A proper pho broth takes six to ten hours on the stove. This pressure cooker version takes two and still delivers a rich, restaurant-style broth. One batch feeds six. The broth freezes for months.
Pho is my favorite food in the world, which is exactly why I took my time with this one. Most Instant Pot pho recipes cut corners I wasn't willing to cut. This one doesn’t. It takes a little longer than the fastest versions, but the depth of flavor is worth it. If chicken is what you want tonight, use my Instant Pot Chicken Pho instead.
Why This Recipe Works
- Charred aromatics do the work of a long simmer. Roasting the onions and ginger builds the smoky depth traditional pho gets from six hours on the stove.
- Parboiling the beef shank gives you clear, restaurant-quality broth, not the cloudy version most home recipes settle for. It's two extra minutes that change everything.
- The pressure cooker builds deep broth in 30 minutes of cook time without giving up complexity or body.
- Naturally gluten-free when you use a GF fish sauce, and a single batch makes six generous bowls.
How Long Does Pressure Cooker Pho Take?
Two hours, start to finish. Here's the breakdown: 10 minutes of prep, 15 to 20 minutes of charring the aromatics and parboiling the beef, 20 minutes for the Instant Pot to come to pressure, 30 minutes of actual pressure cooking, and 30 minutes of natural release. Most of it is hands-off. Not a 30-minute weeknight dinner, but compared to the six to ten hours traditional pho demands, it's a shortcut that keeps the soul.
Best Beef for Pho
You need two cuts: something bone-in for the broth, and something tender for the bowl.
For the broth: beef shank is the move. Marrow builds body, connective tissue builds flavor. Oxtail, chuck, or brisket all work if shank is hard to find. A mix of shank and oxtail is the restaurant-grade move if you want to go all-in.
For the bowl: sirloin, round eye, or London broil are the usual pho-shop cuts, and they work well when sliced paper-thin against the grain. If you want a more tender upgrade, use filet mignon. The thin end cuts of the tenderloin are perfect here.
Ingredients For Instant Pot Pho
For the Broth
For the Bowl
For the Garnish
How To Make Instant Pot Pho
How to Make Pho Broth in the Instant Pot
Set the oven to 450°F. No need to preheat. Spray a baking sheet with oil, spread the onions and ginger in a single layer, and roast until the edges are slightly charred.
Add the beef shanks to the Instant Pot with 6 cups of water, enough to cover them. Bring to a boil on the high sauté setting. Once it hits a rolling boil, remove the shanks and set aside. Dump the water and rinse any scum from the bottom of the pot.
Add the star anise, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, cloves, and cinnamon stick to the pot. Toast on the high sauté setting until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
Return the beef shanks to the pot with the charred ginger and onions, fish sauce, sugar, spices, salt, and 10 cups of water. Cook at high pressure for 30 minutes.
Let the pressure release naturally for at least 30 minutes. Longer is better.
Pour the broth through a fine mesh strainer. Set the beef shanks aside. You won't use them in this soup, but don't throw them out. See Expert Tips for what to do with that meat.
Bring the broth back to a boil, either in the Instant Pot on the sauté setting or on the stovetop. You want it boiling hot when it hits the raw steak in the bowl. That's what cooks it.
How to Assemble the Bowl
Cook the rice noodles according to the package. Preheat your bowls with hot water. Divide the noodles and raw steak among the bowls and top with the yellow and green onions.
Pour the boiling broth over the raw steak to cook it. Add your garnishes and serve immediately.
Expert Tips
- Don't skip the char. Roasting the onions and ginger is the single biggest flavor move in this recipe. You can taste the difference in the finished broth.
- Don't skip the parboil. Two minutes of boiling the beef shank and dumping the scummy water is what separates clear, restaurant-quality broth from cloudy home soup.
- Freeze your bowl-meat for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing. Firm meat slices thin. Thin meat cooks instantly when the hot broth hits it.
- The beef shank is not a throwaway. After the broth is done, the shank has given most of its flavor away, but you've still got two-plus pounds of tender, cooked beef. Shred it for tacos, fold it into a quick tomato ragu over pasta, mix it into fried rice, or use it in risotto the way a reader here did. That's a second meal for free.
- Make the broth ahead. It holds in the fridge for three days and freezes for three months. Portion it into quart containers and you've got restaurant pho fifteen minutes after you defrost.
FAQs
Yes, with one check. Rice noodles are naturally gluten-free, but fish sauce and hoisin can contain wheat. Read your labels. Red Boat fish sauce is reliably gluten-free, and Kikkoman makes a GF hoisin.
Yes. Follow every step as written, but instead of pressure cooking for 30 minutes, bring the pot to a boil on the stovetop, drop it to a low simmer, and cook uncovered for 3 to 4 hours. Go 6 to 10 hours if you want the most traditional depth.
A 6-quart handles this recipe comfortably. If you have an 8-quart, you can scale the recipe up proportionally.
Yes. After cooking, the shank has given most of its flavor to the broth, but the meat is still tender and useful. See Expert Tip #4 above for how I use it.
Oxtail, chuck, and brisket all work. Oxtail gives you the richest broth of the three. A mix of shank and oxtail is the restaurant-grade move.
Up to 3 days in the fridge. Up to 3 months in the freezer.
Yes, and I recommend it. Make the broth a day or two before, let the flavors settle in the fridge, then reheat and assemble the bowls fresh the night of.
Parboil the beef shank first, dump that water, clean the pot before continuing, then strain the finished broth. Those steps do most of the work.
Made this Instant Pot Beef Pho?
Leave a star rating and tell me how it turned out in the comments.
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Pho
Ingredients
For the broth
- 3 inches fresh ginger sliced
- 2 large yellow onions roughly chopped
- 3 lbs. beef shank
- 16 cups water divided
- 5 star anise
- 1 tsp. coriander seed
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ½ tsp. fennel seed
- 3 cloves
- ¼ cup fish sauce
- 1 Tbsp. sugar
- 1 Tbsp. sea salt
For the bowl
- 1 lb. filet mignon (or top sirloin) thinly sliced
- 14 oz. rice noodles
- 1 small yellow onion thinly sliced
- 2 scallions thinly sliced
For the garnish
- fresh herbs basil, cilantro, mint
- bean sprouts
- limes
- sauces sriracha, hoisin, chili garlic
- jalapeños
Instructions
For the broth
- Set the oven to 450°F (no need to preheat). Spray a baking sheet with oil and add the onions and ginger. Spread out into a single layer. Place the sheet tray in the oven and bake until slightly charred.
- Add beef shanks to the Instant Pot with 6 cups of water (enough to cover them). Then, using the high sauté setting, bring it up to a boil. Remove the shanks and set aside once the water reaches a rolling boil. Discard water and wash all scum from the bottom of the pot.
- Add the star anise, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, cloves, and cinnamon stick to the pot and toast them on the high sauté setting until fragrant (about 3 minutes).
- Return beef shanks to the pot along with charred ginger and onions, fish sauce, sugar, spices, salt, and 10 cups of water. Cook at high pressure for 30 minutes. Allow pressure to release naturally for at least 30 minutes (longer is better).
- Pour the broth through a fine mesh strainer. You can eat the beef shank, but we won’t use it anymore for this recipe. Return broth to heat and bring it back to a boil. You can do this in the pot using the sauté setting or on the stovetop.
For the bowl
- Prepare rice noodles according to the instructions on the box.
- Preheat your bowls with hot water.
- Place noodles in a heated bowl. Divide the noodles and raw steak among bowls and top with yellow and green onions.
- Pour boiling broth over the steak to cook it. Top with your choice of toppings and serve immediately.
Carrie
I followed the recipe exactly as noted but sadly, the broth was very bland. Wondering where I went wrong...
Jim
This comes together quickly. I charred my onion and ginger on the stove. I followed the instructions and did the full natural release. I will be making it again.
Laurie Letz
We spent 2 weeks in Haiphong a few years ago and ate pho daily. This recipe is almost identical to the pho we got from street vendors. The broth is amazing! Thank you.
Gary White
Well, that is a huge compliment. Thank you so much for sharing!
Marissa
This was such a flavorful broth and easy! I used plain soup bones instead of shank and thin cut sirloin. Thanks for sharing this with us!
JP
I'd like to add 1 pound of beef brisket to this recipe, as I love the cooked brisket/raw flank.
Can I add the brisket in when I return the beef shank to the pressure cooker before starting the pressure cooking?
If so, will I need to add any additional water or time?
Thank you!!
Gary White
Unfortunately, I cannot give you great advice here. I never cooked any brisket in an IP, so I couldn't say either way.
Cyndi
I didn't get a beefy full flavor to the broth as I could only find beef soup bones not shanks. But the process was simple. The Roasted onion and ginger made the house smell wonderful and I think improved the broth. Will definitely try again. Will have to go to an actual butcher shop to get the shanks.
Melle Lomax
This was an easy recipe to follow. Unfortunately, I had to improvise on some of the ingredients but still turned out well. My husband gave me a respectful fist bump to give me credit on it, lol. My question is, where did the coriander seeds go in the instructions? I assumed it went into the pot along with the rest of the other ingredients before setting to pressure cook and strained out later. It was still a great at home meal.
Gary White
Thanks for pointing out that the coriander seed was missing from the instructions. I've updated the recipe card to included them in step 3, with the other spices.
Anna
This is an awesome recipe! I always wanted to make my own pho and i stumbled on to your site. I made it for the second time tonight. I added 2 black cardamom plus i pressure cooked some beef tendon this time. I had thai basil and cilantro to kick it up. It turned out wonderful! Thanks 🙂
Kell
So I’ve made this before with my pressure cooker following the guidelines and have never had any issues.
However, I upgraded to the instant pot duo and the preset determination for the broth is different, it’s much longer (which is fine) I’m just curious of the recommendation on that, stick to the presets for broth or override and just use it on high for 30 minutes?
Gary White
The only preset I ever use is the rice button. I recommend using times listed in each recipe.
Theresa
The broth was restaurant quality. I’ll definitely make this again.