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 have egg drop soup from the Chinese place across the street from where I work everyday. Definitely going to try this recipe!
We hope you enjoy it Jim — it’s one of our favorites! :)
Total confession: I didn’t have chicken stock (gasp!!) so I used a bouillon cube and this recipe still worked great!! It was so easy and fast! I just didn’t feel great but wanted something homey to eat and this hit the spot!! I will definitely make this again!!!
No worries Drew! We’re glad you enjoyed it! :D
Great recipe. It hit the spot on a sick day! It’s a keeper☺
Thanks Gabby, we’re glad to hear that! We hope you feel better soon!
I just made this for lunch and my husband and I ate it all. Delicious!! I added about a 1/2 tsp of turmeric to make it yellow like at the restaurants (doesn’t affect taste) and about 1/4 tsp of white pepper. So good! Next time I may add a little more cornstarch to make it just a bit thicker. Thank for sharing!!
We’re so glad you and your husband enjoyed it Carrie! The turmeric and white pepper sound like awesome additions!
AWSOME recipie. I just had oral surgery and had not been able to eat anything for two days. I finally got to where I can eat soup and got so tired of cambells canned soup. So I looked up your recipie and made it. Thanks.
We’re so glad you like this Tony! We hope you feel better soon!
This was delicious. I turned heat back on high and kept stirring for a few more min to ensure eggs were cooked. Also only used 1 tbsp corn starch. The corn was wonderful in it as well. I served with toasted seaweed!! Yummmm. Thanks
Thanks for sharing Jessica — we’re so glad you enjoyed it! :D
This was fantastic soup! Love the flavor! Now if I can get the ribbons right I will
Be super happy!!!
Thanks Jeanie, we’re glad you enjoyed it! :)
This was excellant best one I’ve found sooooooo tasty” the real deal “. Love to see your Thai coconut milk shrimp soup simple recipe too
Send it it me please
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Thanks, girls, for this simple recipe. Egg drop soup is also my favorite and I’ve been looking for a recipe that’s easy to follow. I will try making this with vegetable broth and I’ll give you updtes!
You’re so welcome (this is actually Ali’s recipe and blog, I just help out with some things). :) But we’re so happy you’re trying this, we hope you enjoy!
I made this tonight for my foodie husband and 7 year old twins. It was a huge hit with everyone!! One of my kids came home from school today with a tummy ache and did not eat all day. She tried a sip of the soup and asked for a bowl. Thank you for a great easy recipe that will now be in our regular rotation.