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Home » Recipes

Crock Pot Pork Spare Rib Soup With Potatoes and Carrots (Canh Sườn Khoai Tây Cà Rốt)

Published: Jan 22, 2019 · Modified: Jan 19, 2022 by Suzanne Nuyen · This post may contain affiliate links · 12 Comments

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A typical Vietnamese family meal always includes a soup, or canh, and one of my favorites it this canh sườn, or pork spare rib soup. Spare ribs give the broth its body, and potatoes and carrots make for a hearty soup that tastes just as good on its own as it does with rice. I adapted my family's recipe when I was in college to cook it in a slow cooker, because I didn't have a lot of time as a student to cook.

Pin Crock Pot Pork Spare Rib Soup With Potatoes and Carrots (Canh Sườn Khoai Tây Cà Rốt) to try later!

a birds eye view bowl of spare rib soup, or Canh Sườn

If you don't have a Crock Pot or slow cooker, you can also cook this on the stove. It won't take as long, but you will have to keep an eye on it, and the ribs won't quite have that fall off the bone tenderness that I prefer.

Jump to:
  • 🍳 Ingredients
  • 🔪 Instructions
  • 💭 Tips and substitutions
  • 🍚 Serving suggestions
  • 🥡 How to store or make in advance
  • 👪 Serving size
  • Crockpot Pork Spare Rib Soup With Potatoes and Carrots (Canh Sườn Khoai Tây Cà Rốt)

🍳 Ingredients

You will need:

  • 1 lb pork spare ribs, cut between the bones
  • 3-4 medium red potatoes (about 1 lb), peeled cut into bite sized pieces
  • 3-4 large carrots (about 1 lb), peeled and cut into half inch pieces
  • 3-4 cups water
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 small shallot, minced
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 stalks scallion for garnish

🔪 Instructions

Whether or not you're using a Crock Pot or cooking this on the stove, you'll need to parboil your ribs. Add enough water in a pot to just barely cover the ribs, and plenty of salt. Bring to a boil and then immediately drain and rinse the ribs. Parboiling removes impurities and results in a clearer broth for your end product. You'll hear me say this a lot, but we Vietnamese value a clear broth!

raw spare ribs in a pot with water
Par boiling the ribs will get rid of the impurities within the meat, preventing it from ending up in your broth.
a hot pot of water with scum risen to the top from raw spare ribs
All that scum could have ended up in your soup if it wasn't par boiled.

After the ribs are rinsed off, add them to the crock pot with fish sauce, minced shallot and garlic, salt and pepper. You can leave the meat to marinate for about 30 minutes, or go ahead and add 3-4 cups of water to the slow cooker. I use 3 because I don't like a lot of broth in my soup. Use 4 if you like your soup brothier.

spare ribs in a crock pot with water and seasoning

Cook the spare ribs on high for about an hour and a half or 2 hours. Add the peeled potatoes and carrots and continue cooking for 45 minutes to another hour, or until the potatoes are fork tender.

If you're cooking this on low instead of on high, you can double the cooking times.

carrots, potatoes and spare ribs in a crock pot filled with water

For the stove top method, add the ribs back into a pot with the same amount of water and bring to a boil. Then, turn the heat down to a simmer and cook the ribs for about 30 minutes. Add the carrots and cook for about 10 minutes before add adding the potatoes. Keep simmering until the vegetables fork tender.

a close up of a bowl of pork spare rib soup or Canh Sườn

Finish off your soup by garnishing it with some chopped scallions.

💭 Tips and substitutions

I prefer cooking using the Crock Pot/slow cooker method for this soup because cooking the soup on low heat gives you the perfect clear broth. If you're cooking this on the stove top, make sure to keep an eye on it and don't let it get to a rolling boil, which will make the ribs tough and the broth cloudy.

🍚 Serving suggestions

I like eating this on its own, but to make it a heartier meal, you can serve this soup with rice.

Canh sườn is a great soup to add to your menu if you want to make a typical Vietnamese family meal. A family meal usually consists of rice (cơm), a vegetable dish (rau), a main protein, (món mặn), and a soup (canh). Use this as your soup and check out my other recipes to customize your own dinner! Here is a suggested menu:

  • Rice
  • Rau: Tofu skin and bok choy stir fry
  • Món Mặn: Vietnamese Roasted Chicken (Gà Roti)
  • Canh: Crock Pot Pork Spare Rib Soup With Potatoes and Carrots (Canh Sườn Khoai Tây Cà Rốt)
A wooden spoon holding up a chunk of carrot, potato and pork spare rib

🥡 How to store or make in advance

This soup will last in the fridge for about a week. You can cook this the ribs on low for 4 hours if you will be away from the house for longer, and add the potatoes and carrots during the last hour of cooking.

👪 Serving size

This soup comfortably makes 4-6 small side portions if you are serving it as part of a larger meal. If you're eating it on it's own, it makes 2-3 large bowls of soup.

a close up of a bowl of pork spare rib soup garnished with scallion, or Canh Sườn
Print Pin
4.63 from 16 votes

Crockpot Pork Spare Rib Soup With Potatoes and Carrots (Canh Sườn Khoai Tây Cà Rốt)

Course dinner, Main Course, Soup, Soups
Cuisine Asian, Vietnamese
Keyword Pork, soup
Prep Time 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time 3 hours hours
Total Time 3 hours hours 15 minutes minutes
Servings 4 bowls
Calories 414kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 lb pork spare ribs cut between the bones
  • 3-4 medium red potatoes, peeled cut into bite sized pieces (about 1 lb)
  • 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into half inch pieces (about 1 lb)
  • 3-4 cups water
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 small shallot
  • 2 tablespoon fish sauce
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 stalks scallion for garnish

Instructions

  • Add ribs to a pot of cold water with a large pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, and immediately drain and rinse.
  • Add ribs to a crock pot or normal pot and add fish sauce, garlic, shallot, salt and pepper to the ribs and leave to marinate for 10-15 minutes (optional)

If Cooking in Crockpot:

  • Add water and cook ribs on high 1.5 hours, on low 3 hours.
  • Add carrots and potatoes and cook for an additional 45 min - hour on high, 2 hours on low.
  • Garnish with chopped scallions and serve

If Cooking on stove top:

  • Add water to the pot of ribs and bring to a boil. Bring down to a simmer for 30 min
  • Add carrots and simmer for 10 minutes
  • Ad potatoes and simmer until all vegetables are fork tender.
  • Garnish with chopped scallions and serve

Video

https://bunbobae.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Canh-Suon-Insta.mp4

Nutrition

Serving: 1bowl | Calories: 414kcal | Carbohydrates: 44.3g | Protein: 28.6g | Fat: 15.1g | Saturated Fat: 5.7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 1063.8mg | Potassium: 1087.1mg | Fiber: 6.2g | Sugar: 10.7g
Nutrition Facts
Crockpot Pork Spare Rib Soup With Potatoes and Carrots (Canh Sườn Khoai Tây Cà Rốt)
Amount Per Serving (1 bowl)
Calories 414 Calories from Fat 136
% Daily Value*
Fat 15.1g23%
Saturated Fat 5.7g36%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1g
Sodium 1063.8mg46%
Potassium 1087.1mg31%
Carbohydrates 44.3g15%
Fiber 6.2g26%
Sugar 10.7g12%
Protein 28.6g57%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Did you make this recipe? Please tag @BunBoBaeBlog on Instagram or leave a rating or comment on the blog!

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Comments

  1. Hoa says

    March 23, 2025 at 9:07 am

    5 stars
    Thank so much! Reminds me of home growing up.

    Reply
    • Suzanne Nuyen says

      April 02, 2025 at 12:57 pm

      So glad you like it Hoa!

      Reply
  2. Winnie Tan says

    May 23, 2023 at 10:31 am

    5 stars
    We had this tonight and everyone was asking me what I put in the soup🤣 Everyone loved it so much 😃 Thanks for sharing this recipe ❤️

    Reply
    • Suzanne Nuyen says

      June 24, 2023 at 10:41 am

      So glad you and your family/friends enjoyed this soup Winnie!

      Reply
  3. Anonymous says

    January 27, 2023 at 11:15 am

    One of my favorite soups and perfect for the chilly weather. I like that you give suggestions for other dishes for a classic Vietnamese meal.

    Reply
    • Suzanne Nuyen says

      January 29, 2023 at 4:26 pm

      I'm glad you enjoyed it!

      Reply
  4. Celia says

    January 11, 2021 at 1:25 pm

    5 stars
    Love this recipe! Taste almost like my mom home cooked soup. I add chicken bouillon and sugar as well. But otherwise the soup is great, and kids love it too! Thank you! I would love to see more soup recipe as they are so hard to find that remind me of my mom as a child.

    Reply
    • Suzanne Nuyen says

      January 14, 2021 at 6:36 pm

      Thank you Celia! I'm working on more soup recipes! They are such an essential part of a Vietnamese family meal and you're right, they're hard to find!

      Reply
  5. Beer says

    November 15, 2020 at 5:36 pm

    Believe it not we don't eat it with rice, but pasta and a dash of tomato ketchup...

    With plenty of thai chilli and a dash of fish sauce..

    Reply
    • Suzanne Nuyen says

      November 17, 2020 at 9:09 am

      I also make a pasta soup dish that is very similar to this! I don't add potatoes when I add pasta, so that I'm not doubling up on carbs. We call it nui nuoc or soup nui. I've never added ketchup to it, but thai chili and fish sauce is a must.

      Reply
  6. Tom Thorn says

    September 10, 2020 at 12:43 pm

    5 stars
    Hi Suzanne, my name is Tom , I live in Honolulu , I tried your recipe crackpot sparerib soup with potatoes and carrots , came out really good , almost like how my mom used to make it , it is really a feel good food lol , thank you for the recipe 😊

    Reply
    • Suzanne Nuyen says

      September 10, 2020 at 6:16 pm

      Thank you so much for the kind words Tom! I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe

      Reply
4.63 from 16 votes (12 ratings without comment)

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Hi! I'm Suzanne, your Bun Bo Bae. I'm a journalist, professional amateur baker, noodle enthusiast and food photographer living in Washington, DC. My immigrant parents taught me everything I know about Vietnamese home cooking, and now I want to share it with you!

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bowl of soup with pork ribs, cut up carrots and potatoes garnished with scallion

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