Egg Drop Soup (6 Ingredients!)

Free: Healthy Freezer Meals Recipe Ebook

I absolutely adore egg drop soup — it’s a must-order whenever I go to Chinese restaurants. Since I love it so much, I decided to bring that taste to my own kitchen, and let me tell you, to me it’s better than takeout! It’s incredibly cozy and has all the flavor, without any extra thickeners or artificial ingredients — though I have instructions to easily thicken it if you like. Serve this egg drop soup recipe as an appetizer or side dish to any Asian healthy dinner. It’s delicious and slurp-able!

Why You’ll Love This Egg Drop Soup Recipe

Savory, unami flavors
Beautiful egg ribbons
Just 6 simple, natural ingredients (plus salt and pepper)
Naturally gluten-free and low carb
Ready in less than 15 minutes

What Is Egg Drop Soup?

Egg drop soup, sometimes called egg flower soup, is a Chinese dish with a chicken broth base, featuring silky egg ribbons and savory additions like mushrooms, green onions, and ginger. It’s a comforting and simple soup with a delicate flavor.

Ingredients & Substitutions

This section explains how to choose the best egg drop soup ingredients, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.

Chicken Broth – I use the reduced-sodium kind, but you can use regular chicken stock or broth, vegetable broth, beef broth, or even bone broth if you prefer.
Coconut Aminos – This is my favorite soy sauce substitute, but you can use low-sodium soy sauce or tamari instead.
Mushrooms – Use thinly sliced button or cremini mushrooms for a mild and earthy flavor. You could also add (or substitute) tofu if you tolerate soy.
Green Onions – Also called scallions, these add a mild onion flavor. You can replace them with chives or regular onions, though this is less traditional.
Fresh Ginger – For flavor and aroma. Fresh tastes best, but you can use ginger paste or a pinch of ground ginger, too.
Eggs – Use room temperature eggs. This ensures that the beaten eggs blend smoothly into the hot broth, creating a silky texture without cooling down the soup too quickly.
Sea Salt & Black Pepper – You can also use white pepper instead of black pepper.
Optional Add-Ins – If you like, you can add a dash of turmeric to get that classic yellow color (no food coloring needed!), and sesame oil for flavor.

How To Make Egg Drop Soup

This section shows how to make easy egg drop soup, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.

Simmer the soup. In a medium saucepan or pot, combine the chicken broth, coconut aminos (or soy sauce), mushrooms, onions, ginger, and black pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer and cook until the mushrooms are tender.
Add the eggs. Lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl. Stir the soup in a circular motion, and slowly pour the eggs in at the same time, to create ribbons of egg. If the egg drop soup doesn’t taste salty enough for you, add salt as needed.

Tips For Best Results

Room temperature eggs are important. If they are cold, the sudden temperature change can cause them to scramble.
Stirring is key for egg ribbons. If you don’t stir while adding the eggs, this can cause them to scramble, too. The faster you stir, the larger “egg flowers” you’ll get. (I didn’t stir very fast in the pictures shown.)
It’s easy to thicken if you want. I like this recipe for egg drop soup simply as it is, but it’s on the thinner side. If you want it thick like a restaurant, make a cornstarch slurry by mixing 1 tablespoon cornstarch with a few tablespoons of broth before adding to the pot, then proceed with the recipe as usual. For a low carb option, make the slurry with 1/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum instead of cornstarch. Find more cornstarch substitutes here for additional options.

Storage Instructions

Store: Place any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Meal prep: Make broth ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator. When ready to eat, simply re-heat the broth in a saucepan and then stir in the whisked eggs to make ribbons.
Reheat: Warm the egg drop soup on the stovetop over medium-low heat for 8-10 minutes. Avoid high heat.
Freeze: Freezing is not recommended, as the texture of the eggs will be ruined. However, you could freeze the soup if you do it before you add the eggs.

What To Serve With Egg Drop Soup

This homemade recipe is a great side or starter to Asian-inspired dishes. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Chicken – Serve it up as an appetizer to classic teriyaki chicken or a chicken stir fry.
Bowls – For a bit of everything, serve egg drop soup with an egg roll in a bowl, a quick Korean beef bowl, or a sweet and savory salmon bowl.
Beef – You can’t go wrong with a side of Hunan beef, delicious pepper steak, or a classic beef stir fry.
Noodles & Rice – Make this soup more filling by serving it alongside your favorite noodles or rice dish, such as fried rice. I like it with lighter options, like sesame kelp noodles or cauliflower fried rice.
Salads – Make a soup and salad combo with a simple cabbage salad or smashed cucumber salad.

Recommended Tools

Dutch Oven – My favorite, and this one is small size that’s perfect for egg drop soup.
Asian Soup Spoons – Shown in the photos above. Not 100% necessary, but they make this dish even more enjoyable.

Egg Drop Soup

Pin It For Later!

Leave a Review or Question Cancel reply

24 Comments

Rovi
0 November 21, 2023Reply

Finally, I won’t need to order this soup outside. I made my first batch and my husband was impressed! I couldn’t believe I could make it at home. So happy! Thank you!
Sage Scott
0 November 21, 2023Reply

I love egg drop soup but have never made it at home. This was fast, easy, and delicious. Yum!
SungH
0 November 21, 2023Reply

Always been a fan of Egg Drop Soup and this one perfect! The broth, egg ribbons, mushrooms, and green onions make it pure comfort in a bowl.

=)
Dolly
0 November 21, 2023Reply

This soup was so tasty! It was my first time making egg drop soup, but it was super easy with your instructions. I’ve been feeling a bit sick and this is just what I needed!
Trish
0 November 21, 2023Reply

I always order egg drop soup when I go to a Chinese restaurant so I was totally excited to make this at home. I got my ingredients ready although I didn’t have coco aminos so I used the regular soy sauce at home and it still tasted restaurant like. thanks for this recipe 🙂
Smokey
0 May 14, 2023Reply

Excellent! Quick, easy and inexpensive. Can’t ask for more.
Ms A
0 March 27, 2023Reply

Hi there, would you mind including sodium content of all your recipes?
Appreciate it.
- Wholesome Yum D
  0 March 29, 2023Reply
  
  Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy and I don’t have sodium listed, so you’d have to calculate that yourself if you need it. It will vary widely anyway depending on the brand of broth and coconut aminos you use. Please see our nutrition policy for more info.
Julie Kimp
0 September 20, 2022Reply

ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!!!! I’m doing keto healthy and this was perfect. The flavors were spot on. I doubled the batch because I knew it was gonna be delicious. Thank you for such an easy and quick recipe.
Kelley LeBeau
0 January 1, 2022Reply

Very Very good, but I added Ground Chicken and Bok Choy, okay not traditional but very good none the less, oh and Garlic and extra Ginger. Anyway… love the recipe 🙂 Happy New Year 🙂
Len
0 February 7, 2021Reply

Fantastic! The first occasion making it I used half of everything, as it would make two bowls for me…….. then I did the same again 1/2 hour later!!
On the second occasion (another day) I made the full recipe and I added a couple drops of sesame oil!
- Anna
  0 May 20, 2021Reply
  
  Does this soup reheat well? I don’t want to make a big batch if the egg turns nasty from reheating. Lol
  - Wholesome Yum M
    0 May 20, 2021Reply
    
    Hi Anna, You can reheat this soup, but do it slowly over medium-low heat, to avoid ruining the texture of the eggs.
Sandy
0 December 22, 2020Reply

We were so happy with how this soup turned out. We didn’t have any of the Coconut amino, so I used Mushroom Soy Sauce and since we are not fans of black pepper, I used 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper. Turned out great and was really easy to make. So this winter we will be fixing this soup on cold winter nights.
Pat
0 August 15, 2020Reply

I’ve always loved egg drop soup!!
Your recipe is delish!!
I made your recipe using a low sodium broth and added 4 tsp. of grated parmesan cheese to the beaten eggs – so yummy 🙂
The parmesan adds about 20 cal and 0.2g carb to the recipe.
Thank you for all the amazing recipes!!
Stephanie Watson
0 June 18, 2020Reply

This was sooooo delicious. Made it for a light lunch and expected to have leftovers but my husband ate the rest. I changed it up some by using miso broth which increased the carbs to 2g a serving but it added great depth. This will be on regular rotation for lunch since it is so quick to make, plus I always have these ingredients on hand.
Rosalie Comizio
0 May 14, 2020Reply

what are coconut aminos, what can I use in place of them?
- Wholesome Yum M
  0 May 14, 2020Reply
  
  Hi Rosalie, Coconut aminos are made from coconut blossoms and salt. The flavor is quite similar to soy sauce. If you don’t have access to coconut aminos, then tamari (gluten-free soy sauce) or soy sauce can be used in its place.
Carol Cover
0 May 7, 2020Reply

I was so disappointed when I tried to use your Egg Drop Soup recipe. There are so many intrusive pop-ups on your site, that I just couldn’t do it. I’m sad to have to avoid it,, because it looks like you have so much great info. It’s just too stressful to deal with the extraneous videos, etc.
- Wholesome Yum M
  0 May 11, 2020Reply
  
  Hi Carol, I’m sorry you are experiencing trouble with the site. You may be interested in Wholesome Yum Plus, which includes an ad-free version of the website.
Katherine
0 February 25, 2020Reply

Who’da thought you could make egg drop soup with so few ingredients! And keto too. Perfection.
Liz
0 February 25, 2020Reply

I’ve always loved this soup when dining out, but I never realized how easy and delicious this was to make at home. Thanks for the terrific recipe!
Elena
0 February 15, 2020Reply

Loved this recipe! Yum
Anita
0 February 10, 2020Reply

I love making egg drop soup. It’s so quick and easy to prepare and my family never says no to the soup. 🙂