Love Chicken Pho? Did you know you can make it at home in your Crock Pot? Homemade Chicken Pho is easier than you may think!
I will repeat: Crock Pot Chicken Pho. I know. And you're welcome. Ok, I'm in no way saying that this phở is anywhere near the phở that the tiny little Vietnamese woman at Toast N'Phở makes (my favorite pho in Portland), but it's close. Damn close. Mainly because we made it ourselves. In our Crock Pot. While we were at work. WIN.
The secret to an amazing phở is definitely the broth. That's why I had made a deliciously rich, fresh chicken stock the night before. Then, all it needed were the pho flavor goodness: fresh ginger, star anise, whole cloves, brown sugar, fish sauce, and cinnamon.
Mmmm, fresh, from scratch chicken stock. But a really good prepackaged stock would work just as well.
To the 8 cups of chicken stock, I added 1 1/2 tablespoons of brown sugar
2 tablespoons of fish sauce
10 star anise and 6 cloves
some fresh ginger sliced thinly
and finally a whole cinnamon stick.
Then, I added a couple of skinned and trimmed on the bone chicken breasts, meat down, into the Crock Pot
and poured the stock and spices over the chicken. Done. Left for 10 hours on low in the Crock Pot while we go to work. How much easier can it get? Not much, my friends. Not much.
After work, we came home to this bubbling deliciousness I could smell the instant I walked in the door. Poor Nigel having to be home all day in such an amazing smelling house!
First, I pulled the chicken out; slowly because it was so wonderfully fall off the bone tender.
Then, while it cooled, I prepped the final pieces: the bean sprouts, jalapenos, limes, bok choy, basil, and rice noodles. Rice noodles... totally on our make from scratch list but I wanted pho waaayy sooner than it would have taken to learn to make rice noodles, so we 'cheated.' shhhh.
When I pulled out the chicken, I also grabbed the spices (as many as I had patience to fish around for) so we were just left with the pho broth. Then I added some chopped bok choy,
and the rice noodles. These guys cooked in the covered Crock Pot for about 30 minutes on high.
Meanwhile I shredded the chicken
and prepped the fixins.
After the 30 minutes (ok, it was more like 22.5 minutes because I couldn't wait any longer I was so excited), I added the shredded chicken back into the Crock Pot.
And then we were in business. Dished out in some appropriately large pho bowls, with some bean sprouts, fresh sliced jalapenos, ripped basil, and a squeeze of a slice of lime. Seriously. Who doesn't just love pho? I have yet to meet anyone who has had pho say "meh, I don't really like pho" Which is probably a good thing because that'd be the last time I'd see them. I just don't need that type of negativity in my life.
Because really, how can you not love pho? And this pho is ridiculously easy which makes it even more loveable. It's made in a crock pot! While you're working or playing or doing anything else you want to do but be in the kitchen! How do you get better than that???
You don't. I'm still full from all the pho I ate last night and dreaming of the beef pho I'm making next!
Another one of my favorite Asian dishes made in your trusty crock pot, Crock Pot Chicken Chow Mein!
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Crock Pot Chicken Pho
Ingredients
- 8 cups of Chicken Stock
- 2 on the bone skinless chicken breasts
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons of fish sauce
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 10 star anise
- 1 2 1/2 inch piece fresh ginger peeled and thinly sliced
- 6 whole cloves
- 6 oz of pho rice noodles, banh pho 1/16 inch is the best, but whatever you can find will work!
- 4-6 cups of bok choy chopped
- 12 oz bean sprouts
- 1 cup of fresh basil leaves
- 2 sliced jalapeños
- 1 lime quartered
Instructions
- Add brown sugar, fish sauce, cinnamon, star anise, ginger, and cloves to chicken stock. Place chicken breasts meat down in crockpot and then pour stock over. Let cook in crockpot for 8-10 hrs on low.
- Remove chicken breasts from crockpot and set aside. Remove spices from broth. Add bok choy to broth, turn crockpot to high and let cook for another 30 minutes.
- While bok choy cooks, shred chicken and slice jalapeños and prep sprouts, basil, and lime for garnishing.
- Just before bok choy is done, after about 20 minutes, add the rice noodles and shredded chicken back to broth to finish cooking for the last 10 minutes.
- Ladle into large bowls, add bean sprouts, jalapeños, basil, squeeze lime, and top with sriracha, chili paste, and/or hoisen to taste.
Crock pot dishes are the best! Id like to add a little more ginger to this for its known health benefits. I hope the taste wont be as strong.
https://myeasychoices.com/health-benefits-of-ginger/
Great looking pho! I can smell it through my screen! I have been looking for soups that I can make for my grandmother, and this pho looks so good and easy for her to consume and digest. Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe, Tracy!
Thank you, Yang! I hope you and your grandmother enjoy it!
I love soups so every time I see recipes like this I want to try it. I'm definitely gonna try this on the weekend. Thank you so much!
That's great, Santini!! Enjoy!
Homemade stock for homemade pho is the stuff of dreams. It looks and sounds amazing!
Thanks, Kellie!
I love making recipes from scratch and this one looks so delicious! Thank you for sharing!
From scratch is the best - thank you!
My mouth started watering before I even finished reading the title! This looks so amazing!
I adore my slow cooker and I'm always on the lookout for new recipes to try in it. Thanks for sharing this.
Pho is one of my husband's favorite dishes. I totally need to make this for him, thanks!
Great Pho recipe. I can't wait to try this and have my house smell so good from all the spices.
Made this today, it was so good and a perfect way to celebrate a relaxed New Year!
That’s soooo wonderful to hear, Kate!! Happy New Year! Cheers to a 2019 with more pho in it! 😜
I made this today and it was amazing. Just like going to get it at a restaurant.!
That's great to hear Deb!! So glad you enjoyed it.
Approximately how many servings does this make?
Hi Ashley! It will make about 4 large bowls - which the way we eat pho, that's enough for about 4 people 🙂
Delicious!! I used store bought stock, so next time I’ll use less anise. But I cannot wait to make this again!! Thank you.
So awesome to hear, Amanda!!! Check out the new Crock Pot Beef Pho, too! 😀
This looks delicious! I made a chicken pho last night but I did not use star anise, sugar or the bok choy but I def will next time!!! 🙂
Can this recipe be done on the high setting?? How long would it take to finish??
Hi Nicole! Yup! I'd do it on high for 4 hrs. Enjoy!
You just mean 10 star anise pegs/segments. I only used one whole star and that was enough flavor for me. I found the spices to be nice and “warming” but almost too strong. I would probably use a small cinnamon stick and half as many cloves. Delicious, otherwise! Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Amanda! I'm so glad you tried it and like it! Actually, I did mean 10 whole star anise, but if you like it with less, that's great! That's the wonderful thing about recipes is that you can adjust them to your taste 🙂
Fantastic idea to have the chicken all day in that aromatic broth. I do love a good slow cooker meal, to come home too. i also want a bowl of this right now for the cold London weather.
I definitely do not use my slow cooker often enough, and this recipe is such incentive for me to get it out! I absolutely love star anise. The aroma of this cooking must be incredible in the kitchen. What a great dinner for a chilly night!
This pho looks phenomenal. I love the amazing flavors, and yes, it makes a huge difference to use really quality broth and homemade is always the best. And I love that it can be made in a crockpot!
I'm a sucker for any meal I can do in the crock pot really, but this one looks especially scrumptious. I just had pho for the first time last week and I'm already anxious to have it again. Thank goodness I've come across this recipe to make it myself! 😉
Considering there are no great pho places near my house (or any pho places), I think being able to make pho at home in my slow cooker is a win/win! And your pictures look so good. I'm hungry now! Could I use chicken thighs or legs instead of the breast meat? I really love dark meat in the slow cooker.
I love a good bowl of pho! I love that your recipe can be made right in the crockpot, makes it much easier for me to prep and forget. Thanks for sharing!!
I've been wanting to make chicken pho at home for so long now! This looks crazy delicious and quite easy. Can't wait to give it a go!
Shoot... It's already 1:00 -- too late to start making the pho for tonight... I'll have to put the chicken back in the fridge and get this into the crock pot tomorrow morning... I have everything but the star anise (yes -- even homemade stock, I just made), this looks and sounds so good. I can't wait for dinner tomorrow night!
I haven't had pho in at least a decade. We use to eat it a lot while at university. All the additions of star anise and ginger and fish sauce look like the broth is extremely flavourful. And I love that it's made in a slow cooker. What a wonderful idea
I love this easy Pho recipe. Noodle and brothy soups are definitely my weakness. Your step by step photos are very helpful so I am definitely saving this for later. Thanks for sharing your recipes.
Is this pho real?!? Lol. I adore pho, and we finally got a really great pho place here, BUT-- this sounds like a pho-nomenal idea! I neeeeeed!!!
I can barely stand all that fresh yumminess in one bowl! All that green makes such an inviting dish. It can be hard to beat favorite restaurant flavors but it’s an amazing feeling when we come close!
I'm addicted to pho and have been eating a bunch of chicken pho at restaurants lately. I'm so glad to have found you recipe so I can now easily make it at home! So happy to see you've made the stock from scratch! ?
This is such a great recipe. Who needs take out when you can make food like this at home. The leftovers would be amazing too. Homemade is best, tastes delicious and save you money too.
LOVE the step by step photos, this looks absolutely delicious!
YUM! Love everything about this. Pho is my fav soup -- and this homemade version looks perfect!
I love chicken pho and make it at least once a week these days. I never thought of doing it your way, but will try it next time. I think so I would try it with asian basil such as thai basil or sweet tulsi basil. =)
This actually looks super delicious! I've got to try this this weekend 🙂
I absolutely love Pho! It's one of my top favorite soups in the whole world - a lot more than ramen or uddon. Looks absolutely delicious and just perfect for this weather ♥
Hi Tracy, Traci here 🙂 I really need to use Star Anise in my pho next time I make it. I have some on hand but forget I have it. And I know I'm missing out, so thank you for the great recipe! I'll be sure to give it a go! 🙂
Your quantities are off between the step-by-step photos and the instructions. Also, your instructions at the bottom leave out what’s to be done with the ginger.
Hi Evad,
Thank you! Yes, you're right I had adjusted the brown sugar amount and clove count in my recipe and forgot to change the text! Thanks for pointing that out so I could fix it! The ginger was there hiding in the list of all the ingredients in the first step 🙂
All was well up until the green mustard stuffs. No, just no. Also missing grilled ginger and onion.
Looking forward to beef pho recipe.
Hi Joyce, thanks so much for stopping by! YES. I need to make a beef pho - it's been on my (looonngg) list but you've inspired me to move it to the top! Keep an eye out for it (hopefully) soon! 😀
This sounds great! I wonder if I could make this same recipe, but with pork? Do you think it would work?