Instant Pot Pho

Jacky & I both grew up in a neighborhood packed with authentic Vietnamese restaurants & shops – from Northern Vietnamese cuisine, Southern Vietnamese cuisine, Bánh Mì stores, desserts, cafes, bakeries, grocery stores…

Whether it’s late night meals, feeling under the weather, cold wintery days, Pho cravings kicking in, or just because…we’ve lost count how many hot bowls of yummy Pho we’ve ate!! 😛

What is Pho?

Phở or pho (pronounced “fuh”, rhymes with “duh”) is a well-loved Vietnamese noodle soup, essentially made of broth, rice noodles, meat, and fresh herbs.

Most common Pho you can find are phở bò (beef pho) or phở tái (pho with sliced rare beef on top), and phở gà (chicken pho).

Chefs from different regions of Vietnam offer varying styles, ingredients & flavors of Pho. And that’s the beauty of Pho!

Making pho from scratch is definitely a labor of love that requires hours & hours of nurturing & love. But don’t be intimated! Instant Pot Pho is certainly easy to make – not some difficult MasterChef technical cooking challenge. 😉

Plus, with the help from your Instant Pot Pressure Cooker – you can boil down a day-long simmering on stovetop to 2 hours of pressure cooking in the Instant Pot! ohhhh yaasssss!!

The deliciously soothing beef pho broth is the soul of the dish.

And this Instant Pot Pho recipe yields a nourishing rich beefy soup that tastes like flavor-bursting beef essence, paired with tender beef, gelatinous tendons, buttery oxtail.

I just love slurping up the glorious beefy soup – yum!! 😀

Experiment: Making Instant Pot Pho Broth

For days & nights, we’ve been having lots of fun experimenting & tasting what makes a good homemade Pho in Instant Pot from scratch.

Let’s start with the ingredients.

We tried different combinations to make the best possible (on a budget) Beef Pho in Instant Pot. We tested our pho recipe with beef neck bones, marrow bones, beef feet, beef tendons, oxtail, beef finger meat…etc

And here are the results from our Beef Pho Experiments.

• For a More Rich Beefy Broth: Use marrow bones, beef finger meat/chuck meat, oxtail, optional beef tendons
• For a Lighter & Cleaner Beef Broth: Use marrow bones, beef feet, beef neck bones, and beef finger meat/chuck meat

While both versions taste deliciously great, we love the taste of the lighter version more especially because it’s for Pho. The lighter pho broth was not only tasty, but it was also more economical. 

If you want to make Instant Pot Chicken Pho, you’ll love our Pho Ga recipe:

Step-by-Step Guide: Instant Pot Pho

Prepare Ingredients for cooking Pho in Instant Pot:

For a more rich beefy broth: Use marrow bones, beef finger meat/chuck meat, oxtail, optional beef tendons

For a lighter & cleaner beef broth: Use marrow bones, beef feet, beef neck bones, and beef finger meat/chuck meat

*Note: Banh Pho are Flat Vietnamese Rice Noodles.

Tools for Instant Pot Pho

• Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker
• Fat Separator
• Fine Mesh Strainer
• Wooden Spoon
• Pyrex Measuring Cups
• Mixing Bowl
• Kitchen Tongs

Optional: Parboil Beef Bones & Meat

*Parboil or Not – Pro Tip: The advantage of parboiling the beef bones & meat is having a cleaner beef broth in the end. The disadvantage is losing a bit of the beef flavors during this bones & meat “cleaning” step. For us, we usually skip this step and remove the fat/scums with a Fat Separator at the end, unless we are serving Pho to guests (where we’ll want a cleaner presentation).

*Stovetop vs Instant Pot – Pro Tip: It’s faster to parboil the meat & bones on the stovetop instead of Instant Pot. 🙂

First, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Then, boil the beef bones and meat for 5 – 10 minutes to clean and remove excess fat.

Lastly, remove the beef bones & meat, then rinse them in cold tap water.

Toast Spices in Instant Pot

First, place all the spice ingredients in the Instant Pot.

Then, press “Saute” button to “Sauté More” or “Sauté Hi” to heat up the Instant Pot.

When you smell the fragrance released from the spices (~2.5 mins), remove and set aside the toasted spices.

Char Onions & Ginger

Wait until your Instant Pot says HOT (takes roughly 8 minutes). 

First, add 2 tbsp (30ml) vegetable or peanut oil in Instant Pot, then ensure to coat the oil over whole bottom of the pot.

Now, carefully place 2 halved onions (flat side down) and ginger pieces in the Instant Pot. Then, allow the onions and ginger to char without touching them for ~5 mins.

At the 4 minutes mark, add in a crushed garlic clove.

*Pro Tip: Don’t skip this step because charring the onions & ginger will heighten & bring out their flavors and deepen the Instant Pot Pho’s overall flavor.

Deglaze Instant Pot

Pour 1 cup (250ml) cold water in Instant Pot, then fully deglaze the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon.

Make sure to scrub up all the brown bits off the bottom of the pot and mix them into the liquid.

Pressure Cook Beef Broth

First, add the toasted spices, 3 tbsp (45ml) fish sauce, 20g yellow rock sugar, ½ tsp (3g) fine table salt, 2 lb beef marrow bones, 1 lb beef neck bone or oxtail, and ¾ lb beef feet or beef tendon in Instant Pot.

*Sugar Substitute – Pro Tip: If you don’t have yellow rock sugar, substitute with 1 tbsp + 1 tsp white sugar.

Then, add 6 cups (1500ml) of cold water in Instant Pot, and layer 1 lb beef finger meat or chuck meat on the very top of all ingredients.

With Venting Knob in Venting Position, close the lid, then turn Venting Knob to Sealing Position.

• Pressure Cooking Methods: Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 1 hour + Natural Release for 30 minutes

*Safety Pro Tip: After 30 mins of natural releasing, use “Gradual Slow Release” technique to release the remaining pressure in Instant Pot (see Step 8 below).

The Instant Pot Pho smells soo amazing as it was natural releasing – it was so hard to wait! So, in the meantime, proceed to Step 6 and 7. 🙂

Prepare Garnish

While the Instant Pot is pressure cooking, thinly slice ½ small white onion, then place the slices in a bowl of cold water for 30 minutes. This will make the onion less pungent.

Then, you can prepare the remaining garnish as described in the ingredients list.

Thinly slice the sirloin, flank steak, or eye of round against the grain (for reference, we used a sirloin tip roast).

*Pro Tip: Placing the meat in the freezer for 20 minutes will make it easier to slice. Or you can buy the pre-sliced Hot Pot beef slices from your local Asian supermarkets.

Gradual Slow Release

*Safety Pro Tip: Since the Instant Pot will be quite full, we will use a pressure release technique to slowly release the remaining pressure. We call it “Gradual Release”. Instead of immediately & fully turning the Venting Knob to the Venting position, we will turn the Venting knob just a bit to allow the steam to release very slowly.

You can use a wooden spoon to hold the Venting Knob in position for the Gradual Release. 

Once the Floating Pin has dropped, you can carefully open the lid.

Strain Beef Broth

First, transfer the beef bones and meat to a large mixing bowl, and discard the onions and ginger.

Then, cut the meat with a pair of scissors or knife. You can remove the bone marrow from the bones and serve them with your beef pho.

Now, strain the beef broth through a fine mesh strainer, then remove the fat with a fat separator or skim them off with a ladle. 

*Note: We are using two inner pots so please do not pour the beef broth into your emptied Instant Pot unit (without the inner pot)! Maybe time to get a second inner pot if you don’t have an extra one handy 😉

Season Beef Broth

Bring the beef broth back to a full boil over high heat.

Taste the beef broth and adjust seasoning accordingly by adding more salt and fish sauce (for reference, we used 1 more tablespoon of fish sauce and 1¼ teaspoon fine salt). You may also need a touch of sugar to balance out the flavors of the pho soup at the end.

*Pro Tip: If you don’t want to serve rare beef slices with your beef pho, cook your sliced beef in the boiling broth at this step.

Serve Instant Pot Pho

First, place the cooked Banh Pho noodles and all the meat in a large serving bowl.

Then, garnish with white onion slices, chopped green onions, fresh cilantro, and some freshly ground black pepper.

At last, pour in the boiling beef broth and serve it piping hot with the Pho herbs Platter on the side.

Ta da! You did it! Give yourself a pat on the back for making homemade Instant Pot Beef Pho from scratch!

Enjoy your deliciously yummy Instant Pot Pho!

Instant Pot Pho FAQ

Question: Can I use 1 or 2 kinds of bones for the Beef Broth?

Answer: Yes, we recommend using 2lb beef marrow bones as a base. Then you can choose between beef neck bone, oxtail, or beef feet. Use 1¾ lb beef bones of your choice.

Question: Can I double this Instant Pot Pho Recipe in an 8 quart Instant Pot?

Answer: Unfortunately no. 🙁 The most you can increase in the 8 quart Instant Pot would be 33% for this Instant Pot Pho recipe.

Question: What is Beef Finger Meat?

Answer: Beef finger meat is sometimes called Beef Rib Fingers. It is thin strips of beef cut from in between the ribs. Beef finger meat is extremely beefy, rich & juicy! With it’s high fat content, it is a great cut to use in the pressure cooker.

Question: Do I have to use bones for the Pho Broth?

Answer: Technically, you don’t have to use bones for the Pho broth, but it will be less tasty. 🙂

Question: What brand of fish sauce do you recommend?

Answer: Beware! Not all fish sauces are created equal! We love the Red Boat 40 N fish sauce. If you want a more budget choice, the Three Crabs fish sauce is another good choice.

More Instant Pot Vietnamese Recipes You’ll Love

Instant Pot Chicken Pho (Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup)

Instant Pot Bo Kho (Vietnamese Beef Stew)