CopyCat Penn Station Philly Cheesesteak
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Penn Station Philly Cheesesteak is my absolute favorite fast casual sandwich! My standard order is extra cheese, extra mushrooms and mayo. It’s hot, melty, crunchy and cheesy! All my favorites in one bite!
What You Will ❤️ About Penn Station Philly Cheesesteak
- Cheesy Goodness – I love making them at home because I can put on as much cheese as I want!
- Shaved Steak – Years ago I was grocery shopping and spotted the shaved steak and instantly thought PENN STATION!! So be sure to look for that at your grocery store.
- Easy to Make – For being one of my favorite sandwiches, it’s also one of the easiest to make at home. The shaved steak cooks very quickly and then once that’s all ready – under the broiler it goes for 2-3 minutes!
Penn Station Philly Cheesesteak Ingredients
The “standard” Cheesesteak at Penn Station has steak, Provolone, sautéed onions & mushrooms, banana peppers and your choice (or do them all) of spicy brown mustard, mayo or pizza sauce. Here’s what I made mine with:
- Shaved Steak – be sure to buy SHAVED steak – I’ve found it at Meijer and Kroger – so it’s pretty readily available. It’s very thin and that’s the key! They use USDA Choice Steak – but I like the Certified Angus from Meijer!
- You can choose to leave out the steak and use ground beef, chicken breast or even Italian sausage.
- Onions – sweet yellow onion is the best – don’t slice them too thin – you want to bite them! (Green pepper goes great with onion so feel free to add that too! More veggies are never a bad thing.)
- Fresh Mushrooms – extra mushrooms for me! But leave them off if they’re not your thing
- Provolone Cheese – this is the perfect melty white cheese for these sandwiches!
- Seasoning Salt – you can use salt & pepper but Lawry’s adds a little extra flavor!
- Mayonnaise – You can get spicy brown mustard or pizza sauce but mayo is my fav!
- Hoagie Rolls – they use delicious hearth-baked bread but I just grab some hoagie buns at the grocery store. I love the outside getting crispy but the inside stays soft!
Recipe Variations
Penn Station has a lot of great subs, hand-squeezed lemonade, fresh-cut fries and more! Here are a few of my other favorites Penn Station Submarine Sandwiches from their plentiful menu:
- Chicken Teriyaki – this is the 2nd most popular one with chicken breast, Swiss, Teriyaki sauce, sauteed onions & mushrooms (my copycat version!)
- Classic Italian – Smoked ham, hard salami, pepperoni, provolone, lettuce, Roma tomatoes, red onions, banana peppers, olive oil & red wine vinegar, salt & pepper, oregano, mayo.
- Reuben – Slow-roasted corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss & Thousand Island
- Club – Smoked ham, oven-roasted turkey breast, thick-cut smoked bacon, Swiss, lettuce, Roma tomatoes, honey mustard, mayo
How to make Penn Station Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich
These subs are easy to make! You just need a skillet and a broiler or toaster oven/air fryer! Here’s how to make them:
- In a large skillet over medium high heat, add 2 tbsp olive oil. When hot, add mushrooms and onions and saute for 3-4 minutes until soft.
- Turn heat up to high and add sliced steak and fry for 2-3 minutes. You want it to sear and it will cook very quickly.
- On a rimmed baking sheet, open sub roll and pile on the steak mixture.
- Top with thick slice of provolone and heat under broiler or toaster oven for 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Remove from oven and top with mayo
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Tips, Tricks & FAQs
I would keep the steak mixture separate from everything if possible. Store leftovers in an airtight container (I like these glass ones) in the refrigerator for up to a week. Reheat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes and then put on your sub. If you have leftover sandwiches – wrap in aluminum foil and then reheat in the oven or the air fryer.
USDA
More Easy Recipes for Sub Sandwiches
What to serve with Philly Cheesesteak
Penn Station Philly Cheesesteak
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound Shaved Steak
- 1/2 onion
- 8 oz mushrooms sliced & chopped
- 1 tsp Lawry’s seasoning salt
- 4 sub rolls
- 8 slices provolone cheese
- mayonnaise
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium high heat, add 2 tbsp olive oil. When hot, add mushrooms and onions and saute for 3-4 minutes until soft.1/2 onion, 8 oz mushrooms
- Turn heat up to high and add sliced steak and sprinkle with seasoning salt. Fry for 2-3 minutes. You want it to sear and it will cook very quickly.1 pound Shaved Steak, 1 tsp Lawry’s seasoning salt
- On a rimmed baking sheet, open sub roll and pile on the steak mixture.4 sub rolls
- Top with thick slice of provolone and heat under broiler or toaster oven for 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.8 slices provolone cheese
- Remove from oven and top with mayomayonnaise
What planet is this a Philly Cheesesteak only coniststs of chopped beef, a bun and your choice of cheese which can be American, Swiss, Cheesewhiz which is call Wit. Then you can add onions. If you add sauce it's pizza sauce or Allentown Red Sauce. If you want to add mushrooms, pepperoni, bacon or anything else that's up to you.
Please mayo is only used on a cheesesteak hoagie or chickensteak.
It's the planet called Penn Station! penn-station.com/
Unfortunately, Penn Station has decreased the amount of meat on their sandwiches. Verified this at 2 locations.
Even more reason to make them at home!
Omg!! Love this recipe thanks for the upload
Who ever heard of putting Mayo on a cheese steak sandwich. This is like when John Kerry, while campaigning in Philly, asked for swiss cheese on his cheese steak sandwich.
Well Sam – I didn’t say it was a “traditional” Philly Cheese Steak – this is a copycat of the Penn Station version and I love it. And I love mayo.
OMG Don’t knock it until you try it. It is so good👍
i work at penn station and would recommend adding more seasoning. we use something called “steak spice” in all of our cheesesteaks. it’s just seasoned salt though
Nice!! Thanks for the tip! I’ll use my TX Roadhouse Seasoning!https://www.thefoodhussy.com/copycat-texas-roadhouse-steak-seasoning/
What oil do they use? Just made this on the Blackstone & used Canola. Not quite right. I also added peppers because that’s how I like mine.
Not sure – I just use more cheese – it helps everything! hahaha
Awesome thank you for sharing your recipe. Just made these and they are delicious! Shame on everyone with their nasty remarks.
Hahaha – i’m a tough broad – no worries! 🙂
The original steak and cheese hoagie was made with shaved sirloin I believe, and cheese wiz. But, the only way you will ever be able to truly copy cat the original steak and cheese is if you are in Philly. You have to have a roll that was made with Philly water, it’s a must.
well thanks for the lesson but this is a copycat of the Penn Station restaurant Philly Cheesesteak – never said it was a Philadelphia Cheesesteak.
I miss Penn Station, I moved to Wyoming and people out here have no idea what a Penn Station Philly Cheesesteak is. and the fries. 🥲🥲😋
the horror!!!!! its so amazing!