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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 made this for hubby last night and he said it pretty good. It was a little watery (my fault I used arrowroot instead of corn starch). I added sliced mushrooms that I saluted in sesame oil. Next time I will use corn starch and see if that thickens better.

  2. We celebrated Chinese New Year tonight at a dinner party. I brought this for the appetizer. It was very easy to make but definitely didn’t turn out like the pictures. The flavor was good. If I have a future need for egg drop soup, I’ll use this recipe, but I won’t make it again otherwise.

    • Hi Jodi! We appreciate you giving the recipe a try and for sharing your experience with us. We’re glad you enjoyed the taste of it. We’re not sure what you mean about how it didn’t look like the pictures (did you have trouble incorporating the egg)?

  3. I made receipe and I found it very tasty. I have never tried anything like it before. I was hesistant about the sesame oil but I found it very yummy. My only struggle is that my soup didn’t thicken up like I thought it would. Otherwise, it was easy and yummy! 

    • We’re happy to hear you enjoyed it, Lisa! It’s not supposed to be a very thick soup, but you could try cooking it longer next time.

  4. Great recipe easy to make way full flavor !
    In my world of normal ;) and as a suggestion I like to add clam meat &/or NZ Green lip mussel meat to add bulk n flavor, note I prefer only the male mussel, orange meat….as it is firmer not mushy like the gray/white female mussel meat !
    Thanks for a great recipe and hope my additions are enjoyed by other adventurous conisours~LeRoy !

  5. This looks divine! One of my favorites, too, and I also have found restaurant egg drop lacking lately! My favorite one was at a restaurant where I grew up in Ohio, and I have yet to find a place that makes it that good! (I’ve since moved away these past 30 years!!) This recipe looks a LOT like my original beloved Egg Drop! This is the first recipe I’ve seen using corn!! Yay! I’m going to try!
    Thank you!

    • Thank you, Deanna, we hope you can give this a try and that it’s similar to the version you loved at that restaurant! :)

  6. This soup was so delicious!! ☺❤
    Thank you for sharing.

  7. Can you make the egg drop soup ahead and freeze for later? 

    • Hi Ashley! This soup isn’t really ideal for freezing. You can freeze the soup but you’d need to do it without the eggs (the eggs will not hold up well in the freezer). We hope this helps!

  8. Made this tonight and my husband and I loved it! I didn’t have chicken stock, but used broth and it still turned out great. I added mushrooms with the corn, which was a nice touch. Will be making again!

  9. I had to use an additional two table spoons of corn starch cause it was to watery. I also got the low sodium chicken broth which left it bland. But I have to watch my sodium. 

    • We’re sorry you had to use more cornstarch to get this thicker — we’re not sure why, but we hope it worked out for you and that you enjoyed it!

  10. Thumbs up! My picky son loves it! Gonna add shredded chicken next time!

    Thanks for sharing!

  11. Hi Ali! I just finished listening to your appearance on the Chopped podcast so I had to swing by and pin this recipe! Also looking forward to hearing you speak at the Everything Food Conference in May!!

  12. I really liked this! Super easy to make and I liked the flavour! It did taste a little different from Egg Drop soup that I’ve had at restaurants but it was pretty similar and I figure that it will always taste a little different when you make it at home vs. ordering from a restaurant. All in all, it was delicious and very simple, so I’m definitely going to make it in the future. Thanks for sharing!

  13. Hi Ali! Can you recommend a brand of chicken stock that you like? I usually use any broth that’s on sale and I would like for this to turn out as good as yours. Thanks!

    • Sure thing! Trader Joe’s organic chicken stock is my all-time fave. But if that’s not in your area, I really love Kitchen Basics organic chicken stock. :) Hope you enjoy the soup!

  14. I just made this and it worked perfectly – the only change I made was to use garlic salt instead of garlic powder. I did this by accident, but I think for those craving a saltier soup it could be a really good swap. Also added a few shakes of onion powder. Very pleased with the egg ribbons, the corn, and the flavor!

  15. So glad I tried this recipe! I was hesitant because of a couple of the reviews but I really loved it. I’m sick and have been craving egg drop all morning, I just made a few tweaks to suit my tastes…I am a vegetarian so I used vegetable broth & bouillon, little less sesame oil & ginger and added a splash of soy sauce. Loved the addition of corn! Thank you for a great recipe.

  16. I love this recipe!
    I left out the corn. Used a mushroom based bouillon in place of the chicken stock (didn’t have any). Didn’t have green onions so I used garlic chives from my garden.
    It is the best egg drop soup I have made!
    Thanks!

    • We’re so glad you enjoy it, Lisa, and we bet those fresh garlic chives are amazing! :D

  17. Oh and soy sauce and toasted sesame oil are key!

  18. I just made this and it turned out as pictured AND fabulous! I didn’t have green onions or sesame oil on hand, but will pick those up tomorrow as I made this to take to work for lunch tomorrow. Thank you for the delicious (sinus-opening) soup! :)

  19. I tried this for the first time tonight and it turned out horrible! I had to look at the recipe 3 times to make sure I didn’t miss something. It was a horrible color, thick texture, and tasted even worse than it looked! Extremely disappointed because it wasn’t cheap buying the ingredients.

    • We’re so sorry to hear that, Amber! :( We’re not sure what could have gone wrong. Could your eggs be old/bad? That’s the only thing we can think of that would account for the bad taste, texture, etc..

  20. I saw this recipe shared on a friends Facebook Page, and followed the link. I want to thank you so much for sharing your recipe. I am recovering from the aftereffects of Chemo and Radiation for my Throat cancer. During the treatment, I had to have a PEG and feed myself with a tube. I kept trying to eat normally, just couldn’t. But a friend of mine brought me some egg drop soup. I tried it. and I loved it, and it went down my throat so easy. I am definitly pinning this to my soups board, and will be making it soon. I tried to make some using just chicken broth and eggs, but it was ychh. I did not know it needed cornstarch either. Thank you again!

    • Hi Sherry! We’re so sorry to hear you’ve had to undergo chemo and radiation, and we hope you are feeling well! We’re so glad to hear you enjoyed this!

  21. Great soup! I have tried making different recipes and was not quite as happy with the results until I tried this one. I am not sure why others had difficulty. It might have been combining in the cornstarch? I think everyone should give it another try and go for less ginger. The sesame oil was the trick I believe, delicious! I only made half of the recipe and it was perfect for my craving. Thank you for sharing!!






  22. I don’t usually comment on recipes that I try. But this was amazing! Turned out perfect and was very easy. I added some sriracha for spice. This was delicious! Thank you!! ?






  23. Is there nutritional info for this? :)

    • Hi Brittany! We’re sorry but we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!

  24. This is awesome thank you for sharing! I have been looking for this recipie ???






  25. This soup was the BEST! I have a cold and was craving a healing soup that would also be easy to make with minimal ingredients. This was just what I needed! I’ve never made homemade egg drop soup before but this is one i’ll be making time and time again from now on. Thanks so much for the fantastic recipe!






  26. Would be nice to print your recipe and try it, the video blocks information.

  27. Made today very good loved the corm also added boc choy






    • We’re glad you enjoyed it, Mike, and we bet it was yummy with the bok choy!

  28. Thank you! My boyfriend and I are currently doing the Whole30 diet, and we are really struggling to find quick and easy recipes that aren’t grilled meat and veggies… And I was struggling to find a way to get him to eat eggs! So I made this (with no corn starch) with 6 whole eggs, to up the protein and volume! He loves it and refuses to believe he’s eating three eggs. haha :)

  29. This was so,yummy. I didn’t have ground ginger so I added garlic sriracha herb which gave it a nice kick. I also didn’t add any sesame oil and it was still good!

    Definitely making this again!






  30. What’s your favorite stock to make this with? I feel like the stick makes all the difference!

    • Hi Angelina! We like Trader Joe’s Organic Low Sodium Chicken Broth and Better than Bouillon. We hope this helps!

  31. Definitely a five star egg drop soup! The first time I made it I ate most of it myself. I couldn’t stop myself.






  32. I made this soup. I added extra salt. Very easy to make and fast. It turned out great.






  33. Made this tonight – it was relish! My soup was white and creamy – could that be from whisking too much?? It still tasted great but didn’t look like yours!






  34. OMG! Delicious!! O:






  35. Just made it. I substituted it with fresh garlic and ginger. Didn’t have spring onions. Absolutely delish! Thank you for sharing.






  36. Absolutely fantastic – so simple and delicious! Didn’t change a thing – the soup is better than ordering from a restaurant!

    Thank you!!






  37. I knew Egg Drop Soup was dead-easy, I just needed the recipe to prove it–and this was it! Next time I make it, the only change I would make is to cut back on the ginger; maybe because I used fresh instead of dried, that flavor predominated instead of the unctuous broth and egg.

    Oh–one final thought–I am familiar with peas or peas and carrots in Egg Drop Soup, but not corn, so would go for the former vs. the latter as an option.






  38. This is so good! Just made a double batch and everyone likes it, including a semi-picky teen. I used extra organic broth liquid concentrate, so only added a little salt. The adults added soy sauce and extra corn and sesame oil to personal preference. Yummy! Definitely will make again. ( I may try swirling a little slower when adding egg, to get thicker ribbons next time.) Thanks for a great recipe!






  39. Made it today. It hit the spot on a cold New Years Day. Thanks for the recipe. I know I will use it again.

  40. Love this recipe. My 14 yr old and I make this together and love it. And been making this occasionally the last year or so with the recipe as posted e. Today I have a cold and she suggested this and asked if we could add other vegetables too. That right there tells you how good this is, teenager cooking for mom and wanting more veggies. THANK YOU






  41. I made it using Better Than Boullion “No Chicken” base for a wonderful vegetarian soup.






  42. I made this tonight..my husband and I loved it! Can’t believe how easy it is to make.






  43. We loved your recipe! My 6 yr old daughter said please make this for my school lunch: “I love it!”






  44. Rrelatively easy and wonderful comfort food when you have the flu or a cold.






  45. Great soup and so easy. I added some soy sauce for a little more flavor.






  46. Love this recipe. Do you have a breakdown of nutrition per serving






  47. I love this egg drop soupy . Easy to make and great flavor. Every time I have fried rice, I make this soup. My whole family likes it.

  48. It was amazing! No green onion to add or ginger so I used a little nutmeg, and I only had lemon-garlic. Absolutely will be making again, def want the green onions but it came out awesome without too. And so filling!






  49. Fantastic! Made it a second time, added a half cube of chicken bouillon and it was even better!