Egg drop soup is a staple in Chinese cuisine and is found on the menu at many Chinese restaurants. The name egg drop soup, or egg flower soup, as it literally translates from Chinese, gets its name from how the soup is made. Raw eggs are whisked and then poured into simmering hot broth. The eggs turn flower-like as soon as they go into the hot broth. A classic recipe of this soup includes chicken or vegetable broth, sesame oil, eggs, green onions or scallions, salt, white pepper, turmeric for the yellow color (optional), and cornstarch for thickening (optional). Some people also like to add tofu, corn, mushrooms, ginger, garlic, or soy sauce. If you follow a gluten-free diet, you may be wondering if egg drop soup is safe to consume.
Yes, egg drop soup is gluten-free as it typically does not contain wheat. However, some broths and tofu contain gluten so it is recommended to use certified gluten-free products in homemade egg drop soup. Gluten-free alternatives to egg drop soup include Edward & Sons Organic Traditional Miso-Cup Soup, Healthy Valley Organic Chicken Rice Soup, and Dr. McDougall’s Rice Noodle Soup.
In this article, we will go over some egg drop soup mixes available on the market and their nutritional information. We will look at some of the ingredients and determine if they are gluten-free or not. We will then review some gluten-free alternatives to egg drop soup and their nutritional information. Maybe you will find one that you would want to try!
Contents
Gluten-Free Egg Drop Soup Mix
The Bamboo Chef Egg Drop Soup Mix
The Bamboo Chef Company produces healthy Asian seasoning blends that are gluten-free, low sodium, and contain no MSG. This gluten-free egg drop soup mix can be ready in 10 minutes or less with just a few simple ingredients added.
The ingredients needed to add to this soup mix include 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock, 3 eggs lightly beaten, 2 green onions thinly sliced (optional), and ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil.
Ingredients:
- Corn Starch
- Garlic Powder
- Spices
Nutrition Facts (per 5.25g):
- Calories: 20
- Total Fat: 0g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
- Sodium: 0mg
- Total Carbohydrate: 5g (2% DV)
- Dietary Fiber: 0g
- Sugars: 0g
- Protein: 0g
Non-Gluten-Free Egg Drop Soup Mix
Sun-Bird Egg Drop Soup Mix
Sun-Bird Company creates seasoning mixes for many Asian recipes. To make this soup, you will need to add 2½ cups water, 1 egg (well-beaten), and soy sauce (optional) to this soup mix.
The first thing you might notice is the very long ingredient list. Compared to The Bamboo Chef soup mix above, which has 3 ingredients; Sun-Bird egg drop soup mix contains 15 ingredients, some of which are very hard to pronounce.
This soup mix is not gluten-free as it contains wheat and soy sauce. Regular soy sauce is also not gluten-free as it contains wheat as its primary ingredient. This soup mix is also extremely unhealthy with added sugars, high amounts of sodium, GMOs from corn and soy, and 4 flavor-enhancing ingredients that are often used as MSG (monosodium glutamate) replacements. Those are autolyzed yeast extract, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, disodium inosinate, and disodium guanylate. Flavor enhancers are controversial, as they have been shown to cause sensitivities in some people and excessive stimulation of nerve cells.
Ingredients:
- Potato Starch-Modified
- Lactose
- Corn
- Salt
- Dextrose
- Sugar
- Chicken Fat
- Contains less than 2% of: spices, turmeric, garlic powder, chicken meat, chives, soy sauce (soybeans, wheat, salt)
- Autolyzed Yeast Extract
- Natural Flavors
- Potassium Chloride
- Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (corn, soy, and/or wheat)
- Disodium Inosinate
- Disodium Guanylate
- Soy Flour
- Contains Allergens: Wheat, milk, soy
- May contain egg
Nutrition Facts (per 1 1/3 Tbsp. 9g):
- Calories: 30
- Total Fat: 0g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
- Sodium: 460mg (20% DV)
- Total Carbohydrate: 6g (2% DV)
- Dietary Fiber: 0g
- Total Sugars: 3g
- Includes 1g added sugars (2% DV)
- Protein: 0g
- Iron: 01.mg (0% DV)
- Potassium: 110mg (2% DV)
Gluten-Free Alternatives to Egg Drop Soup
Edward & Sons Organic Traditional Miso-Cup Soup with Tofu
Miso soup is a traditional Japanese soup made from fermented soybeans, or miso paste. Edward & Sons Organic Miso-Cup Traditional Soup with Tofu is gluten-free, vegan, organic, and kosher certified.
Ingredients:
- Freeze Dried Miso (water, soybeans, rice, salt, koji culture (aspergillus oryzae)
- Freeze Dried Tofu (soybeans, water, nigari (magnesium chloride)
- Onion Powder
- Onions
- Wakame Seaweed
- Parsley
- Contains soy
Nutrition Facts (per 1 envelope 9g):
- Calories: 30
- Total Fat: 1g (1% DV)
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
- Sodium: 710mg (31% DV)
- Total Carbohydrate: 4g (1% DV)
- Dietary Fiber: less than 1g
- Sugars: 3g
- Includes 0g added sugars
- Protein: 2g
- Vitamin D: 0mcg
- Calcium: 31mg (2% DV)
- Iron: 0.4mg (2% DV)
- Potassium: 90mg (2% DV)
Healthy Valley Organic Chicken Rice Soup – No Salt Added
Healthy Valley Organic Chicken Rice Soup is gluten-free, organic, with no added salt. The label also states it is American Heart Association certified. The ingredient list is very straight-forward with all organic ingredients.
Ingredients:
- Filtered Water
- Organic Rice
- Organic Carrots
- Organic Dark Meat Chicken
- Organic Celery
- Organic Rice Starch
- Organic Acacia Gum
- Flavors with Yeast Extract
- Organic Onion Powder
- Organic Garlic Powder
- Organic Spices
- Organic Turmeric for color
Nutrition Facts (per 1 cup 240g):
- Calories: 100
- Total Fat: 1.5g (2.31% DV)
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Cholesterol: 10mg (3.33% DV)
- Sodium: 85mg (3.54% DV)
- Total Carbohydrate: 19g (6.33% DV)
- Dietary Fiber: 3g
- Sugar: 1g
- Protein: 4g
- Calcium: 20mg (2% DV)
- Iron: 0.36mg (2% DV)
- Vitamin A: 1000 Number of International Units (20% DV)
- Vitamin C: 0mg
Dr. McDougall’s Rice Noodle Soup – Sesame Chicken Flavor
Dr. McDougall’s rice noodle soup is labeled as certified gluten-free, certified vegan, and non-GMO. The label also states it is made in a facility that uses peanuts and other food allergens, but does not specifically state what those “other” allergens are.
This soup states clearly however that it uses wheat-free soy sauce. This is helpful for those who are new to the gluten-free diet and may not know that soy sauce actually contains gluten. Sesame chicken is the flavor of this soup; however, it contains no animal products.
Ingredients:
- Rice Noodles (dried) (rice, tapioca starch)
- Yeast Extract
- Organic Cane Sugar
- Wheat-Free Soy Sauce (soybeans, salt) (dried)
- Garlic (dried)
- Potato Starch
- Sesame Flour
- Natural Flavor
- Organic Vinegar (dried)
- Shiitake Mushroom (dried)
- Red Bell Pepper (dried)
- Spices
- Green Onion (dried)
- Citric Acid
- Organic Caramel Color
- Product is made in a facility that uses peanuts and other food allergens
Nutrition Facts (per 1 container 37g):
- Calories: 130
- Total Fat: 1g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
- Sodium: 630mg (27% DV)
- Potassium: 150mg (2% DV)
- Total Carbohydrate: 26g (9% DV)
- Dietary Fiber: 0g
- Sugars: 3g
- Added Sugars: 3g (6% DV)
- Protein: 4g
- Iron: 2%
Non-Gluten-Free Alternatives to Egg Drop Soup
Pho’nomenal Foods Noodle Soup
Pho is a Vietnamese soup consisting of broth, rice noodles, herbs, and meat. Pho’nomenal Foods Company is family owned and creates pho noodle bowls that they claim are all gluten-free, dairy-free, and with no MSG or artificial flavorings. They have chicken, beef, and vegetable flavors of soup.
About the claim of being gluten-free and dairy-free, Pho’nomenal soups are packaged in a facility that also processes milk and wheat, so that is something people with dairy and gluten restrictions should pay close attention to.
About the claim of no MSG, the ingredients contain popular replacements for MSG, which are autolyzed yeast extract, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, and torula yeast, all of which are used as flavor enhancers in processed foods.
Pho’nomenal Beef Noodle Soup Bowl
Ingredients:
- Rice Noodles (rice flour, modified starch, stabilizer: guar gum)
- Soup Base Pack: salt, sugar, beef tallow, dried beef stock, chicken tallow, dried chicken broth, spices, yeast extract, fish sauce (fermented anchovies, maltodextrin), hydrolyzed vegetable protein, torula yeast, onion, garlic
- Dried Vegetable Pack: dried cabbage, green onions, onions
- Contains fish
- Packaged in a facility that processes milk, nuts, soy, wheat, and fish
Nutrition Facts (per 1 container 60g):
- Calories: 200
- Calories from fat: 10
- Total Fat: 2g (4% DV)
- Saturated Fat: 1g (6% DV)
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
- Sodium: 720mg (32% DV)
- Total Carbohydrate: 48g (16% DV)
- Dietary Fiber: 0g
- Sugars: 24g
- Protein: 0g
- Iron: 4%
Pho’nomenal Chicken Noodle Soup Bowl
Ingredients:
- Rice Noodles (rice flour, modified starch, stabilizer: guar gum)
- Soup Base Pack: salt, sugar, chicken tallow, dried chicken broth, spices, yeast extract, fish sauce (fermented anchovies, maltodextrin), hydrolyzed vegetable protein, torula yeast, onion, garlic
- Dried Vegetable Pack: dried cabbage, green onions, onions
- Contains fish
- Packaged in a facility that processes milk, nuts, soy, wheat, and fish
Nutrition Facts (per 1 container 60g):
- Calories: 200
- Calories from fat: 10
- Total Fat: 1g (2% DV)
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
- Sodium: 640mg (26% DV)
- Total Carbohydrate: 40g (12% DV)
- Dietary Fiber: 0g
- Sugars: 20g
- Protein: 0g
Pho’nomenal Vegetable Noodle Soup Bowl
Ingredients:
- Rice Noodles (rice flour, modified starch, stabilizer: guar gum)
- Soup Base: sugar, salt, sunflower oil, maltodextrin, Chinese cabbage extract, autolyzed yeast extract, mushroom extract, tomato powder, torula yeast, carrot powder, hydrolyzed corn protein (with safflower oil), onion, garlic, spice extracts, spices, and natural flavoring
- Dried Vegetable Pack: dried cabbage, green onions, onions
- Packaged in a facility that processes milk, nuts, soy, wheat, and fish
Nutrition Facts (per 1 container 60g):
- Calories: 200
- Calories from fat: 0
- Total Fat: 0g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
- Sodium: 580mg (24% DV)
- Total Carbohydrate: 48g (16% DV)
- Dietary Fiber: 0g
- Sugars: 24g
- Protein: 0g
Final Thoughts
Egg drop soup can be a great gluten-free and nutritious soup, as long as the broth, tofu, and any other added ingredients are certified gluten-free. There are healthy and not so healthy egg drop soups and mixes available on the market, but making your own at home is actually fairly easy to do. It only requires about 8 ingredients and by picking them out yourself, you can guarantee it will be healthy and gluten-free. If you don’t feel like doing that, you can always try some of the gluten-free alternatives I have listed in this article.
Related Questions
Is egg drop soup keto-friendly?
Yes, egg drop soup is keto-friendly as long as there are no added ingredients that contain a high amount of carbohydrates. Cornstarch is a typical ingredient in egg drop soup but that can be omitted. A typical serving of egg drop soup contains about 5-10g of carbohydrates, which makes it keto-friendly.
Is egg drop soup healthy?
Yes, egg drop soup can be very healthy if it is homemade as it contains a high amount of protein from eggs and the broth is rich in vitamins and minerals.
Is egg drop soup vegetarian?
There are some vegetarians who eat eggs and some who do not. If you are a vegetarian who eats eggs, you can make egg drop soup with the eggs and use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. If you are a vegetarian who does not eat eggs, than you should avoid egg drop soup.