Author: Quick Vegan Pho! Is there anything better than slurping up a big bowl of delicious brothy noodles? The answer is no. Soupy, slurpy, full of gorgeous flavours from star anise, cloves, cinnamon, coriander and ginger, topped with Thai basil, cilantro, and all sorts of other goodness. A total bowl of health. This baby will make colds run away in horror.
Traditional pho is supposed to take several hours to make, but let's be honest, I ain't got time for that. So I figured out a cheaters way (aka brilliant way) to make it in about 40 minutes. Char the onion and ginger, toast the spices, then let everything simmer. I totally have time for that!
Pho is all about the broth, and the broth is all about the right flavours. Pho's unique flavours can be attributed to the spices: star anise, cloves, and cinnamon. Often used as a sweet combination, but pair them with charred onion, ginger, coriander, and soy sauce, and oooeeee is that the yummiest savoury, aromatic soup ever!
Then just decorate your pho with an endless combination of toppings. I love serving all the toppings on a large cutting board or in individual pretty little bowls and then letting everyone top their pho to their own taste preferences. It makes for a great dinner party or just an easy weeknight meal.
How To Make Quick Vegan Pho:
First, quarter an onion and slice the ginger lengthwise. Heat a large, dry soup pot over medium-high to high heat (no oil needed). Add the onion and ginger cut-side down and cook until charred in spots, about 4-6 minutes. Add the star anise, cinnamon, cloves, and coriander seeds and toast for 30-60 seconds. Pour in the broth and water, stir in the brown sugar, and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, then strain out the aromatics and spices and season with soy sauce to taste.
In the meantime bring a big pot of water to a boil and cook your rice noodles. Follow the package directions or if there are none, cook until al dente, about 3 minutes. Drain, and rinse with cold water to stop the noodles from cooking.
Chop up your toppings, and sauté the mushrooms or tofu if you are using either. Now I am pretty sure you know how to fill a bowl of soup, so I really don't need to do a step-by-step photo guide on this one, but just look how pretty it is...
Ahhhhhhhh.... This is the stuff of love.
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Vegan Pho
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Ingredients
For the Broth
- 1 large yellow onion, quartered
- 1 (3-inch) piece fresh ginger, unpeeled and sliced lengthwise
- 3 whole star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 whole cloves, the spice
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 8 cups vegan beef-style broth, mushroom broth, or vegetable broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- Soy sauce, to taste
For serving:
- 16 oz dried flat rice noodles, preferably medium-width
- 2 cups mung bean sprouts
- 1 cup fresh Thai basil leaves, (regular basil works too)
- ½ cup fresh cilantro
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 - 2 Thai red chilies or other hot peppers, thinly sliced (optional)
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
- Sriracha or chili sauce
- Hoisin
- Optional add-ins: sautéed shiitake mushrooms or other mushrooms, tofu, vegan beef strips or chunks, or thinly sliced seitan
Instructions
- Char the aromatics: Heat a large, dry soup pot over medium-high to high heat (no oil needed). Add the onion and ginger cut-side down. Cook until deeply browned and charred in spots, about 4–6 minutes.
- Toast the spices: Add the star anise, cinnamon stick, cloves, and coriander seeds. Toast for 30–60 seconds, until very fragrant.
- Make the broth: Pour in the broth and water and stir in the brown sugar. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes to allow the flavors to deepen.
- Prepare the noodles and toppings: Meanwhile, cook the rice noodles according to package directions, then drain and rinse briefly under cool water. Prepare your toppings and cook any optional add-ins separately. If the noodles stick together, rinse briefly with warm water to loosen them before serving.
- Strain and season: Strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer into another pot or a large heatproof bowl, discarding the aromatics and spices. Taste and add soy sauce as needed, keeping in mind that broths vary in saltiness.
- Assemble and serve: Divide the noodles among four bowls and ladle the hot broth overtop. Add bean sprouts, basil, cilantro, green onions, hot peppers (if using), and any prepared optional add-ins. Serve with lime wedges, Sriracha or chili sauce, hoisin sauce, and extra soy sauce so everyone can season their bowl to taste.
Notes
Nutrition
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I’d love if you left a rating and comment, it helps others find the recipe and makes my day! 💕Feature Ingredient: Star Anise! 188 days, 69 Recipes to go.
Bon Appetegan!
Sam
Penelope says
Hi,
Thanks for the recipe
What hot sauce do you use please? I'm in Australia, so I'm not sure the sauce choices will be the same, so any help regarding the content of the sauce would be greatly appreciated.
thanks again
Sam Turnbull says
Any Asian type hot sauce would work. I like Sriracha but you could also use a Thai chili hot sauce, or anything along those lines. Omnomnom!
Jennifer Nguyen says
Sriracha. Can find it at Woolworth and all Asian stores
Charlotte says
Just made this and it was so good! I left out the corriander (one of those people) but it didn't seem to matter. Thank you 🙂 x
Sam Turnbull says
Woohoo! So happy you loved it, Charlotte 🙂
Chrissy says
My husband and I love pho, and usually get takeout or use a pre-made vegan pho base we've found online...but I wanted to try to make it myself, and as usual, the most appealing (and easiest) recipe was on your site Sam. Made it tonight, and it was delicious!! The broth was fantastic, so flavorful even after a relatively short time simmering. Thanks!!
On an unrelated note, I'm going to make the almond snacking cheese, tomorrow, so excited to try it!
Sam Turnbull says
Woohoo! Thrilled you loved it so much, Chrissy! I love making pho, it's surprisingly easy (when you use my recipe anyways). 😉
Whytney says
I came home from work early today because I'm stuffed full of a head cold. I currently have this recipe simmering on the stove so hopefully it will help cure me! Even though I might not be able to taste anything.... lol ☹️
Sam Turnbull says
Oh no! I hope you feel better, Whytney, and I hope the soup helps you!
Taliah says
I'm a new fan!
love your recipies! Just made this, it was super good, and a big hit with my boy friend. I'm sure I'll make it often.
thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
Welcome, Taliah!
Woohoo! So happy you and your boyfriend loved it 🙂
Fiona says
I was a little bummed after spending $35 on this recipe for the whole cloves, star anise, and fresh herbs that this wasn't better. It really didn't compare to pho from a restaurant and I made it exactly as stated. It was definitely good, but not restaurant pho good. I wish someone had commented when I read this recipe about the high price of the ingredients as that would have swayed my decision about whether to make it or not.
Sam Turnbull says
Oh no, so bummed you didn't love it, Fiona. All spices tend to be pricey, but the good news is that once you stock up, you will have them for a long time and can use them in many other recipes.
Joanne says
Switching to vegan cooking can be time consuming and expensive. Even after you have stocked up on spices and other new ingredients, it isn't cheap. I go to our local farmers' market to help keep down the expense, but not everyone has that luxury. II would encourage you to stay with it and you will see the many benefits. I know when I started (21 years ago), many a time I bought a box of tofu only to throw it out after its expiration date because I didn't know what the heck to do with it. Just a thought, but whole cloves and star anise can be used in make a chai mix or sangria or mulled wine. Hang in there!!!
Sam Turnbull says
Thanks for sharing your advice, Joanne 🙂
Joanne Freund says
This is my my and just what you need when you are battling a cold! I am going to make a double or triple batch of broth and freeze extra next time. By the way - your tofu crumbles work great in this recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
Oh great tip!! I hope you feel better Joanne, so happy you love the recipe 😀
Joanne says
Oh dear, I see my general condition impacted my ability to type. I think I intended to say, this is amazing.
Sam Turnbull says
Hahaha! All good 🙂
Cheryl says
I made this for dinner tonight. I was amazing! I bought some shrimp for my meat eating boyfriend's portion since he was such a good sport in eating vegan last night (And tonight he said yes to pho without even knowing what it was).
I didn't have star anise so I threw some fennel in instead. I also used red pepper flakes and saracha at the end to spice it up. Yum!
I will be eating leftovers for lunch.
BTW, last night's dinner - your bbq pulled jackfruit. (It's a regular in our house)
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! So happy it was well enjoyed, and that the jackfruit is a regular in your house! Awesome 🙂
Cheryl says
OMG! Thank you! I have been craving pho. Now I know at least one meal I'll be making this week!
Sam Turnbull says
Woo hoo! I hope you love it 🙂
Hannah Jones says
Just made this for my omni family and they were so impressed!! So satisfying to give them vegan food and have them enjoy it so much, will definitely be making this again!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!! So happy everyone loved it, wonderful you can all share a meal together. 😀
stephanie baptiste says
Ok...Hats off! whoa...so so good
Sam Turnbull says
Haha, so happy you loved it Stephanie!! 🙂
Sam Katy says
I made this last night! was so good. Thanks for the recipe.
Sam Turnbull says
Woot woot! You're welcome Sam. Great name by the way 😉
Desi says
Great Recipe! You have mastered this dish veggie style, and I love it!
Absolutely Delicious!
Sam Turnbull says
Woohoo! Mastery! So happy you love it Desi 🙂
Mel says
AMAZING!! Thank you soooo much. The only thing I do have a question on is the 3 cups of water. Is that meant for the broth? I added it and felt like I had to simmer it for another 20 mins or so to increase the flavors. But in the end it was soo good. Better than the vegan pho I've had at some places!! Thanks a bunches.
Sam Turnbull says
You're very welcome Mel! 🙂
Yes, the water is to thin the broth a bit. It sounds like the vegetable broth you used was maybe a bit milder in flavour that the one I used, so if you like you can skip the water or add it to taste next time. So happy you enjoyed it so much!
Jennie says
Oh my goodness! Absolutley delicious!!
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed it Jennie!
EDF says
Just made your recipe! Loved it!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! So happy 🙂
Bethany says
I tried this last night and loved the results! I added a dried wild mushroom mix to the base for some extra flavor. Great recipe, thanks so much for sharing!
Sam Turnbull says
Woot woot! So happy you loved it! Dried mushrooms sound like a great addition 🙂
Pam says
I definitely need to give this Pho a try. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Sam Turnbull says
Yes you do! Haha. I hope you love it when you try it 🙂
Naiomi says
I barely found your site because of this recipe but I am SO excited to try some new recipes because I always LOVE finding new recipes. Also, this might just help persuade my family members who aren't vegan to become vegan because we all love pho so much. Thank you for this. Now, I'm going to go find more recipes on here. ☺️
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you found my site Naiomi! I hope you and your family members enjoy the pho!
Suzanne says
Thanks for the recipe, very easy and very tasty... Enjoying mine right now!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! So happy you are enjoying it Suzanne 🙂