If you think that cheese and steak are the opposite of vegan, get ready to have your mind blown! This vegan Philly cheesesteak is truly indulgent, and don’t we deserve a little self-indulgence?

I like anything cheesy and savory, plus grilled onions are my kryptonite. Philly cheesesteak has been a natural favorite for a long time, but when I went vegetarian there wasn’t anything like it out there. Luckily, some amazing companies have been making great strides towards meat and dairy replacements. One of those companies is Impossible Foods, the creators of the Impossible Burger that took the world by storm. While I love a good Impossible Burger as much as the next vegetarian, why stop at burgers? Impossible grounds have nearly endless possibilities! My first Impossible meal was this Vegan Philly Cheesesteak, and it will most certainly not be my last! 

If you’re not clued in on the intense hot-sandwich discourse, that’s okay. Here is a cheat sheet: the original didn’t have any cheese on it, but of course we’d like cheese, please! The most popular cheeses are American, Provolone, and Cheez Whiz. Some people say that meat, cheese, and a roll are all that should come on it, others say onions and peppers are great, and others still include ketchup on that list. The original sandwich includes a thin rib-eye steak on an Italian roll. Obviously, we won’t be using rib-eye steak or provolone on this vegan version.

Vegan Philly Cheesesteak Ingredients:

• Impossible Burger: Although you can use any beef-replacement, I cannot recommend Impossible Foods enough. If you’ve never tried their products before, I’m afraid I’m going to have to insist you do so. Their products are now widely available, and you can visit their website to locate the store nearest you!

• Hoagie: I’m using this brand, but use whatever bread you’d like! No Philly cheesesteak elitists here, plus no one’s watching in your kitchen, you’re safe!

• Cheese: If you are only a vegetarian, you can use cows cheese if you’d like, but I’m using vegan cheese. This is my favorite brand, and I think it mimics provolone pretty well.

• Onion: I’m grilling up half of a yellow onion here, but again use whatever you’d like.

• Olive Oil: Just enough to grill the onions.

• (Optional) Garlic Salt: I like to put some garlic salt on my bread for a little extra flavor.

• (Optional) Steak Seasoning: If you’re wary of how meat-like the Impossible Foods will be, add some steak seasoning to really drive home the steaky-ness!

How to Make a Vegan Philly Cheesesteak

• To begin with, I like to separate the portions of meat.
• Once you have the meat, start heating a pan on the stove with about a teaspoon or two of olive oil. I like to slice the onion into long strands instead of diced so they stay on my sandwich better in the end.
• Grill your onions in an oiled skillet. I like to start on a med-low heat so that they can get translucent and then crank the heat towards the end to get that lovely sear. This way you get the squishy sweetness from the slow cooking but the charred taste and texture from high heat too. Best of both worlds!
• While the onions are cooking I start on the Impossible meat. The Impossible meat comes as grounds intended to be a patty, but I want it to resemble the thin-sliced meat on a traditional Philly, so I like to smash it with the back of a spatula against the lip of the skillet to get a few flat chunks. Not exactly the same, but it’s pretty close in texture! I don’t typically put any oil in this pan because the Impossible meat releases some oils similar to how ground beef would. I like to leave it alone once it’s smashed into the shape I want so that it can develop that crispy browning on the bottom. Optionally, you can add the steak seasoning at this point. Once the edges are grey and a little crisp, flip it over and continue cooking until it’s done.
• Slice the hoagie in half. I like to but a little olive oil and garlic powder on mine, but feel free to skip if you don’t want your Philly cheesesteak on garlic bread. Layer the bread with cheese and pop it in the broiler. Keep a close eye! It will go from perfectly golden-brown with melty cheese to burned in a pair of seconds. Alternatively, you can use a toaster oven, and keep an eye on it in there. 
• Once all the elements are ready, simply assemble and enjoy!