This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Hormel Foods for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.
Beef Pho Noodle Soup is a simple delicious quick weeknight dinner for the whole family that is ready in less than 20 minutes. Beef soup loaded with thinly sliced beef, rice noodles topped with loads of fresh jalapeno, bean sprouts, green onion, cilantro, avocado and lime juice.
This recipe came together because of a family outing for Sunday lunch. We went to our local farmers market all four of us a bit tired, and a lot hungry wanting to just enjoy the summer sun and grab a bite to eat before we perused the local produce.
We wandered into a Vietnamese restaurant that busting at the seams with customers (always a good sign) and decided why not. Went to our table and asked our waiter what their specialty was, and we were told their Beef Pho soup was the bomb. Four bowls were ordered, four people were happy.
Pho is a popular street food in Vietnam that consists of a complicated broth that simmer for hours upon end before it can be eaten. Our Vietnamese restaurant boasted 20 hour beef broth in its title.
Who has time for 20 hour beef broth? Not me, and I bet not you.
With so many organic broth choices available at the market these days, you know I thought let’s make this quick and easy so I can serve it to the whole family any night the week. I am all about getting us together as often as possible to enjoy family dinners.
What is so great about Pho soup is that it is topped with an assortment of fresh vegetables that can be chosen based on your tastes. My husband and oldest like it a bit more spicy so plenty of jalapeno slices are dumped into their bowls, where me and my youngest like it a bit more mild and sprouts, cilantro and avocado are added to ours.
Even your picky eater will not turn up their nose at a bowl full of noodle soup.
We all enjoyed a drizzle of House of Tsang Stir Fry Sauce that was perfect drizzled on each bowl to give it a great asian flavor wow factor. This stuff is a great way to add flavor to any of your stir fry, vegetables or meats.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #ahealthylifeforme.
September is National Family Meals Month and we all need to sit down more often at the dinner table and enjoy weeknight dinners together.
It is so important for all of us to unplug from the hustle of our life and reconnect as a family. The dinner table is the perfect place for this to happen.
We have always made it a point in our house to have at least four nights a week where we sit down to dinner as a family. Yes, this is hard, but it is oh so important. Not just for our physical health, but for our mental health.
If you are looking for support information, recipes, savings/coupons or ideas to help get your family around the dinner table more often Visit Hormel Foods Their Easy Recipe Ideas are sure to encourage you and the whole family to get involved in making dinner.
Need a little more motivation to work on eating dinner as a family?
Here are four facts that might help:
1. There’s clear evidence the structure of a meal can heavily influence a child’s long-term health. Kids and teens who share meals with their family three or more times per week are significantly less likely to be overweight, more likely to eat healthy foods and less likely to have eating disorders. Berge, J. (2015). The protective role of family meals for youth obesity: 10-year longitudinal associations. The Journal of Pediatrics, 166 (2).
2. With each additional family meal shared each week, adolescents are less likely to show symptoms of depression, less likely to use/abuse drugs and less likely to engage in delinquent acts. Meier, A. and Musick, K. (2014). Variation in associations between family dinners and adolescent well-being. Journal of Marriage and Family, 76 (1).
3. A recent study also shows that children who grow up sharing meals as a family are more likely to exhibit prosocial behavior as adults, such as sharing, fairness and respect. De Backer, C.J. (2014). “Our” food versus “my” food. Investigating the relation between childhood shared food practices and prosocial behavior in Belgium. Appetite, 84 (January 2015).
4. Adolescents who participate in even one or two family meals per week are less likely to be overweight or obese in adulthood compared to adolescents who never participate in family meals. Neumark-Sztainer, D. (2010). Family meals and adolescents: what have we learned from project EAT (eating amount teens)? Public Health Nutrition, 13 (7).
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- [br][b]Beef Broth:[/b]
- 64 ounces of organic beef broth
- 5 star of anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Rice Noodles (pho)
- [br][b]Beef[/b]
- 1/2 pound round steak or sirloin steak, sliced paper thin
- Pinch of kosher salt
- Pinch of black pepper
- [br][b]Toppings:[/b]
- 1-2 jalapeno peppers, sliced (remove seeds for less heat)
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 1 large bunch of cilantro
- 1 large lime, cut into wedges
- 1-2 stalks scallions, trimmed and diced
- 1 large avocado, peeled seeded and sliced
- Tsang stir fry classic sauce
- Tsang stir fry szechuan spicy sauce
- Add beef stock, star of anise, cinnamon to a large stock pot and bring to a low simmer
- Cook rice noodles according to package directions
- Sprinkle salt and pepper over thinly sliced beef.
- Remove star of anise an cinnamon from stock. Spoon stock into bowls and add thinly sliced beef and a serving of noodles.
- Top each bowl with desired vegetables and a squeeze of lime.
- Divide the broth between four to six large bowls, then add thinly sliced beef and desired amount of noodles.
- Top with bean sprouts, sliced jalapeños, fresh cilantro, avocado and serve with lime wedges.
- Add a drizzle of Tsangs stir fry sauces to your desired taste.
- Serve and Enjoy.
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I’m looking forward to trying this, Amy. My oldest loves noodle soups like this, and cilantro is a staple in our house. I cook with it several times a week. My bowl will be loaded down! Thanks for the recipe!
Then this recipe will be a home run Michelle. Enjoy!
I am Vietnamese and never have I’ve seen a recipe asking to add avocado to a traditional PHO
Avocado makes everything taste better.
I’m sorry but that’s not pho. Please don’t call your dish pho, as it’s way far from how it’s supposed to be. If you want to add avocado in you soup, please call it something else. It’s NOT pho! Please don’t disrespect a 4000-year cuisine/culture.
I am also Vietnamese and was also floored by the addition of avocado, as well as a 20 minute pho.
Try 150 years. Know your history.
Amy, I love making soup and this is one I have never made before. I know my husband will love it and it is on my to-do list this fall! So excited!
So glad you are going to make it for your hubby! He will love it!
I have never had pho but everyone always raves about it so I guess I’m missing out! This looks great 🙂
You must try it Sara, it is so delicious and so simple to make. Hope you give it a try!
Lmao a 20 minute pho. Just call it beef noodle soup, you didn’t need to steal and insult our culture.
Pho is one of my absolute favorite meals to eat out yet I’ve never tried it at home. You’re inspiring me to do so!
So glad you will give it a try Gina. My family was thrilled I made it at home. I have a feelign I will get regular requests for me to make it for dinner now.
I LOVE pho, but have never made it myself! Pinning this for later! Looks delicious!
You will be amazed at how easy it is Justine. Enjoy!
I LOOOOOOVVVVVEEE pho. But, I’m ashamed to admit I’ve never made it at home. This looks totally doable, thank you for sharing!
You bethc ya’ Michelle. Hope you enjoy the recipe.
Love Pho!!! Nothing better than a big bowl of it on a lazy day. It’s one of my fav comfort foods. Now I can make my own and stay in my pjs instead of getting dressed to go out and get some!
This pho looks so good! I also like the greens in here. 🙂 I would definitely try this. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I looove this! For years I have wanted to make pho but couldn’t justified the time (especially if it didn’t work). I appreciate the time saver and can’t wait to make this!
Thanks Laura, yep pho is awesome, but that 20 hour broth is daunting. Using a great organic beef broth worked great!
The 20 hour cook time is not neccessary for smaller volumes (ie: home cooking for a family). I appreciate experimenting with recipes/cooking and creating your own recipes but having said this, your recipe is not a traditional Pho. You are missing half of the spices, condiments and substituting szechuan stir fry sauce, adding avocado (not ne necessarily bad thing if you like avocado) and canned beef broth…definitely not the same as fresh broth made with beef soup bones and a good cut of chuck roast slow cooked with “all of the spices” that are in traditional Pho. You can make a traditional Pho in the same time it would take to bake a Turkey. This is not a dig at your recipe or meant to put it down. I experiment and change recipes all the time. That is what makes cooking fun. Especially, since I don’t measure out exact amounts of ingredients when cooking. I use the pinch, dash, dump, smell (I can usually tell if the seasonings are good or if more spice are needed), then taste to be sure method. 😄 Continue experimenting and having fun creating new recipes! Don’t let anyone make you feel bad about “insulting a 4000 yr.old tradition (not sure where she got her info…it is closer to the late 1800’s and a blend of Vietnamese,Chinese & French influences…but not going to get into a history lesson. There are a wide variety of variations of the traditional Pho in north, central and south Vietnam and here in the USA.
Are you also boiling the beef in the broth? and does it only take around 8 mins to cook it all or does it take a little longer usually?
Hey Hannah, No you add the thinly sliced beef to the broth into the serving bowl. Because it is so thin the hot broth will cook the beef pretty quickly. Yes the prep time takes about 8 minutes and with cooking time you can expect to be completely finished with the recipe in 16 minutes.
is there a way to be able to develop the flavors a bit more…
Hi Emma, are you referring to the broth or the dish as a whole?
I love Pho and I can’t wait to try this at home. How long do you simmer the broth? Will it make it more flavorful if it’s simmered longer?
Hi Steve, This is a quick pho, so I made with pre-made beef broth. Just make sure you buy a high quality broth and you won’t need to simmer it any longer since all the work is done for you. Enjoy!
Hello, just to be sure do you add the meat raw or do you cook it first?
Hi Marlen, You put the meat in raw, it is so thin and the broth is hot enough that it will cook the meat.
Hi, I’m not too clear as to what point the beef is cooked. Does it cook when it’s placed into the bowls with the beef stock?
Hi Ron, Yes the beef is thinly sliced and the stock is hot enough to cook the beef very easily. Enjoy!
I’ve made this a few times now, and it’s a great shortcut to a quick, easy, and flavorful bowl of pho.
Thanks for letting me know Elissa!
Made this last night and it was a hit! Soooo delicious! Thank you!!
Thank you so so much Lucy for letting me know! xo
Recipe was very vague and hard to follow. I didn’t use the star of anise. Turned out okay.
Sorry you found it hard to follow Hope, but glad it turned out okay.
How long are you letting this simmer to get the full flavor?
We have made this recipe several times. It is delicious!
Very easy and a new recipe that is going on my regular must have menu!!!! Thank you!! I used shiritake pasta instead of noodles (low carb life). They soaked up the broth perfectly.***Disclaimer*** If you have never tried shiritake noodles before, make sure to learn how to cook them before attempting to eat them. It’s a different process than boiling noodles!!
My first attempt at Pho using this recipe….beef broth absolutely needs some sesame seed oil.
For me I added some ginger, lime & sweet with heat….chilli peppers.
I didn’t use beef…instead some raw shrimp…2-3 mins before serving. Make sure large serving bowls are warm….
Layer sprouts, noodles…veggies & then cover with boiling hot broth. Easy & Excellent.
One Tetra Pak broth enuf for 2 ppl.