Cheesesteak Pizza

This post is a collaboration with Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner. On behalf of the Beef Checkoff. I received compensation, but all opinions are my own. 

Did you know that Cheesesteak Day is a thing?! Frankly, me neither. But when it was brought to my attention I had to come up with something fun for it. This Cheesesteak Pizza is just plain fun and actually delicious. It also happens to be pretty easy to make! 

The key to making this pizza work is to make sure you get the right kind of steak AND make sure you nail the layers of cheese. Layers are important in a cheesesteak after all. 

Let’s dive in! 

Classic Cheesesteak Toppings

I’m going to avoid all gate-keeping conversations when it comes to what goes on a proper cheesesteak. This is because this isn’t a cheesesteak. It’s a cheesesteak pizza so I get an immediate pass to put whatever I want on it! 

That said, I kept it pretty classic when it came to the toppings. I went with green peppers, white onions, shaved sirloin steak, and three kinds of cheese (more on that later)! 

Homemade vs. Store-bought Pizza Dough

I tried this Cheesesteak Pizza a few different times and used homemade dough and storebought dough a few different times. To be honest, this pizza does well with either kind of dough so I would use what you normally use. 

While sometimes I like to make homemade dough, it’s also okay to use store-bought dough for easy meals and this pizza does well with both! 

How to buy or make shaved steak

Shaved steak is really important for this cheesesteak pizza. You need at least 6 ounces of shaved steak but you can use up to 8 ounces for the pizza. It’s key that you get it shaved though so it cooks really fast and doesn’t get tough as it cooks.

Making shaved steak at home can be tricky, but it is doable. They key step it to freeze the steak until it’s not frozen solid, but very stiff. Then use a very sharp knife to shave off thin slices of the steak. 

Alternatively, and what I do most times, is to ask your butcher or meat department if they have any shaved steak. Buying it is worlds easier than making it and most butchers will have some available for purchase. 

The importance of cheese layers

This pizza is all about the layers. It starts with mozzarella cheese and much LESS mozzarella cheese than I would normally put on a pizza this big (I made a large 16-inch pizza). It’s good to have less mozzarella cheese because we are also going to add Provolone cheese and Cheez Whiz! 

The mozzarella goes on first as a base for the pizza. Then when the pizza is about ¾ done baking, remove it from the oven and top it with Provolone. Provolone can get burned if it bakes for too long which is why you want to add it near the end of baking.

Finally, the Cheez Whiz should get drizzled on when the pizza is completely done and cooling. 

This process gives you the best texture for all the different cheeses and ends up with a perfect cheesesteak slice! 

Baking this cheesesteak pizza

For a loaded pizza like this cheesesteak pizza, I like to bake it on a pizza pan. I use a large 16-inch pizza pan which lets the crust get really crispy and keeps everything in place. 

This pizza will need to bake at 500˚F for about 15-16 minutes total. When it’s done, the pizza should be crispy on the edges and browned on the bottom. 

Alternatively, you could make smaller pizzas and use a traditional pizza stone and peel method for baking the pizzas. If you do that method, they will need to bake for a much shorter time, probably 8-10  minutes per pizza.