This easy vegan pho soup is packed with vegetables, rice noodles, and your choice of vegan protein like tofu or seitan. Pho is a brothy Vietnamese soup flavored with complex spices and served over noodles and topped with fresh herbs. If you have never had Pho soup before, it's like a summer roll in the form of soup with a savory broth made of ginger, star anise, and cinnamon topped with fresh herbs and a squeeze of lime.
Eventhough it's full of complex ingredients, you can easily make your own Pho! I use a vegan Pho soup mix as the base and it makes it super simple! It may look intimidating with all of the herbs and spices like ginger cloves, star anise, chili peppers, and lime, but with this soup mix, you can make authentic tasting Vietnamese Pho soup with very little effort!
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❤️ This recipe is
- bursting with authentic flavors.
- quick and easy to make.
- versatile - you can make each bowl your own.
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Pho soup base - to make this soup simple and easy, you can use a Pho soup base that is certified vegan. I find it at my local Asian Market, but you can also easily order it on Amazon if you can't find it near you.
- Water - mix with the powdered soup base to make the broth.
- Onion - onion adds a lot of flavors, but you can also omit it.
- Carrots - optional.
- Zucchini - optional.
- Fresh Ginger Root - you can also use powdered ginger or leave it out if you don't have any, but it adds a lot of flavor to the soup.
On the side to add to the soup bowl (optional)
- Cooked Rice Noodles - cook any size rice noodles according to package directions.
- Sauteed Mushrooms - sliced mushrooms sauteed in a little cooking oil.
- Pan-Fried Tofu cubes - see my post on how to pan-fry tofu.
- Pan-Fried Vegan Chicken - you can use store-bought vegan chicken strips or use my vegan chicken recipe.
- Mint Leaves
- Cilantro
- Green Onions
- Jalapenos Sliced
- Lime wedges
- Siracha Sauce - if you want it spicy. I also like garlic chili sauce in this soup. It's very spicy, so start with a small amount.
🔪 Helpful tools
- A large soup pot - this makes a big batch of soup.
- A Zester - for mincing the fresh ginger root. (You can also cut the ginger into small chunks and let it simmer in the broth and then remove them before serving.
🥄 Instructions
- Bring 16 cups of water to a boil in a large soup pot.
- Add ½ container of Vegetarian Pho Soup Base and 1 spice bag (comes with the soup base) into the water.
- Peel and slice onion, carrots, and 2 teaspoons of minced ginger and add them to the broth and simmer for 20 minutes. (Add carrots 10 minutes later if you want them crispier).
- While the broth is simmering, wash and slice mushrooms.
- Fry mushrooms in 1 tablespoon of oil for about 5 minutes until cooked to the desired amount. (sprinkle with salt optional). Set aside.
- Press tofu and wrap in a paper towel to soak up excess moisture. Then cut tofu into ½ inch cubes.
- Fry tofu in 1 tablespoon of oil on medium-high for about 7 minutes until crispy on all sides and sprinkle with salt. Set aside.
- Boil rice noodles according to package directions, drain, rinse and place in a bowl of very cold water to keep them from sticking.
- Slice lime and chop up all desired herbs and peppers and set aside with mushrooms and tofu.
- Once the broth has simmered for 20 minutes, take out the spice packet and large pieces of ginger.
- When ready to assemble the bowl of soup, place about 1 cup of rice noodle in the bottom of your soup bowl and top with about 1 cup of hot Pho broth and vegetables.
- Add tofu, mushrooms, and top with herbs and peppers, and a squeeze of lime. Add a little sriracha sauce to make it spicy if desired.
👩🏻🍳 Pro tips
- The soup mix comes with all the spices that you need in a spice pack that looks like a teabag. You throw this in with the broth and it infuses the spices perfectly.
- There are 2 spice bags, so make sure to pull them apart and only use one for 16 cups of broth. (Put the extra one back in the container with the soup base and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to make your next pot of soup).
- This soup mix makes a huge pot (2 gallons), so I always use ½ at a time and make 16 cups of broth. With noodles and veggies added, this is still a lot of soup.
🥡 Storage and reheating
Refrigerate: This vegan Pho soup will keep well in the fridge for 3 - 5 days in a sealed container. I like to keep the noodles separate until serving so they don't get soggy.
Freeze: Pho soup freezes well and can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can reheat them directly from the freezer.
Reheating: Reheat your Pho broth in the microwave for about 3 minutes or reheat it in a saucepan.
🥗 Serving Suggestions
Serve this soup as a main course or with an Asian inspired dish like one of the following.
- Tofu Spring Rolls
- Lettuce Wraps
- Chop Suey
- Tofu Fried Rice
- Orange Cauliflower
- Sweet and Sour Tofu
- Vegan Ramen Noodle Salad
🌟 More Asian inspired soups
Vegan Pho Soup
A savory Vietnamese soup filled with spices, rice noodles, and fresh herbs! Topped with tofu and mushrooms and a squeeze of lime.
Servings: 16
Calories: 184kcal
Ingredients
For the broth:
- 5 oz. Pho soup base
- 1 spice bag
- 16 cups water
- 1 medium onion peeled and cut into slices
- 2 medium carrots peeled and sliced
- 2 inches ginger root peeled and sliced
To add to the bowl:
- 1 14 oz package rice noodle
- 2 cups mushrooms washed and sliced
- 1 lbs. tofu drained, pressed, and cubed
- 2 tbsp oil for frying neutral flavored
- 1 cup mint
- 1 cup cilantro
- ½ cup green onions
- 2 Jalapenos sliced
- 2 limes sliced into wedges.
Instructions
- Bring 16 cups of water to a boil in a large soup pot.
- Add ½ container of Vegetarian Pho Soup Base and 1 spice bag (comes with the soup base) into the water.
- Peel and slice onion, carrots, and ginger and add them to the broth and simmer for 20 minutes. (Add carrots 10 minutes later if you want them crispier).
- While the broth is simmering, wash and slice mushrooms.
- Fry mushrooms in 1 tbsp of oil for about 5 minutes until cooked to the desired amount. (sprinkle with salt optional). Set aside.
- Press tofu and wrap in a paper towel to soak up excess moisture. Then cut tofu in ½ inch cubes.
- Fry tofu in 1 tbsp oil on medium-high for about 7 minutes until crispy on all sides and sprinkle with salt. Set aside.
- Boil the rice noodles according to package directions, drain, rinse and place in a bowl of very cold water to keep them from sticking.
- Slice lime and chop up all desired herbs and peppers and set aside with mushrooms and tofu.
- Once the broth has simmered for 20 minutes, take out the spice packet and large pieces of ginger.
- When ready to assemble the bowl of soup, place about 1 cup of rice noodle in the bottom of your soup bowl and top with about 1 cup of hot Pho broth and vegetables.
- Add tofu, mushrooms, and top with herbs and peppers, and a squeeze of lime.
Notes
- You can add any vegetables that you want to the broth. Broccoli and snow peas also work great.
- Add vegetables to the broth later if you want them crispier.
- Bean sprouts are also delicious added to the Pho along with the herbs.
- If you want it spicier add Sriracha or chili garlic sauce to your bowl.
- This is a perfect meal for a party! You can have everything cut up and ready to assemble. Everyone is happy because they can pick and choose the elements that they like.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cup | Calories: 184kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 5g | Sodium: 1579mg | Potassium: 114mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1490IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 0.8mg
So good and really easy!