Egg drop soup is a very popular Chinese take-out soup along with hot and sour soup and wonton soup. It's made with a lightly seasoned chicken broth, thickened to a velvety consistency, and is known for its iconic yellow color and wispy egg drops (egg flowers). This is the perfect soup to make for a light meal, taking only 10 minutes, or when you're under the weather. Plus, it's also naturally gluten free.
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What to eat with egg drop soup
Egg drop soup is perfect as a light meal or as the start of your homemade Chinese takeout feast! Here are some of our favorite Chinese takeout dishes to pair with it:
- Fried rice - We have a variety of fried rice recipe. All of them are delish!
- Lo mein - Not a rice fan or just not in the mood for rice? We've got chicken lo mein and shrimp lo mein for just that!
- Appetizers - egg rolls and crab rangoons are classics
- Veggies - You can't go wrong with some Chinese garlic green beens or bok choy with oyster sauce.
- Chicken recipes - Black pepper chicken and chicken with mixed vegetables are two of our favorite stir fried choices. For fried options, try our sesame chicken and sweet and sour chicken.
- Beef recipes - Mongolian beef and beef and broccoli are both amazing!
Ingredient notes and substitutions
Please scroll down to the recipe card for the ingredient quantities!
- Unsalted chicken stock - We always recommend going for unsalted stocks so that you can control the seasoning. Chicken stock will be more nutritious, but in a pinch, you can use water with an extra pinch of chicken bouillon powder.
- Chicken bouillon powder - Chicken stock gives the soup its base flavor and nutrition, and chicken bouillon powder will make it taste more flavorful and even better.
- Salt
- Sugar - Just a little to round out the flavor. If you prefer, you could skip it.
- Eggs - For the egg drop "flowers"! We used large eggs.
- Cornstarch - We'll be making a slurry by mixing cornstarch with some water. The slurry will be stirred into the soup to thicken it and gives it body. The thickness also helps the egg drop "flowers" to float, instead of sinking, in the soap.
- Toasted sesame oil (optional)- Although sesame oil is optional, it adds a lovely nutty, toasted flavor to the soup that just isn't complete without it.
- Yellow food coloring or ground turmeric (optional) - If you like that beautiful yellow color of restaurant egg drop soup, you'll want to add some coloring. It's simply an aesthetic preference.
- Food coloring - You can use either gel or liquid. We like to use this buttercup yellow gel food coloring.
- Ground turmeric - A little goes a long way. It'll give the soup a slightly earthy flavor, but once you add all the seasonings and sesame oil, you won't really taste it.
- Green onions (optional) - We highly recommend it even though it's option. It not Not only is a good garnish, it also adds flavor to the soup.
How to make egg drop soup (just like takeout!)
Please scroll down to the recipe card for the full recipe and instructions!
Make the soup base
In a medium saucepan, add the chicken stock, chicken bouillon powder, salt, sugar, and ground turmeric or food coloring. Bring it to a boil over high heat.
Thicken soup
While waiting, prepare the cornstarch slurry by mixing together the cornstarch and water until well combined. Stir before use.
Once the soup base comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium. While stirring the soup base, drizzle in the slurry. Bring the soup to a simmer and let it cook for until thickened, about 30 seconds.
🌟Pro tip
How to thicken soup with slurry
First, make sure to give your slurry a good stir prior to use. When you add the slurry, don't pour it straight into the hot soup. Make sure to drizzle it in while stirring the soup. This is so that the slurry doesn't clump up and turn into chunks before distributing itself throughout the soup. If you feel more comfortable, you can take the soup off the heat for a moment while you add the slurry.
Once the slurry has been properly incorporated, let the soup simmer for about 30 seconds or so to fully activate the starch's thickening ability. Lastly, make sure to give your slurry a good stir prior to use.
Add the eggs
When the soup has thickened, drizzle the beaten eggs into the soup in a circular motion to create egg drops/egg flowers. Give a gentle stir.
Finish and serve
Finish the soup by adding sesame oil and green onions. Garnish with more green onions if desired. Let the soup cool for a few moments before enjoying.
🌟 Pro tip
The Secret to Perfect Egg Drop "Flowers"
If you want thinner, wispy egg drops, stir the soup immediately after drizzling in the eggs or gently stir the soup while add the eggs. For thick, ribbons of egg drop, let the soup sit for a few seconds before stirring. This gives the eggs time to cook and form ribbons.
Tips from our kitchen
✔ To properly incorporate cornstarch slurry, make sure to stir the slurry before use, reduce the heat to medium (or take it off the heat), stir the soup while adding the slurry, and slowly drizzle in the slurry. This will prevent the cornstarch for turning into clumps.
✔ Don't cook the soup for too long after adding cornstarch. High heat or prolong cooking can cause the soup to become thin and not retain its thick, velvety consistency.
✔ The size of the egg drop/egg flowers are determined by how soon and how much you stir the soup when the eggs are added. The more you stir and the sooner you stir the soup after adding the eggs, the thinner the egg drops will be.
✔ If you prefer your egg drop soup thinner or thicker, you can use more or less cornstarch to your preference.
Storage and reheating
Once the egg drop soup has completely cooled, transfer it to an airtight container. It can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days.
The easiest way to reheat egg drop soup is in the microwave. Just heat it until completely hot to enjoy. You can also reheat the egg drop soup on the stovetop. Just add the soup to a saucepan/pot over medium heat.
FAQ
Yes and no. Our recipe makes gluten-free egg drop soup, however, not all egg drop soups are gluten free because some are seasoned with soy sauce, which isn't gluten-free.
Chinese restaurants add a small amount of yellow food color to their egg drop soup to achieve that beautiful, iconic yellow color. You can omit if you prefer. It will not change the taste. You can use ground turmeric to achieve the color, but it will give the soup a slight earthy flavor.
Potato starch is a good substitute for cornstarch in this recipe. Use it as you would cornstarch and in the same quantity.
📖 Recipe
Egg Drop Soup (Gluten Free)
Video
Ingredients
- 4 cups unsalted chicken stock or water
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- 3-5 drops yellow food coloring optional for coloring* see notes
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch mix every 3 tablespoon with 2 tablespoon water to make slurry
- 3 large eggs beaten
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (optional)
- 1 stalk green onion sliced (plus more for garnish)
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, add the chicken stock, chicken bouillon powder, salt, sugar, and food coloring (if using). Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium.4 cups unsalted chicken stock, 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon sugar, 3-5 drops yellow food coloring
- Give the cornstarch slurry a mix. While stirring the seasoned stock, drizzle in the slurry. Bring the stock back to a simmer and let it cook until thickened, about 15 to 30 seconds.3 tablespoons cornstarch
- Once the soup has thickened, slowly drizzle the beaten eggs into the soup a in a circular motion. Give the soup a gentle stir, then add sesame oil and sliced green onions.For thin egg drops: Stir the soup while pouring in the eggs or wait for a second or two before stirring the soup. The sooner and more you stir the soup, the thinner and wispier the egg drops will be.For thick egg drops: After drizzling in the egg, let the soup sit for a few seconds before stirring. The longer you wait, the thicker the egg ribbons will be.3 large eggs, 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, 1 stalk green onion
- Top the soup with more sliced green onions if desired, and serve! The soup will be super hot, so be careful and wait a few moments before enjoying!
Notes
- Food coloring - You can use either liquid or gel food coloring.
- Ground turmeric - You can use turmeric as a natural alternative if you prefer. It does give the soup a very slight earthy flavor, but it's barely detectable with the seasonings and sesame oil. If using turmeric, use about ¼ teaspoon per recipe.
chichichisto says
i really enjoyed this! quick question is the entire soup 167kcal? if not, how much is a single serving?
Mei says
Hi there!
167kcal the calorie per serving and each serving is roughly 1 cup. Hope this helps!
Mei❤️
Brendan says
Hi! I'm planning to make this soup for a party of 16. How can I figure out the appropriate amount of ingredients?
Mei says
Hi Brendan!
On the recipe card (at the bottom of the post), it shows the recipe yield for 1 recipe. If you click or hover on the number, a slider will pop up for you to change the serving size. You can also adjust the serving size to your preference via the 3 dots right above the ingredient list. Please note that only the quantity in front of the ingredients will change. All texts after each ingredients are notes that will not change. Hope this helps and happy cooking!
Mei❤️
Biancha says
Y’all I tried this and I love it. I added a lot more ingredients to mine, but everything came out ***chef’s kiss***. So, here’s a few tweaks I made:
• Doubled the recipe for 2 people
• Added bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, beans sprouts, baby corn, frozen shrimp, and swapped the green onion for finely chopped chives.
I had to double up the cornstarch slurry to equal parts; 6:6 tbsp ratio of water/cornstarch. I also garnished with the chives and then added individual soy sauce packets per taste. Simply amazing recipe! Now, I gotta try the Hot and Sour Soup next!!!!
Mei says
Hi Biancha!
Thanks for trying out our egg drop soup recipe! So glad you enjoyed it and love the extra ingredients you added. Sounds like a yummy full meal! Hope you enjoy our hot and sour soup as well =)
Mei ❤️
Jane says
Hands down THE BEST egg drop soup recipe I’ve tried. So delicious!
Mei says
Hi Jane!
We're so happy to hear that you enjoyed the egg drop soup!
Mei ❤️
Mel says
Feeling super sick this week, so when I stumbled on this recipe, I had to try it given the little effort and energy needed. Skipped the bouillon, but boiled the stock with a chicken bone/marrow and reduced the cornstarch amount (not sure it's actually necessary), and used a spring of tumeric instead of food coloring. Delish!
Mei says
Hi Mel!
Thanks for giving our egg drop soup a try! Hope you get well soon!
Mei ❤️
Brittany Starr says
This is so good, that my 5 year old was screaming "THIS IS DELICIOUSSSSS!!!" (And she hates all soups! 🤣)
Mei says
Aww your daughter is so cute! Thank you so much for trying our recipe, Brittany! We are so happy that you and your daughter enjoyed it 🥰
Mei ❤️
Kylie Fuetsch says
Hi there, Id like to increase the amount of protein. How would you recommend doing this?
Mei says
Hi Kylie! Then you should try our chicken and corn egg drop soup! Hope you enjoy!
Mei ❤️