Vegan Pho, a super comforting Vietnamese food, nutritious and full of protein. Perfect for a cozy day, this dish is tasty, healthy and delicious!
Pho soup is a traditional Vietnamese dish prepared with beef, rice noodles, broth, and some other ingredients. It originally takes around 2 hours to cook, but this simple vegan version is much easier to make and also cruelty-free!
This is an exotic recipe full of nutrients and vitamins. I made this recipe with oil-free vegetable broth to make it lighter, rice noodles and seitan instead of meat to give it a very nice texture and protein. I also added some veggies and ginger so the flavors would be amazing, and they truly are.
I felt like eating something different and I made this vegan Pho soup. It’s delicious, comforting, light but savory and perfect for the cold days, very easy to cook and ready in no time!
How to make vegan Pho - Step by step
- Mix all the spices in a pot and golden brown over medium-high heat for 1 or 2 minutes (photo 1).
- Add the vegetable broth, water, onion, garlic, ginger, and seitan (photo 2). Stir and simmer for about 20-30 minutes.
- Set aside, strain the broth and discard the spices and veggies. Keep the broth and seitan.
- Pour the broth into the pot and add brown sugar and tamari or soy sauce (photos 3 and 4). Stir and set aside (photo 5).
- Cook the rice noodles according to package directions (photo 6). Drain and rinse.
- I like to serve Pho with some rice noodles, broth, seitan and some toppings like cilantro, basil, soybeans, and chopped chili pepper. You can also eat it plain or with onion, lime juice or even add Sriracha sauce.
Pro tips
- If you can’t find some of the spices, don’t worry, omit them or use similar ones instead.
- You can use any kind of sweetener instead of brown sugar.
- Replace the tamari or soy sauce with salt to taste if you don’t eat soy.
- Try the broth before serving to check if you need to add more salt.
- Feel free to add spaghetti or any other kind of pasta instead of rice noodles, although traditional Pho is made with this type of pasta.
- Add a little bit of oil if you want to eat your vegan Pho with more fat. Oil also gives the soup more flavor.
Can I freeze this vegan Pho?
Yes! Keep all the ingredients separately (vegetable broth, seitan, rice noodles, and toppings) in the freezer once everything is cold.
How can I reheat this vegan Pho?
Just mix the broth with all the other ingredients in a pot and cook over medium heat until it’s warm enough. You could also use the microwave, but I’d go with the stove option.
Can I make vegan Pho with tofu?
Seitan isn’t essential, so feel free to omit it or add tofu or tempeh as meat substitutes, especially if you're gluten-free.
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Did you make this vegan Pho recipe?
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Vegan Pho
Ingredients
- 4 pieces star anise
- 4 whole cloves
- 2 small or 1 big cinnamon sticks
- 4 cardamom pods
- 1 tablespoon cilantro seeds
- 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorn
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
- 1 2-inch piece of ginger root, peeled and chopped
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 4 cups water
- 8 oz seitan, sliced
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
- 4 oz dried rice noodles
Instructions
- Mix all the spices in a pot (star anise, cloves, cardamom, cilantro seeds, and black peppercorn) and golden brown over medium-high heat for 1 or 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the vegetable broth, water, onion, garlic, ginger, and seitan. Stir and simmer for about 20-30 minutes (I cooked it for 20 minutes).
- Set aside, strain the broth and discard the spices and veggies. Keep the broth and seitan.
- Pour the broth again into the pot and add brown sugar and tamari or soy sauce. Stir and set aside.
- Cook the rice noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse.
- I like to serve Pho with some rice noodles, broth, seitan and some toppings like cilantro, basil, soybeans, and chopped chili pepper. You can also eat it plain or with onion, lime juice or even add Sriracha sauce.
- Keep the leftovers separately in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Notes
- If you can’t find some of the spices, don’t worry, omit them or use similar ones instead.
- You can use any kind of sweetener instead of brown sugar.
- Substitute the tamari or soy sauce with salt to taste if you don’t eat soy.
- Try the broth before serving to check if you need to add more salt.
- Feel free to add spaghetti or any other kind of pasta instead of rice noodles, although traditional Pho is made with this type of pasta.
- Add a little bit of oil if you want to eat your vegan Pho with more fat. Oil also gives the soup more flavor.
- Seitan isn’t essential, so feel free to omit it or add tofu or tempeh as meat substitutes.
- If you want to reduce the amount of sodium in this recipe, use low-sodium broth and omit the tamari or soy sauce.
- Ingredients discarded after the broth is made are not included in the nutritional information box.
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