Healthy Chicken Pho Recipe (Is Pho Healthy?)

✅ Why This Recipe Works

Way easier to make than traditional pho – No hours of simmering soup needed. By utilizing key cooking techniques and using high-quality store-bought chicken stock, we have a way faster way to make this healthy pho recipe.

Restaurant quality taste from home – By utilizing the key cooking techniques used to make top-tier restaurant quality pho, you can make it a restaurant-quality bowl of noodle soup from the comfort of home.

Healthy and nutritious – This healthy pho recipe was made with lower calories with careful portioning, making a great healthy Vietnamese dish

💭 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.

🍎 Calories and Nutrition – Is It Healthy

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.

Chicken 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 to make the healthy pho recipe:

• 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 pho recipe, refer to the table below:

🗒️  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

To make healthy pho recipe, you'll need these key 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.

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.

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.

See my recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.

📖 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.

Make it With Instant Pot – To make this in the Instant Pot, follow the instructions below using sauté mode on the Instant Pot to char the aromatics and toast the spices. Then add the chicken into the pot and cook at high pressure for 10 minutes and let it naturally release for 5 minutes. Depressurize the Instant Pot before seasoning the stock with fish sauce and sugar. Then add to the cooked rice noodles, garnish, and serve.

🔪 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 2 cups of chicken stock, 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 15 minutes.

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.

💭 Recipe FAQs

🍽 Related Recipes

🍳 Recipe

Healthy Chicken Pho Recipe

Developed by Clara

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.

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Course Main Course

Cuisine Vietnamese

Servings 1

Calories 403 kcal

Equipment

• ▢
  Instant Pot (Optional)

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Stock Ingredients

• ▢ 4 oz Chicken thigh (Add chicken bones after weighing)
• ▢ 1 Star Anise
• ▢ 1 Cinnamon Stick
• ▢ 2 Cloves
• ▢ 2 Coriander seeds
• ▢ 2 tablespoon Ginger
• ▢ ½ Yellow Onion
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Fish sauce
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Sugar

Noodles and Garnishes

• ▢ 50g Rice noodles
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Hoisin (Optional, for additional seasoning)
• ▢ Cilantro and Scallions (For garnish)
• ▢ Lime, bean sprouts, chili pepper (Optional, for garnish)

Instructions

 

Stovetop 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 2 cups of chicken stock, 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 15 minutes.
• 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.

Nutrition

Calories: 403kcalCarbohydrates: 60gProtein: 29gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 112mgSodium: 1857mgPotassium: 516mgFiber: 5gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 107IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 104mgIron: 3mg

Notes

Substitutions and Variations

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.

Make it With Instant Pot – To make this in the Instant Pot, follow the instructions below using sauté mode on the Instant Pot to char the aromatics and toast the spices. Then add the chicken into the pot and cook at high pressure for 10 minutes and let it naturally release for 5 minutes. Depressurize the Instant Pot before seasoning the stock with fish sauce and sugar. Then add to the cooked rice noodles, garnish, and serve.

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.

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