These Vietnamese Ground Pork Vermicelli Bowls are packed with fresh vegetables, springy noodles and served with a delicious vinaigrette. Addictingly good and perfect for meal-prep!

Bowl with vermicelli noodles and toppings arranged around the sides of the bowl

I usually have a really hard time choosing favorites of anything. But when it comes to favorite cuisine, I hardly hesitate before declaring Vietnamese at the top of my list!

Call me obsessed, but I am in loooove with their use of fresh, vibrant ingredients and addicting balance of sweet-sour-salty-spicy flavors. I swear, whenever I order takeout, 9/10 times its from my favorite Vietnamese shop. I seriously cannot get enough!

What Is A Vermicelli Bowl?

Vermicelli bowls are one of my all-time favorite Vietnamese dishes. If you’ve ever had a fresh summer roll, this recipe has many of the same components but in a bowl rather than wrapped in rice paper. They are also 10X easier to make at home!

But if you’re still new to Vietnamese cuisine, here’s what you can expect:

a bed of light, springy vermicelli noodles (usually cold)
mountains of crisp thinly sliced vegetables
tons of fresh herbs, peanuts and chili peppers for topping
a light fish sauce vinaigrette (called “Nuoc Cham”) that’s sweet, salty, sour and spicy!
a protein (or not!) like Chargrilled pork (often marinated in lemongrass) is common, as well as grilled chicken, beef, shrimp or crispy tofu

My mouth is watering just thinking about it…

Ingredients for Vietnamese vermicelli bowls arranged in small bowls on a marble counter top

Ground Pork Vermicelli Bowl Ingredients

Ground pork. This recipe specifically uses ground pork because it is super economical and less fuss to prepare over chargrilled pork. HELLO any shortcut to make weeknight dinners easier (but still delicious)!
Fresh minced garlic.
Sauces & seasonings. Fish sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, lime juice, brown sugar. To season the pork and make the Nuoc Cham vinaigrette.
Thai red chili peppers. These are hot! Start with less and proceed with caution.
Vermicelli noodles. These are thin like angel hair pasta. You could substitute with a thicker rice noodle or even glass noodles.
Fresh vegetables. Lettuce, carrot, cucumber & bean sprouts.
Fresh herbs. Cilantro, mint, green onion, Thai basil. Use as many or as few as you like!
Peanuts. For garnish.

Make This Recipe Gluten Free: luckily, vermicelli rice noodles are already naturally gluten free. For the rest of the ingredients, use tamari in place of soy sauce and be sure to purchase a gluten-free fish sauce, as some brands may contain gluten.

Make This Recipe Vegan: remove the ground pork or replace with a vegan protein like crispy tofu. Use a vegan “Fish Sauce” (or make your own!). You could also replace the fish sauce with soy but the flavor profiles will not turn out exactly the same (especially in the “fish sauce vinaigrette”).

bowl of white noodles, fresh vegetables and herbs on a wooden plate with a small glass bowl of vinaigrette in the background

How To Make Ground Pork Vermicelli Bowls

Although it may seem like there are a lot of ingredients and components to this recipe, there are really just 5 key steps to making vermicelli bowls.

Cook the ground pork (or your protein of choice). It does not necessarily need to be kept hot until serving, just cook it and set aside for bowl assembly.
Make the vinaigrette. Do this while the pork is cooking, so that it has a bit of time for the flavors to infuse.
Cook or soak the vermicelli. Your package instructions will tell you which method to use. Once cooked, drizzle with a touch of oil to prevent sticking.
Prepare the vegetables and toppings. Chop up the lettuce, veggies and herbs. Gather everything you will need to assemble your vermicelli bowls.
Assemble & enjoy!

A Few Meal Prep Tips:

to save on prep time, use pre-shredded lettuce and carrots.
prepped vegetables and ground pork can be refrigerated 3 to 4 days but the vermicelli is best as fresh as possible (it can get tough and dried out after a day or so). If you want to meal prep this recipe, I’d recommend you make a smaller batch of vermicelli to start, then a second batch mid-week for the remaining meals.
vermicelli bowls can be assembled and stored ahead of time but do not mix together or dress with vinaigrette until serving so that you preserve the lovely textures of all the components.

pouring fish sauce vinaigrette with pieces of red chili and garlic from a glass bowl over a ground pork vermicelli bowl

Are Vermicelli Bowls Healthy?

Yes! These Ground Pork Vermicelli Bowls contain all the components of a healthy balanced meal. Vermicelli noodles are a great source of energy-providing carbohydrates. Protein and fat are provided by the ground pork and peanuts, which help your meal feel more filling and contribute some “satisfaction factor”. Finally, these bowls are full of fresh, nutrient-dense vegetables, which are naturally low in calories and provide essential fiber to maintain good digestion and help manage blood sugars.

If you are concerned about your sodium intake, dress your vermicelli bowl lightly with the Nuoc Cham vinaigrette as fish sauce can be high in sodium.

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