By Grocery List Plus Editorial Staff | Published on October 3, 2026
Slow Cooker Turkey Pho
Recipe GLPR5074457766002e
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Average rating: 3.8 (1)
A deeply aromatic, slowly simmered turkey pho broth made from a turkey carcass infused with charred ginger, onion, and warm spices like star anise and cinnamon. The clear, flavorful stock is finished with fish sauce and sugar, then served over rice noodles with shredded turkey, fresh vegetables, herbs, and lime wedges for a traditional Vietnamese-inspired meal.
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Ingredients
50 g Fresh ginger, thickly sliced
2 large Yellow onions, halved
3 whole Star anise
2 stick Cinnamon sticks
½ tbsp Coriander seeds
2 whole Whole cloves
1 whole Turkey carcass with all meat removed
2½ tbsp Fish sauce
2 tbsp Granulated sugar
8 oz Rice noodles (for serving)
2 cup Shredded cooked turkey (for serving)
2 cup Bean sprouts or fresh vegetables, such as bok choy or spinach (for serving)
1 cup Fresh herbs, such as Thai basil, cilantro, and mint (for serving)
1 whole Red chilli, sliced (for serving)
2 whole Fresh lime wedges (for serving)
Directions
Heat a dry frying pan over high heat. Add the ginger slices and onion halves and cook, stirring occasionally, until deeply charred and caramelized on all sides, about 5–8 minutes. Transfer the charred ginger and onion to your slow cooker.
In the same frying pan over medium heat, lightly toast the star anise, cinnamon sticks, coriander seeds, and cloves for 1–2 minutes until fragrant. Add them to the slow cooker with the ginger and onion. (Alternatively, if time is limited, add all spices directly to the slow cooker without toasting.)
Place the turkey carcass in the slow cooker with the charred vegetables and spices. Pour in 3–4 litres of boiling water, ensuring the bones are fully submerged but the cooker is not overfilled. Cover the slow cooker.
Cook on low for 8–10 hours, depending on your schedule. The long, gentle cooking will extract maximum flavor from the bones and spices.
Carefully pour the contents of the slow cooker through a fine strainer into a large bowl or pot, discarding the bones, charred vegetables, and whole spices. The resulting broth should be clear and deeply flavored.
Stir the fish sauce and sugar into the strained broth to balance the flavors. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. If you are not serving immediately, allow the broth to cool completely before transferring to airtight containers for freezing; it will keep for up to three months. Otherwise, keep the broth warm in the slow cooker or in a large pot over low heat.
Cook the rice noodles according to package instructions, then drain and divide evenly among four serving bowls.
Top each portion of noodles with shredded cooked turkey, bean sprouts, and fresh vegetables.
Carefully ladle the warm broth over the noodles and vegetables, filling each bowl. You will have extra broth, which can be frozen for future use.
Scatter fresh herbs and sliced red chilli over each bowl. Serve immediately with lime wedges on the side, allowing diners to squeeze lime over their bowls to taste.
Comments
Fish sauce and star anise will require a trip to an Asian market beyond Charlotte's major chains—Harris Teeter and Food Lion stock neither reliably, and ALDI won't carry them. The slow cooker method itself is honest and forgiving, feeding a crowd cheaply if you already have turkey carcass on hand, but the special ingredients and the need to source fresh herbs like Thai basil on the same shopping run make this a planned meal rather than a weeknight impulse. Pho doesn't reheat well; this is a same-service dish. The bones-to-broth approach keeps cost per serving low, but only if you're already cooking turkey and willing to freeze the carcass, which many home cooks don't plan around.
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