Amazing Instant Pot Beef Pho

4.88 from 39 votes

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

Cook Time45

Total Time50

Course: Asian Beef Recipes

Cuisine: Vietnamese

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

Servings: 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.

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