Keto Beef Pho

When I ladle from the container the next day, the broth comes out gelled, that’s the sign the bones did their job. Made this for four friends last Thursday, nobody keto but me, and the hearts of palm went completely unremarked. The comment that stuck was someone asking if I’d picked it up somewhere. I’d push back on the cinnamon-to-anise ratio, the anise came forward more than I expected, but the broth is what it needs to be.

Broth is genuinely good, the pressure cooker does its job. Lost a star on the shaved steak, dropped in raw and unseasoned it comes out flat against all that depth. Salt it first, maybe a quick sear.

Just made this for dinner and I can’t believe how much it tastes like real pho!!

Hearts of palm actually hold up in this broth, better than any sub noodle I’ve tried. I kept waiting for them to go soft once the hot liquid hit, but they held together and let the star anise do its thing. Ninety minutes of pressure cooking on the bones gets you that thick, gelatinous result you’d get at a real pho spot, not the watery shortcut version. Took a few spoonfuls to believe it.

This broth got me. My college roommate and I had a pho place we’d go to every Friday for two years, which I kind of forgot about after going keto. Pressure cooked the bones and when I lifted the lid, ginger and star anise, I was just back in that booth.

Keep broth and noodles separate or the hearts of palm absorb the liquid overnight and the ratio gets off. I batch this weekly, packing broth, sliced beef, and toppings separately so each bowl comes together in under five minutes. Three pounds of bones in the Instant Pot, one run, six servings. Basically a full week at one bowl a day. The broth gels in the fridge, fat cap on top, skims clean before reheating. By day two the cinnamon and star anise have mellowed out and the broth is honestly better than day one. Reheat just the broth, pour it over hearts of palm straight from the package, toppings cold so nothing gets waterlogged.

2.9 net carbs. doubled the cinnamon, broth hit different.

I made pho for the first time ever, not just keto pho. It always looked like a multi-day project so I kept putting it off. Pressure cooker got it done in 90 minutes, and when I strained it the broth had already darkened and thickened on its own. Dropping raw steak slices into the hot broth to finish cooking seemed like it wouldn’t work. It does. Steak came out tender and the hearts of palm held up through the whole bowl without falling apart. Checked the net carb count three times because 2.9 seemed too low for something that filling.

1/4 cup of fish sauce had me nervous. It’s fine.

The cinnamon and star anise had the whole house smelling like a restaurant about an hour into the pressure cook, and my son came downstairs asking what I ordered. Figured out it was mine, pulled up a chair without being asked, which I genuinely did not see coming.

Made this on a Saturday afternoon mostly for myself since my husband is suspicious of anything that doesn’t look like regular noodles. He walked into the kitchen when the pressure cooker was releasing and said ‘what is that smell’ in a good way, then sat down and ate the whole bowl before I had a chance to explain what hearts of palm noodles are. Didn’t ask, didn’t want to know. That felt like a win.

Tried shirataki noodles instead of hearts of palm and the broth still carried everything beautifully. One thing worth knowing: rinse them really well before adding, or the smell competes with the star anise.

I charred the ginger and onion in a dry skillet before they went into the pressure cooker (I’d seen it mentioned as a traditional pho thing) and the difference in the broth was wild. Deeper color, smokier, and the star anise actually came through instead of just being background noise. Also found that rinsing the hearts of palm noodles twice and letting them sit on paper towels for a few minutes kept them from making the broth watery. Both of these are permanent now.

I’ve done bone broth on the stovetop plenty of times but never tried pressure cooking it. Does it actually get that thick, gelatinous texture in 1.5 hours? I always figured collagen extraction was the part that needed time.

Used oxtail instead of beef bones and the broth came out almost silky. Hearts of palm noodles take some getting used to if you’re coming from regular pho, but the broth covers for it.

Made keto pho from two other recipes and never got the broth right. Pressure cooking the bones actually makes it thick and gelatinous. The others don’t come close. Keeping this one.

Nervous about pressure cooking bones but the broth gelled solid when it cooled. Never would’ve guessed hearts of palm could work as noodles. Pretty proud of myself.

I’ve made this four times since January and the 1.5-hour pressure cook on the bones is non-negotiable. That broth comes out so thick it gels overnight in the fridge, and reheating it fills the whole kitchen with cinnamon and star anise before I even get the noodles open. Tried cutting the cook time once. You can tell. The hearts of palm are still a little wild to me texture-wise but at 2.9 net carbs a bowl I’m not fighting it.

My husband usually spots my keto swaps from across the room, so I didn’t say anything about the hearts of palm noodles. He was halfway through the bowl before he asked what kind of noodles I used, and when I told him, he just shrugged and went back to eating. Good enough. The broth, though. Pressure cooking those bones with the star anise and cinnamon made something so deep and layered I kept wanting another spoonful even after I was full.

I’ve tried making keto pho twice before using carton broth and it never tasted right. The pressure-cooked bone broth here is different (comes out thick and almost gelatinous in a way that actually tastes like the restaurant version I’ve been chasing). The hearts of palm noodles fooled me more than I expected them to. 2.9 net carbs for a full bowl of pho still kind of gets me every time I look at it.