Simple Slow Cooker Pho is super easy. This cheater recipe saves you money, no need for takeout.
Vietnamese pho is such a great meal for any night of the week. Who wouldn’t welcome a bowl of noodle soup?
A savoury broth with the flavours of star anise, cloves, and cinnamon, with a touch of fish sauce.
RECIPE and INSTRUCTIONS for this homemade pho are at the bottom of this post.
I love Asian takeout. Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, all so full of flavour. Since I love cooking at home, making some of these wonderful dishes is a fun way to travel the world without leaving the kitchen.
This chicken pho recipe packs a flavour punch. If you love chicken noodle soup, this is the Asian version.
Looking for a little more soup fun, Cambodian Pineapple Soup is fun to make too.
Are YOU a noodle lover? We sure are. Authentic Ukrainian Egg Noodle Casserole and fun Chinese Spaghetti and Meatballs are a few of the dishes we enjoy.
We enjoy noodles in stir fries too. Fried cabbage and noodles is the perfect meal for busy weeknights, and is a fraction of the cost of takeout.
Can You Cook Pho In The Slow Cooker?
YES! This really is a simple soup to make, and the perfect crockpot dinner recipe.
The broth, chicken and shrimp are all prepared in the slow cooker. The noodles and bean sprouts are the only things you need to make on the side.
Slow Cooker Pho Ingredients
- chicken breasts
- chicken stock
- brown sugar
- *(affiliate) fish sauce
- tamari sauce
- cinnamon stick, star anise, and whole cloves
- cooked shrimp
- bok choy
- fresh basil
- lime
- jalapeno
- *(affiliate) Sriracha sauce
- *(affiliate) rice noodles
- bean sprouts
How To Make Chicken Pho In The Slow Cooker
- Just like all slow cooker recipes, this pho soup is no exception.
- Lightly coat the slow cooker with cooking spray.
- Place the chicken breasts into the slow cooker.
- Combine the stock, fish sauce and seasonings, and pour over chicken breasts.
- Cook on low for 9 hours.
- Prepare shrimp and bok choy (see instructions in recipe card), and add to the pot.
- Continue to cook for 30 minutes.
- Remove chicken, shred and return to pot.
- Prepare rice noodles according to directions on the package.
Recipe Tips
- I love chicken and shrimp so I decided to use both in this pho soup. You can make this a chicken only version if you like. You can also use chicken thighs for this recipe.
- Thai basil is not always easy to find, so you can use whatever fresh basil you can find at the grocery store (or your garden).
- For the rice noodles, I chose the kind you would find in Pad Thai. I cooked them ahead of time and placed them in the fridge.
- I blanched my bean sprouts (some people prefer to eat them raw).
- For pho toppings, I used jalapenos and Thai basil. Nuts like cashews or peanuts would be a great option too. Also, you might consider sliced snap peas or bell peppers.
Is Pho Healthy?
I guess it depends on what YOU class as healthy. For some people, it may be high on sodium because of the fish sauce, but you could adjust the amount you use.
It contains rice noodles (that are gluten-free). Protein from the chicken and shrimp. You get some veggies from the bok choy and bean sprouts.
Vietnamese noodle soup is a tasty dish that acts as a main course. Just like noodle bowls.
Pho in the crockpot is easy and totally delicious. Perfect for any night of the week. Better than takeout. Hope you give it a try soon.
Since I know you will LOVE this recipe, Slow Cooker Creamy Fish Soup is the ultimate comfort food. Easy, hearty and so delicious.
Slow Cooker Spicy Kale Soup is the ultimate comfort food. Hearty and delicious. The heat comes from the dry-cured sausage.
This recipe was inspired by Served From Scratch Crockpot Chicken Pho.
What is YOUR favorite flavour of pho soup?
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Vietnamese Slow Cooker Pho
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breasts (skinless/boneless)
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoons tamari sauce
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 10 star anise
- 2 inch piece of fresh ginger (peeled and sliced)
- 6 whole cloves
- 1 pound frozen cooked shrimp (thawed/tail on)
- 4 cups baby bok choy (chopped)
- ½ cup Thai basil (roughly chopped)
- 2 jalapenos (sliced)
- 1 lime (quartered)
- Sriracha sauce (as needed)
- 12 ounces Pad Thai noodles (pre cooked)
- 12 ounces Fresh bean sprouts (raw or blanched)
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in slow cooker.
- Combine stock, fish sauce, cinnamon, star anise, ginger, cloves, tamari, and brown sugar.
- Pour over chicken breasts.
- Cook on low for 9 hours.
- Roughly chop bok choy.
- Rinse and dry shrimp.
- Remove chicken breasts from slow cooker along with the cinnamon stick, cloves, and star anise.
- Add bok choy and shrimp to the slow cooker.
- Replace lid, turn slow cooker to high and cook for 30 minutes.
- At this point, you can blanch the bean sprouts in boiling water. If you are eating them raw, be sure to RINSE thoroughly.
- Shred the cooked chicken breasts.
- Return shredded chicken to pot and heat for a few minutes.
- Place noodles in bowls, ladle broth, garnish with jalapenos, basil, Sriracha and bean sprouts.
- ENJOY!
Nutrition Information
Sherri @ Watch Learn Eat
I agree – slow cookers are awesome! Love this recipe! Such a great combination of ingredients! Looks delicious! 🙂
Chef G
It is awesome and easy.
Tamara
Love finding new recipes to try, going to have to attempt this one soon.
Chef G
It is so easy….enjoy!!
Debbie L.
Oh my gosh – this looks delicious I will e giving this a try. Adding the ingredients to my shopping list.
Chef G
Wonderful…thanks so much. Enjoy!!
Mark, CompassandFork
We make pho quite a bit and feature a recipe on our own site. We love it, it is a soup that is a hole meal. I’ve not tried it before in the slow cooker, so will try your delicious-looking recipe out.
Chef G
Thanks…we love it too. Hope you enjoy it!!
Claudia Krusch
It looks so delicious! I can’t wait to try it, slow cooker is my best friend in the winter!
Chef G
Yes they are awesome….love using them too.
Rosey
I like that you sprinkled it with jalepenos. Thisis a great looking recipe.
Chef G
Thanks…hope you try it.
Liz Mays
Wow, this looks delicious. The guys will definitely like the jalapenos and sriracha. I should try making this for them!
Chef G
I bet they would love it too!!
keikilani
It’s been a long time since I had a bowl of Pho! I totally wouldn’t have thought of using the slow cooker to make it! Great recipe!
Chef G
I agree I wouldn’t have thought of it either…makes things so much easier.
Censie
I had Pho for the first time a few weeks ago. It was so good! I will be trying this recipe soon! Thank you!!
Chef G
I love pho….and this is so easy to do!
Mama to 5 BLessings
Wow that recipe looks great right now! It is cold outside, i bet this would warm me up – yum!
Chef G
Oh yes it certainly would.
Rebekah | Kitchen Gidget
I never thought about making pho at home because the broth takes so long to simmer. It never occurred to me to use the crock pot! Genius!
Chef G
Thanks…slow cookers are awesome!!
Tracy | Baking Mischief
Slow cooker recipes are the best! I’ve never had pho before, but this looks delicious. i think I’m going to have to give it a try! I love that it has jalapenos and sriracha. It must have some kick to it!
Chef G
It does..and the best part is you can control the intensity of the heat yourself.
Sandi (@fearless_dining)
Beautiful…I love that this can be made in a slow cooker.
Chef G
Me too….so much better than takeout!
Karissa @WithOurBest
Pho is like one of my favorite dishes! It is a great GF choice for me!
Chef G
Awesome….enjoy!!
Milena
I pinned this one! I love using my slow cooker and I wanted to learn how to make Pho. Perfect!
Chef G
Well it is easy and tasty…hope you enjoy it!!