Instant Pot Beef Pho Recipe

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Instant Pot Beef Pho recipe makes everyone's favorite classic Vietnamese soup recipe SO easy to make at home! 🍜 Using the instant pot, you no longer have to spend hours making beef pho! It's ready in just 45 minutes! My Instant Pot Beef Pho is sure to become one of your favorite recipes!

Best Pho Recipe

This is one of my favorite instant pot recipes and I couldn't wait to share it with all of you!

Vietnamese beef pho is a hearty but light soup that's packed with flavor! Spices like cardamom and cloves with onion and ginger bring out the natural, delicious taste of the tender cuts of beef.

This Instant Pot Beef Pho is not the authentic pho experienc, but it's my quick and easy pressure cooker version that I know you will love as much as my family.

Serve it with rice noodles and bean sprouts, along with some fresh basil and jalapeño, for an intensely flavorful meal. This pressure cooker pho can even be made keto-friendly, like our beef and broccoli recipe!

This is the easiest and most delicious Pho recipe I have ever made.

Helena on Pinterest

Pho Recipes FAQs

Usually, for traditional preparations, pho broth takes hours to cook. Instant Pot Pho saves you so much time, and you won't miss out on any flavor!

Instant Pot Beef Pho Ingredients

• fresh ginger, roughly chopped
• onion, roughly chopped
• beef soup bones
• flank steak or other lean beef such as sirloin or brisket
• star anise pods
• cloves
• cardamom pods
• cinnamon sticks
• coriander seeds
• brown sugar
• vegetable oil; or sesame oil, olive oil, or avocado oil

For the finishing touches, you will need:

• fish sauce, to taste
• soy sauce, to taste
• rice noodles
• Bean sprouts to taste
• Fresh lime juice to taste

Finally, we recommend these herbs for garnish:

• Jalapeños
• Basil
• Mint
• Fresh scallion

While the garnishing herbs are optional pho soup ingredients, they add an extra, delicious layer of flavor to the broth and beef. I recommend you try them out to see what combinations you like best. Basil and jalapeños are my favorite together!

How to Make Pho in the Instant Pot

1. Toast star anise pods, cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, and coriander seeds in a frying pan on the stove.
2. Roughly chop fresh ginger and onion. Heat vegetable oil in the Instant Pot set to the saute program. Cook the ginger and onion for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often.
3. Switch off the saute function and add the toasted spices to the pot. Stir for a few seconds, then add beef soup bones and flank steak (or other lean beef, such as brisket or sirloin).
4. Fill with water not all of the way to, but just under, the max line. Close the lid and make sure the valve is set to the “sealing” position. Set on manual high pressure for 45 to 90 minutes, depending on how concentrated you want the flavors of your broth to be.
5. When the broth is done cooking, remove the steak and slice it. Pass the broth through a sieve to remove the spices and any pieces from the beef bones.
6. Season the broth with fish sauce, soy sauce, and brown sugar. Taste and season with salt as you like.
7. Dish the broth out into bowls and garnish with rice noodles, lime juice, beef slices, bean sprouts, basil, mint, scallions, and jalapeños as you prefer.

Beef Pho Recipe Tips

• If you prefer, you can cook the beef separately from the broth. I recommend cooking it as we do in our Vietnamese steak salad recipe.
• To make your soup as lean as possible, let it cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours. Any remaining fat in the broth will rise to the top and you can easily remove it. This is not a necessary step to enjoy Vietnamese beef pho.
• If you have access to it, you can also use Chinese rock sugar in place of the brown sugar in this recipe. Asian supermarkets stock Chinese rock sugar.
• For stronger flavor, allow your pho broth to cook for longer in the Instant Pot. While it will be ready in 45 minutes, you can leave it for up to 90 minutes for a strongly flavorful broth.
  Be aware that if you cook the beef in the pot with the broth, you may not want to go beyond 45 minutes of cook-time.

How to Eat Pho

I love it served over rice or shirataki noodles, with bean sprouts and herbs for garnish. Use chopsticks or a spoon to mix all of the ingredients and toppings evenly throughout your pho.

For the perfect bite, make sure to get a little bit of everything - noodles, vegetables, and meat. And if you're using chopsticks, make sure to use a soup spoon to enjoy some of that delicious pho broth in-between bites!

You can also add hoisin sauce or red chili sauce for extra flavor. A poached egg is also a great addition to your pho ingredients. I really believe this is the best pho recipe ever - especially if you add an egg. It adds so much richness to the broth!

Asian Beef Recipes

• Vietnamese Beef Salad
• Keto Beef and Broccoli
• Pepper Steak Stir Fry
• Easy Mongolian Beef
• Grilled New York Strip with Asian Marinade

This is one of my favorite recipes to make using leftover steak! Try making more of our best Leftover Steak Recipes.

Try more of the best beef cuts according to your needs and budget by following my guide on the Best Cuts of Beef and our Popular Beef Dishes!

Try more of our most Popular Best Beef Recipes!

📋 Recipe

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4.90 from 38 votes

Amazing Instant Pot Beef Pho

Light, but hearty and packed with flavor, Instant Pot Beef Pho proves how easy it is to make Vietnamese beef pho at home in under an hour!

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time45 minutes mins

Total Time50 minutes mins

Course: Asian Beef Recipes

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Keyword: beef pho recipe, easy beef pho, instant pot pho, pho recipe

Servings: 6 people

Calories: 615kcal

Author: Isabel Laessig

Equipment

• Instant Pot pressure cooker

Ingredients

Pho Broth

• 4 inches fresh ginger roughly chopped
• 1 large onion roughly chopped
• 2 pounds beef soup bones
• 1 pound flank steak or other lean beef such as sirloin or brisket
• 1 to 2 star anise pods
• 2 to 3 cloves
• 1 tablespoon cardamom pods
• 1 to 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; or sesame oil olive oil, or avocado oil

Finishing Touches

• 2 to 3 tablespoons fish sauce to taste
• 5 to 6 tablespoons soy sauce to taste
• 12 oz. rice noodles
• Bean sprouts to taste
• Fresh lime juice to taste

For Garnish

• Jalapeños basil, mint, and fresh scallion

See our Beef Temperature Chart for helpful tips on cooking any cut of beef!

Instructions

• Toast 1-2 star anise pods, 2-3 cloves, 1 tablespoon cardamom pods, 1-2 cinnamon sticks, and 1 tablespoon coriander seeds in a frying pan on the stove.
  
• Roughly chop 4 inches of fresh ginger and 1 large onion. Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in the Instant Pot set to the saute program. Cook the ginger and onion for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often.
  
• Switch off the saute function and add the toasted spices to the pot. Stir for a few seconds, then add 2 pounds beef soup bones and 1 pound flank steak (or other lean beef, such as brisket or sirloin).
  
• Fill with water not all of the way to, but just under, the max line. Close the lid and make sure the valve is set to the “sealing” position.

  Set on manual high pressure for 45 to 90 minutes, depending on how concentrated you want the flavors of your broth to be. 

  See notes below.
  
• When the broth is done cooking, remove the steak and slice it. Pass the broth through a sieve to remove the spices and any pieces from the beef bones.

  Season the broth with 2 to 3 tablespoons fish sauce, 5 to 6 tablespoons of soy sauce, and 2 teaspoons brown sugar. Taste and season with salt as you like.

  Dish the broth out into bowls and garnish with rice noodles, lime juice, beef slices, bean sprouts, basil, mint, scallions, and jalapeños as you prefer.
  

Notes

Cook beef separately: If you prefer, you can cook the beef separately from the broth. I recommend cooking it as we do in our Vietnamese steak salad recipe.

Beef meat: You can use flank, sirloin, brisket or any other lean beef meat you like.

Vegetable oil: Sesame oil, olive oil or avocado oil work well for this soup as well, as they have a high smoke point.

Cooking time: The broth is ready to enjoy after 45 minutes on high pressure. However, if you want to have it more concentrated with a stronger flavor, set the time to 60 minutes. Be aware that if you cook the meat with the bones, you might not want to leave it too long time under high pressure.

Chinese rock sugar: If you have access to it, you can also use Chinese rock sugar in place of the brown sugar in this recipe. Asian supermarkets stock Chinese rock sugar.

Skim the fat: To make your soup as lean as possible, let it cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours. Any remaining fat in the broth will rise to the top and you can easily remove it. This is not a necessary step to enjoy Vietnamese beef pho.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 615kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 47g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 129mg | Sodium: 1727mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 7g

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Isabel Laessig

Hi! I’m Isabel Laessig, also known as Family Foodie, creator of Sunday Supper Movement and author of the Boujee Steak Cookbook. Sunday Supper is my mission to bring family back around the dinner table. Join me in making family meal-time a tradition to celebrate!
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