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Short-Order Kitchen

Philly Cheesesteak Pasta

By Wes Ellis2 min read
A white bowl of tagliatelle tossed with shredded beef, red peppers and green onion.
Recipe card
Servings
2
Prep
15 minutes
Cook
15 to 20 minutes
Method
Stovetop
Heat
Medium heat
Difficulty
Easy
Jump to ingredients & directions ↓

Part 1 of the thread Weeknight dinners

THE SHORT VERSION4 points
  • Save a cup of pasta water before you drain. That's the sauce.
  • Onion and green pepper first, mushrooms and garlic after.
  • Provolone tastes most like a cheesesteak; mozzarella is lighter.
  • Add pasta water 1/4 cup at a time, stirring, until the cheese goes glossy.
THE RECIPE · PHILLY CHEESESTEAK PASTA

Ingredients

You'll need

  • Pot and colander
  • Large skillet

Directions

Pasta

  1. Boil the pasta until al dente. Scoop out about 1 cup of pasta water before you drain it.
  2. If your meat is raw, brown it in the skillet first and set it aside.

Skillet

  1. Spray the skillet and cook the onion and green pepper over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until soft.
  2. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook 3 to 5 minutes, until the mushrooms soften and give up their liquid.
  3. Return the meat to the pan and stir in the salt, pepper, paprika and chili powder.
  4. Add the pasta and cheese and toss.
  5. Pour in 1/4 cup of pasta water and keep stirring until the cheese melts into a light sauce. Add more a tablespoon at a time if it's tight.
  6. Serve right away.
Notes Keeps in the fridge up to 3 days. Reheat on the stove or in the microwave with a splash of water. Roughly 400 calories and 41 g protein per serving, give or take.

wesellis.com/blog/philly-cheesesteak-pasta/

All the parts of a cheesesteak are easy to cook. Getting them into a roll without the whole thing falling apart is the hard bit. Swap the roll for pasta and the problem goes away: peppers, onions, beef and melted cheese, all in one skillet, eaten with a fork.

Pasta water is the sauce

There's no cream and no jarred sauce. The starchy water left over from the pasta does the job: it helps the melted cheese coat everything instead of clumping into strings. Start with a splash and keep stirring. You'll see it go from lumpy to glossy in about a minute. Pasta Primavera, the next post in this thread, uses the same trick with cream cheese.

Heads up

Protein pasta water is cloudier and starchier than regular pasta water. You'll need less of it than you think, so add it slowly.

Pick your cheese

A proper cheesesteak gets provolone or white American, and either one gives you that sharp, salty cheesesteak taste. Mozzarella melts more smoothly and is lighter, but it's milder. Any of them work. Just add it off high heat, so it melts instead of seizing.

Try this

If you're in a beefier mood, Burger and Fries in the Air Fryer covers the other classic sandwich craving, and Spaghetti and Turkey Meatballs is another protein-pasta dinner in the thread.

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