Vegetarian Pho Recipes to Satisfy Your Cravings

A Healthy Vegetarian Pho recipe with a flavorful and nutritious mushroom broth. This veggie-packed meal will make you ditch the takeout and whip up this Vietnamese classic at home for a pho recipe vegetarian the whole family will love.

Here’s the thing about pho – it’s one of those meals that seems completely unattainable at home, but is actually deceptively easy. I’m not going to say it’s a quick process – good pho requires simmer-time- but as long as you have some patience I have full faith in your ability to pull off this vegan pho at home.

I’ll be honest though, I wasn’t fully confident in my abilities to pull off vegetarian pho at home. The one thing that sets apart a good pho from a bad pho is the broth. Pho-real, it’s all in the broth. And the base for standard pho is usually meat.

But about 6 months ago a new vietnamese place opened up close to us that was advertising vegan pho made from a mushroom broth. I was skeptical at first but also deeply excited because I’m trying to consume less meat. Plus mushrooms have amazing health benefits so I tried it with an open mind.

Little did I know that it would eventually turn me into a complete pho diva and now when I crave pho I just want my mushroom broth, something that is not always on the menu at many Vietnamese restaurants. So for any of you vegetarians or vegans out there, I spent many a weekend perfecting this vegetarian pho recipe with the ultimate mushroom broth. Let’s chat about it…

Is Pho Healthy?

The real answer? Depends on who you ask. I’m in the camp that all foods fit so there is certainly a time and place for pho. However, not all restaurants make healthy pho a priority. It all depends on what goes into the stock and the variety of veggies and ingredients in the recipe. Most stocks are made with a beef or chicken broth which can have its health benefits. You can learn more about the health benefits of bone broth here, however it really depends on the quality of the meat which is not something all restaurants are transparent about.

Similarly, I’ve been to Vietnamese restaurants whose pho has just chicken, noodles and bean sprouts with no other veggies and then I have my beloved vegetarian pho restaurant that goes over-the-top with the veggies. One lesson I’ve learned is that if eating out, always order an extra side of veggies to stir in. Alternatively you can just make this pho recipe vegetarian at home!

Vegetarian Pho Recipe Swaps

So let’s talk about what swaps to make to make vegetarian pho. The biggest thing is replacing the meat-based stock with a veggie alternatively aka mushroom broth. I prefer making a mushroom broth since it brings that meatiness to the recipe with the health benefits of mushrooms and delicious umami flavor. Note: I always use shitake mushrooms for this recipe as I find them to be the most flavorful.

The other piece is making sure to load up on the veggies. In the last 20 minutes of cooking you’ll add bok choy, broccoli and carrots for that extra dose of filing veggies.

How to Make Vegetarian Pho Broth

When it comes to making pho at home, it’s all in the stock. It’s tempting to skip some steps, but trust me you’ll want to go through the whole process for a delicious vegan pho recipe.

PART 1

Simmer shitake mushrooms in vegetable stock (or water) for at least 30 minutes to release mushroom umami flavor

PART 2

Roast onion and ginger on a baking sheet for 20 minutes. Add star anise and cloves (these are essential!) and roast for another 5 minutes. It’s tempting to skip this step but DON’T – the roasting adds so much flavor!

PART 3

Add onion, ginger, star anise, cloves, tamari, coconut sugar, salt + hot pepper (if using) to stock and simmer for 40 minutes.

PART 4

Add veggies to stock and cook for another 20 minutes.

PART 5

Make noodles and add noodles, stock, bean sprouts, basil and lime to bowls and serve!

Now that I’ve broken down the 5 main parts, follow the full recipe below to make this delicious vegetarian pho.