I adore traditional homemade Pho, the kind that simmers on the stove all weekend long. Oh, that deep, savory scent? Nothing beats it. But let’s be real—who has eight hours to dedicate to soup on a Tuesday night? I certainly don’t! That’s why I spent months tweaking recipes to bring that authentic Vietnamese noodle soup magic into your weeknights without sacrificing an ounce of that signature aroma. This Instant Pot Chicken Pho with Rice Noodles is my secret weapon. We trade out the beef for flavorful chicken and use the pressure of the Instant Pot to coax incredible depth out of the spices in a fraction of the time. If you’re looking to speed up your Asian cooking game, check out my guide on making quick chicken pho in under 30 minutes. Trust me, adapting those complex Asian flavor bombs for quick kitchen tools is my specialty, and this version is a game-changer for comfort food lovers.
Why This Instant Pot Chicken Pho with Rice Noodles Works So Well
Seriously, this recipe gives you the best of all worlds. Traditional Pho takes forever because you need hours to break down the collagen and build that spiced flavor. But the Instant Pot changes everything! By using high pressure, we extract the essential oils from the star anise and cinnamon in just 25 minutes. It’s perfect for making Quick Vietnamese food at home when you’re craving something soul-warming but only have an hour.
We’re using chicken here, which makes the broth lighter and faster to cook than beef. This is the ultimate Easy homemade Pho recipe no beef version, packed with flavor from toasted spices, not just plain stock. If you are tired of boring weeknight soup, this is your answer for cozy, Comfort food recipes chicken rice noodles.
Plus, the clean-up is unbelievably simple. You’re cooking the entire broth base and chicken right in one pot. You can find more ideas here on making authentic flavor fast!
Ingredients for Authentic Flavor Instant Pot Chicken Broth
Getting that real Pho flavor without simmering all day means paying close attention to our aromatics and spices. Don’t skip the toasting step—it wakes up everything and truly elevates this from plain chicken soup to something special. When you make this, you are building a flavor foundation that is second to none. Remember that for the best results, quality matters here, especially with the spices. We rely on them heavily since we aren’t cooking the broth for hours!
For the Aromatic Spice Blend
This is where the unmistakable Pho magic happens! You absolutely need to toast these spices briefly until you can really smell them—it only takes a minute or two over medium heat. I use a small dry pan for this. You’ll need:
- 4 whole star anise
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 5 whole cloves
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
Pop them into a little mesh bag or tea infuser before adding them to the pot. If you want more help with spice blends for your electric pressure cooker, I’ve got some great guides on perfect pressure cooker spices.
For the Chicken and Broth Base
For the actual soup base, we are using chicken, which cooks up beautifully tender under pressure. I always recommend bone-in thighs and breasts for the best flavor extraction. Don’t be shy with the seasonings either—the fish sauce is key!
- 3 lbs chicken pieces (bone-in thighs and breasts recommended for the richness)
- 8 cups water or low-sodium chicken broth (I usually do half and half)
- 1 large yellow onion, halved (we’re charring this!)
- 2 inches fresh ginger, sliced lengthwise
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar (it balances the saltiness perfectly)
- 1 teaspoon salt
For Serving and Garnishes
Pho isn’t Pho without piling on the fresh stuff at the end. It stops the meal from feeling too heavy. Have these ready to go when the Instant Pot finishes:
- 1 pound dried rice noodles (pho style)
- 1 cup fresh bean sprouts
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh Thai basil leaves
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
- Sriracha and Hoisin sauce (put these on the table so everyone can load up their own bowl!)
How to Make Pho Broth Faster: Step-by-Step Instant Pot Chicken Pho Instructions
Okay, are you ready for the best part? This is where we throw all those incredible ingredients into the pot and let science—okay, electricity—do the heavy lifting to create an Authentic flavor Instant Pot Chicken Broth. Forget spending all day on this; we’re getting deep flavor in about 40 minutes of cook time. Just stick closely to these steps, especially when it comes to the pressure release, and you’ll be slurping amazing Instant Pot Chicken Pho with Rice Noodles in no time!
Aromatics Preparation and Toasting Spices
First things first, we need to wake up those spices! Take the star anise, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, and fennel seeds and toss them into a small, dry skillet. Heat them over medium heat for just one or two minutes until your kitchen starts smelling like a spice market—don’t let them smoke! Pop those fragrant beauties right into your spice bag. You can learn loads more about this technique in my guide on how to make pho broth in electric pressure cooker.
Next, handle your onion and ginger. If you’ve got a gas stove or a broiler, char the cut sides of the half onion and the ginger slices until they are beautifully blackened. That charring adds that necessary smoky depth that traditional Pho gets from roasting over charcoal. If you can’t char them, don’t sweat it; just toss them right into the pot, but charring really pushes the flavor over the edge. You want to see those dark, caramelized spots!
Pressure Cooking the Instant Pot Chicken Pho with Rice Noodles
Now we load it up! Place your chicken pieces into the Instant Pot liner. Pour in the water or broth, add the fish sauce, brown sugar, and salt. Toss in your spice bag full of toasted magic. Lock that lid down, make sure your valve is sealed tight, and set it to Manual or High Pressure for exactly 25 minutes.
When the Instant Pot beeps, this is important: let it Natural Pressure Release (NPR) for a full 15 minutes. Don’t try to rush it by quick releasing right away. That 15 minutes lets the temperature drop gently and keeps that flavor set in the broth. After 15 minutes, you can carefully quick release any remaining steam.
Finishing the Broth and Preparing Noodles/Chicken
Carefully lift out the chicken and set it aside to cool down enough to handle. Now, strain that amazing broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a separate pot or large bowl. Toss out all the solids—ginger, onion, spent spices—we only want liquid gold now. Taste it! Does it need a bit more salt or fish sauce? Now is the time to adjust for your perfect bowl of Fast Pho with Chicken Broth.
Once the chicken is cool enough, shred all that tender meat off the bones. For the noodles? The best way, which you can read more about in my rice noodle cooking tips, is to soak the dried rice noodles in a bowl of very hot water for about 10–15 minutes until they are pliable but still have some bite. Drain them well!
Assembling Your Instant Pot Chicken Pho with Rice Noodles
Time to eat! Divide those soft rice noodles evenly among your serving bowls. Pile a generous amount of shredded chicken on top of the noodles. Gently ladle that beautiful, steaming hot broth over the chicken and noodles—it should just cover everything. Then, set out all those vibrant garnishes like the bean sprouts, fresh basil, cilantro, and lime wedges. Let everyone drizzle on their Sriracha and Hoisin sauce to make it exactly how they like their own bowl of Instant Pot Chicken Pho with Rice Noodles.
Tips for Success with Your Instant Pot Chicken Pho
This recipe is designed to be super efficient, but a couple of small tweaks can make your Instant Pot Chicken Pho with Rice Noodles taste like it simmered all day. My first big pointer for Making Pho Broth Faster is dealing with fat. After you strain that broth, if you see any obvious fat layers floating on top, give it a quick skim with a ladle before you reheat it. A clearer broth just tastes cleaner!
Also, think about your liquid base. While water works perfectly fine for extracting spice flavor, if you have high-quality low-sodium chicken stock on hand, use that instead of all water. It just gives the broth a tiny head start on richness. You can find some more tips in my guide on amazing aromatic chicken soups. Seriously, trust the process, especially the toasting of those spices!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions for Instant Pot Chicken Pho
One reason I love that this is a weeknight option is that you don’t need a huge specialty grocery run, but there are a few superstars here you shouldn’t swap out if you can help it. Fish sauce, for example, is the core of Vietnamese savory flavor—it’s salty, umami-rich funkiness. If, for some reason, you absolutely cannot find fish sauce, you can technically substitute it with a mix of soy sauce and a pinch of extra salt, but honestly, your broth won’t taste quite as authentic, so try to locate that bottle!
What if you’re missing one of those precious spices? If you’re out of star anise, which is the big one for Pho, you might struggle to get the signature flavor. You can increase the cinnamon or cloves slightly, but it won’t be the same. If you’re missing ginger or onion, that’s easy—skip them, but remember that you miss out on that lovely charred depth, which we talked about in the instructions. For more ideas on adapting your pressure cooker staples, check out my guide on chicken noodle soup pressure cooker style.
Lastly, let’s talk chicken. I specified bone-in because bones equal natural collagen and gelatin, making the broth silky. If you only have boneless, skinless breasts, that’s totally fine for speed, but the broth will be thinner. To compensate slightly, use actual store-bought chicken stock instead of water as your liquid base, which gives it a quick boost! It’s all about making smart swaps when life gets busy.
Serving Suggestions for Your Weeknight Asian Dinner Ideas
I know what you’re thinking: “This Pho is so filling, do I even need anything else?” And honestly, sometimes no! It’s a complete meal right there in the bowl. But if you’re trying to make this a bigger family feast or you’re just feeding some hungry teenagers, you need some delicious supporting players that fit into your busy schedule. This soup is fantastic on its own, but it really shines when paired with something light and crunchy.
Since we nailed the main course with the Instant Pot Chicken Pho with Rice Noodles, we want appetizers that move fast. My favorite thing to have alongside this soup are fresh, vibrant spring rolls—the kind you wrap yourself! They are so light compared to an actual fried egg roll and they don’t weigh down the meal at all. If you want to try making them at home, I have a super simple guide for making crispy homemade egg rolls, though I often just skip frying them and serve the filling wrapped in soft rice paper because we’ve already got the noodles handled in the Pho!
If you’re looking for non-roll options that fit perfectly into your rotation of Weeknight Asian Dinner Ideas, try serving the soup with a very simple side salad dressed lightly with rice vinegar, sesame oil, and a tiny bit of sugar. That bright, vinegary hit is a wonderful contrast to the warm, savory broth. It’s all about balancing those heavy broth flavors with something fresh and acidic to keep your palate interested!
Storage and Reheating Instructions for Leftover Instant Pot Chicken Pho with Rice Noodles
So you made too much amazing broth—that’s the best kind of problem to have! When storing your leftovers, you absolutely MUST keep the rice noodles separate from the broth and chicken. If you store the noodles submerged, they turn into sticky, mushy blobs overnight. Ask me how many times I’ve made that mistake!
Keep the broth and the shredded chicken together in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. When you are ready to eat the next day, reheat the broth until it’s piping hot—use that Instant Pot again if you like, or just use a saucepan! Cook a fresh batch of rice noodles right before serving, pile them in the bowl, top with warm chicken, and ladle that delicious Instant Pot Chicken Pho with Rice Noodles broth over the top. Perfect, every time!
Frequently Asked Questions About Making Instant Pot Chicken Pho
I totally get it—when you’re trying out a new method for a classic like Pho, you end up with a million little questions! That’s fantastic because it means you care about getting the flavor just right. We cover a lot of ground in this guide, but here are the few things I seem to hear most often, especially from folks trying to fit this amazing soup into their rotation of great Instant Pot soup recipes good for dinner.
Can I use pre-made chicken broth instead of water in the Instant Pot Chicken Pho?
Oh, absolutely! You totally can use pre-made broth, and honestly, if you have a really good quality chicken stock, it will definitely enrich the broth beautifully. My recipe calls for water plus fish sauce and salt because the Instant Pot is amazing at drawing flavor out of simple ingredients. If you swap in store-bought broth, just be super careful with adding extra salt or fish sauce at the beginning. Most broths are high in sodium already, so taste it right at the end before you add any more seasoning!
How do I get that classic charred flavor without a broiler for my Fast Pho with Chicken Broth?
That charred onion and ginger step is pure magic, right? It gives that subtle smoky background note that takes your Fast Pho with Chicken Broth to the next level. If you don’t have a broiler and aren’t comfortable charring it over an open gas flame (which I used to do years ago!), you have two great options. Option one is skipping it—the major flavor punch comes from the toasted spices anyway, so it will still be great Pho!
Option two, which I’ve started doing lately when I’m lazy, is using the Sauté function on the Instant Pot itself! Place the onion half directly on the bottom of the stainless steel liner (no oil needed) and let it sit on Sauté mode for about 4–5 minutes per side until it’s blackened. It’s a little messy to clean later, but wow, it delivers that smoky flavor right in the pot!
What is the best way to cook rice noodles for soup so they are not overcooked?
This is possibly the most common mistake people make when making ramen or pho at home! Do not, I repeat, *do not* throw the dried noodles into the Instant Pot to cook with the broth, or you will end up with a sticky, starchy mess and a total nightmare cleanup. That starchy water messes with the final broth flavor too. The best trick is the one I mentioned in the main steps: soak them!
Get a big bowl—even a clean kitchen sink basin if you need space—and fill it with very hot water, hotter than tap water if you can manage it, but not necessarily boiling. Submerge your dried rice noodles for about 10 to 15 minutes. They’ll soften up nicely. Just drain them well right before you put them in your serving bowl and ladle the hot broth over them. They’ll finish cooking perfectly in the heat and stay bouncy!
Estimated Nutritional Information for Instant Pot Chicken Pho with Rice Noodles
Now, before you dive spoon-first into that huge bowl of steaming goodness, I always like to give a little heads-up about the nutrition, because while this is totally comforting, we want to keep it healthy too! Since we are focusing on lots of lean chicken and water/broth rather than heavy fats, this makes a fantastic healthy lunch idea in the Instant Pot.
What I’ve listed below is an estimate based on my recipe ratios—remember, if you load up on a ton of hoisin or sriracha, that will change things significantly, so be mindful of your sauce game on the table!
Here is the approximate breakdown per serving (and this recipe yields 4 generous bowls):
- Calories: 450
- Protein: 35g (That’s a huge plus from the chicken!)
- Carbohydrates: 55g (Mostly from those wonderful rice noodles)
- Fat: 12g
- Sugar: Around 5g (That sweet lift comes mainly from the brown sugar we add to the broth)
- Sodium: 650mg (This varies a LOT depending on the salt/fish sauce you use, so take this one with a grain of salt, ha!)
I try to keep the saturated fat low by skimming any excess fat off the top of the broth after pressure cooking, which is a step I highly recommend. Enjoying a big, flavorful bowl of Instant Pot Chicken Pho with Rice Noodles doesn’t have to mean cheating on your eating goals!
Share Your Instant Pot Chicken Pho with Rice Noodles Experience
Wow, I am so excited for you to try this recipe for Instant Pot Chicken Pho with Rice Noodles! This is truly a dish that changed my weeknight cooking game, and I hope it does the same for yours. The best part of sharing a recipe like this is hearing how you all customize it in your own kitchens.
So, listen, I need to know: How did it turn out for you? Did you lean into the classic spice profile, or did you add an extra stick of cinnamon just because you love that warmth? Were you brave and charred the onion right on the heating element, or did you skip that step? Let me know in the comments below!
If you made this and snapped a picture—and you absolutely should have, because chicken pho is gorgeous—please tag me on social media! Seeing your steaming bowls loaded with fresh cilantro and basil absolutely makes my day. Your feedback on the spice level customizations really helps the next person who stumbles upon this recipe. Don’t be shy; I want to hear every little detail about how you made this Quick Vietnamese Food at Home your own!
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Instant Pot Chicken Pho with Rice Noodles
- Total Time: 55 min
- Yield: 4 servings
- Diet: Low Fat
Description
A quick recipe for making flavorful Vietnamese chicken noodle soup using an Instant Pot.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chicken pieces (bone-in thighs and breasts recommended)
- 8 cups water or low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 large yellow onion, halved
- 2 inches fresh ginger, sliced lengthwise
- 4 whole star anise
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 5 whole cloves
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 pound dried rice noodles (pho style)
- 1 cup fresh bean sprouts (for garnish)
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (for garnish)
- 1/4 cup fresh Thai basil leaves (for garnish)
- 1 lime, cut into wedges (for garnish)
- Sriracha and Hoisin sauce (for serving)
Instructions
- Place the halved onion and sliced ginger directly onto the Instant Pot trivet or directly into the pot. If you have a small piece of foil, you can char the onion and ginger slightly over a gas flame or under a broiler for 2 minutes per side before adding them for deeper flavor, but this step is optional.
- In a small, dry skillet over medium heat, toast the star anise, cinnamon sticks, cloves, coriander seeds, and fennel seeds for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Place the toasted spices into a spice bag or a small tea infuser ball.
- Place the chicken pieces into the Instant Pot liner. Add the water or broth, fish sauce, brown sugar, and salt. Add the spice bag.
- Secure the lid on the Instant Pot and set the valve to sealing. Cook on Manual/Pressure Cook setting on High Pressure for 25 minutes.
- Allow the pressure to naturally release for 15 minutes, then carefully quick release any remaining pressure.
- Remove the chicken pieces and set them aside to cool slightly. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a large pot or bowl, discarding the solids, onion, and ginger. Taste the broth and adjust salt or fish sauce if needed. Keep the broth warm.
- Shred or dice the cooked chicken meat and discard the bones and skin.
- Prepare the rice noodles according to package directions, usually by soaking them in hot water until tender, then draining well.
- To serve, divide the cooked rice noodles among bowls. Top with shredded chicken. Ladle the hot, flavorful broth over the noodles and chicken.
- Serve immediately with plates of fresh bean sprouts, cilantro, basil, lime wedges, Sriracha, and Hoisin sauce on the side for you to customize your bowl.
Notes
- For a clearer broth, skim any foam or fat from the top after the pressure release.
- If you prefer a richer chicken flavor, substitute half of the water with high-quality chicken stock.
- You can char the onion and ginger directly on the Instant Pot heating element for 3-5 minutes if you do not have access to a broiler.
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 40 min
- Category: Soup
- Method: Pressure Cooking
- Cuisine: Vietnamese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 450
- Sugar: 5
- Sodium: 650
- Fat: 12
- Saturated Fat: 3
- Unsaturated Fat: 9
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 55
- Fiber: 3
- Protein: 35
- Cholesterol: 110
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