Today I’m going to share my recipe for quick Keto pho. It’s a classic Vietnamese noodle soup that I know should be pronounced “fuh” like fun, but my heart still wants to pronounce “foh” like phone.
Greetings 👋
(But only I was right.)
It’s because this Keto pho turned out really well
I made a simplified version of a quick pho recipe that I found on the Kitchn. Authentic pho is an all-day affair where you make the special infused broth from scratch. If you want to go that route, here is a great recipe from Jen Reviews.
🍜 How to make Keto pho broth
You can get very close to authentic pho broth by infusing store-bought beef broth with the same aromatics. To make this Keto pho broth, you mix beef broth with onion, fresh ginger, cinnamon sticks, coriander seeds, fish sauce, and soy sauce or coconut aminos. You bring it to a boil and then simmer the broth for 30 minutes. Pour the broth through a sieve to remove the aromatics and you’ll have yourself some very passable Vietnamese pho broth.
🥢 Keto pho noodles
I used low carb shirataki noodles for this pho recipe. Shirataki noodles are made from a strange root that cannot be digested, so they have zero net carbs per serving. Odd but true. They don’t taste like much of anything on their own, so this flavorful soup is the perfect use for them. With that one small change to the recipe, the net carb count for this soup went from 70g all the way down to 3g.
🥣 Composing your soup bowl
So to make up the soup, you split your shirataki noodles between 4 large bowls. Top the noodles with thinly sliced strips of sirloin steak and then pour the hot broth into the bowls to cook the meat and heat the noodles. Then top each bowl with sliced scallions, cilantro, and lime juice.
And you're done! 👩🍳
You just need a short list of ingredients and 40 minutes to make this tasty Keto Beef Shirataki Noodle Pho Soup. And each bowl of this Vietnamese soup has just 241 calories and 3g net carbs. So it’s a wonderfully flavorful bowl of noodle soup that you can eat guilt-free on your low carb diet.
Now if I could only get my persnickety kid to agree with me on this one… 😉
📋 Recipe
Keto Beef Shirataki Noodle Pho
This Keto beef pho recipe uses shirataki noodles to keep the carb count down to 3g net carbs.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Vietnamese
- Diet: Low Calorie
Ingredients
broth:
- 2 onions, peeled and quartered
- 1 (2 inch) piece ginger, peeled and quartered
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 (3-inch) whole cinnamon sticks
- 2 teaspoons whole coriander seeds
- 6 cups beef broth
- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
toppings:
- ½ pound sirloin steak, sliced very thinly
- 16 oz shirataki noodles, rinsed
- 2 scallions, sliced
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
- 1 lime, quartered
- hot sriracha sauce, optional
Instructions
Step 1. Mix together all broth ingredients in a large stock pot. Bring the broth to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and continue simmering for 30 minutes to give time for all the spices and aromatics to infuse in the broth.
Step 2. While the broth is simmering, put the beef on a plate, cover it with plastic wrap, and freeze for 15 minutes. The edges of the beef should feel firm to the touch, but the beef should not be frozen through.
Step 3. Remove the beef from the freezer and immediately use your sharpest knife to slice the beef into very thin slices. Slice across the grain, and aim for slices no thicker than ¼-inch. Once sliced, keep the beef covered and refrigerated until ready to serve.
Step 4. Add the shirataki noodles to a colander and rinse with warm water.
Step 5. After the broth has simmered for 30 minutes, strain out the aromatics with a sieve. Return to the soup pot. Place the broth back over low heat and keep it just below a simmer — you should see a fair amount of steam, but the broth should not be boiling. The broth needs to be quite hot to cook the beef.
Step 6. Divide the rinsed noodles between 4 serving bowls and top with a few slices of raw beef. Arrange the beef in a single layer so that the slices will cook evenly in the broth.
Step 7. Ladle the steaming broth into each bowl, pouring it evenly over the beef in order to cook it. The beef should immediately start to turn opaque.
Step 8. Top each bowl with scallions and cilantro and squeeze 1 quarter lime into each bowl. Set out the hot sauce, if using.
Nutrition
- Calories: 241
- Fat: 9
- Carbohydrates: 5
- Fiber: 2
- Protein: 24
Keywords: Keto Pho, Low Carb Pho, Paleo Pho
If you liked this shirataki noodle recipe, then you might like my recipes for Spaghetti and Meatballs, Keto Ramen or Baked Ziti.
Frank says
Great broth! I had some homemade chicken broth from last night, so I used that as the base. It turned out really flavorful and rich. I didn't have any Miracle Noodles, so I just added a bunch of stuff from my fridge and it was great.
★★★★★
Emily Krill says
Awesome. I love everything in the fridge soup.😊
Rachel says
I know what you mean about eating Keto when the rest of your family doesn't. I usually make the same main dish for kids, but I add something to it like noodles or potatoes for them. Like for this recipe, I made the broth and then served it with ramen noodles for them and Miracle noodles for me. Everybody gets what they want.
★★★★★
Emily Krill says
I do the same.😊
Henry M. says
Great pho recipe! I've made it twice now, once with chicken and once with beef. I think I actually liked the chicken one better. I used chicken broth and pulled rotisserie chicken and it was SOOOOO good. Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
Emily Krill says
Sure thing. I've never made it with pork, but I bet that would be good too.
Jennifer R says
AMAZING SOUP! I have been desperatly searching for a low carb version of pho. This is the first one that I've tried that actually tastes like the real thing. Thank you so much for this recipe!
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
No problem. So glad you like the soup!
Bri says
Tried this recipe today and it was amazing!! Only thing I did differently was I used a package of Sazon Goya’s coriander and annatto seasoning in place of the coriander seeds. I also washed the Miracle Noodles in water, then vinegar, then water again. I was really skeptical about the broth because the ingredients seemed weird to me but DANG it was perfect!!! Thank you so much for this recipe. It’s a game-changer for my pho-loving husband while we are adapting to the keto way of eating.
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
Yay! So glad you guys liked the soup. I've never heard of Sazon Goya’s coriander and annatto seasoning, so I will have to check that out. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment!
Matthew says
A beautiful memory for both you and your son! A great recipe as well. 😉
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
Thanks!
Maude says
This totally hit the spot. I’ve been missing pho since I’ve been low carb. So this was great.
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
Yay! So glad you liked it.