Thank You for this delicious recipe that will now have a place in my dinner rotation! I followed the recipe as stated, but I did add some Montreal Steak Seasoning to the beef while browning it. I also added 1 beef bullion cube after adding the beef broth. I served it on hoagie rolls. Delicious!
Yay! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know how much you all enjoyed it!
Hi Sabrina. I made this last night and it was so delicious, and, yes, it tasted just like Philly Cheese Steak. I left out the mushrooms only because my son does not like them, and I cut back on the beef broth (1-1/2 cups); I thought it might be too runny. It was perfect and my men loved it. Thanks for a really great recipe!
Awesome!
Made this for a quick dinner in our new place for our first home cooked meal here and boy did I make the right decision with using this recipe for a great dinner, quick clean up, and left me craving more..this MORNING
mmm..you did great, also I never tried mixing the cornstarch with my broth, what a cool idea and worked beautifully. Thanks for the great meal!!!
p.s. We used smaller flour tortilla’s and made them into a quesadilla style, delicious!
You’re welcome Julia! So glad you all enjoyed it. Congrats on your new home!!
All I can say is , OH MY GOODNESS, this is amazing.Thank you so much for sharing
You’re welcome Sherri!
I made these for lunch today and I love them! Thanks for sharing the recipe! From now on I’m making a double batch at a time though. 😀
Smart idea 😉 So glad you loved it!
I saw this posted all over Facebook, and since I had pretty much all of the ingredients (and I love pihlly cheesesteaks and sloppy joes), I decided to give them a try. Made these tonight and they were a huge hit. I did not use an entire onion and my kids wanted orange bell pepper instead of green, but otherwise followed the recipe. This was one of the best recipes I’ve tried in a long time. Will definitely go in to the regular rotation. Thank you!
Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and let me know how much you loved it!
You have to try this! Before adding the provolone, or mozzarella, add 8ozs of cream cheese…OMG! I had a philly cheese steak sandwich at a restaurant in Elko, NV, that was made with cream cheese only.
Thanks Kathy!
Delicious! I only had regular hamburger buns for mine & my hubby ate his open faced on 45 calorie bread and…. we both LOVED IT!
Planning to make this tonight! I want to double to recipe (my husband can EAT) haha. So if I’m doing 2lb ground beef do I need 2 onions & 2 bell peppers also? (Seems excessive)
And… we don’t like mushrooms 🙁 will it still turn out ?
Thanks!!
I love it! You don’t need to double everything, just use whatever seems like the right amount to you…and feel free to omit the mushrooms (I won’t tell anyone, lol). It’ll still turn out delicious!
I am making this for tonight. How early can I make this.
This comes together pretty easily but if you’re looking to prep a few things, you could brown the meat and make the vegetables ahead of time. Once ready to serve, finish up the remaining steps. This way, you’re cheese will be perfectly cheesy!
How much sodium or salt is in this recipe. I have high blood pressure. I was wonder if low sodium version.
Sorry I don’t have the nutritional facts for recipes on the site but I know there are a lot of free resources on the internet from when I’ve cooked for clients with specific dietary needs. You can always substitute with a low sodium worcestershire sauce to help reduce the sodium intake.
Made this for dinner tonight! Huge hit and even the 8 year old loved it.
I love hearing that the kids love it! Thank you!!
I made this tonight and loved it even though I didn’t brown the meat correctly as directed to do. I altered the recipe to fit my Weight Watchers, Simply Filling diet by using the leanest beef, fat free sharp cheddar cheese, & light hamburger buns. Still tasted great.
Glad you were able to adjust it to fit your dietary needs!
I made this with ground pork and served over rice. Will make again!
Yum! They look so delicious. Ill try the recipe out
Absolutely delicious!
Thanks Angela!
I had to mince the onion(used less) andmushroom really small so my husband didn’t notice. ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS my favorite new meal!
Sneaky, sneaky….I love it! So glad you enjoyed it!
Great quick meal for large families. I tripled the recipe and added a red pepper too. We used gluten free buns or no bun and ate with fork! Delish!
Fantastic Emily! Thanks for taking the time to come back to let me know how much you enjoyed it!
We eat low carb so also ate without a bun and loved it.
I made this on the stove last week and it was a huge hit! My family is begging for it again…. if I do it inthe slow cooker do I brown the hamburger first? If not do I keep stirring as burger browns in slow cooker? Thanks!!!
So glad you guys are loving it! When using the slow cooker version, you’ll want to brown the meat first. It makes it easier to set it and forget it.
I usually cook with ground turkey. Do you think that this would work instead of ground beef?
The taste will be a little different but definitely is a great substitution.
I want to try this in the slow cooker. Should I cook the beef first? And should the beef broth cut in half be enough liquid or should I keep the full amount?
Thanks for the yummy idea!
Yes, you’ll want to brown the meat first before putting it into the slow cooker cut the beef broth amount in half. Hope you enjoy it!!
This was absolutely fabulous!!! I am making this again!! (I made it in a sauce pan vs. skillet)
Thank you so much! So glad you loved it!
I’m not a fan of ketchup. Is the ketchup flavor pretty prominent?
It’s not really obvious but you could always substitute with a tomato sauce or paste. It really just helps to give a bit of flavor and sauciness.
I used bbq sauce because my boyfriend doesn’t like ketchup. Worked really well!
Thanks for the substitution suggestion! So glad you both enjoyed it!
My husband hates ketchup. I substitute A1 and it’s delicious. I also serve them stuffed in red peppers instead of on a bun to cut down on carbs. They’re great!!
I made this tonight and it was so yummy!
So glad you loved it Melanie! Thank you for taking the time to come back to let me know!
This so good. I had to change a little because I did not have enough Worcestershire sauce. I use a little great value steak sauce to top off the measurement, and used bouillon cube instead of broth. Will definitely make again and double recipe.
Fantastic! Loved your last minute improvising and glad it all came out wonderful!
This was so delicious super easy to make. I used butter toased Hawaiian bread and my husband ate 4 of them!
Definitely sounds like a winner to me!
This is going to be my next meal! Can’t wait to try it, it looks so good. Thanks for sharing! I will follow up when we try it
Definitely! Thank you!
Any chance you’ve made the meat mix in advance & then froze? If so, did it turn out ok upon defrosting? It looks delish!! And I’m thinking this would be an easy school-night meal, if I can just defrost & re-heat. Thoughts?
I haven’t made it ahead but my suggestion is to cook just the veggies and freeze them because that’s really the only part that takes a bit more time. If you decide to freeze the meat portion, just add a bit more beef broth and cornstarch once it’s defrosted. It really all comes together easily. Whatever you decide, I’d love to hear how it all worked out for you. Hope you enjoy!
I made it as directed with all ingredients (I exchanged the bell pepper for poblano and used 1/2 provalone and 1/2 pepper jack..aaaamazing) and froze it in portions with buns wrapped in foil and plastic wrap and it thawed and reheated great. No problems and no extra ingredients. We meal prep and portion so freezing is important. Fantastic recipe. We also used MFP for nutrition info.
Such a great suggestion for freezing in portions, thanks Stephanie!
I froze a double batch without the cheese and buns. A week and a half later I put it in a slow cooker and added the cheese. They were fine. In fact our neighbor showed up the next morning for the recipe and went directly to the store so he could make some for himself.
Love it! Thanks for letting us know.
Can you let me know the calories without buns?
Sorry I don’t have the nutritional facts for recipes on the site but I know there are a lot of free resources on the internet from when I’ve cooked for clients with low calorie diets.
I don’t know about calories, but if you’re counting carbs switch the bun out for a low-carb tortilla and make it a “burrito”/wrap. That would cut the carbs down to 7 or 8 carbs.
This would be very popular at my house! Love all of the variations you provided, too (slow cooker!)
Thanks! I always like having options too!
This is one incredible looking sandwich! I’m super excited to make this because I know my family will LOVE it!!! Thanks for the recipe. Print!
Thanks Renee! Enjoy!!
OMG I remember my dad making these!
Yay! A family favorite!!
These are DEFINITELY going to become my new favorite, too!!
We already ate dinner, but I could grab one of those right now. It looks so good!
Thanks Dee! I won’t tell if you double dinner 😉
I am loving this twist on sloppy joes! It combines two family favorites!
Thanks Des! It just works so well 🙂
I would like to make the skillet version, but I don’t see how much pasta to use and if you precooked it or cooked it with the broth.
Cook with water, one pound of pasta. I am actually going to be posting a full recipe to this and posting it in the next couple of weeks too. 🙂
Pasta? Didn’t see anything in the recipe about pasta.
At any rate, the sandwich was pretty tasty. I added the butter, but I didn’t see a need for it. I added garlic and cooked the beef, onions, green pepper, mushrooms, and garlic altogether.
She was asking about making it into a skillet version vs a sandwich and I was just giving her my suggestion on that. Sorry for the confusion.
Rather bland what can I do to enhance the taste? Does the cheese melted in the mixture or placed on top of sandwich?
Yes, you want to melt the cheese into the mixture before serving. I’m sorry you thought it was a bit bland but feel free to adjust any of the ingredients to your taste.
If your not concerned about sodium intake…I used powdered beef bullion to make the broth mine turned out delicious
You can add more onions
Some of the cheese steaks I have had use white American cheese. It has a bit more tang than provolone, perhaps that would ad a little more flavor.
I used monterrey jack and some mozzarella. Jack added some flavor and i used quite a bit of black pepper, less salt, and half again as much worchestershire sauce. YUMMY.
I added some jarred sliced banana peppers and some of the liquid. It made a huge difference. I think it gave it a nice tangy zip. Made a huge difference.
Ooh, that does sound like a wonderful addition!
I put in 2 tablespoons of diced jalapenos and a teaspoon of the juice. It came out great and it didnt take away from the cheese steak flavor. It enhanced it completely
I went the the grocery to get the ingredents and forgot the Worcestershire. I have two tiny tots one is almost 1 and my other is 2. so me going back wasnt happening. So i used Dales instead and it was very flavorful and delicious! I’m actually cooking it again tonight!
I made this and added the green chilies as well. I also added a little more salt and pepper than it called for.I made my own beef broth by using bullion cubes and made it a little richer using 2 bullion cubes to 1 cup of water.I served it over riced cauliflower, and I did not use any type of bun.It was very good. I will be making this again.
this sounds amazing! I really want to make this but have no cornstarch on hand.. any substitutes that you know of?
thanks,
Jana
Flour would be the best substitute in a pinch.
But makes it a whiter color. Still taste goid but not as pretty
I didn’t have cornstarch or beef broth. I used vegetable broth and brown gravy mix. Turned out delish.
I was so excited to try this recipe but extremely disappointed at the flavor. Very bland!! I added chopped garlic , which was only a little help. If I try it again I would add some hot sauce to give it some flavor
You can definitely play with the spices to customize them to your family’s liking or adding hot sauce to give it a kick.
Use Campbell’s beef broth–it’s condensed and really concentrated. I used 1 can and followed the recipe exactly otherwise. They were REALLY great!
I agree that they were bland. Salt needed to be increased.
I am not a fan of bell peppers, so I substitute green chilies and it gives a little more flavor as well as a kick (depending on the heat level of chilies). Most Sub Shops (especially Jersey Mike’s) will do this for you in their Philly Cheese steak.
Try to substitute Campbell french onion soup with beef broth. It is bursting with flavor, so scrumptious!
Anyone try to reheat these for leftovers? My teens are never home at the same time!
This is an easy dish to reheat for busy scheduled. I would suggest sprinkling just a bit of water over it (to keep it moist) and then reheating.
The philly cheese steak sloppy Joe was epic in my kitchen! ??????????
The recipe says that you don’t need to drain the ground beef, next time I make this I will definitely be draining the meat. Other than that, this recipe was loved.
I added a twist cuz I have some picky eater’s I called it Faux Filly Cheesesteak Bar. I cooked the meat and onions but cooked the onions separate, the peppers separate and left the sliced provolone cheese on the side to be added to the hoagie style bun. The meat melted the cheese. Huge hit! Thanks so much for the great idea 🙂
Did the Philly cheese steak slopy joes and ug turned out really good will do it again.
The recipe was good, a little bland…..didn’t taste remotely like Phillysteak but we enjoyed it with just a few tweeks .