Nine ingredients and an hour and fifteen minutes, most of it in the oven.
The cheese is used twice — tucked through the middle and melted over the top at the end.
Why This Recipe Works
- Diced pepper and onion through the mixture season it from inside.
- Breadcrumbs and egg hold a loaf together through a long bake.
- Cheese tucked into the centre melts into the pockets a cut slice shows.
- Adding the top cheese late keeps it melted rather than baked dry.
- Ten minutes of rest lets the loaf firm enough to slice without crumbling.
Ingredient Notes
- Provolone or mozzarella, divided
- Six ounces used in three places: through the mixture, tucked into the centre, and melted over the top.
- Red bell pepper
- One, diced for the mixture plus strips for the top. Both appear in the finished slice.
- Ground beef
- A pound and a half. Ground rather than sliced steak, and taken to 160 degrees Fahrenheit in the centre.
- Worcestershire sauce
- One tablespoon through the mixture. It is most of the savoury depth in an otherwise plain loaf.
How to Make It
Oven to 375°F, a loaf pan lined
Heat oven to 375°F and line a loaf pan or small baking dish.
Mixed with half the cheese through it
Mix ground beef, diced pepper, onion, Worcestershire, breadcrumbs, egg, salt, pepper, and half the cheese.
Shaped, with more cheese tucked through the centre
Shape into a loaf and tuck several pieces of cheese through the center.
Baked to 160°F in the centre
Bake until the center reaches 160°F.
Topped with cheese and pepper strips, back in to melt
Top with the remaining cheese and red pepper strips and return to the oven until melted and lightly browned.
Rested ten minutes — Philly-style, not traditional
Rest 10 minutes before slicing; describe it as Philly-style meatloaf rather than a traditional cheesesteak.
Six Ounces of Cheese, Used Three Different Ways
There is cheese BOTH inside this loaf and over the top, and the recipe actually places it in three positions - each doing something the others cannot. That, and a ground-beef loaf standing in for sliced steak, is what this dish is.
Stage 1 of 5
Position one - cheese THROUGH the mixture
Steps 1–2 of 6
1 1/2 lb of ground beef with 1 diced red bell pepper, 1 small diced onion, 1 tbsp Worcestershire, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, 1 egg, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and HALF the 6 oz of provolone. Cheese dispersed through the mix seasons the whole loaf rather than concentrating anywhere. The breadcrumbs and egg are structural - a loaf carrying molten cheese pockets needs something binding it or it collapses when sliced. Note the pepper AND onion here: they are part of what makes it taste like a cheesesteak.
- Oven to 375°F, a loaf pan linedHeat oven to 375°F and line a loaf pan or small baking dish.
- Mixed with half the cheese through itMix ground beef, diced pepper, onion, Worcestershire, breadcrumbs, egg, salt, pepper, and half the cheese.
Stage 2 of 5
Position two - tucked into the CENTRE
Steps 3–3 of 6
SEVERAL PIECES pushed through the middle of the shaped loaf. These become the INTERNAL POCKETS OF MELTED CHEESE PULLING IN STRINGS that the cut slice shows. Well inside is the instruction that matters - a piece sitting close to the surface melts, finds the edge and runs out into the pan, leaving a hole rather than a pocket.
- Shaped, with more cheese tucked through the centreShape into a loaf and tuck several pieces of cheese through the center.
Stage 3 of 5
The bake - 160F IN THE CENTRE
Steps 4–4 of 6
At 375F until the CENTRE reaches 160F, the safe temperature. Where you take that reading matters in a loaf: the ends run ahead of the middle by a wide margin, so a thermometer in the end of the loaf will read done well before the centre is.
- Baked to 160°F in the centreBake until the center reaches 160°F.
Stage 4 of 5
Position three - the blanket, added LATE
Steps 5–5 of 6
The REMAINING cheese and RED PEPPER STRIPS on top, back into the oven only UNTIL MELTED AND LIGHTLY BROWNED. Late rather than at the start: cheese that spends the full fifty-five minutes on top of a loaf dries and hardens into a skin instead of a soft blanket with browned patches.
- Topped with cheese and pepper strips, back in to meltTop with the remaining cheese and red pepper strips and return to the oven until melted and lightly browned.
Stage 5 of 5
REST 10 minutes, and the framing
Steps 6–6 of 6
The step most likely to be skipped and the one that decides whether you get slices or rubble - a loaf full of molten cheese has no structure until it cools slightly. Then step 6's framing: PHILLY-STYLE MEATLOAF RATHER THAN A TRADITIONAL CHEESESTEAK. A cheesesteak is thin-sliced steak; this is ground beef in a loaf, and the recipe says so rather than implying otherwise.
- Rested ten minutes — Philly-style, not traditionalRest 10 minutes before slicing; describe it as Philly-style meatloaf rather than a traditional cheesesteak.
Success Tips
- Tuck the centre cheese well inside; pieces near the surface leak out.
- Take the temperature in the middle of the loaf, not near the ends.
- Rest the full ten minutes — cut hot, a cheese-filled loaf falls apart.
Serving Ideas
Six servings sliced from the loaf, each showing the dark crust, the pockets of melted cheese and red pepper strips through the middle, under the melted cheese blanket and chopped parsley.
Frequently Asked Questions
Shouldn't a cheesesteak be sliced steak?
A traditional one is. This is a Philly-style meatloaf — a ground-beef loaf — and it makes no claim to be a traditional cheesesteak.
Why use the cheese in three places?
Through the mixture it seasons the whole loaf, tucked in the centre it makes the melted pockets a slice shows, and on top it becomes the blanket.
Can I slice it straight from the oven?
Rest it ten minutes. A loaf full of molten cheese needs that time to firm up or the slices crumble.
