Easy Low-Carb Vietnamese Pho

Pho is one of the easiest and tastiest soups to make, it’s incredibly versatile (all those toppings!), and it’s easily made low carb with a simple swap for the typical rice noodles. With this recipe you won’t think twice about the missing starch.

Typically Pho, pronounced fuh, is made with fresh bone broth that boasts numerous speciality spices. We’re scaling the ingredients down to the bare minimum with equally as delicious results and this recipe can be made in 40 minutes!

To swap out the rice noodles I’ve opted to use Shirataki noodles. If you’re not familiar they’re a traditional Japanese noodles made from the konjac yam and they’re zero calorie and zero carb. The key is to prepare them the right way and they taste just like regular vermicelli style noodles (you can buy different shapes but I like the vermicelli style), at least to me! Check out this guide on how to prepare them the correct way!

My favorite part of this soup is the toppings! We’ve got bean sprouts, basil, cilantro, mint, green onions, Sriracha, and jalapeños. You can also top it off with a fresh squeeze of lime.

Step-by-step

1. Place the beef in the freezer for 20 minutes to make it easier to slice.

2. Under a broiler or over a gas flame char the onion and ginger for 5-7 minutes until they just start to blacken. Add them to a large soup pot with the crushed garlic, fish sauce, and coconut aminos.

   

3. Pour in the broth.

   

4. Set the pot over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook 30 minutes. Raise the heat to high to bring to a boil before adding the broth to the bowls.

   

5. Prepare your toppings and noodles. Follow this guide for preparing the noodles.

   

6. Once the broth has cooked 30 minutes and you have brought it back up to a boil carefully ladle it into the bowls on top of the noodles and beef. The beef should start to turn brown immediately.

   

7. Top the soup with your desired toppings.

   

Recipe

Easy Low-Carb Vietnamese Pho

★★★★☆4.3 (174 ratings)

Quick-prep Vietnamese Pho soup made with fresh ingredients and zero-carb noodles. The ideal ...

Hands on

10m

Overall

30m

Servings

4

6.5 g

Net carbs

32.3 g

Protein

15.6 g

Fat

294

kcal

1 serving2 servings3 servings4 servings5 servings6 servings7 servings8 servings9 servings10 servings11 servings12 servings16 servings

US + metricMetricUS

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Ingredients makes 4 servings

• 8 cups beef broth (1.9 L/ 2 quarts) - you can make your own
• 1 medium white onion, quartered (110 g/ 4.2 oz)
• 1 piece ginger root, 4-inch, peeled (36 g/ 1.3 oz)
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp coconut aminos
• 1 pound eye of round (beef), thinly sliced (450 g)
• 2 packages Shirataki noodles, (400 g/ 14.1 oz)
• Optional Toppings:
• sliced green onion
• sliced jalapeno
• bean sprouts
• mixed herbs (basil, mint, cilantro)
• hot sauce (Sriracha) - you can make your own
• lime

Instructions

1. Place the beef in the freezer for 20 minutes to make it easier to slice.

2. Under a broiler or over a gas flame char the onion and ginger for 5-7 minutes until they just start to blacken. Add them to a large soup pot with the crushed garlic, fish sauce, and coconut aminos.

3. Pour in the broth.

4. Set the pot over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook 30 minutes. Raise the heat to high to bring to a boil before adding the broth to the bowls.

5. Prepare your toppings and noodles. Follow this guide for preparing the noodles.

6. Once the broth has cooked 30 minutes and you have brought it back up to a boil carefully ladle it into the bowls on top of the noodles and beef. The beef should start to turn brown immediately.

7. Top the soup with your desired toppings.

Nutrition per serving

Carbs 9%Protein 44%Fat 47% of calories

Net carbs

6.5 g

Total carbs

8.6 g

Fiber

2.1 g

Sugars

2.1 g

Protein

32.3 g

Fat

15.6 g

Saturated fat

6.1 g

Calories

294 kcal

Sodium

1,148 mg · 49.9% RDA

Magnesium

281 mg · 70.2% RDA

Potassium

1,286 mg · 64.3% EMR

Nutrition by ingredient

Per serving	Net carbs	Protein	Fat	kcal
Beef bone broth, beef stock	1 g	7.2 g	6 g	80
Onion, brown (yellow), raw	1.8 g	0.2 g	0 g	10
Ginger root, fresh	1.4 g	0.2 g	0.1 g	7
Garlic, fresh	0.5 g	0.1 g	0 g	2
Fish sauce	0.2 g	0.2 g	0 g	2
Coconut aminos (substitute to soy sauce)	0.3 g	0 g	0 g	1
Beef, round, eye of round, roast, separable lean and fat, trimmed to 1/8" fat, all grades, raw	0 g	24.4 g	9.3 g	188
Shirataki noodles	1.5 g	0 g	0.2 g	4
Total	6.5 g	32.3 g	15.6 g	294

• Gluten free
• Dairy free
• Egg free
• Nut free
• Pork free
• Avocado free
• Coconut free
• Shellfish free