Philly Cheesesteak Chili made with butter seared ground beef, bell peppers. onions and classic chili flavors topped with provolone cheese. The perfect combination of classic Philly Cheesesteak flavors with your favorite Chili recipe!
This Philly Chili is a marriage between my favorite Philly Cheesesteak and my Slow Cooker Beef Chili and I have to say I love this recipe as much as I loved the Philly Cheese Steak Sloppy Joes the moment I tasted it. This recipe is… AMAZING.
PHILLY CHILI
If you’ve been a reader of this blog for any period of time you know my affinity for all versions of the Philadelphia Cheesesteaks. Before you guys mention this in the comments below…. yes, I know this isn’t how people make a Philly cheesesteak. Yes, I know a Philly is made with thinly sliced ribeye. Yes I know most people don’t use green bell peppers or mushrooms. I absolutely know most Philly cheesesteaks don’t have pinto beans in them….but here is the thing I really want to stress, it doesn’t have to follow the rules of 1 classic recipe.
And this is pretty important for me at least. Food is fun, and this recipe… IS FUN. So much fun, it tastes like biting into a cheesesteak dipped into the juiciest bowl of chili. Now, if that is wrong, then I’m okay with it. But, if you’re like me, that doesn’t sound wrong, it sounds like a mashup I REALLY want to try.
Sooo… Philly Chili everyone. I actually have a couple more fun cheesesteak flavored recipes coming but I made this recipe a few times and I took the photos yesterday and I just couldn’t wait to share them with you all.
What’s in it? Beef that we sear really well with some butter, then some onions, bell peppers, mushrooms and Worcestershire sauce. I made this with all beef stock, but I’ve also tried it with beer like in my Slow Cooker Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches and I went back and forth a half dozen times on which version to publish. I stuck with non alcoholic because I thought it was more family friendly but if you are open to beer I swapped out 1 cup of the stock for a cup of Heineken. It was darn good.
The cheese was a part of the chili I tested a few times so here are your cheese options I thought worked best.
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Cheese Options:
- Cubes of Velveeta – this is pictured above and worked amazingly, be sure to ladle some into your bowl, place a few cubes then ladle more on top to melt the velveeta inside too.
- Bread bowl with Cheez Whiz – In this version I spread a thick layer of the cheese spread onto a toasted bread bowl and the top of the bowl which made for great dipping and eating, it also helped bring out the original sandwich flavors more. If this were a gameday treat or if you LOVE all things cheesesteaks I would at least try this method once.
- Provolone – this can be cubed or if you want you can place a slice in the middle of the soup or even just on top then microwave the bowl for 15 seconds. A great non Whiz option.
- Cheddar – An easy orange non Whiz option, you can add a handful of shredded cheese on top or add cubes in the middle. If you add the cubes remember the Cheez Whiz will melt significantly faster so in testing I added the cubes then microwaved for an additional 30 seconds to melt the middle cubes better.
What to serve with Philly Chili:
You can of course use the bread bowl idea above or a classic option for chili is Ultimate Cornbread or Perfectly Easy Dinner Rolls.
Other Game Day Recipes:
- Ultimate Bean Dip
- Cheesy Beef Rotel Dip
- Buffalo Wings
- Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Ultimate Spinach Artichoke Dip
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef 85/15
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 yellow onions chopped
- 2 green bell peppers chopped
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 29 ounces pinto beans drained and rinsed
- 8 ounces mushrooms chopped
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 4 cups beef stock
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 8 ounces velveeta cubed
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium heat add half the butter and the ground beef breaking it into larger chunks to keep the crumbles bigger and meatier cooking until you have a good sear on the beef, a nice golden brown (don't rush this or stir too often).
- Remove the ground beef and add in the rest of the butter along with the onions, bell peppers, salt and pepper and cook them until they are softened and translucent, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the cooked ground beef, pinto beans, mushrooms, tomato paste, chili powder, beef stock and Worcestershire sauce and stir well.
- Bring it up to a boil, reduce to a simmer (low heat) and cook for 25 minutes then serve with cubes of velveeta in the bowl and on top.
Nutrition
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*****
If I could give this 10 stars I totally would. This is one of those recipes where like a clever invention I wish I’d made it up! I made this for my office today and so far I have gotten raves. Only thing I did was I also added some diced jalapenos and I doubled up on mushrooms, simply because I am a glutton for them. I enjoyed the flavors and I even let this simmer on low in the crockpot for 4hrs after I made it so all the flavors could really be showcased in each bite. The velveeta cheese once melted was divine!
I used this chili recipe for my churches chili cook-off competition and it won me 1st place! Only thing I did different was no mushrooms and added a few other spices for more spice
Standing ready for Hurricane Ian, this chili is cooking in the crockpot now. House smells amazing!! (Instead of beef broth I’m using smoked pork broth.)
I made this last night for dinner with ground turkey and it was fantastic!! This is definitely one I’ll be making again and again. Thank you for your delicious and creative recipes!!
Thank you Erin!
I’ve read 2 of your recipes. Both had mistakes…sloppy editing. In this one-Philly Cheesesteak Chili-after browning the beef you had the cook remove the beef to cook the onions, peppers etc. Never do you have the cook return the beef to the pan.
Your website has a nice look but recipe quality is important. Probably very frustrating for a new cook. If you ever edit all your recipes let me know-maybe I’ll give you another try.
Thank you for catching that. I’ve edited to read correctly now. Sometimes it’s a glitch from the recipe card and sometimes it’s just me not getting enough coffee before proofreading. Either way, I appreciate your set of eagle eyes helping out.
I applaud your patience and kind reply to a rudely written comment.
Question can u substitute chili seasoning mix for the chili powder?
It’ll adjust the flavors but if that’s what you prefer, then yes. Enjoy!
This was amazing! My husband has a contact allergy to tomato and I miss chili! Found this recipe and was so exited (that amount of tomato doesn’t affect him.) It was so good, I made it for dinner last night and ate it for breakfast today. I halfed the recipe for just the two of us but next time I’ll make the whole recipe so there’s leftovers to freeze
Love knowing that leftovers are waiting for me, haha! So glad you enjoyed it.
Great flavor.
I added celery, used light kidney beans too and red/orange peppers (what I had in the fridge).
I put shredded sharp cheddar in the bowls when serving and stirred them up.
Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome! Thanks for the 5 stars.
Can’t wait to fix for my family!
Let me know how it turns out!
Can I see e this with regular cheddar cheese? I live in Canada and I can’t seem to find Velveeta or Cheez Whiz in the store.
You definitely can. It won’t be “authentic” tasting but all cheese is good cheese in my opinion haha!
You need to look harder because I see them both in every grocery store I go into into
Canned chili beans, or canned Pinto beans?
Pinto beans sorry. Chili beans are technically pinto beans in a sauce. I used chili beans in the recipe so it was in my notebook scribble as chili beans but since I drained and rinsed them I listed them as pinto since that is really what you need for the flavors.
I love that you have added all these extra veggies and you can’t go wrong with added Velveeta cheese.
Now this is a must make! Love everything in this!
I hope you enjoy it, Krista!
My Hubby is going to love this chili! It’s perfect for this snowy weather!
Definitely!
What a hearty dish! I would like to have it for dinner tonight!
That looks crazy good and full of flavor!
Thanks, Sandi!
This looks mouthwatering, I can’t wait to try this!
Thanks, Jade. Enjoy!
Incredibly tasty and with such good flavors! Fantastic chili recipe
So glad you enjoyed it, Dee! Thanks for the 5 stars.
You are the Queen of Philly cheesesteak versions! I’m sure this one will be a hit like all of the others.
You’re too sweet! Thank you.