Egg Drop Soup

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With a flavorful chicken broth base and light wisps of egg throughout, Egg Drop Soup is a wonderful, light and simple soup your whole family will request again and again.

The first time I made this soup, my kids went crazy over it and devoured every single sip. They requested it again the very next day for lunch.

Classic Egg Drop Soup

Thankfully, this soup comes together in just a few minutes making it one of my go-to lunches for the kids.

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Did you know that you can make egg drop soup with little more than a couple of eggs and some chicken stock or broth?

Egg Drop Soup

I’ve made this soup for a few years now and the recipe is quite versatile. It doubles nicely and the addition of an extra egg makes it a bit heartier and filling as well.

I absolutely love that I can serve a cup of this soup as a first course or a bowl (with an extra egg) as a meal all on its own.

No wonder it’s such a staple in my house. Truth be told,  my middle son would probably be happy to eat a bowl of egg drop soup every single day.

Egg Drop Soup is a favorite easy lunch

Chinese Egg Drop Soup

You just might want to eat it every day, too. And I wouldn’t stop you. There are so many ways to enjoy this Chinese soup that you’ll want to try them all.

You can serve Egg Drop Soup as an appetizer or side dish with an Asian-inspired entree like Chinese Vegetable Stir-Fry , Chinese Lemon Chicken or Ginger Chicken and Broccoli Stir-Fry. Or pair the soup with Chinese Chicken Salad for an easy and nourishing lunch.

My kids and I also just love to eat this all on its own. This is one of those soups that results in complete silence at the kitchen table as everyone focuses on enjoying every last spoonful. Magic.

Egg Flower Soup

Often called Egg Flower Soup as well, Egg Drop Soup is an Asian dish that’s become especially popular in American Chinese cuisine.

If you’ve never tried it before, you’re in for a treat. And if you’ve only had takeout versions, I think you’ll be surprised by how good and how easy homemade this soup can be.

Egg Drop Soup Ingredients

 How to Make Egg Drop Soup

We begin with boiling chicken stock or vegetable stock flavored by fresh, aromatic ginger, soy sauce, (occasionally garlic, If I feel like it), and a touch of pepper. A mixture of cornstarch and water helps thicken this brothy base.

A beaten egg added at the end of cooking results in feathery whisps of cooked egg swirling through the soup. Stir the soup in one direction to evenly distribute the egg and allow it to finish cooking. This process keeps the eggy flavor and texture from overwhelming the rest of the dish.

I like to garnish my egg drop soup with finely chopped green onion for a little color and extra flavor but it’s also plenty tasty without!

How to add the egg to Egg Drop Soup

Is Egg Drop Soup Gluten Free?

This recipe is naturally gluten-free, but it’s incredibly easy to make it safe for those avoiding all forms of gluten. Simply substitute regular soy sauce with your favorite gluten free soy sauce or Tamari and you’re good to go!

Many restaurant soups are made with a chicken broth or chicken stock base. You can make a meat-free version at home by substituting vegetable stock for chicken stock. Either one will yield a delicious result!

However you serve it, this is guaranteed to be:

  • Warm and comforting
  • Full of savory, salty, creamy rich flavor 
  • Totally kid approved
  • Quick and easy to make for lunch or dinner any day of the week
How To Make Classic Egg Drop Soup

Egg Drop Soup Recipe

Start by combining the stock, ginger, and soy sauce in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add salt and pepper to taste.

Whisk together the cornstarch and water and pour into the simmering soup. Stir to combine and slightly thicken the soup. Slowly pour in the beaten eggs, while stirring the soup in one direction. The egg will spread out and feather through the soup.

Remove the soup from the heat and add the green onions. Taste once more and adjust seasonings as needed. Serve warm.

Egg Drop Soup is a favorite with kids and adults

Want a few more simple soup recipes to try? This three ingredient tomato soup gets two thumbs up every time we make it, and my youngest son frequently requests it – along with grilled cheese sandwiches.

My cousin Helene’s Pizza Soup is filled with hearty white beans, tender pasta, spicy sausage, and plenty of great Italian flavor. While this could also be called ” Pasta Soup with White Beans and Sausage,” the soup smells so much like pizza while it simmers, our name for it is Pizza Soup.

Loaded with Mexican flavors, this 10-Minute Southwest Chicken Soup is a slightly spicy soup with generous chunks of tomatoes, corn, black beans, and chicken.

This old fashioned potato soup (with just five ingredients) is a journey back to Grandma’s kitchen where hearty food is made with common ingredients, and every bite tells a story.

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Egg Drop Soup is a favorite easy lunch

Chinese Egg Drop Soup

4.92 from 12 votes
With a flavorful chicken broth base and light wisps of egg throughout, Egg Drop Soup is a wonderful, light and simple soup your whole family will request again and again.
Pin Print Review
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients 

  • 5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  • ½ teaspoon freshly minced fresh ginger
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • ½ – ¾ teaspoon kosher salt adjust to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon white pepper freshly ground black pepper will work as well, adjust to taste
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch plus 2 tablespoons water
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • Optional: 2 green onions sliced thin

Instructions

  • Combine the stock, ginger and soy sauce in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add salt and pepper to taste. Whisk together the cornstarch and water and pour into the simmering soup. Stir to combine and slightly thicken the soup.
  • Slowly pour in the beaten eggs, while stirring the soup in one direction. The egg will spread out and feather through the soup. Remove from the heat and add the green onions. Taste once more and adjust seasonings as needed. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 107kcal · Carbohydrates: 10g · Protein: 7g · Fat: 3g · Saturated Fat: 1g · Cholesterol: 60mg · Sodium: 642mg · Potassium: 242mg · Sugar: 3g · Vitamin A: 80IU · Vitamin C: 0.4mg · Calcium: 14mg · Iron: 0.8mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @barefeetkitchen or tag #barefeetkitchen!

{originally published 1/17/13 – recipe notes and photos updated 1/22/24}

recipe gently adapted from and with thanks to Tyler Florence via For the Love of Cooking

Learn how to make Egg Drop Soup - in just five minutes!

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Mary Younkin

Mary Younkin

Hi, I’m Mary. I’m the author, cook, photographer, and travel lover behind the scenes here at Barefeet In The Kitchen. I'm also the author of three cookbooks dedicated to making cooking from scratch as simple as possible.

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  1. Jude says

    Your Egg Drop Soup sounds delicious! Do you know where I can find the noodles (crunchy, but fluffy) that usually go with it when you order from a restaurant?

    Thank you and can’t wait to try this recipe :O)

    Jude

    • Elizabeth says

      Get wonton wraps from the produce section of the grocery store, cut into strips, and fry–done!

  2. Cathy Landsteiner says

    I have never used ginger. It is only a half a teaspoon, I imagine you chop it really fine? But won’t you run into a piece when eating it? Does it soften or what? Just curious.

    • Mary says

      The bits of ginger don’t bother me a bit, but if you’re leery of them, you could grind the ginger finely instead.

  3. Cheryl says

    Very good egg drop soup.!!!
    I minced the ginger with a very fine grater and doubled the amount to 1 teaspoon. It was very tasty. I felt 2 tablespoons was way too much soy sauce so I used 1 tablespoon.
    I really like soy sauce so I was surprised that 1 tablespoon was enough. Loved this soup!!!!

    Adding finely chopped veggies such as carrots, spinach, or corn also is good. I just don’t add too much so it won’t disguise the wonderful flavor,

    I think this soup tastes better than what you get at most restaurants.
    Thank you so much for this recipe.5 stars

  4. Vernon E Patrick says

    This appears to be a good recipe for Egg Drop Soup. However, without knowing what a serving size is, and without more complete nutrition information, this recipe is virtually worthless. You tell us how many calories are in a serving, but that is totally usless!

    • Mary says

      Hey Vernon, thanks for pointing out that the servings weren’t listed. We usually get about 6 small (appetizer sized) bowls from this recipe. However, my boys often eat the whole recipe themselves for lunch along with sandwiches. I hope that helps!

  5. Gail Oda says

    Thank you for sharing your great recipe. I am going to try it it is cold out. It look so yummy and ono. Since it’s cold and can warm up.5 stars

  6. tom masterson says

    don’t know what I did wrong but the soup looked like a bowl of slop.
    egg was like scrambled not cooked. I love eye drop soup but this was not like anything
    I have had. do u have a video on how to make this? I followed the recipe listed and when I added the eggs it looked curtailed and very unappetizing.

    • Mary Younkin says

      Hi Tom, there is a video at the top of this post. It sounds like you poured the eggs in all at once or without stirring. They should be very slowly drizzled into the hot soup while stirring the whole time. That is what creates the thin ribbons of egg in the soup.

  7. Bhavesh says

    A delicious and easy to make egg drop soup recipe, best I have ever tried so far. Thanks for sharing this soup recipe with all of us.5 stars

  8. Kristen says

    I’m always researching how to make my restaurant favorites at home. It is like Christmas morning to me when I stumble on a recipe that uses 1 specific ingredient, that I never tried in a particular recipe when trying to recreate it, that hits the nail on the head. Before that it’s just missing that certain something. Once it was Italian seasoning in a chicken and vegetable soup (I love soups lol) . This time..ginger!! That’s it. That’s what my egg drop soup has been missing. I have been making variations since I started cooking 20+ years ago. I made this tonight with everything except the fresh ginger. I only had ground. I give this 5 stars because it was delicious with the ground ginger. I’m sure it will be even better with the fresh. YUM! Thank you for this recipe!!5 stars

  9. Robin says

    Greetings! I am proud and happy to provide this notification to you regarding the recipe entitled Chinese Egg Drop Soup.
    The Society has rated this recipe with the OUTSTANDING rating, which means that you and your team have posted a recipe that includes a thorough and perfectly conceived set of directions/instructions, and a list of ingredients that the home cook could reasonably be expected to obtain, in order to duplicate the recipe successfully.
    Congratulations! (Extra credit is also given (and much appreciated) for including any tips! For example, this recipe included a great tip for thickening the soup with corn starch slurry prior to serving, although you failed to mention how important it is to strain the slurry into the soup, to avoid lumps. We also suggest that the slurry be added while the soup is boiling, not simmering, for faster action)

    PS- Speaking for home cooks everywhere, please keep up the great work, and do not post recipes in the future that SUCK, with incomplete or poorly specified instructions and/or with a list of ingredients that is missing key items or fails to suggest substitutes for key items.

    Robin D Hoode, President and CEO, Society For The Success of Home Cooking, (SSHC), Trump Tower Suite 1101, Washington DC, USA, where all recipes are too good to shred)

    If this recipe had sucked, you would have been notified. Deficiencies that could result in your recipe having a SUCK rating could include: 1. not specifying how lean the ground beef should be; 2. not specifying how long the saute should be to achieve tenderness; 3. not including a reasonable list of seasonings; 4. failing to emphasize the need to measure the internal temperature of the key ingredient (meats, poultry, or fish, including shellfish) prior to serving; 5. failing to suggest a wonderful wine to compliment your meal (or cover up the terrible taste of this meal). (we deducted 1 star from your rating because of this failure. A California or New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc would be great with your soup!)

    If you have questions or disagreement with this evaluation, please do not hesitate to contact us at the above address. Thank you.4 stars

  10. Sharon says

    Made this soup today. Followed recipe exactly as is.It is amazing!!! Easy! Delicious!!! Will definitely be making again and again!5 stars

  11. Judy Whitford says

    I have been suffering from the flu for two weeks now and have had virtually no appetite. When I ran across this recipe yesterday it sounded exactly what I needed and because I’m still in a weakened condition I knew I had enough strength to make this. Easy and very delicious. It must have done the trick because I slept for 9 hours and woke up feeling much stronger today. Thank you for such a great recipe.5 stars

  12. Donna says

    I’m a big fan of egg drop soup and when I saw this recipe, I figured, why not give it a try. I’m glad I did! Following the recipe produced a rich broth and the finished soup was delicious.

    I’ll make this again, but I’ll up the slurry to suit my soup fancy for a thicker broth.5 stars

  13. Rebecca says

    Absolutely perfect! Way better than any Chinese takeout I’ve had! I topped it with green onions and wonton strips and served it along side the egg roll stir fry. It made a delicious meal!5 stars