This keto Philly Cheesesteak Skillet makes the perfect weeknight meal! With sauteed onions and peppers, ground beef, and provolone cheese, this skillet has all the classic flavors of a Philly Cheesesteak, but can be made in less than 30 minutes.

keto philly cheesesteak skillet - ground beef, peppers, and onions covered with provolone cheese and garnished with parsley on a marble board

This recipe is…

This easy meal was inspired by the popularity of the Philly Cheesesteak loaded fries from our Cook Once, Eat all Week cookbook. We wanted to take those classic flavors and turn them into a weeknight meal that you could make even on the busiest of nights – and this keto Philly cheesesteak skillet delivers!

With onions, peppers, ground beef, and plenty of provolone cheese, our Philly cheesesteak skillet has all the flavor of the classic sandwich, without all the carbs.

If you’re looking for more one-skillet dinners, we’ve got you on that front too. This garlic butter steak and potatoes skillet is DIVINE, these skillet enchiladas have been a long-time reader favorite, and this lemon chicken and rice skillet is the easiest family-friendly dinner ever!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • All the super-craveable ingredients of a classic Philly cheesesteak
  • On the table in 25 minutes flat!
  • Keto-friendly and low-carb

Ground Beef Philly Cheesesteak Recipe Ingredients

Our Philly cheesesteak with ground beef takes just 25 minutes to whip up. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.

Ingredients for philly cheesesteak skillet are laid out in a variety of small plates and bowls on a light grey colored surface.
  • Olive oil – extra-virgin olive oil goes into the skillet first for sautéing the veggies.
  • Onion – yellow or white onion is one of the core ingredients in the traditional Philly cheesesteak.
  • Bell peppers – this recipe calls for one red and one green bell pepper, although you could use any combination of colors you’d like.
  • Cremini mushrooms – you’ll need 8 ounces of sliced creminis. Chop them up at home, or shop for pre-sliced ‘shrooms to save a few minutes of prep. 
  • Garlic – we call for 2 cloves here.
  • Beef – In this easy, family- and wallet-friendly recipe, we substitute 1½ pounds of ground beef for the traditional steak.
  • Salt + pepper – these basic seasonings are all you need.
  • Broth – ⅓-cup of beef broth gives the meat and veggies a nice sauciness. 
  • Mustard – just 1 tablespoon of Dijon adds big flavor.
  • Coconut aminos – a couple tablespoons give this dish depth.
  • Cheese – what would a cheesesteak be without it? Here, we use 6 slices of melty provolone.

A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

Recipe Variations and Modifications

This skillet meal is super easy to customize! Here’s how.

  • Make it your own – just like the classic Philly sandwich, this skillet is easy to customize to your liking (or what ingredients are in your fridge and pantry). Swap red onions for yellow, pepper jack (or Whiz!) for the provolone, and portobello or button mushrooms for creminis. 
  • Add some heat – the red and green bell peppers add a subtle sweetness to this dish. But if you’d like a little more kick, add in some hot peppers or sliced jalapenos, or some pickled peppers like banana or pepperoncini varieties. 

How to Make this Keto Philly Cheesesteak Skillet

You can make this Philly cheesesteak skillet with just a few simple steps.

Vegetables are slid into a cast iron skillet from a chopping board sitting on a light grey colored surface.
Minced beef is stirred in a cast iron skillet on a light grey colored surface.

Step 1: First, thinly slice an onion, a red bell pepper, a green bell pepper, and 8 ounces of cremini mushrooms. If you’re a mushroom hater, you can leave them out, but we found that they make this meal a little more complete and help up the veggie ratio. Once the veggies are sliced, you’ll add them to a hot pan with some olive oil, and saute for about 5-7 minutes, until they are all browned and the onions are slightly caramelized. Then, you’ll remove them from the pan.

Step 2: Once the veggies are done, cook the ground beef in the same pan for about 5 minutes. Once it is browned, drain off the excess fat.

Cooked vegetables are tossed into browned minced beef in a cast iron skillet sitting on a light grey colored surface.
Slices of cheese are laid over minced beef and vegetables in a cast iron skillet on a light grey colored surface.

Step 3: Next, you’ll add the veggies back to the pan then stir in the beef broth, Dijon mustard, and coconut aminos. This will help give the dish more flavor. Let everything cook for about 3-4 minutes, until it is bubbling, to let the flavors infuse.

Step 4: The last step is also the most important…adding cheese! Layer 6 slices of cheese over top of the beef, then either put a lid on the pan or turn on your oven’s broiler and place the skillet under it for 1-2 minutes, until the cheese is melted and browned.

Recipe Tip

Perfectly cheesy – if you want your cheese to be ooey-gooey and melty, pop the lid of the skillet on top until heated through in the final step. But if you’d prefer a more browned top layer, put the skillet under a broiler until bubbly. 

How to Serve This Philly Cheesesteak Skillet Meal

This Philly cheesesteak skillet makes a fantastic meal on its own, but would also be great served over cauliflower rice or alongside a green salad. If you’re not following a Keto or low-carb diet, you could also use this as the filling for a sandwich, serve it over white rice, or make Philly cheesesteak stuffed potatoes. 

How to Store and Reheat

Store this dish right in the skillet, covered with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Or, transfer it to an airtight container. The leftovers will keep for up to 3 days.

To reheat leftovers, cook them on the stovetop in a skillet with another ⅓-cup beef broth to prevent the ingredients from drying out.

keto philly cheesesteak skillet - ground beef, peppers, and onions covered with provolone cheese and garnished with parsley on a marble board

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s in a traditional Philly cheesesteak?

Philadelphia’s namesake sandwich is traditionally made with a trifecta of juicy griddled sliced beef, caramelized onions, and a blanket of sharp provolone cheese stuffed into a simple white hoagie bun. From there, you can customize it with green or red bell peppers, hot peppers, and mushrooms, and you can swap the provolone for a few shots of “Whiz” (that’s Cheez Whiz).

What is the best meat for a Philly cheesesteak?

Traditionally, the cut of beef in a Philly is thinly sliced ribeye or top round steak, which gets cooked til sizzling on a hot griddle. For this recipe, we swapped in ground beef, which is wallet-friendly, much easier to find at the grocery store than sliced steak, and cooks up quickly. 

How do you cook ground beef properly?

Save yourself time and energy with our genius kitchen hack that spells out the easiest way to crumble your ground beef!

If you tried this recipe for Philly Cheesesteak Skillet, or any other recipe on the Fed & Fit website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it went in the 📝 comments below!

Philly Cheesesteak Skillet

4.94 — Votes 16 votes
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
With onions, peppers, ground beef, and plenty of provolone cheese, this Philly cheesesteak skillet has all the flavor of the classic sandwich, but comes together in under 30 minutes!

Ingredients  

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced (optional)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 ½ pounds ground beef
  • 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/3 cup beef broth
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
  • 6 slices provolone cheese

Instructions 

  • Add the olive oil to a skillet over medium heat. Once hot, put the sliced onion, bell peppers, and mushrooms in the pan. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned, then remove from pan.
  • Put the minced garlic in the pan and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant, then add the ground beef, salt, and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, breaking up the ground beef as it cooks, until the beef is browned. Then, drain off the excess fat and return the skillet to medium heat.
  • Stir the Dijon mustard into the ground beef, then add the coconut aminos and broth. Add the peppers and onions back to the pan with the beef, then let cook for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture is bubbling.
  • Place the cheese on top of the beef and either cover with a lid or turn your oven to the broil setting and place the skillet under the broiler for 1-2 minutes to melt the cheese. Remove from oven and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

This skillet can be served as-is, but if you’d like to stretch it a bit further it can also be served over cauliflower rice or white rice, in a sandwich, or as Philly cheesesteak stuffed potatoes!

Nutrition

Calories: 529kcal | Carbohydrates: 11.2g | Protein: 47.2g | Fat: 31.9g | Saturated Fat: 14.4g | Cholesterol: 139.2mg | Sodium: 1206.6mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5.9g

Additional Info

Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 529
Keyword: 30 minute meal, bell peppers, cheese, easy dinner, ground beef, keto, one pot meal

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Elizabeth Brownfield


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23 Comments

  1. This was great! It was made so quickly and used up a lot of my peppers I had. I will make this again and again! Thank you!

  2. 5 stars
    This was amazing! The flavors were so balanced and I loved how versatile it is! My boys (husband and 6-year old) are already asking when we can have it again! 🙂 thanks for a wonderful recipe!

    1. We’re so glad to hear that, Stephanie! Thanks so much for sharing this with us!

  3. 5 stars
    Soooo easy and yummy! A crowd pleaser for sure. I put my pan under the broiler to get the cheese nice and bubbly.

    1. Philly cheesesteaks take me back to childhood. They’re hard to beat. Glad you enjoyed them!

    1. Wahoo! So glad you enjoyed this one, April! Thank you for sharing this with us.

  4. 5 stars
    So easy & delicious. I used soy sauce instead of coconut aminos because I was out of the aminos. Used a spicy mustard I had on hand, omitted mushrooms, and used about 1 cup of beef bone broth (because I was slow and it was evaporating). Oh and I used the long sweet peppers instead of bell peppers, because they looked better at the store. These modifications were minor & didn’t alter the taste from the original recipe. Highly recommend!

    1. So glad you enjoyed it, Jackie! Thank you for sharing this with us!

  5. 5 stars
    Best thing I’ve cooked in forever and I LOVE cooking. This is a new staple and we serve it with roasted potatoes. We are DF and didn’t miss the cheese. SOOOOOOO GOOD!

    1. SO glad to hear that, Nicki!! Thanks so much for sharing!

  6. 5 stars
    This has become a family favorite! We stuff baked potatoes with this yummy goodness and it is the perfect, easy dinner. The flavor is amazing. Thanks for a great recipe!

  7. 5 stars
    I substituted sliced chicken breast, because my kids prefer chicken over beef. I added a couple of shakes of italian seasoning as well. We served it on toasted sub rolls for those that eat gluten (not me). We also had all the sub toppings– shredded lettuce, pickles, banana peppers. Everyone loved this recipe. My husband said it was keeper and wants it next week, too!

    1. That sounds delicious…we’re so glad you all loved it!! Thank you for sharing!

  8. This was so tasty! The Dijon makes the flavor of the beef so rich and delicious. I just wish the nutrition info was with it like in the cook book.

  9. 5 stars
    This was INCREDIBLE! Used beef bone broth for extra nutrients, and served alongside homemade garlic bread made with crusty sourdough! YUM