Chicken Cheese Steak Recipe–tender chicken, melty cheese and sauteed onions and peppers piled onto hoagie rolls. A simple Instant Pot or Crockpot recipe.

Chicken Cheese Steak Recipe
Reminiscent of the classic philly cheesesteak sandwich this version uses chicken instead of steak and the Instant Pot or Crockpot are used to cook your chicken in an easy, hands-off method. Chicken philly cheesesteak sandwiches are a great dinner to serve a crowd…you can easily double or triple the recipe. Then the Instant Pot can keep the chicken, peppers and cheese hot and ready until you’re ready to eat.
The flavors blend together perfectly and I only wished that I had more philly sandwich at the end of dinner. Sandwiches on sub rolls are an underrated dinner in my opinion! In the words of my son, they just hit different, ya know?!
Ingredients you’ll need for chicken cheesesteak recipe
- Water
- Better than Bouillon Chicken Base–or another chicken base you like
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs–-I used frozen. You can use chicken breasts instead of thighs. They don’t come out as moist and tender as the thighs. Another option is to use a combination of thighs and breasts. If you like white meat I suggest using bone-in chicken breasts. The meat stays a lot more tender than boneless chicken breasts.
- Garlic powder–or granulated garlic
- Italian seasoning–or you can make your own
- Salt and Pepper
- Yellow onion–or a shallot
- Olive oil–or vegetable oil or canola oil
- Green and red bell pepper–sliced into thin slices. You can also use another color or pepper
- Provolone cheese–cheez whiz or American cheese can also be used
- Hoagie buns–Try using fresh bakery subs for best results. For a low carb option try serving the meat, peppers and cheese on lettuce wraps.
Instant Pot Instructions
- Season the chicken: Add water into Instant Pot. Stir in the bouillon. Add in the chicken. Sprinkle chicken with garlic powder, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. Add in the sliced onions.
- Pressure cook the chicken: Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 12 minutes for frozen chicken or 10 minutes for fresh chicken. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting and remove the lid.
- Slice, shred or chop chicken: Use a slotted spoon to move the chicken and onions to a bowl. Discard the liquid in the pot (or save for later to use as a broth for soup). Shred or chop the chicken. Set aside.
- Saute the peppers: Dry out the Instant Pot and turn to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the oil and the veggies. Saute the peppers for 5 minutes. For the last minute place the cheese slices on top of the peppers and let the cheese melt.
- Assemble the sandwich: Open the hoagie buns and scoop some onion chicken mixture down the middle. Then use a spatula to top with the peppers and cheese. Repeat with the remaining buns. Eat and enjoy!
Notes/Tips
- For extra deliciousness try toasting the buns. I do this by opening the rolls placing them on a baking sheet pan. Then I use my oven’s broiler to toast the buns for a few minutes. I almost always burn them though…so I learned to set a 2 or 3 minute timer for myself.
- You can use skinless chicken breasts instead of thighs. They don’t come out as moist and tender though. You’ll use the same pressure cooking time as you would with chicken thighs. You can also use chicken that has been sliced into thin strips or bite size pieces (but I would only pressure cook for 1 minute with a 5-10 minute natural pressure release).
- Try sauteeing some sliced or chopped mushrooms along with the peppers to add more vegetables. Bump up the amount of oil by a teaspoon.
- Try mixing it up and adding a little buffalo sauce to your chicken and onion mixture for extra flavor. (kind of like philly meets buffalo).
- Each sandwich has about 535 calories total (depending on what type of bun you use).
- Try doubling the amount of chicken, peppers and cheese. Then save half for another day. You can serve it on pizza, rice, salad, etc. I use a griddle or large skillet to rewarm the chicken and peppers.
- If you’d like a side to your philadelphia chicken cheesesteak sandwich try some barbecue chips, sweet potato fries, side salad, fruit salad or coleslaw.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Other recipes you can make with frozen chicken thighs are Instant Pot Tuscan Parmesan Chicken and Instant Pot Seasoned Shredded Chicken.

6 More Amazing Instant Pot Sandwiches
Instant Pot Honey Mustard Chicken Sandwiches
Tender shredded chicken coated with a honey mustard sauce and then served with pickles on top of freshly baked buns.
Instant Pot Po Boy Roast Beef Sandwich
Roast beef drenched in gravy served on a crusty bun with lettuce, tomatoes and pickles. Use your Instant Pot to make the tender, shreddable beef.
Instant Pot Sloppy Dorothy Sandwiches
Sloppy joes with a twist! The sandwiches are made so easy with your Instant Pot or slow cooker. An easy and delicious dump and go recipe.
Italian Bomb Sandwich
The Italian bomb sandwich has homemade marinara sauce (it’s easy with the Instant Pot!), sliced Italian sausages, garlic butter spread and melty cheese. Basically, you’re going to love this sandwich.
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.
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Chicken Cheese Steak Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes (plus 10 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 32 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
Tender chicken, melty cheese and sauteed onions and peppers piled onto hoagie rolls. A simple Instant Pot or Crockpot recipe.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 Tbsp Better than Bouillon Chicken Base
- 4–6 boneless skinless chicken thighs (I used frozen)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 1 1/2 tsp olive oil
- 1 green bell pepper, cored and sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, cored and sliced
- 4–6 slices of provolone cheese
- 4–6 hoagie buns
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Add water into Instant Pot. Stir in the bouillon. Add in the chicken. Sprinkle chicken with garlic powder, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. Add in the sliced onions.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 12 minutes for frozen chicken or 10 minutes for fresh chicken. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting and remove the lid.
- Use a slotted spoon to move the chicken and onions to a bowl. Discard the liquid in the pot (or save for later to use as a broth for soup). Shred or chop the chicken. Set aside.
- Dry out the Instant Pot and turn to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the oil and the peppers. Saute the peppers for 5 minutes. For last minute place the cheese slices on top of the peppers and let it get melty.
- Open the hoagie buns and scoop some chicken down the middle. Then top with the peppers and cheese. Repeat with the remaining buns. Eat and enjoy!
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Add water into slow cooker. Stir in the bouillon. Add in the chicken. Sprinkle chicken with garlic powder, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. Add in the sliced onions.
- Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
- Use a slotted spoon to move the chicken and onions to a bowl. Discard the liquid in the slow cooker (or save for later to use as a broth for soup). Shred or chop the chicken. Set aside.
- Heat a frying pan over medium high heat. Add in the oil and the peppers. Saute the peppers for 5 minutes. For last minute of that time place the cheese slices on top of the peppers and let it get melty.
- Open the hoagie buns and scoop some chicken down the middle. Then top with the peppers and cheese. Repeat with the remaining buns. Eat and enjoy!
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker

*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Made this for dinner last night. Added some worcestershire sauce and used fresh garlic, and I served it on slider rolls. Definitely a hit! This is such a simple weeknight dinner. Thanks for sharing!
Love the idea of worcestershire sauce!