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!
This may be the best egg drop soup I have ever had. I forgot the sesame oil and thought wow this is good, and then remembered the sesame oil and added. OH my goodness. It went from good to AMAZING! I have been looking for a good recipe for long time. This is my new go to recipe AND it fits in well with the Ketogenic meal plan. #BONUS
this was amazing! my appetite sucks, and finding food my mom genuinely likes is even harder. made it basically according to recipe, with a tiny bit more garlic and ginger and included the corn. she said she thinks it’s her favorite dish I’ve made — and SO easy! thank you!
Thank you for your recipe! It’s quick and easy. An awesome soup for an upset stomach.
Delicious! My only complaint is the recipe says to add the egg when the broth is at a simmer, I didn’t get the egg ribbons because of this. I think if it was actually boiling then it would have turned out perfectly. No biggie, I’ll boil it next time!
I thought I did something wrong also when I didnt get the egg ribbons! Thank you for your comment and suggestion! I will try to do it with the broth boiling next time. ?
Add just a bit of soy sauce and it’s perfect.
The recipe calls for 3 eggs but in the video it looked like you used 2 eggs and 2 extra egg whites, which is correct? TYIA
Ah, good question. Either will work! I used to make the recipe with the mixture of eggs + whites. Then later simplified it to just use 3 eggs. But either option will work! :)
The recipe says 3 eggs but the instructions mention eggs and egg whites. Video seems to show 2 whole eggs and 2 egg whites. Can you update the recipe so we know how many eggs vs. egg whites? (Unless I am missing it!)
I love this soup, btw! Made it for a friend who was sick and he loved it. Made it for myself just now for the same reason. It’s so easy, cheap, and fast but also really good! Thanks so much!
Spent way too much time reading silly comments about this recipe- lol- so I felt compelled to weigh in.
ONE teaspoon of soy sauce or tamari will give it amped up flavor and will not turn it brown.
I used peas instead of corn- very good also.
Great recipe! So easy perfect for when you have a cold, too.
Ali, as always your recipes are delicious!! I used to cook a lot from other blogs (recipetineats, simplyrecipes, Chrissy tiegen books) but your recipes are BY FAR healthier (no need to drench everything in butter and bacon) , easier and lighter but packed with flavor. I love that. Thanks to your awesome cooking skills, I’ve slowly transitioned to making mostly your recipes. You are wonderful!
I used tapioca starch. The soup doesn’t separate. This recipe is perfect.