It is the broth. No, really, it is all in the broth. Spending time making your own vegan pho broth is so valuable. Often, when made commercially, vegan versions contain a lot of salt to enhance flavor, and for many with chronic cardiovascular conditions, this is not ideal. So let’s explore a variation of this excellent broth.
Honoring the Origins of Pho Pho (pronounced “fuh”) is one of Vietnam’s most iconic dishes. Its evolution reflects the country’s complex history of trade and colonial influence, blending rice noodles and aromatic spices from Chinese and Southeast Asian traditions with the French introduction of slow-simmered beef broth. At its heart, traditional pho is a deeply restorative meal: a clear, fragrant broth infused with star anise, clove, cinnamon, and charred ginger and onion, poured over rice noodles and thinly sliced beef or chicken. It is served with a bouquet of fresh garnishes, Thai basil, cilantro, lime wedges, bird’s eye chili, and blanched bean sprouts, each added at the table to awaken the senses and balance the broth.
This version of pho is not how pho soup is traditionally served, nor does it seek to replace or redefine this beloved dish. It is a discussion on how to make a plant-forward (vegan) pho broth, created in the spirit of honoring its warmth and harmony while incorporating elements of plant-based, seasonal cooking. By using soba noodles, fresh herbs, and local vegetables, we hope to celebrate the essence of pho (and acknowledge its origins) while inviting conversation about how plant-forward cooking can evolve from tradition in the kitchen to support personal and planetary health. Rice noodles have a high glycemic index, which can be concerning for most Americans with metabolic or pre-metabolic disease. Whole buckwheat soba noodles are an alternative and are used in this recipe.
Once you make your own from scratch, a rich flavor profile emerges, supporting a plant-forward journey to enhance flavor with nutrient-dense spices, herbs, and plants, which can lead to increased vitality.
Making this broth is a recipe you’ll put on repeat once you get the kitchen flow down. We make this at least 1-2 times per month and sometimes more. Also…. It’s an excellent base for other soups, too.
“The most expensive food you have is the food you throw away.”
Steve Roberts
One of my favorite tips for making a plant-based kitchen affordable came from my dad. I’m not sure where he first learned it… However, it was great to hear it first from him. “The most expensive food you have is the food you throw away.” Wow, that was a mind-expanding phrase the first time I heard it.
And started a whole new train of thought that led me to take a new look at leftover kitchen veggie scraps. Now, each week, I save the extras in the fridge or freezer. And then, once a week, I make a broth with these scraps. And when I let them percolate overnight in the slow cooker with seaweed, shiitake mushrooms, and spices, it leads to a magical, most flavorful vegan pho broth. So time is a factor here, too. But if you start it the morning before work, it will be ready in the Instant Pot when you get home.
Using Leftover Vegetables Scraps for the Broth
Making a vegan version of this pho broth does require a commitment to taking time in the kitchen to create the flavor profile. However, the umami-rich flavors from shiitake and kombu that cook overnight can really create a very complete flavor profile. Once you have the broth, you can add any number of steamed veggies on top. I have special techniques for this and for washing the soba noodles, outlined in the video below.
After you have had a chance to learn more about how to make the dish from the video above, please find below a printout of the recipe. You can print the recipe for your own records to sample in time or share it on your Pinterest board.
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Recipe INFO: Flavorful Plant-Based Pho Broth, Soba Noodles, and Vegetables
Tag me if you make this at home with your own variation and process. There are so many ways to prepare this dish, and I would like to encourage you to be in the kitchen and experiment.
This broth offers an intensely aromatic flavor base, inspired by traditional pho, yet completely plant-based. It is served with nutrient-rich buckwheat soba noodles and fresh blanched vegetables.
It’s more than a soup; it’s an act of care for your digestive system. Each simmered ingredient releases phytonutrients that nourish, calm, and sustain vitality from the inside out.
Ingredients
UnitsScale
Broth Ingredients
1 charred medium onion (instructions below)
2 inches charred ginger (instructions below)
2cups of kitchen scraps (or 2 cups carrots, celery, squash cut into large cubes)
1/2cup daikon radish or radish
2cups of chopped greens (options: kale, bok choy, collard greens, chard, dandelion)
1 tablespoon seaweed (options: nori, dulse, wakame, kelp, or kombu)
1/2 cinnamon stick
1–2 clove per your taste
1–2 whole star anise per you taste
1/8 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
3–4 peppercorns
2–3 fresh or dried shiitake mushrooms (optional)
sea salt to taste
8cups water (may need to adjust per your slow cooker, instant pot). It will cook down overnight.
Pho Soup Ingredients
4oz buckwheat soba noodles (rice noodles can also be used)
1cup steamed or blanched veggies: carrots, greens, squash, radish
1cup fresh Thai basil, cilantro, and/or fresh mint
1/2cup Bean sprouts if available
Diced tofu (optional), it does not need to be cooked
1 tsp fresh squeezed lime juice
dash hot sauce per your taste (ie, gochujang, a fermented Korean sauce, or sriracha)
dash sesame oil
Instructions
Cut the onion in half and place it with whole ginger on baking pan. Place under broiler for 5 min at 500. Let cool. Slice the ginger and onion into smaller pieces and add to the broth mixture.
You can use vegetable scraps that are leftover from other meals you have made that week. I generally cut them up and place the extra scraps in the freezer or into the back into the fridge. Then when i am ready to make the broth, I take them out and use.
Or you can use of blend of freshly cut veggies to make the broth as noted.
I place all the broth ingredients in the slow cooker overnight on low or medium setting. When I wake up in the morning, the whole house smells amazing.
Once the broth is cooked, strain the spices and veggies out. This broth can now have miso or other flavors added based on what you might like.
Typically, I use buckwheat soba noodles and cook per the package instructions. However, the real insight came when I learned to rinse the noodles. The noodles had such a great texture and flavor with this.
You can then steam or blanch the vegetables and tofu and place them on top of the pho broth. Check out the video to see the technique.
Combine the broth, miso, and steamed veggies into a bowl. It can then be topped with hot sauce, sesame seeds, sesame oil, cilantro, lime, or other flavors that you love.
Notes
Traditional Vietnamese Pho soup consists of bone broth, rice noodles, and thinly sliced meat, served with bean sprouts, basil, limes, chiles, and other garnishes. It does not use soba noodles or have as many vegetables; however, the broth, which provides the rich flavor, is an excellent base when adapted to plant-based eaters.
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Kitchen resources
My favorite slow cooker is definitely the Instant pot. It is an invaluable resource to help you in the kitchen to make this recipe as well as many other great soup options. Click above to see the one I use daily.
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Listed below are all recent blog entries with video tutorials. These entries use the freshest of ingredients from your local farmer’s market or garden.
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The pho photo looks like an abomination. You have soba noodles & all sorts of raw, awkward vegetables, broccoli, whole carrots. This looks like awkward vegetable soba, nothing remotely “pho.” Pho needs quintessential garnishes- thinly sliced Thai/bird eye chilis, freshly squeezed from freshly cut lime wedges, fresh Thai basil, fresh culantro (ngo om), blanched bean sprouts- not mint. No. mint in pho. A side of plum sauce (isn’t plum sauce already vegan?) & hot sauce for dipping.
I hear your concern, and I respect that traditional pho has deep cultural roots and a very specific, cherished preparation. Please feel free to share a link for a plant-based blog post that would exemplify a traditional pho soup. My intention was not to claim cultural ownership or redefine a tradition, but to express appreciation for its flavors as a broth and the sense of comfort it brings, interpreted through a plant-based, seasonal lens.
Food tells stories of place, ancestry, and healing. When I cook, I do so with reverence for the origins of these dishes and also curiosity about how they can evolve within different contexts, ingredients, and cooking styles.
These vegetables have been blanched and are not raw and it is a dish that uses a pho style broth with fresh vegetables and soba to support the principles of whole food plant based eating as endorsed through medical and research journals. If the title or approach felt dismissive to the authenticity of pho, I appreciate that being named. I hold respect for the Vietnamese community and the generations of cooks who have carried this tradition forward. My hope is that our shared love of food can continue to open conversations rather than close them through insults. I adjusted the recipe write up to reflect your reflections and I thank you for taking time to share your perspective.
Pretty! This has been a really wonderful post. Thank you for supplying these details. Fredelia Creight Genisia
Thanks so much! So glad you enjoyed it.
The pho photo looks like an abomination. You have soba noodles & all sorts of raw, awkward vegetables, broccoli, whole carrots. This looks like awkward vegetable soba, nothing remotely “pho.” Pho needs quintessential garnishes- thinly sliced Thai/bird eye chilis, freshly squeezed from freshly cut lime wedges, fresh Thai basil, fresh culantro (ngo om), blanched bean sprouts- not mint. No. mint in pho. A side of plum sauce (isn’t plum sauce already vegan?) & hot sauce for dipping.
I hear your concern, and I respect that traditional pho has deep cultural roots and a very specific, cherished preparation. Please feel free to share a link for a plant-based blog post that would exemplify a traditional pho soup. My intention was not to claim cultural ownership or redefine a tradition, but to express appreciation for its flavors as a broth and the sense of comfort it brings, interpreted through a plant-based, seasonal lens.
Food tells stories of place, ancestry, and healing. When I cook, I do so with reverence for the origins of these dishes and also curiosity about how they can evolve within different contexts, ingredients, and cooking styles.
These vegetables have been blanched and are not raw and it is a dish that uses a pho style broth with fresh vegetables and soba to support the principles of whole food plant based eating as endorsed through medical and research journals. If the title or approach felt dismissive to the authenticity of pho, I appreciate that being named. I hold respect for the Vietnamese community and the generations of cooks who have carried this tradition forward. My hope is that our shared love of food can continue to open conversations rather than close them through insults. I adjusted the recipe write up to reflect your reflections and I thank you for taking time to share your perspective.