This classic Egg Drop Soup recipe is quick and easy to make in just 15 minutes and always tastes so cozy and comforting.
Growing up, my family had a tradition of eating lunch at our local little Chinese restaurant every single Saturday. And every single Saturday — like, we’re talking nearly two decades of Saturdays here — I would order “the usual.”
Egg drop soup. ♡
Anyone who knows me will tell you that I absolutely adore a good bowl of egg drop soup. It was my favorite food in the whole entire world as a kid. And today, it’s still one of the most comforting, nostalgic, delicious soups I know.
It’s also one of the easiest soups I know. All you need to make this egg drop soup recipe is about 15 minutes (tops) in the kitchen, a handful of easy ingredients, and a quick tip for how to drizzle those beautiful egg ribbons. Then a delicious batch of egg drop soup can simmering on the stove and ready to be served in no time.
Let’s make some soup!
Egg Drop Soup Recipe | 1-Minute Video
So What Is Egg Drop Soup?
In case this recipe is new to you, egg drop soup is a staple at Chinese restaurants across the United States. It’s typically made with lightly-seasoned chicken or veggie broth, and filled with delicious egg “ribbons”, which are created by whisking raw eggs into the simmering broth.
Egg Drop Soup Ingredients:
To make this homemade egg drop soup recipe, you will need:
- Good-quality chicken or vegetable stock: Either will do.
- Cornstarch: To thicken the broth a bit.
- Seasonings: Just a pinch of ground ginger, garlic powder, salt and black pepper.
- Eggs: Which we will whisk and then drizzle into the soup.
- Sesame oil: Absolutely essential in this recipe, and also one of my favorite ingredients!
- Green onions: Thinly sliced, to mix into the soup and also use as a garnish.
How To Make Egg Drop Soup:
To make egg drop soup, simply:
- Prepare your stock: Whisk the stock, cornstarch, ginger and garlic powder together until combined before turning on the heat. It’s essential that the broth is room temperature or cooler, otherwise the cornstarch will clump up and not dissolve.
- Bring the stock to a simmer: Stirring occasionally. While this is heating, go ahead and whisk together your eggs in a separate measuring cup or bowl.
- Slowly stir in the eggs: Once your stock has come to a simmer, use a whisk or a fork to begin stirring the stock round and round to create a slow “whirlpool”. Then gradually drizzle in the eggs as you continue to stir the stock, and they will turn into those magical little ribbons. Remove pan from heat.
- Add remaining ingredients. Stir in the sesame oil and green onions until combined. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve warm. Garnished with extra green onions, if you’d like.
What To Serve With Egg Drop Soup:
This soup would be delicious when served with:
- My favorite Fried Rice (or Quinoa Fried Rice)
- 12-Minute Chicken & Broccoli
- 20-Minute Moo Shu Pork (or Chicken)
- Beef & Broccoli
- Thai Basil Chicken
- Sesame Noodles with Broccoli and Almonds
- Black Pepper Chicken
More Favorite Soup Recipes:
If you love egg drop soup, feel free to check out these other faves:
- Cabbage Egg Drop Soup (my other favorite version of this soup!)
- Hot and Sour Soup
- Miso Soup
- Tom Kha Gai
- Egg Roll Soup
- Everyday Green Curry
- Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup
Egg Drop Soup
Ingredients
- 4 cups good-quality chicken or vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste
- thinly-sliced green onions, for garnish
Instructions
- Make the broth. Whisk together stock (chilled or room-temperature), cornstarch, ginger, garlic powder and white pepper in a medium sauce pan until smooth. Heat over high heat until the stock comes to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
- Whisk the eggs. Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs and egg whites in a small measuring cup or bowl. (I find the measuring cup easier for pouring.)
- Stir in the egg ribbons. Once the broth reaches a simmer, use a whisk or two chopsticks to stir the broth in a circular motion, creating a whirlpool. Then slowly pour the whisked eggs in a very thin stream into the soup as you continue stirring, in order to create egg ribbons.
- Season. Remove pan from heat. Stir in the sesame oil until combined. Season with salt and additional white pepper to taste, also adding a dash or two of extra sesame oil if needed. (Saltiness will depend on your brand of chicken stock, but I generally find this soup needs an extra ½ to 1 teaspoon of fine sea salt.)
- Serve. Serve immediately, garnished with lots of green onions and a twist of black pepper.
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
I tried adding a little bit of rice and found that tasty.
We think that sounds like a yummy addition Janet! We’re glad you enjoyed this. :)
Thanks for the tasty recipe. My 2 year old loves eggs but hated veggies so this soup (made with veggie broth) helped me sneak some veggie goodness into her diet! Once my chickens start laying again we are making this every week.
You’re welcome Hannah, we’re so happy you and you little one enjoyed this! :)
I’ve tried a few different egg drop soup recipes and they have all been blah and bland…BUT NOT THIS ONE! Definitely has a “restaurant quality” taste and I will for sure be placing this recipe in my go-to stash. Thanks for sharing!!
That’s such a sweet compliment Julie, thank you! We’re happy you enjoy the recipe! :)
My sons just vaccuumed their bowls of soup. Thanks
Yay, we love hearing things like that Joanne, thanks for sharing! :D
Looks so yummy!! A favourite soup in my house! Next time you make it, try adding parmasean cheese into the egg and mix then add to the soup!! Yummy!! (That’s the secret Italian way I learned from my Mother in law) ?
Thanks Ashley, we hope you love it, and good call on the parmesan cheese, we bet that’s super yummy! :)
This is so delicious! =) I’ve made it a few times now with fresh ginger (I throw in one or two chunks just to infuse the broth with that amazing flavor while it’s cooking, it makes a huge difference and is just as easy).
Thanks Samantha, we’re happy you enjoy it – that fresh ginger sounds like an incredible addition that we will totally have to try next time! :D
I want to try this, and add some water chestnuts, ham, and peas like I’ve had at other places. Seems like it would be good, something simple and easy to modify, can’t wait to try!
We hope you love it Karina, and we think those additions would be yummy! :)
I would like to make this for a pot luck, could I make it the night before and heat it in a crock-pot?
We think that should work just fine Kathy, we hope you enjoy! :)
Is there something to substitute for the corn starch? Doing a whole 30 and corn/corn products are off the table, however everything else seems do-able. Help is appreciated! Thanks.
Hi Val! Arrowroot starch/powder, coconut or almond flour and tapioca starch should all work well as thickeners. We’d vote for the arrowroot powder in this particular recipe though. We hope this helped!
Made this to go along with leftovers from our fav Chinese Rest. However, after adding the egg (slowly, stirring w/whisk) the egg seemed to separate from the broth – didn’t look so hot – kind of like it had curdled, but tasted great. Any thoughts?
Ah, your soup may not have been boiling enough. If it reaches a rolling boil, that will help shape the egg into nice long ribbons. Hope that helps!