This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
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.
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
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.
I like Egg Drop Soup too, maybe not quite as much as you do, but I have had some issues with Chinese food over the years but have always liked and done well with Egg Drop Soup. One time I was looking to make it more healthy and asked the restaurant to add some of their sauteed veggies to it, ie., broccoli, onions, peppers, etc. and it was wonderful with the added veggies. Try it sometime if you’re not an “Egg Drop Soup” purist…LOL
WOW! Finally, a recipe for egg drop soup that tastes like my favorite Chinese take out. Love that I can whip this up in about 20 minutes on a cold winter day. Thank you so much… this goes into the books as my new go-to favorite!
Thank you for posting this! I have made it several times now, and I am getting better and better at making the ribbons! I currently use cornstarch, but I am going to try something in the future that has less carbs, although this dish is already low carb and so delicious! I am currently doing Atkins and still coming up with alternatives to my carb addiction.
I am so excited I came across this recipe!!! My husband loves egg drop soup and we just happen to have all of these ingredients. I am so making this next week for an easy dinner. I frequently make avgolemono soup (which is a Greek chicken soup with egg and lemon), and I love eggs in soup because it makes it super hearty. Thanks!
Just made this soup it tastes exactly like the one I’m used to eating at a local Chinese restaurant. I put less than 1/4 tsp ginger, no pepper, onions, or corn. Perfectly delicious! The only problem I had was creating the ribbons of egg. The eggs look like they dissolved too much into the soup. But the taste is perfect!
Just made this and WOW! So delicious!! My kids are picky eaters too and loved it! The corn and green onions add just the right amount of subtle sweetness and flavor to make this dish perfect!! So glad you recommended them because they made it complete (in my opinion). Thank you :)
I just made this, but my soup looks more white than yellow? I used the right amount of stock and cornstarch that the recipe called for, so maybe it was the heat or cooking process? :( My soup doesn’t look very pretty or appetizing, but it does taste nice.
The color of the soup will depend on your stock. The brand I use is made with lots of carrots, so it’s extra yellow. But some brands are definitely lighter in color (although still tasty!).
LOVE this recipe! I was apprehensive at first, but this recipe is fantastic. I haven’t tried it with the corn yet- I’ve never had egg drop soup with corn before.
I highly recommend this recipe to anyone looking for some yummy soup!
This recipe is wonderful but has it been changed in the last few months? I swear I’ve been using ur recipe on this site and it called for garlic clove and soy sauce …
Ah yes! Mentioned in the post when I reshot the photos that I tweaked the recipe just a tad. I simplified it to exclude those ingredients, but you can still use a pinch/dash of each in the recipe!
Hmmm, I haven’t tried it but believe you could make a roux with equal parts flour/butter. (I would probably try 1 tablespoon of each.) Stir that together for a few minutes in a saucepan over medium-high heat, then whisk in the chicken broth and remaining ingredients and cook as directed.
This IS the egg drop soup I’ve been looking for! Like you, I have loved egg drop soup from childhood. Your recipe looks and sounds superb. I like your addition of the corn. Thanks for sharing.
OMG, omg, omg!!!! Hello from down under (Australia) have just made your soup and ammmmm soooo in loveeee with it….
Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing this recipe with us….
cannot wait for more inspiring recipes to come our way :)
Trudy :)
I made this last night for my husband and I to go along with our Asian-inspired dinner.
Unfortunately, we didn’t really like this at all. I followed the recipe to the T, leaving out the corn (we don’t like it in our soup) and the green onions (because I didn’t have any). I don’t know if it was because of using ground ginger and ground garlic but I definitely think using fresh would make the soup taste better. Perhaps not to n starch either because the soup gets thick with the eggs anyways.
Regardless, your pics look beautiful but sadly this was a miss for my husband and me.
Hi good folks i make this soup quite frequently and a few hours before i do,i fry some one quarter inch strips of egg roll raps til light golden color drain on paper towel.then when my soup is made i will have crispy noodles to put in my soup and indulge.I hope everyone will try this it’s as easy to make as the soup.everyone have a blessed day!
Thanks so much for pinning this! Eggdrop Soup is my family’s go-to whenever anyone is sick! We do natural whole foods, so I am delighted to be able to do this at home with ingredients that I always have on hand.
While Hot and Sour will always be my favorite, I do love Egg Drop as well. It’s my boyfriend’s favorite soup (and probably one of the few he’ll eat). I’ll definitely have to give this a try as the addition of the corn and green onions sounds amazing!! It’s the perfect time for soup now that the nights are getting cold…brrrr!
I just want to tell you something about this soup i got sick 20 years ago with lupus already had diabetes, and in so much pain, one day son and his finace went to get lunch she ask if i had eaten egg drop soup i said now didnt think soup good but she brought back chinese dinner and two egg drop soup I was sick that day and didnt eat all my dinner but i eat both soups, i took my time but found out it was lucious and smooth to my tummy, but hours later i really felt better and some how the soup and helped alot well now when my bad bad flare-ups come round i have order of my egg drop soup for the day and it still works i feel so much better not sure what does it but not giving up on it, my favorite soup is vegetable soup but its lost out. thank you for you recipe for egg drop soup but mine might not taste like the chinese place but its a good fixer upper for my illness, thank you for the recipe, and keep up the wonderful food you make so great . thank you, mamamojoe
I used your recipe yesterday Halloween “14” but changed a thing or two. Used arrowroot not cornstarch, used fresh garlic sliced fine, added shredded chicken and a tiny bit of corn, fabulous ! Thank you
I have to say I am not impressed with this soup! I just made it and it isn’t very appetizing I followed the directions and it looks just like the above pictured but, it’s taste just isn’t what I expected!
Sorry to hear that. The taste is definitely largely affected by the brand of chicken stock. So there’s a chance that could have affected things. But otherwise, thanks for giving it a try!
This is the BEST soup ever! This is now in my regular regimen of dishes. The sesame oil is what ‘makes’ it. Love, love….love! ?Needed a filling but healthy soup while recovering from full teeth removal. Perfect!
Ali! This was amazing, and easy enough that I wasn’t afraid to tackle it with my less than stellar domestic goddess skills. Granten even loved it! If it is good enough for the picky baby, oh my, let’s share this with the world! Thank you!
Im feeling kinda down and then I saw this recipe. I love egg drop soup too but I thought it was really hard to make! I’m watching my carbohydrates so off to the store for sesame oil and making this today.
Mmmm. So good. This is the first time I’ve tried making egg drop – and it came out awesome. Super fast and easy, as promised. I used napa cabbage as an add-in instead of corn. Thank you for sharing the recipie.
Wow!!! This was my first attempt at making Egg Drop Soup, and I’m so glad I found your website and this recipe.
Initially, when I smelled the broth while it was preparing to boil, I thought it had an odd smell. Somehow, after the eggs are added, in addition to the green onion and sesame oil, the soup completely transforms into a yummlicious soup.
I wasn’t able to accomplish the ribbon affect, but it certainly didn’t affect how delicious it tasted.
I will definitely make this again!!!
Thanks for the fantastic recipe.
Question… (awesome recipe btw!) Do you think there would be a difference in using chicken broth instead of chicken stock. I know some recipes interchange the 2 but I noticed you mentioned that part makes a big difference so I just wanted to be sure. Thanks for your help and recipe =)
I’m a big fan of chicken stock, as I believe it has more flavor. (And since it’s one of the main ingredients in this recipe, the flavor of the stock will greatly impact the flavor of the soup.) But either will work!
I am in LOVE with this recipe. I have made it several times since discovering it on Pinterest last month. Sometimes I measure the ingredients, sometimes I don’t and just eyeball it and it still turns out great. I’ve made variations with mushrooms, bok choy and shrimp and it’s delicious that way or just as it is without adding anything! My husband says I’m obsessed, and maybe I am…but I’m trying to adopt a low carb lifestyle and this soup fills me up without breaking the carb bank. I make double batches of it and divide it into Tupperware to take to work. I’ll have some for breakfast and some for lunch…so yeah, maybe obsessed is a good word =) Thanks for this wonderfully easy and tasty recipe!
It was 70 degrees today and we are supposed to get 2-3 inches of snow by Friday, so this is on the menu for tomorrow nite. I HAVE to get this at my favorite Chinese restaurant in town. They serve it with soy sauce, white pepper, and baked won-ton chips–soooo good! I’ve made egg drop soup before, but can’t wait to try this recipe since it sounds so wonderful. Thanks for sharing this!
Thank you for this lovely soup. Though you likely may cringe at my substitutions, I just made a FODMAP friendly version – no garlic, so I added a bit of mirin wine and powdered dashi, as well as freshly minced ginger. I am in love.
I would not of thought to make this again, had I not stumbled across this recipe in Pinterest – you have a new subscriber. I may not be able to eat all of your food, but I can live vicariously.
I like Egg Drop Soup too, maybe not quite as much as you do, but I have had some issues with Chinese food over the years but have always liked and done well with Egg Drop Soup. One time I was looking to make it more healthy and asked the restaurant to add some of their sauteed veggies to it, ie., broccoli, onions, peppers, etc. and it was wonderful with the added veggies. Try it sometime if you’re not an “Egg Drop Soup” purist…LOL
WOW! Finally, a recipe for egg drop soup that tastes like my favorite Chinese take out. Love that I can whip this up in about 20 minutes on a cold winter day. Thank you so much… this goes into the books as my new go-to favorite!
Just wonderful!
Thank you for posting this! I have made it several times now, and I am getting better and better at making the ribbons! I currently use cornstarch, but I am going to try something in the future that has less carbs, although this dish is already low carb and so delicious! I am currently doing Atkins and still coming up with alternatives to my carb addiction.
I am excited to make this! Do you have a recipe for sweet n sour by any chance? We moved recently and have no decent restaurants near us!
Yes! Here it is: https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/lighter-sweet-and-sour-chicken/
I am so excited I came across this recipe!!! My husband loves egg drop soup and we just happen to have all of these ingredients. I am so making this next week for an easy dinner. I frequently make avgolemono soup (which is a Greek chicken soup with egg and lemon), and I love eggs in soup because it makes it super hearty. Thanks!
I am going to try this recipe. I am also going to add some minced steamed chicken and minced water chestnuts.
Just made this soup it tastes exactly like the one I’m used to eating at a local Chinese restaurant. I put less than 1/4 tsp ginger, no pepper, onions, or corn. Perfectly delicious! The only problem I had was creating the ribbons of egg. The eggs look like they dissolved too much into the soup. But the taste is perfect!
So good! Just finished making this on a snowy day in OK and it hit the spot.
Thanks for sharing.
Just made this and WOW! So delicious!! My kids are picky eaters too and loved it! The corn and green onions add just the right amount of subtle sweetness and flavor to make this dish perfect!! So glad you recommended them because they made it complete (in my opinion). Thank you :)
This is also one of my favorite soups.Can you tell me how many carbs. and calories are in this recipe? Thank You
I just made this, but my soup looks more white than yellow? I used the right amount of stock and cornstarch that the recipe called for, so maybe it was the heat or cooking process? :( My soup doesn’t look very pretty or appetizing, but it does taste nice.
(I also used carrots instead of corn – yummy!)
Hi Mahlon,
The color of the soup will depend on your stock. The brand I use is made with lots of carrots, so it’s extra yellow. But some brands are definitely lighter in color (although still tasty!).
~Ali
LOVE this recipe! I was apprehensive at first, but this recipe is fantastic. I haven’t tried it with the corn yet- I’ve never had egg drop soup with corn before.
I highly recommend this recipe to anyone looking for some yummy soup!
This recipe is wonderful but has it been changed in the last few months? I swear I’ve been using ur recipe on this site and it called for garlic clove and soy sauce …
Hi Michelle,
Ah yes! Mentioned in the post when I reshot the photos that I tweaked the recipe just a tad. I simplified it to exclude those ingredients, but you can still use a pinch/dash of each in the recipe!
~Ali
Can’t find cornstarch in my Mexican town. Any alternatives?
Hmmm, I haven’t tried it but believe you could make a roux with equal parts flour/butter. (I would probably try 1 tablespoon of each.) Stir that together for a few minutes in a saucepan over medium-high heat, then whisk in the chicken broth and remaining ingredients and cook as directed.
Do you know the nutrition information for this soup?
No, but you can approximately calculate the nutrition facts at myfitnesspal.com.
I haven’t tried this yet, but I love to get it at restaurants when I’m sick. BEST SOUP EVER!!! Imma gonna try it :)
This IS the egg drop soup I’ve been looking for! Like you, I have loved egg drop soup from childhood. Your recipe looks and sounds superb. I like your addition of the corn. Thanks for sharing.
I love Egg Drop Soup and I definitely will be making it today.
I’m making this today!
OMG, omg, omg!!!! Hello from down under (Australia) have just made your soup and ammmmm soooo in loveeee with it….
Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing this recipe with us….
cannot wait for more inspiring recipes to come our way :)
Trudy :)
I made this last night for my husband and I to go along with our Asian-inspired dinner.
Unfortunately, we didn’t really like this at all. I followed the recipe to the T, leaving out the corn (we don’t like it in our soup) and the green onions (because I didn’t have any). I don’t know if it was because of using ground ginger and ground garlic but I definitely think using fresh would make the soup taste better. Perhaps not to n starch either because the soup gets thick with the eggs anyways.
Regardless, your pics look beautiful but sadly this was a miss for my husband and me.
Hi good folks i make this soup quite frequently and a few hours before i do,i fry some one quarter inch strips of egg roll raps til light golden color drain on paper towel.then when my soup is made i will have crispy noodles to put in my soup and indulge.I hope everyone will try this it’s as easy to make as the soup.everyone have a blessed day!
I just made this tonight! Very yummy & filling. Will make this again, thanks for the recipe.
Thanks so much for pinning this! Eggdrop Soup is my family’s go-to whenever anyone is sick! We do natural whole foods, so I am delighted to be able to do this at home with ingredients that I always have on hand.
Mahalo plenty!!! Luv this soup & now I can make my own….I’m soooo happy
Cornstarch in Spanish is maizena
While Hot and Sour will always be my favorite, I do love Egg Drop as well. It’s my boyfriend’s favorite soup (and probably one of the few he’ll eat). I’ll definitely have to give this a try as the addition of the corn and green onions sounds amazing!! It’s the perfect time for soup now that the nights are getting cold…brrrr!
I just want to tell you something about this soup i got sick 20 years ago with lupus already had diabetes, and in so much pain, one day son and his finace went to get lunch she ask if i had eaten egg drop soup i said now didnt think soup good but she brought back chinese dinner and two egg drop soup I was sick that day and didnt eat all my dinner but i eat both soups, i took my time but found out it was lucious and smooth to my tummy, but hours later i really felt better and some how the soup and helped alot well now when my bad bad flare-ups come round i have order of my egg drop soup for the day and it still works i feel so much better not sure what does it but not giving up on it, my favorite soup is vegetable soup but its lost out. thank you for you recipe for egg drop soup but mine might not taste like the chinese place but its a good fixer upper for my illness, thank you for the recipe, and keep up the wonderful food you make so great . thank you, mamamojoe
So excited to try this! Can I ask what kind of chicken broth you use or recommend? I’d really like to get it perfectly right! :) thank you.
Sure thing! I love Trader Joe’s or Kitchen Basics chicken stock.
Thanks for this awesome recipe! My husband loves egg drop soup. I can’t wait to make it for him instead of ordering it from a restaurant.
I used your recipe yesterday Halloween “14” but changed a thing or two. Used arrowroot not cornstarch, used fresh garlic sliced fine, added shredded chicken and a tiny bit of corn, fabulous ! Thank you
I have to say I am not impressed with this soup! I just made it and it isn’t very appetizing I followed the directions and it looks just like the above pictured but, it’s taste just isn’t what I expected!
Hi Riann,
Sorry to hear that. The taste is definitely largely affected by the brand of chicken stock. So there’s a chance that could have affected things. But otherwise, thanks for giving it a try!
~Ali
This is the BEST soup ever! This is now in my regular regimen of dishes. The sesame oil is what ‘makes’ it. Love, love….love! ?Needed a filling but healthy soup while recovering from full teeth removal. Perfect!
The best egg drop soup ever! Making it again today on this cold nasty day in the south.
Love this recipe!! I made this for my family and it was gone in about 60 seconds!!
Ali! This was amazing, and easy enough that I wasn’t afraid to tackle it with my less than stellar domestic goddess skills. Granten even loved it! If it is good enough for the picky baby, oh my, let’s share this with the world! Thank you!
My downfall is not being a very good cook. Since I am alone, I have to force myself to learn.
Your recipe is a God send. Jerry, in Las Vegas
I like adding cubed tofu and green onions! Excellent!
Im feeling kinda down and then I saw this recipe. I love egg drop soup too but I thought it was really hard to make! I’m watching my carbohydrates so off to the store for sesame oil and making this today.
Ok I made this and it looks like cream of celery. It tastes bland. Usually I can cook pretty good so maybe Iccan’t cook oriental.
Any reason I couldn’t make this without corn starch?
You totally could; it just won’t be as thick. :)
Awesome easy to make soup. I added some siriacha and it gave it a nice bite!
Mmmm. So good. This is the first time I’ve tried making egg drop – and it came out awesome. Super fast and easy, as promised. I used napa cabbage as an add-in instead of corn. Thank you for sharing the recipie.
Thanks Melissa, I’m glad you enjoyed it, and great idea with the napa cabbage!
Wow!!! This was my first attempt at making Egg Drop Soup, and I’m so glad I found your website and this recipe.
Initially, when I smelled the broth while it was preparing to boil, I thought it had an odd smell. Somehow, after the eggs are added, in addition to the green onion and sesame oil, the soup completely transforms into a yummlicious soup.
I wasn’t able to accomplish the ribbon affect, but it certainly didn’t affect how delicious it tasted.
I will definitely make this again!!!
Thanks for the fantastic recipe.
Thanks Dee, I’m so happy you enjoyed it, and thanks for your sweet words!
Question… (awesome recipe btw!) Do you think there would be a difference in using chicken broth instead of chicken stock. I know some recipes interchange the 2 but I noticed you mentioned that part makes a big difference so I just wanted to be sure. Thanks for your help and recipe =)
I’m a big fan of chicken stock, as I believe it has more flavor. (And since it’s one of the main ingredients in this recipe, the flavor of the stock will greatly impact the flavor of the soup.) But either will work!
Hey Ali. I can’t wait to try making this. But quick question: by following this how many does it serve? I have a family of 3. Thanks!!!
Depends on the serving size, but I find it serves 4 people in smaller bowls.
I made this soup yesterday for lunch. It is delicious. I see why it’s hard to order it out at a restaurant. Thanks for posting the recipe.
Thanks Danielle, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I am in LOVE with this recipe. I have made it several times since discovering it on Pinterest last month. Sometimes I measure the ingredients, sometimes I don’t and just eyeball it and it still turns out great. I’ve made variations with mushrooms, bok choy and shrimp and it’s delicious that way or just as it is without adding anything! My husband says I’m obsessed, and maybe I am…but I’m trying to adopt a low carb lifestyle and this soup fills me up without breaking the carb bank. I make double batches of it and divide it into Tupperware to take to work. I’ll have some for breakfast and some for lunch…so yeah, maybe obsessed is a good word =) Thanks for this wonderfully easy and tasty recipe!
Thanks so much Molly, I’m thrilled that you like it so much! It’s my favorite soup, so that makes me even happier. : )
It was 70 degrees today and we are supposed to get 2-3 inches of snow by Friday, so this is on the menu for tomorrow nite. I HAVE to get this at my favorite Chinese restaurant in town. They serve it with soy sauce, white pepper, and baked won-ton chips–soooo good! I’ve made egg drop soup before, but can’t wait to try this recipe since it sounds so wonderful. Thanks for sharing this!
Oh no, what a bummer — maybe the weather will turn! Either way, I hope you enjoy the soup! Cheers!
Thank you for this lovely soup. Though you likely may cringe at my substitutions, I just made a FODMAP friendly version – no garlic, so I added a bit of mirin wine and powdered dashi, as well as freshly minced ginger. I am in love.
I would not of thought to make this again, had I not stumbled across this recipe in Pinterest – you have a new subscriber. I may not be able to eat all of your food, but I can live vicariously.
Thanks for making it Nikki! And I’m totally not cringing, I think those are cool substitutions — I love fresh ginger! Cheers! : )