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!
Wow. Not only was this the easiest dish to make, but it tastes fantastic…dare I say better than takeout!? I used fresh grated ginger and garlic because I didn’t have the powders and just let it simmer for longer so the flavors could blend. The sesame oil really brought the whole dish together. This is a new go-to!
first time making egg drop soup and it came out perfect. served with homemade dumplings. plated with drops of dark mushroom soy sauce for a deeper umami kick and some hot chili oil in the center.
skipped the corn but will add when not using dumplings. yum, really good.
Idk this recipe didn’t work for me :,,(
Mine came out discolored and a bit bland.. what did I do wrong?
Use a few drops of yellow food coloring
make sure the broth is really hot & boiling when u add it, don’t stir it too much, and add seasoning!
Easy, and tastes great!!! Thanks for always having amazing recipes.
White pepper. Trust me.
The first time I made this I used the chicken broth and it was excellent. Then, I made it again using vegetable broth because my granddaughter is vegetarian. Sooo good, with either chicken or vegetable broth and better than I have had in many Chinese restaurants. The toasted sesame oil is the magic ingredient in this recipe. It completely changes the flavor profile and adds depth to the dish. I will be making this again and again! Thanks for the great recipe!
Well, that was a waste of good broth. Mine was just egg soup. No ribbons. Maybe I stirred too long. Not long enough? I suck. Didn’t work for me.
To ISUCK: Same thing happened to me. It did taste good but don’t give up. Keep trying. In my case I think the broth probably wasn’t hot enough. Hang in there!
Hi! I love this recipe and the trick to the egg ribbons is to slowly pour the eggs while also stirring slowly. Stir too fast and the eggs break up. All about the technique.
Me too!!! But I think my broth was too hot!!!
Very good. I added mushrooms, which added some flavor. I will eliminate the corn starch.
Amazing !!!!!!!!! So So So good! I would say, it only took like 5 minutes tho. Would eat this every meal!
A tasty late night snack.I did not have any cornstarch but Wondra flour worked perfectly and it tasted great
I was thinking this morning of making egg drop soup and realized, I never gave this lady the credit she deserves by rating the recipe. I’ve been using this recipe for a long time now and I personally would argue that it’s the best on the web. One thing I do normally change is…I typically use more eggs (like 4 or 5 lol) since I regularly eat this after a long workout and I want that protein kick. It’s comforting, and filling. On days I’m really feeling like adding a little health kick, adding a scoop of powered bone broth goes a long way too. I don’t normally focus on healthy meals, to be honest. I eat food for taste and if it happens to be healthy, awesome. This is one of few meals I can shamelessly adore and still feel pretty good about afterwards. Also, how quick it is to make is ideal for a weeknight. Try the recipe! You’ll be glad you did.
Can this be reheated later or frozen?
Krysti, I made this on Tuesday night and had it for lunch Wednesday and Thursday – reheated beautifully! I added chili crisp to it, too, for a little added depth and heat.