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Egg Drop Soup

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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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Add remaining ingredients. Stir in the sesame oil and green onions until combined. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
  5. 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:

More Favorite Soup Recipes:

If you love egg drop soup, feel free to check out these other faves:

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Egg Drop Soup

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.7 from 172 reviews
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 6 cups of soup 1x

Description

This classic Egg Drop Soup recipe is quick and easy to make in just 15 minutes and always tastes so cozy and comforting.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.)
  3. 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.
  4. 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.) 
  5. Serve. Serve immediately, garnished with lots of green onions and a twist of black pepper.

Notes

Recipe edit: This recipe was edited in 2022 to include slightly increased amounts of ground ginger, garlic powder and white pepper. I also used to include 1/2 cup of whole kernel corn in the recipe, which is now noted as an optional addition.

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599 comments on “Egg Drop Soup”

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  1. I’m so glad you posted this! I’ve been cooking egg drop soup from those packaged powder mixes. This looks just as easy to make. I don’t know why I thought it wouldn’t be. I’m going to try this next week….adding the ingredients to my list now. I might even try it with the corn. Where did you get that idea, anyway? Which one do you like best, the regular or creamed?

  2. I just made this tonight for dinner. I have a really bad cold and this looked like the easiest soup to make. It is delicious!! This is some serious comfort food:)

  3. I just made this exactly like the recipe (without the creamed corn) and it turned out really odd and somewhat messed up. The corn starch did not thicken and the flavor tasted bland even after adding a bit more oil and spices. The egg didn’t really ribbon; it just turned into microscopic egg bits. What did I do wrong? I used an electric stove, and there is the possibility the corn starch was mislabeled and not corn starch (flour? I really don’t know). Other than that I am at a loss.

    • Hi Sheila – thanks for your reply! Sorry to hear this didn’t turn out well for you. What a bummer. :(

      With regards to the cornstarch, the only ideas I have are that it didn’t get dissolved fully in the chicken broth before the heat was turned on. Or, maybe it needed to be stirred more often while the soup cooked? I’ve had it become clumpy or not thicken enough before with both of those instances. I should note, however, that I didn’t call for enough to make it super-thick (like some restaurants), so maybe that was part of it too.

      With regards to flavor, two suggestions might be to make sure you use a really good brand of chicken broth, and that it was salted well enough. Sometimes I add a bit more oil, but otherwise think these ingredients pack quite a bit of flavor.

      And hmmm…with the eggs, it takes very little stirring to form the ribbons. Too much, and mine will also tend to break up quickly. If the soup is seriously boiling while you pour in the eggs, that can also break them up.

      Hope this was helpful! So sorry it wasn’t a success. I do make this one pretty often, though, and know it has the potential turn out absolutely delicious so let me know if you try it again! :)

    • Mine also came out a little more broken up than I wanted…next time I want to try the pouring over a fork idea and stirring slower.

  4. Shibu introduced me to your blog a few weeks ago…and I’ve kind of been obsessed with reading it ever since! Unfortunately, due to nursing school rigor, I’ve only been able to admire and drool…until today! I made this delicious soup, and was amazed how yummy and easy it was! As Shibu said, it is “better than restaurant soup!” Thanks, Alli! I’m going to try all your other recipes ASAP as well!

  5. I have a little tip for you… if you pour the egg over the tines of a fork you will get nice thin thread of egg. I have enjoyed a variation of this for years but I am anxious to try your version.

  6. This looks so delicious and heart-warming. I love ordering egg drop out at restaurants so I’m pretty thrilled to find a recipe so that I can make it at home-thanks for sharing!

  7. Wow – I just made this tonight and my family about went nuts over it. They all want me to make it again and often. I did the pouring eggs over the fork and it worked great. I also added some finely chopped carrot and some asian noodles just to make it a little more filling.

  8. This is a great and simple recipe I plan to use often. However, right now I don’t have corn starch. Would that affect the ribboning of the eggs any? If I can perfect that, I think I might add it to my packaged ramen to add a cheap protein punch.

  9. Hi, does the author or anyone who reads this comment know which is the fairly best and perhaps healthy chicken broth powder/liquid to use when to make this soup, I’d love to know. ^_-

  10. Hi! Thanks for sharing- this sounds amazing. I am planning on making it for a dinner party this weekend. I didn’t see anywhere how much it makes or how many it serves. I need it to serve about 9 people. Any suggestions on if I need to double it or not?

  11. I added some carrots and some red pepper flakes for an added punch. It turned out great, although next time I think I’ll try using less egg, pouring the egg over the tines of the fork, and stirring more slowly when adding the egg. Mine didn’t make too long of ribbons although there are a few. Very yummy anyway!

  12. How do you keep the eggs from becoming fluffy in the soup? How do you keep them like ribbons?

  13. Can’t wait to make this! How many does this serve? Do you use fresh ground ginger?

  14. This egg drop soup is delicious.

  15. This egg drop soup is delicious.

  16. Sounds lovely – but don’t worry about using whole eggs – that’s not how you get increased cholesterol:)

  17. Thank you, thank you, thank you Ali! I have been going broke (figuratively, not literally) supporting my local Chinese takeout place. Now I can make all I want and not have all of those containers piling up. I will use them to store and freeze my Egg Flower Soup!

  18. I have actually never had egg drop soup before! But, I love eggs, soup and easy recipes so this looks like it fits the “gotta make it” bill! Anything Asian is right up my alley!

  19. LOOOOVE egg drop soup! Have yet to make it at home…now I want to! Happy Monday :)

  20. I love egg drop soup (although maybe not *quite* as much as you do!) Personally, I thought your first photo was just fine. It made me want to try the soup, and that’s really the point of a photo in a food blog.

    But I’m also just as glad that you decided to take new photos since I may not have seen your post otherwise. We just bought new chickens (our old ones are no longer laying as much), and I think this would be a wonderful first dish to make with our eggs. We will have this, or a version of this, for dinner tonight.

    I’m not sure if you’ve tried this, but I find that adding a tablespoon or so of fish sauce to a vat of chicken stock makes the stock really sing. I’m definitely going to add some to my soup tonight, and thank you for sharing your technique. Now I’m really looking forward to dinner!

    • Hi Jenni, I certinally agree with you about the fish sauce. I use it sparingly, 2 drops per serve, but add it after I have made the chicken stock. It also is good in scrambled eggs.

  21. love love love egg drop soup! This looks so good, I could use a bowl for today’s lunch.

  22. Love egg drop soup! I always thought it sounded disgusting until my college roommate convinced me to try it. I was hooked! I can’t believe I’ve never made it at home. It looks so easy!

  23. I love egg drop soup! This recipe is really easy and looks so delicious.

  24. This soup looks extremely comforting! I’ve never tried egg drop soup, but I’m glad it’s on my radar for the next time I’m craving something hot and simple!

  25. Great recipe, Ali! I love egg drop soup, but haven’t had it in years. I have yet to make my own, but will have to change that asap.

  26. I love egg drop soup!! It’s also one of my faves. Lovely photos!!

  27. I cannot wait to try this! I had no idea that it could be so easy to make! I am going to try making a vegetarian version using “no chicken” broth. Hopefully it will be just as god!

    • Just curious, you consider broth non-vegetarian but eggs are ok? Just like to learn about different people’s views on the subject.

  28. I love egg drop soup! Mine never looks anywhere near this pretty :)

  29. This just the kind of soup I always crave when I have a cold. Warm and comforting. Also perfect for this chilly winter. Thanks for sharing Ali!

  30. Looks delish. And the makeover looks fab too!! xoxoxo I miss your face!

    Heather

  31. Ahh, yes much better. Though your old shot isn’t nearly as bad as some of mine from my first year. I have had a fun time reshooting some of my favorites too. I can see why this is a keeper, if for no other reason than the sheer simplicity! Beautiful!

  32. This soup reminds me of my childhood!! Love it!

  33. I love egg drop soup! This recipe looks awesome. One of my biggest complaints regarding egg drop soup is if it’s too runny. I doubt this is a problem here.

  34. Egg drop soup is perfect for those cool winter days at home! Your pictures are beautiful!

  35. Egg drop soup is delicious! There is a few posts that I would like to “revisit” to take better shots. ;)

  36. I cant wait to try this recipe !! My husband is a huge egg drop soup fan :)

  37. mmm, i love egg drop soup! total comfort food!

  38. Although I have been making egg drop soup for years, I discovered why it was really not as good as some I have had in restaurants. Now I know. I was adding the cornstarch last. Now I will have better success with your recipe. Thanks for sharing.

  39. Seems easy enough and looks fabulous! I wonder if the leftovers keep well?

  40. This looks fantastic! I am a huge egg drop soup lover, myself so I cannot wait to try this recipe :)

  41. I’m making this tonight and I’m tellin’ ya – dinner can’t come fast enough! I cannot wait to give it a try :)

  42. wonderful soup, we enjoyed it and I loved it with the corn and scallions. DELICIOUS!

  43. Dear Ali, I LOVE egg drop soup !!!! But really never knew how to make it. I tried all kinds of crazy stuff. I have just read your recipe and need to go to the store and buy my “stock”. Please share more of your recipes with me. It is cold and raining right now. And it is a good day for soup. As soon as the rain stops I am going to the store. I can not wait to try your recipe. Thank you for posting it on facebook. I look forward to seeing more of you……….thank you, Mary Parsons

  44. This is always a must have when we get Chinese. Now you are saying I can make it at home. What What?!?!

  45. I just made this and it’s the best egg drop soup I have ever had. I’m more of a sweet and sour soup gal but I needed a chicken based soup ( my boyfriend is sickly) that was quick and easy and this turned out AMAZING. I will cut the ginger in half next time but I’m very pleased. Thank you.

  46. We MAKE Greek avgolemono soup using egg and the broth should cool down then pour broth into a bowl with the eggs and not the other way round, Then the soup does not clot. Also whisk vigorously and continuously. When I was in Portugal I tasted a fantastic soup with an egg sitting on top. I recently found it in a book so I will try it.

  47. As a vegetarian could you use vegetable stock instead? Has anyone tried that?