Philly Cheesesteak Braid

This version of a classic makes for a filling meal that brings together crusty puff pastry, creamy swiss cheese, peppers, onion, and beef.  And by the way, it also makes for a great snack if you cut it into thinner strips (ahem – Superbowl).

I know, I know – a classic Philly Cheestesteak is served on a hoagie roll (high sodium), uses salty beef (high sodium), a cheese sauce made with either velveeta or provolone (high sodium), and is topped with salted caramelized onions and peppers (high sodium).  Of course, for anyone following a low sodium diet, this if off limits. [Insert sad face here.]  But with a few tweaks, we can still get a yummy, creamy low sodium version. [Insert happy face.]

I use puff pastry here, which tends to be a bit on the higher sodium side, so you need to be careful with what types of fillings you use.  One thing that I did here is to overstuff the pastry with the filling.  This made the pastry to filling ratio lower, which helps keep the per-serving sodium count more doable.  That said, you will definitely notice when you make this that there seems to be a lot of filling for the amount of pastry.  Trust me on this one. It tastes great and you will have plenty of pastry per bite.

This is super easy – start by slicing the onion, peppers, and beef and sautee.  Melt in some cheese to add some creaminess.

Then you’ll spread the beef mixture onto the pastry and cut some strips along the sides (for braiding).  Also, see how there’s lots of filling?  When you are braiding the pastry it might seem like it is too much, but the pasty puffs up as it bakes (puff pastry!) so don’t worry.

Just fold up the strips to braid the filling in.

And bake!

Philly Cheesesteak Braid

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5 from 4 reviews

A delicious low sodium alternative to a normally sky-high classic, this Philly Cheesesteak Braid makes for a great meal on its own or as a snack when sliced into thin strips.

SODIUM COUNT: 288.4 mg per serving; 1153.7 mg in the entire recipe

• Yield: 4 1x

Ingredients

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• 1 puff pastry sheet ((thawed))
• 1 pound New York strip steak ((thinly sliced))
• Fresh ground black pepper ((to taste))
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 medium green bell pepper ((sliced into strips))
• ½ onion ((halved and sliced))
• 1 ½ ounces swiss cheese ((grated))
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon cold water

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Spray with cooking spray and add the steak to the pan. Season with pepper and garlic powder.
3. Cook the meat for about 4-5 minutes, then add the peppers and onion. Cook for another 5-7 minutes, or until the peppers and onion are tender and the liquid has evaporated.  
4. Just before you remove the meat from the stove, stir the grated cheese into the mix.  Let the cheese melt in.
5. While the meat and peppers finish cooking, lay the thawed puff pastry sheet flat onto a sheet of parchment paper or a silicon baking mat. Roll it out until it measures about 12” x 14”. Transfer the parchment paper or silicon baking mat to a baking sheet.
6. Fill the puff pastry along the center third with the meat and pepper mixture, leaving 2-3 inches along either side of the mixture. 
7. Cut the puff pastry into strips on each side of the filling. Each strip should be about an inch wide.
8. Starting on one end, bring one strip over and across the middle of the filling. Bring the strip on the opposite side up over the filling. Repeat until all the puff pastry has been “braided” across the filling.
9. Whisk together the egg and water in a small bowl to make and egg wash. Brush the egg wash on top of the puff pastry braid and bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Notes

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION Yield: 4 servings
Sodium: 288.4 mg, Calories: 427.3, Total Fat: 21.7 g, Saturated Fat: 10.5 g, Cholesterol: 54.2 mg, Carbohydrates: 27.2 g, Fiber: 2.2 g, Sugar: 2.9 g, Protein: 31.9 g.