Flavorful Vegan Pho Noodle Soup

This vegan pho noodle soup recipe is sponsored by Yondu. I love using Yondu in all of my savory recipes and I encourage you to try it out. Get 20% off your purchase with code 20LHBLONDE for any size bottle on Amazon.

One of the most common misconceptions when it comes to plant-based eating is that you have to sacrifice flavor for health. Trust me, if that were the case, I certainly wouldn't be plant-based. With meals like this vegan pho noodle soup, you'll never miss out on any flavor, and you certainly won't miss the meat!

What You'll Need:

• ½ Yellow onion, sliced
• 1 medium-sized carrot, cut into matchsticks
• 4-5 baby portobello or shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• ¼ cup Yondu Vegetable Umami
• 5 cups of water
• ⅓ package of Vermicelli Rice Noodles (roughly 3 oz.)
• Handful of Cilantro and Basil (Thai basil if you can find it)
• 1-2 Limes
• Handful of bean sprouts
• Sliced green onions

How to Make Vegan Pho Noodle Soup:

The best part about this soup is that it is so easy and requires very little attention! Just let it simmer and the flavors will develop!

First, Sauté all of your Vegetables

After chopping all of the vegetables accordingly, you'll want to add them to a large pot with a small amount of a neutral-flavored oil. Starting with the onion, then the mushrooms, then the carrots, sauté all of the veggies.

Once the onions are translucent, but not crispy, add the ¼ cup of Yondu in order to deglaze the bottom of the pot.

Then, Create the Broth

Once the Yondu is added to the vegetables, you'll want to immediately add 5 cups of water and stir.

Bring the water to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Let the broth simmer for at least 30 minutes, but longer if possible to create the most flavorful broth.

Next, Cook the Noodles

Remove about ⅓ of the package (or roughly 3 oz.) of the vermicelli rice noodles (I used these). Read the box instructions, as it may direct you to soak noodles before cooking.

If your broth is ready to serve and you are ready to eat, you can add the dry noodles directly to the pot. Because I didn't want my noodles to tangle too much with the vegetables, I cooked them in a separate pot, drained them, and then added the broth to the noodles at the end.

Finally, Assemble the Soup

If you cooked your noodles separately, add the desired amount of noodles to a bowl. With a large spoon or ladle, add broth to the bowl of noodles. You can add as much broth as you want to achieve your desired broth to noodle ratio.

After you have all the broth in that you want, I like to fish out the mushrooms, carrots, etc. separately and then add them to the top of the soup. This step is optional.

Lastly, add a handful of basil leaves, cilantro leaves, a squeeze of a lime wedge or two, bean sprouts, and sliced scallions.

Ingredient Substitutions:

The best part of this soup is that the ingredients are so simple and easily interchangeable.

For the rice noodles, I prefer vermicelli, but you can use any width of noodles!

I think the mushrooms are pretty helpful for the flavor in this dish, but I understand if you're a mushroom-hater (although I disagree). The Yondu product adds a ton of that umami-flavor you get from the mushrooms. If you're omitting mushrooms, try doubling the Yondu. If you don't have Yondu, I'd recommend using 2.5 cups of vegetable broth and 2.5 cups of water instead of the 5 cups of water.

Make it WFPB! (Whole-food, plant-based)

WFPB avoids animal products as well as oils, refined sugars and grains, and processed foods.

This dish is already so healthy, it only requires one replacement to make it WFPB! The only thing to switch out would be to use brown rice noodles instead of regular! OR you could use zucchini noodles for a higher veggie-lower carb version!

📖 Recipe