How to Thicken Soup with Eggs (2024)

How to Thicken Soup with Eggs (1)

One of my favorite ways to thicken a soup is with eggs! It is one of the lesser known ways to thicken soups that I love to use because it results in a rich flavor, silky texture, and a creaminess without adding cream! It is great for people who don’t want to thicken with a flour or starch, and also adds healthy proteins and fats! It is done through a process called “tempering eggs.”

Tempering eggs is a technique used to slowly raise the temperature of eggs without causing them to scramble. This is particularly important in recipes that involve adding eggs to hot liquids, such as when making custards, sauces, soups, or desserts. By gradually introducing hot liquid to the eggs, you ensure a smooth and hom*ogenous mixture, preventing the eggs from curdling or coagulating.

How to Temper Eggs:

  • Whisk eggs or egg yolks in a bowl until very smooth.
  • Continue whisking and slowly add the hot liquid, one ladle at a time to incorporate into the eggs. This slowly raises the temperature of the eggs, instead of adding a lot of hot liquid at one time which would scramble the eggs.
  • Continue adding ladles of hot liquid until the eggs are above 160*F. This means they have been correctly tempered and are now cooked through and won’t scramble. You can now use the tempered eggs as needed.

Troubleshooting Tempering into Soup:

  • Reasons your egg scrambled or cooagulated while still adding hot liquid:
    • You added the hot liquid too fast
    • You added too much hot liquid at once
    • You were not whisking fast enough
  • Reasons your eggs scrambled once you incorporated it back into the soup after tempering:
    • Most likely, your eggs were not tempered to a hot enough temperature. This usually happens when the hot soup you are adding, isn’t actually hot enough. It needs to be simmering!
    • You didn’t add enough of the hot liquid to the tempering process, so it didn’t bring it up to temperature.
    • You didn’t check the temperature of the tempered eggs. It must be 160*F or above before you can add it to the soup.

How Many Eggs Do I Need to Use?

For every 6 cups of soup, you need 2 whole eggs, or 4 egg yolks. They have the same thickening result. Egg yolks are a little silkier and richer.

Ingredients:

  • 6 cups cooked soup
  • 4 egg yolks OR 2 eggs

Preparation:

STEP 1.

Make sure the finished soup is at a simmer.

STEP 2.

Whisk eggs or egg yolks in a bowl until very smooth.

STEP 3.

Continue whisking and slowly add the hot soup, one ladle at a time to incorporate into the eggs. This slowly raises the temperature of the eggs, instead of adding a lot of hot liquid at one time which would scramble the eggs.

STEP 4.

Continue adding ladles of hot liquid until the eggs are above 160*F. This means they have been correctly tempered and are now cooked through and won’t scramble.

STEP 5.

Vigorously whisk the tempered egg mixture into the simmering soup to thicken. Serve and enjoy.

*see above troubleshooting if the eggs scramble

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Kelly2023-11-15T18:07:42-08:00November 15th, 2023|Mains, Tricks of the Trade|0 Comments

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How to Thicken Soup with Eggs (2024)

FAQs

How to Thicken Soup with Eggs? ›

Occasionally, a soup recipe will call for beaten eggs as a thickening agent. Both whole eggs and yolks can be used. To avoid curdling the eggs, start by drizzling about ½ cup of the hot broth into the eggs, stirring vigorously while you pour. Then add the egg mixture to the soup and cook until thickened.

How do you thicken soup with eggs? ›

Occasionally, a soup recipe will call for beaten eggs as a thickening agent. Both whole eggs and yolks can be used. To avoid curdling the eggs, start by drizzling about ½ cup of the hot broth into the eggs, stirring vigorously while you pour. Then add the egg mixture to the soup and cook until thickened.

How to use egg as a thickener? ›

Drop a yolk into the pan or pot just after it's come off the heat, so that it's hot but not boiling. Whisk or stir quickly to break the yolk. Progressively, the residual heat will cook the yolk as you mix it into the entire dish. Once it hits around 160 degrees, it should be glossy and thick.

What 2 ingredients are used to thicken the soup? ›

Add flour or cornflour

You can also use flour or cornflour to thicken a soup. Put a tablespoon of either into a small bowl and stir in 2-3 tbsp of the soup until you have a smooth mixture. Stir this back into the soup and bring it to a simmer.

What is the best thickener for soup? ›

Add Flour Or Cornstarch

You can thicken soup by adding flour, cornstarch, or another starchy substitute. For the best results, never add flour or cornstarch directly to your soup. If you do, it will clump up on top. Instead, ladle a small amount of broth into a separate bowl and let it cool.

What are 5 methods of thickening a soup? ›

6 Ways to Thicken Soups or Stews
  1. Puree the vegetables. The most straightforward way to thicken soup is to puree the vegetables. ...
  2. Mash beans, lentils, rice, or bread. ...
  3. Add some dairy. ...
  4. Add an egg. ...
  5. Whisk in a bit of flour or starch. ...
  6. Blend in some silken tofu.
Nov 15, 2021

What happens when adding an egg to the soup? ›

One of my favorite ways to thicken a soup is with eggs! It is one of the lesser known ways to thicken soups that I love to use because it results in a rich flavor, silky texture, and a creaminess without adding cream!

How much liquid will 1 egg thicken? ›

Using Egg Yolks to Thicken Liquids

Beat the yolks until they appear consistently smooth and slightly frothy. Use 2 to 3 egg yolks per cup of liquid sauce you want to thicken. The more egg yolks you use, the thicker the resulting sauce will be.

How to keep eggs from curdling in soup? ›

Whisking while adding the liquid slowly prevents the eggs from getting cooked right away by the hot liquid and curdling. 4. Continue slowly adding in the liquid while whisking until about half of the hot liquid has been incorporated.

What happens if you add cornstarch to eggs? ›

Cornstarch—a common thickening agent—works wonders here, letting you cook eggs that seem slow-cooked in a fraction of the time.

What is the 4 other thickening agents for soup? ›

  • Cornstarch. Cornstarch is the most common thickening agent used in the industry. ...
  • Pre-gelatinized Starches. Pre-gelatinized starches are mixed with sugar and then added to the water or juice. ...
  • Arrowroot. ...
  • Agar-Agar. ...
  • Algin (Sodium Alginate) ...
  • Gelatin. ...
  • Gum Arabic or Acacia. ...
  • Gum Tragacanth.

What is the most commonly used thickening agent? ›

Cornstarch is the most common thickening agent used in the industry. It is mixed with water or juice and boiled to make fillings and to give a glossy semi-clear finish to products.

Is it better to thicken soup with flour or cornstarch? ›

It's important to note that cornstarch has twice the thickening power of flour. If you need to substitute cornstarch to thicken liquid in a recipe that calls for ¼ cup (four tablespoons) flour, you only need two tablespoons cornstarch.

How to thicken soup with eggs? ›

Add Eggs

To use egg yolks to thicken a soup, whisk the yolks on their own in a mixing bowl and slowly ladle in hot soup bit by bit, whisking constantly, until the mixture is hot to the touch.

What is the best way to thin a soup that is too thick? ›

Add more liquid: The simplest solution is to add more liquid, such as water, broth, or milk. Start by adding a small amount and gradually add more until you reach the desired consistency. Use a blender: If you have a blender, you can puree the soup in batches, adding more liquid as needed.

What is the healthiest thickening agent? ›

Easy-to-access alternatives are wheat flour, arrowroot flour, and rice flour. These are good alternatives to cornstarch because they are more nutritious and contain fewer carbohydrates and calories. Xanthan and guar gum are much stronger thickeners than cornstarch, but they can be harder to obtain and use.

How can I thicken watery soup? ›

Corn-starch slurry is an easy way to thicken soups and sauces quickly. Mix equal parts corn starch and cold water (1 tablespoon is a good starting point) in a bowl until all the corn starch is dissolved and the resultant liquid is consistent. Then pour slowly in soup while storing continuously.

Why is my egg drop soup so thin? ›

It's okay if you have to adjust while cooking – if it's too thin, add more cornstarch. If it's too thick, add more water, stock, or broth.

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