I am super excited about today’s vegan pho recipe, because what can I say, I like noodles! Pho is a pretty recent discovery of mine, but one taste and I was hooked! The first vegan pho I had was only about 6 months ago at a restaurant. However since then I have created many homemade pho recipes, and I settled on this one being the best. This plant based pho is the best, because it is not only healthy and loaded with flavor, but it is unique. There are thousands if not millions of pho recipes out there, so I knew when I was developing this recipe that it had to have something special!
What is Pho:
Honestly, as soon as I had my first vegan pho I went home and googled what it was! It was the only vegan item on the menu, thankfully I ordered it, because like I said before I am hooked now. Pho, which is actually pronounced “fuh” (not going to lie I still say it like “foe”) is a Vietnamese noodle dish that is traditionally loaded with spices like cinnamon, cloves, and anise. It is not always vegan, but like many other Asian recipes, it is often served with tofu as well. Asian cuisine is my absolute favorite, and recently I have discovered how amazing Vietnamese food is. If you’re interested in other Vietnamese vegan recipes, I have quite a few on my blog (and will definitely be adding more!):
How to make vegan pho at home:
I feel like many Asian noodle recipes may intimidate some people, because they look so hard. This kind of shocks me, because in reality Asian noodle recipes like this vegan pho recipe are incredibly easy to make! I love simple recipes, so this easy vegan pho was a blast to make! You could get fancy like I did and add all the fun toppings, but in reality this is a on pot vegan pho recipe! I love this recipe, because it’s the perfect intro to healthy whole foods plant based eating. You don’t have to follow a million confusing steps to make this recipe, you just need to chop a few things and throw it all together in a pot!
Is this vegan pho recipe healthy:
Indeed it is! If you’re new around here, let me fill you in: all of my recipes are healthy! My recipes aren’t just the kind of healthy that you slap onto any recipe, my all natural recipe are whole foods plant based! This means that I do not use any: animal products, refined sugars, processed oils (very rarely do I use oil, and it’s always cold pressed!), and whole foods gluten substitutes! Therefore recipes like this vegan pho you can count on being super healthy and free of all harmful ingredients. This vegan pho recipe also contains a diverse range of vegetables! Plant based diversity is good for gut health, so bring on all the plants!
Making the best vegan pho gluten-free:
If you’re new to Asian noodle recipes, then let me share a fun fact with you: most of them are naturally gluten-free! Many Asian dishes are made with rice noodles, or buckwheat noodles (soba noodles), and therefore gluten-free. When making this homemade vegan pho recipe, you can play around with the different noodles in the Asian section of your grocery store and figure out what you like best. There are some wheat based noodles such as udon (which are delicious, check out my Coconut Peanut Noodles, but are not gluten-free) just double check the packaging if you have a gluten allergy! If you’re interested in other gluten-free Asian noodle recipes, check out some of my favorite recipes:
Making crispy tofu oil-free:
Making the crispy tofu for this vegan pho recipe took a bit of work to be completely honest. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to create healthy oil-free crispy tofu forever, and nothing was working. I decided to make one last ditch effort and invest in a Greenlife nonstick electric skillet, and it worked like a dream! I stopped using traditional nonstick dishes when I first started my health journey, because we know by now that they can’t be good for you. However when I heard about Greenlife I was intrigued. I thought that there was no way that it would work, but it turns out it did! If you’re interested in making crispy oil-free foods, I definitely recommend purchasing one of these!
Ingredients for the best vegan pho recipe:
- Extra firm tofu
- Vegetable broth
- Carrots
- Liquid aminos
- Coconut aminos
- Onion
- Garlic
- Limes
- Mushrooms
- Green onions
- Rice noodles
- Sesame seeds
- Vegan green curry paste
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Snow peas
- Watermelon radish
Best Vegan Pho
Equipment
Ingredients
For the crispy tofu:
- 1 block extra firm tofu
- 2 tsp liquid aminos
For the Pho:
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 package rice noodles
- 1 cup mushrooms of choice
- 2 carrots
- 1 onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 cup snow peas
- 1 tbsp ginger about a 1 inch piece
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1 tbsp green curry paste
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 2 limes plus more for topping
- 1 watermelon radish optional
- 4 green onions
Instructions
- Begin by pressing your tofu and setting aside. Dice the onions and garlic and add to a pot with 1/2 cup of water and the coconut aminos.
- Next, slice and add the mushrooms. Shred the carrots and add along with snow peas. Add the vegetable broth, green curry paste, minced ginger, and spices.
- Once vegetables have cooked, add the rice noodles and 1 cup of water. Juice the limes and add to the pot. Turn on medium low and allow to cook.
- Make the crispy tofu by straining the liquid and cutting into triangles. Add to a shallow dish and cover with liquid aminos. Place onto the skillet and cook until crispy!
- To serve: add pho to a bowl, and top with sesame seeds, green onions, watermelon radish, and crispy tofu. Enjoy!
Your pho looks insanely good. Love all the colours, flavours and different textures. Vegan noodle soups are just the best.
This looks nourishing and delicious. What a lovely dinner idea. I just saved our recipe to give it a try. Thanks!
okay, I am obsessseddddd with pho and so excited every time I find a recipe to make it vegan! I could literally eat this every night. So flavorful!
Such a warming and nourishing rice noodle soup! This is a perfect weeknight dinner for the family. Doesn’t take long to make at all!
this vegan pho is SO flavourful and is vegan is toO!
So delicious, flavourful and healthy.. checks all boxes. Totally love it.
Beautiful presentation and so delicious! Great recipe!
This is so delicious and such a family hit.