Making your own low carb egg drop soup recipe at home is super easy and simple! In under 15 minutes, you can have an authentic bowl of Chinese egg drop soup that'll be the best you've ever tasted with a bonus of just 52 calories and 0.6 net carbs per serving. This is a healthy egg drop soup without corn starch, no thickener is needed! It's a Whole Lotta Yum and so delicious!
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Homemade Egg Drop Soup
Being able to make your own keto egg drop soup recipe at home is a win win, you can customize it however you want plus it's much healthier than getting Chinese take-out. If you're been wondering if egg drop soup is healthy when you make your own it definitely is. Even if you aren't eating low carb or gluten-free, you'll appreciate this healthy egg drop soup recipe since it's easy to customize by adding in chicken or vegetables and it's a great for meal prep or weight loss too. And if you are watching your carbs, it's essentially a zero carb soup recipe too!
Our Chinese egg drop soup recipe is so tasty and easy, you might not ever order it from a restaurant again! Seriously! And if you're making a larger homemade batch, it's easy to make an Instant Pot egg drop soup too.
If you love Chinese recipes as we do, you'll also want to serve the low carb soup recipe with our egg roll in a bowl or cauliflower fried rice (keto, gluten free, whole30).
What makes this the Best Egg Drop Soup Recipe
- The simple low carb egg drop soup cooks in less than 15 minutes
- It's literally the BEST recipe!
- This is a keto egg drop soup, plus GF, paleo and low carb
- You easily add hearty ingredients like chicken, shrimp, mushrooms, tofu, noodles or corn
- It'll satisfy Chinese soup cravings with basic pantry ingredients
- Wondering about the carbs in egg drop soup? Just 0.6 per serving!
What Is Egg Drop Soup?
When you go out to a Chinese restaurant or an Asian Fusion place to eat, there's almost always egg drop soup on the menu. Sometimes it'll automatically come with your meal, but I'm sure many have heard of Chinese egg drop soup even if you haven't yet tried it yourself.
Egg drop soup is a simple Chinese soup recipe with seasoned broth, ginger, garlic, and soy with strands of cooked egg "ribbons" floating throughout the tasty Asian broth.
Easy Egg Drop Soup ingredients
Our egg drop soup keto recipe mostly just uses basic pantry ingredients. Sesame oil is essential but if you love Asian recipes at home, it's a must in your pantry.
- chicken broth - chicken broth, chicken stock, or vegetable broth
- large eggs
- soy sauce, tamari or coconut aminos - both tamari and coconut aminos are gluten free and are the best options if you're on a strict keto diet.
- grated fresh ginger - we love to buy frozen minced ginger cubes from Trader Joe's, it makes it easy to always have ginger on hand for Asian-inspired dishes.
- Sesame oil - this is an essential ingredient to the recipe, it won't taste like an authentic egg drop without it.
- garlic salt - we love the large Costco container of garlic salt, table salt and garlic powder can be use too.
- green onions
- salt and pepper to taste
- optional- red pepper flakes, sriracha sauce
Easy egg drop soup is very easy to double or triple! As written, the soup serves four 1 cup servings.
Some egg drop soup recipes use cornstarch as a thickener, we love this soup as is and don't feel it needs thickening, so this is also a low carb egg drop soup recipe without cornstarch. We do tell you how to add it in the recipe instructions, by chance you want it a little thicker.
If you don't have fresh ginger but you do have dried ginger, you can swap the fresh for 1 teaspoon of dried ginger. One of my favorite cooking hacks is to buy frozen grated ginger from Trader Joes, no grating required! We just pop the 1 teaspoon cubes into the pot.
Egg Soup variations
Other popular ways to make egg drop soup:
- with wontons
- with corn
- with tomato sauce
- with chicken
- with seaweed
- with vegetables
Any of these can be mixed into our easy recipe and then simmer until the addition is cooked through.
Dietary Notes
If you've been wondering is egg drop soup gluten free? Many people who can't have gluten stay away from soy sauce. To keep the egg drop soup gluten free be sure to use wheat free Tamari sauce instead of the soy or use coconut aminos.
You can also use either soy sauce, wheat-free and gluten-free soy (also known as tamari sauce), OR you can use coconut aminos, which is a soy substitute without sugar, gluten, and is paleo/Whole 30 friendly.
Egg drop soup vegetarian version- simply swap the chicken broth for vegetable broth and this becomes a vegetarian egg drop soup recipe.
How to Make Egg Drop Soup
With just a couple quick steps, you'll have the keto egg drop soup on the table...all you need to do is simmer the ingredients in a pot and then slowly stir in beaten eggs to form the ribbons. Easy peasy!
- Add the chicken broth, soy sauce (or tamari or coconut aminos), ginger, sesame oil, and garlic salt to a medium pot. Heat on medium-high until the seasoned broth starts to boil. Turn the soup down to low and simmer.
- Beat the eggs in a small bowl.
- While constantly stirring the broth mixture, slowly stir in the eggs in one direction to create the egg “ribbons.”
- Add the sliced green onion to the pot, season with salt and pepper if desired. Divide the soup between 2-4 soup bowls. Enjoy!
Tips for Homemade Egg Drop Soup
- Making the soup spicier- Add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes or sriracha sauce.
- To thicken the egg drop soup- If you want to thicken the egg drop soup, add up to 2 tablespoon of corn starch along with the cold broth, soy/tamari/coconut aminos, ginger and sesame oil before heating it. Whisk until smooth to keep the corn starch from clumping. Many people following a low carb diet use arrowroot or zanthan gum as a thicken instead.
- Tasty additions- cooked chicken, tofu, keto palmini noodles, rice noodles, mushrooms or corn (if you aren't following low carb).
- Add the eggs in a slow steady stream while you're stirring the soup at the same time for best egg results. If you stir the eggs in too slow you'll get short egg bits instead of the pretty ribbons you're used to with this soup.
- Make a larger batch and freeze some for later!
How to store Homemade Egg Drop Soup
Store: Cool the homemade egg drop soup before transferring to an airtight container. Refrigerate and eat it within 3-4 days.
Reheat: Add the soup to a pot. Warm it over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until it’s heated through. Don’t boil the soup since that can cause the eggs to toughen.
Freeze: Once the soup is fully cooled, pour it into a freezer-safe container, leaving room for expansion. Freeze for up to 2-3 months, for best quality.
Easy Egg Drop Soup Recipe FAQs
If you've been following a low carb or keto diet, you might be wondering if this is a keto egg drop soup recipe too. And the answer is definitely YES! It's literally one of the best keto meals for beginners you can find since it's easy, cheap, and filling.
This honestly makes one of the BEST soups for keto because it's almost carb-free, just uses simple ingredients found in many kitchens, and whips up in just 15 minutes.
When you're hungry on keto and need something to fill you up that still has fat and protein, but not a lot of calories or carbs, egg drop soup on keto is an amazing soup option.
The core ingredients in low carb egg drop soup are chicken broth, eggs, sesame oil, a sprinkle of green onions, and a seasoning like soy/gluten free soy (tamari), or coconut aminos.
If you're wondering how many carbs in egg drop soup, there are ONLY 0.6 net carbs per serving depending on what brands of ingredients you're using! Yep....you got that right, the egg drop soup carbs are less than 1 net carb per cup!
Chicken broth, eggs, and sesame oil all have NO carbs. Making sure to use either Tamari sauce or coconut aminos instead of regular soy sauce (that has sugar) will make this an almost no carb soup recipe. Who knew you could make a filling soup with so little carbs.
We used the San-J brand Tamari found at most grocery stores that is gluten-free and sugar-free, it has just 1 carb per Tbsp....which means the soup only has 0.25 carbs per serving before adding a sprinkle of green onion.
And then the optional green onions have a total of 1.5 net carbs for 2 of them, which is an easy thing to cut back on. And even making the recipe as stated with green onions or scallions only adds 0.35 net carbs to each serving.
My mind was blown when I realized the total egg drop soup carbs are only 0.6 per cup of soup!
Most restaurant egg drop soup recipes call for corn starch to thicken the soup, but honestly, it isn't needed at all! The eggs act as a natural thickener and honestly egg drop soup tastes better without corn starch. You can mix in a bit of arrowroot powder or xanthan gum for a gluten-free low carb thickener if preferred.
The nutrition of egg drop soup is honestly pretty surprising! Besides having less than one net carb per serving, this tasty and filling bowl of soup has under 100 calories per cup.
The specific brand you are using for the ingredients can change the nutrition of egg drop soup, be sure to check the labels. Our chicken broth, eggs, and sesame oil were from Trader Joe's, and the San-J Tamari came from Kroger.
Egg drop soup nutrition per ½ cup
Egg drop soup Calories- 52
Fat- 4 g
Cholesterol- 92 g
Sodium- 760 g
Carbs- 0.6 g
Protein 4 g
This low carb keto egg drop soup recipe keeps for up to 3 days in the fridge. It's easy to reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop in a small pot.
Egg drop soup is a traditional Chinese soup that is often described as savory, slightly salty, and comforting. The primary flavors come from the chicken broth base, which is typically seasoned with a bit of soy sauce or sesame oil. The "egg drops" in the soup, formed by whisking raw eggs into the hot broth, have a soft, silky texture that adds a subtle richness to the soup without imparting a strong egg flavor. You can also add things such as green onions, peas, corn, or tofu, which can slightly change the flavor too.
No, while you use raw eggs in egg drop soup, the eggs in the final soup recipe are cooked. You beat raw eggs and then slowly pouring them into hot, boiling broth. The heat from the broth cooks the eggs almost instantly, turning them into thin, delicate ribbons or "drops" throughout the soup.
The egg ribbons in the soup help to thicken the soup in addition, some recipes call for corn starch to thicken it up too.
More Low Carb Soups
If you love our delicious keto egg drop soup, be sure to try our other popular low carb soup recipes!
- chicken zucchini noodle soup
- crock-pot taco soup
- broccoli cheddar soup
- stuffed pepper soup
- Whole30 zuppa toscana soup recipe
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Homemade Egg Drop Soup (Keto & Gluten Free)
Making your own healthy egg drop soup recipe at home is super easy and simple! In under 15 minutes, you can have an authentic bowl of egg drop soup without corn starch that'll be the best you've ever tasted.
Not only is this low carb egg drop soup, but it's low in calorie, keto-friendly, paleo, Whole 30, gluten-free, and can be vegetarian with a simple adaption. It's essentially a zero carb soup recipe too!
Ingredients
- 32 oz chicken broth (4 cups)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon tamari or coconut aminos
- 3 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- 2 green onions
- salt and pepper to taste
- optional- red pepper flakes, sriracha sauce
Instructions
- Add the chicken broth, tamari sauce (or coconut aminos or soy sauce), ginger, sesame oil, and garlic salt to a medium pot. Heat on medium-high until the seasoned broth starts to boil. Turn the soup down to low and simmer.
- Beat the eggs in a small bowl.
- While constantly stirring the broth mixture, slowly stir in the eggs in one direction to create the egg “ribbons.”
- Add the sliced green onion to the pot, season with salt and pepper if desired. Divide the soup between 2-4 soup bowls.
Notes
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Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 1 cupAmount Per Serving Calories 52Total Fat 4gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gCholesterol 92mgSodium 760mgCarbohydrates 0.6gNet Carbohydrates 0gSugar Alcohols 0gProtein 4g
Elyce says
Can't wait to make this... for the thicker egg drop soup - do you add the corn starch mixture to the broth before adding the egg or at the end after done?.. or at the beginning... not clear to me - TIA~
WholeLottaYum says
I would add a little corn starch or xanthan gum at the very end but to keep from getting lumps, take out a 1/4 cup of the hot broth and mix the cornstarch with that. Pour the blended mix back in and stir until thickened.
Lorelei says
Just made this for lunch. Love how easy it was and it tasted great
CHRISTIE says
I'm deathly allergic to ginger. would you know what I can use instead of ginger with this soup?
thank you.
WholeLottaYum says
Hi Christie, I'd try adding a pinch of spice such as cinnamon, nutmeg, or tumeric. I haven't tried these but I've heard they're good substitutes for ginger. Jen
CHRISTIE says
thank you
WholeLottaYum says
you're welcome! I hope you loved the soup!
Priyanka says
Hi- I want to make this recipe, but I would like to add tofu to it. How would I incorporate that?
Thanks!
WholeLottaYum says
Tofu sounds like a great addition! I'd cook the tofu separately like pan fry cubes and then add it to the soup at the end for best texture.
Louise says
I made this soup and it is terrific. My son-in-law loves egg drop soup and says it is better than what he buys from the restaurant. I will definitely make it many times over.
Vicki johnson says
Can you use Braggs amino acids?
Henny says
This is the best! I made it for dinner last night and my husband just asked me to make it again to tonight... Sure! It's simple and flavorful. It's going on the short list of awesome dinners!
Leeann says
I found using bone broth works wonderful and adds protein. This is delicious 😋
WholeLottaYum says
I'll have to try it with bone broth! Thanks for the suggestion! 🙂
Tamara says
Can I use only egg whites or does it need to be the whole egg? I want to try this soon like for lunch today! 😁
Thanks! says
I usually don’t like egg drop soup but this one sounded so good I had to try. It’s delicious! None of the chalky blandness of restaurant egg drop - it’s full of flavor. Thanks for the great recipe!
M. Mason says
Can this be made with just egg whites? I love egg drop soup and can't wait to try to make my own if I can cut the cholesterol.
Lyn Blankenship says
This was AWESOME! I used homemade chicken broth and just made the base soup to try it out. Will definitely make again, adding veggies and a protein. Thank you!!
LaChelle says
It was not good to me at all. Maybe it was the ginger I would not make again.
Shannon norton says
This doesn’t say how much of anything to put in? How many eggs, amount of chicken broth???
WholeLottaYum says
It's all in the recipe card at the bottom of the post, which is printable 🙂
Aajinka says
I was not impressed with the taste :-((((
WholeLottaYum says
I'm sorry it didn't work out for you! It's a popular recipe, did you by chance make a substitution or read a step wrong, like add too much or little of something? I'd be more than happy to help you troubleshoot what happened so that it turns out better next time!
Lori says
We think it’s some of the best egg drop soup we’ve ever had!!!
Enam says
Too much info for a simple soup. Verbose
WholeLottaYum says
Hello, all of our recipes are written for beginning cooks and we try to answer all reader questions within the post. There's a jump to recipe button at the top of the post to skip down to the recipe card. 🙂