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Easy Low-Carb Vietnamese Pho

4.3 stars, average of 172 ratings

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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.

Hands-on Overall

Allergy information for Easy Low-Carb Vietnamese Pho

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

Nutritional values (per serving)

Net carbs6.5 grams
Protein32.3 grams
Fat15.6 grams
Calories294 kcal
Calories from carbs 9%, protein 44%, fat 47%
Total carbs8.6 gramsFiber2.1 gramsSugars2.1 gramsSaturated fat6.1 gramsSodium1,148 mg(50% RDA)Magnesium281 mg(70% RDA)Potassium1,286 mg(64% EMR)

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.
    Easy Low-Carb Vietnamese Pho
  3. Pour in the broth. Easy Low-Carb Vietnamese Pho
  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. Easy Low-Carb Vietnamese Pho
  5. Prepare your toppings and noodles. Follow this guide for preparing the noodles. Easy Low-Carb Vietnamese Pho
  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. Easy Low-Carb Vietnamese Pho
  7. Top the soup with your desired toppings. Easy Low-Carb Vietnamese Pho

Ingredient nutritional breakdown (per serving)

Net carbsProteinFatCalories
Beef bone broth, beef stock
1 g7.2 g6 g80 kcal
Onion, brown (yellow), raw
1.8 g0.2 g0 g10 kcal
Ginger root, fresh
1.4 g0.2 g0.1 g7 kcal
Garlic, fresh
0.5 g0.1 g0 g2 kcal
Fish sauce
0.2 g0.2 g0 g2 kcal
Coconut aminos (substitute to soy sauce)
0.3 g0 g0 g1 kcal
Beef, round, eye of round, roast, separable lean and fat, trimmed to 1/8" fat, all grades, raw
0 g24.4 g9.3 g188 kcal
Shirataki noodles
1.5 g0 g0.2 g4 kcal
Total per serving
6.5 g32.3 g15.6 g294 kcal

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Lauren Lester
Creator of Healthful Creative

Lauren Lester

Lauren is a food photographer, recipe developer, and author.

She is the founder of the creative content agency, Healthful Creative. HC specializes in helping food centered brands share their story through recipe development + food photography.

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Comments (4)

Could you please tell me the sodium content of this recipe? I'd like to make it for my mom who has type 2 diabetes, but has had a heart attack, so she has to watch her sodium intake. Thank you!

Hi Michelle, the sodium content varies and depends on the stock you're using - I wouldn't want to give you an estimate because I don't know which stock you'll be using and how much salt you'll be adding to it.

Shirataki Noodles were rather expensive, I found Kelp noodles (6 calories, 1G carb). Mineral rich. They have the appearance of glass noodles. About $5 for 1 lb. Found them in the Asian aisle next to all of the Pho rice noodles I can't have!   I'm going to try them in this recipe

Both work well in this soup - you can use them interchangeably in most recipes 😊