Instant Pot Beef Pho
While the traditional method of making a great pho may be labor-intensive, this Instant Pot Beef Pho version packs all the usual flavors and textures of a rich and nutritious pho without you needing to attend to the ingredients for hours on end.
Simply prep your ingredients within 5 minutes and let your Instant Pot work its speedy magic, providing you with a tender beef pho for the entire family to enjoy.
Add a light side salad or fresh homemade dinner rolls to soak up any residue soup. With chopsticks and soup spoon in hand, get ready to slurp up this addictive Instant Pot Beef Pho.
Recipe Notes:
- Make sure to use a good quality beef stock or broth that has low-sodium content as you will be adding quite a bit of flavors and seasonings anyway. If you can make homemade broth for this recipe, even better!
- While this beef pho is a meal in itself and you don’t really need any side dishes added, why not stick with the theme and enjoy it alongside a Vietnamese iced coffee?!
- You want to make sure that your beef slices are thin for this soup. To do so, you should be using a sharp knife to cut your meat. Another useful tip for getting thin slices of meat is to place your meat in the freezer for about 15 minutes – this will assist you greatly in being able to cut thin slices.
“Pho” is a traditional Vietnamese soup that includes broth, rice noodles, herbs, and meat (in this case, beef). The most well known is the chicken pho and beef pho (also known as Vietnamese beef noodle soup).
“Pho” is pronounced “fuh” like “duh” and is high up there in terms of comfort food!
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While this recipe called for sirloin steak, you could also make use of eye of round steak or flank steak. All of these options will provide you with tender pieces of meat that offer a hearty beef flavor.
I recommend that you don’t store your pho for longer than a day. It should be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator and not left out to sit at room temperature for long periods of time.
You can also freeze beef pho by storing it in an airtight container or ziploc bag for up to 3 months. To reheat, remove it from the freezer and place it under warm-hot running water to loosen it. Then add it to a sauce pan and allow to simmer until heated throughout.
I don’t suggest that you freeze beef pho with the noodles added as they will deteriorate in the freezer. Instead, add freshly boiled noodles when you intend serving.
Instant Pot Beef Pho
- Set your SAUTE setting to HIGH. Heat your oil and add your onion, ginger and garlic for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently until browned.
- Stir in your star anise, cardamon pod(s), cinnamon, coriander and peppercorns until fragrant.
- Pour in broth, fish sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, ½ tsp salt and water. Stir together. Place the lid on the instant pot and press CANCEL, to cancel the saute option. Then make sure the lid is locked and the vent is sealed shut. Press the PRESSURE COOKER option set on HIGH for 15 minutes. It will take about 15 minutes for it to come to pressure to start the 15 minute timer. Once the timer goes off, use the QUICK RELEASE.
- While the instant pot is cooking, prepare your rice noodles according to the package.
- Place a large bowl on the counter, and then take a mesh strainer and line it with the cheese cloth. Using a ladle, pour the broth into the mesh lined strainer and allow it to catch all of the seasonings, onion, ginger and cinnamon. Once the broth is strained, pour it back into the instant pot and turn your SAUTE setting back on HIGH.
- This next step could be done two different ways:
- You could take your steak strips and layer them and your toppings over your rice noodles. Take your broth, which is now boiling in your instant pot and pour it over your steak and veggies and watch it cook, while in your bowl. These strips are thin and they do cook quickly and will still be very tender. The caution with this is if you have your bowl too full, your meat may not cook to your liking or evenly.
- I dipped my steak strips into my boiling broth, for 30 seconds -1 minute, no more or it will over cook once you place it in the bowl. This allows for the steak to be cooked consistently. Depending how you like your steak, remove after 30 seconds for more rare to medium rare, and 45 seconds – 1 minute will be medium – medium well. Scoop it out and layer it in your bowl on top of your rice noodles. Turn your instant pot to WARM. Then once you have arranged your veggies, pour the broth on top.
- Add sriracha or hoisin sauce to your liking, stir and enjoy!
More soups we love!
Instant Pot Beef Pho
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Ingredients
- 1 TBSP oil
- 1 large onion quartered
- 1 2 inch piece of ginger peeled
- 1 TBSP of minced garlic
- 2 star anise
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
- 1 black cardamon pod or 3 green cardamon pods
- 1 tsp whole coriander
- 1/2 tsp whole black peppercorn
- 1 & 1/2 lb sirloin steak cut into thin strips
- 2 TBSP fish sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp brown sugar
- 1 TBSP fresh lime juice
- 6 cups of beef broth
- 2 cups of water
- 8 oz rice noodles
Topping Options
- Thinly sliced radishes
- Carrot matchsticks
- Fresh Thai Basil
- Fresh Mint Leaves
- 1 Chili Pepper or Jalapeno thinly sliced
- lime wedges
Additional Options
- Thai bird chilies
- Bean sprouts
Instructions
- Set your SAUTE setting to HIGH. Heat your oil and add your onion, ginger and garlic for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently until browned.
- Stir in your star anise, cardamon pod(s), cinnamon, coriander and peppercorns until fragrant.
- Pour in broth, fish sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, ½ tsp salt and water. Stir together. Place the lid on the instant pot and press CANCEL, to cancel the saute option. Then make sure the lid is locked and the vent is sealed shut. Press the PRESSURE COOKER option set on HIGH for 15 minutes. It will take about 15 minutes for it to come to pressure to start the 15 minute timer. Once the timer goes off, use the QUICK RELEASE.
- While the instant pot is cooking, prepare your rice noodles according to the package.
- Place a large bowl on the counter, and then take a mesh strainer and line it with the cheese cloth. Using a ladle, pour the broth into the mesh lined strainer and allow it to catch all of the seasonings, onion, ginger and cinnamon. Once the broth is strained, pour it back into the instant pot and turn your SAUTE setting back on HIGH.
This next step could be done two different ways:
- You could take your steak strips and layer them and your toppings over your rice noodles. Take your broth, which is now boiling in your instant pot and pour it over your steak and veggies and watch it cook, while in your bowl. These strips are thin and they do cook quickly and will still be very tender. The caution with this is if you have your bowl too full, your meat may not cook to your liking or evenly.
- I dipped my steak strips into my boiling broth, for 30 seconds -1 minute, no more or it will over cook once you place it in the bowl. This allows for the steak to be cooked consistently. Depending how you like your steak, remove after 30 seconds for more rare to medium rare, and 45 seconds – 1 minute will be medium – medium well. Scoop it out and layer it in your bowl on top of your rice noodles. Turn your instant pot to WARM. Then once you have arranged your veggies, pour the broth on top.
- Add sriracha or hoisin sauce to your liking, stir and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer: Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
Did You Make This Recipe?
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Is there a way to make this, NOT in an insta pot?
Ive only made the recipe as written DeAnne, so I can’t say for sure how to convert to stop top times.