Healthy Chicken Pho Recipe (Is Pho Good For Weight Loss?)

Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup dish that consists of a clear broth stewed with spices paired with rice noodles and a protein source, oftentimes beef or chicken. It's the ultimate comfort food on a cooler day.

While pho is undeniably delicious, is pho good for weight loss?

Pho can be a great weight loss dish given its high protein content which promotes satiation, light yet flavorful soup which is low in calories, and usage of carbs which make it a well-balanced meal. A serving of pho runs at only 403 calories with 29 grams of protein, 10 grams of fat, and 60 grams of carbs.

Jump to:

• 💭 What Is Pho?
• 🍏 Is Pho Healthy? (Calories and Nutrition)
• 🍎 How To Make It Healthy
• 🗒️  How To Order it Healthy
• 📋 Ingredient Notes
• 🔪 Step-By-Step Instructions
• 🍳 Instant Pot Instructions
• 💡Expert Tips
• 📖 Substitutions and Variations
• 🥡 Storage
• 🍳 Recipe

💭 What Is Pho?

Pho is a Vietnamese soup with noodles that consists of chicken or beef that is stewed in a clear broth with star anise, cinnamon, and other spices and served with deliciously chewy rice noodles. It is often served with a side of hoisin sauce and sriracha.

While pho can typically take a long time to make, there are some shortcuts we can take to speed up the cooking process, such as cooking it in an Instant pot. This healthy pho recipe will provide stovetop and instant pot directions.

If you like pho or Vietnamese cuisine in general, check out the following posts:

• Vietnamese Beef Carpaccio
• Bo Kho Recipe
• Ca Kho To (Vietnamese Caramelized Fish)
• Chao Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Rice Porridge)
• Five Spice Grilled Chicken Recipe
• Healthy Vietnamese Food

🍏 Is Pho Healthy? (Calories and Nutrition)

Pho is a very healthy dish given that it contains ample protein content from the chicken, and is served in a nutrient-rich broth that is steeped in spices and chicken. A single bowl of pho with chicken, or pho ga, contains 403 calories with 29 grams of protein, 11 grams of fat, and 60 grams of carbs, which is a great meal for a well-balanced diet.

The key to making this dish fit into a healthy diet is to control the portion size of the noodles, protein, and condiments.

🍎 How To Make It Healthy

Pho is full of nutritious ingredients already, so the main thing to do is to control portion size to make a more macro-friendly and calorie-conscious dish.

It's essential to use a food scale to weigh each ingredient accurately - eyeballing will not cut it and food scales are very affordable.

Here are some key tweaks I made:

• Choose a lean protein – In this recipe, I used 4 ounces of chicken thigh as the base protein content. Be sure to trim off the excess fat before weighing. You can also use lean meat such as leaner cuts of beef or seafood. Read this lean beef cut guide to learn more about which beef cuts to choose.
• Portion the noodles – I used exactly 50 grams of rice noodles, which only adds about 180 calories. Adding too much rice noodles can blow the calorie count on this dish. Restaurants typically serve an outsized amount of noodles so be mindful of that when ordering this dish when eating out.
• Portioned the stock ingredients mindfully – Using the portions below, the soup ingredients only add a negligible amount of calories. The soup flavor comes from a combination of chicken bones or beef bones and spices
• Use cooking spray – Traditional oil adds a whopping 120 calories to the dish, whereas cooking spray is 0 calories.

For a detailed breakdown of each ingredient, their portioning, and how they make up the nutrition profile of the healthy chicken pho recipe, refer to the table below:

Chicken Pho
Ingredient	Quantity	Calories	Protein (g)	Fat (g)	Carbs (g)
Chicken Thigh	4 oz	130	22	10	0
Sugar	1 tsp	16	0	0	4.2
Fish Sauce	1 tbsp	15	4	0	0
Yellow Onion	0.3	10.3	0.3	0.1	2.4
Hoisin Sauce	1 tbsp	50	0.1	0.4	12
Rice Stick Noodle	50 g	181.8	2.7	0	41.8
Total		403.1	29.2	10.5	60.4

🗒️  How To Order it Healthy

When ordering pho from a restaurant, here are the steps to order a healthier pho:

• Choose a lean protein – Lean cuts of beef like flank steak or round-eye, chicken, or seafood are the way to go. Avoid beef balls which are mainly carbs and fattier cuts of beef.
• Watch the size – A medium-sized bowl of pho usually will just have more noodles rather than protein. Opt for the smaller size and add on additional protein.
• Consume with extra vegetables – This will add to the satiating feeling of the meal without adding too many extra calories.

📋 Ingredient Notes

Stock Ingredients

Chicken – I used 4 ounces of skinless chicken thigh, which is a good balance between being a leaner cut of chicken while still retaining a deliciously juicy texture. You can also opt to use chicken breast. Be sure to use chicken with bones to make a delicious bone broth that is good for joint health.

Star Anise, Fennel, Cinnamon Stick, Cloves, and Coriander seeds – Spices that give pho broth its delicious spice-laden flavor. You can find most of these at your local grocery store. These spices are full of nutrients. Check out my Asian spices guide to learn more.

Ginger and Onion – These aromatics are roasted before adding to the stock to give it a delicious flavor.

Cilantro – Will also be used as a garnish. Simmering this in the stock results in a delicious flavor.

Noodles and Garnishes

Noodles – I used a serving of rice noodles, which is typically served with pho. You can buy them at your local Asian grocery store, although some major grocery stores also carry them.

Cilantro and Scallions – Fresh herbs that are often used to garnish pho. It gives the pho a touch of freshness. Thai basil and mint are also common garnishes.

Seasonings – Fish sauce, and sugar are used to season the dish to achieve the preferred balance.

My favorite fish sauce brand is Three Crabs. Not sponsored by them, just my personal opinion!

Hoisin Sauce – Often served with the pho to allow for additional adjustments in seasoning.

Lime, bean sprouts, and chili peppers (Optional) – Often used to garnish pho to give it some kick or acidity.

🔪 Step-By-Step Instructions

Toast the spices – Place the cinnamon, coriander, cloves, and star anise in a pan and set the heat to medium heat. Toast until you smell the fragrance of the spices, about 2 minutes, and set aside.

Char the aromatics – Cut the ginger and onions so that it has a flat surface area and sauté in a pan until it is charred.

Make the stock – Gather the stew ingredients. In a large pot, add about 3 cups of water, along with the spices put in a cheesecloth bag if you have it, the chicken, and the charred aromatics. Add in some of the fish sauce, sugar, and salt to season the chicken as it cooks. Bring the stock to a boil, then lower to a light simmer so as to not overcook the chicken. Cook for about 1 hour.

Prepare the noodles – While the stock is cooking, cut the garnishes in preparation for putting together the noodle bowl. Slice the chili peppers, limes, and scallions. And cook the noodles according to the package directions.

Adjust the stock – Once the stock has reached its cooking time, have a taste and adjust the seasoning accordingly. Traditionally, it is adjusted with fish sauce and sugar.

Serve and enjoy – In a bowl, add the noodles, add the stew, garnish with cilantro, scallions, chili, and lime, and enjoy! Serve it with a side of hoisin sauce if desired.

🍳 Instant Pot Instructions

Toast the spices – Place the cinnamon, coriander, cloves, and star anise in the instant pot and turn on sauté mode. Toast until you smell the fragrance of the spices, about 2 minutes, and set aside.

Char the aromatics – Cut the ginger and onions so that it has a flat surface area and sauté in the instant pot until it is charred.

Make the stock – Gather the stew ingredients. In the instant pot, add about 3 cups of water, the chicken, and the charred aromatics. Add in some of the fish sauce, sugar, and salt to season the chicken as it cooks. Close the lid and pressure cook at high pressure for 10 minutes and let it naturally release for 5 minutes. Then release the remaining pressure by turning the venting knob before opening the lid.

Prepare the noodles – While the stock is cooking, cut the garnishes in preparation for putting together the noodle bowl. Slice the chili peppers, limes, and scallions. And cook the noodles according to the package directions.

Adjust the stock – Once the stock has reached its cooking time, have a taste and adjust the seasoning accordingly. Traditionally, it is adjusted with fish sauce and sugar.

Serve and enjoy – In a bowl, add the noodles, add the stew, garnish with cilantro, scallions, chili, and lime, and enjoy! Serve it with a side of hoisin sauce if desired.

💡Expert Tips

Taste Test And Season to Adjust – Adjust the stew with sugar, fish sauce, or water to achieve the desired flavor.

• If it is too bland, add sugar and fish sauce.
• If it is too salty, add some sugar.
• If it is too sweet (unlikely to happen with this recipe if the portion sizes are followed), add some fish sauce or more water.

Don't overcook the chicken – If you bring the pot to a low simmer or follow the instant pot cooking times, you'll have the perfect chicken texture.

Shortcut for chicken broth – For a shortcut version, use a good quality store-bought chicken stock. Still worth steeping the spices for about 5-10 minutes to get the distinct pho flavor we all love.

📖 Substitutions and Variations

With Seafood – Although not as popular, pho is also served with seafood. Be sure to stew the stock with shrimp shells to get a delicious seafood flavor.

With lean beef – You can also opt to make this with lean beef cuts if you'd prefer meat. Flank steak and eye round are great options.

With oxtail – Another delicious variation is to make pho with oxtail. Check out my oxtail pho recipe to see how.

Switch up the herbs – Pho is also served with Thai basil and/or mint.

Go Vegetarian – You can make this vegetarian-friendly by using veggie broth and substituting the chicken for tofu or a vegetarian-friendly protein.

Use shirataki noodles – For a low-carb option, substitute the rice noodles for shirataki noodles

🥡 Storage

You can store it in the fridge for up to 2-3 days in an airtight container. You can also freeze the stew without the noodles for up to 3 months.

🍳 Recipe