Nourishing Stracciatella Soup (Italian Egg Drop Soup)

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This stracciatella soup (Italian egg drop soup) recipe has a rich (chicken) broth, nutritious vegetables, and a flavorful mixture of Pecorino or Parmesan cheese, eggs, and fresh parsley.

It's incredibly hearty, nourishing, and filling enough to serve as a complete meal for lunch or dinner. You can keep it low-carb or make it with (gluten-free pasta) like Tortellini or Ravioli—this soup won't disappoint!

Two bowls of Italian egg drop soup served next to parmesan cheese.

This hearty stracciatella soup is my Italian version of egg drop soup and is a classic in our family.

It's also an easy weeknight meal when colder months are around the corner, like my Squash And Zucchini Soup or Hearty Vegetable Soup.

Nothing is better than warming yourself up with a bowl of healthy comfort food ready in under 30 minutes. So, let's make this nourishing Stracciatella soup recipe.

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Why We Love This Soup
Ingredients & Notes
How To Make Stracciatella Soup
Top Tips
Variations & Substitutions (Ways To Further Enrich The Soup)
Storage & Reheating
Serving Suggestions
Recipe FAQs
More Italian Recipes To Try Next
📖 Recipe

Why We Love This Soup

Nourishing: This homemade Italian egg drop soup contains plenty of vegetables. In my home, it often serves as a cure soup during flu season to comfort and nourish the body when you need extra help.
Versatile: Keep it light, low-carb, gluten-free, or add your favorite pasta and shredded chicken for a heartier dish. However you make it, this soup delivers incredible flavors.
Economical: It comes together with just a handful of ingredients.
Easy & Healthy: In under 30 minutes, you have a delicious soup or healthy meal that satisfies you.

Ingredients & Notes

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Stock or Broth: This soup tastes richer and better with good-quality homemade stock. Although traditionally made with rich homemade chicken stock, bone broth works, too. If you're looking for more ways to incorporate chicken broth into your meals, explore these recipes using chicken broth for inspiration. For store-bought broths and stocks, go for slow-simmered, unsalted ones with minimal ingredients.
Finely Chopped Vegetables: Leeks, celery, and deep-colored carrots add nutrition and infuse the stock with sweet and savory flavors. They're simmered long enough to be tender but far from mushy.
Greens like Kale: Curly or Russian kale is tossed in towards the end. I often use whatever is left over from making other kale dishes, like my Kale Salmon Salad. When cooked, these dark greens lose their bitterness, making the Stracciatella soup nutritious and a complete meal.
Eggs: Use two large eggs for the mixture. If your eggs are small, add a third or more to cover the parsley.
Parmesan or Pecorino Cheese (grated cheese): These sharp cheeses add unique, bold flavors to this egg drop soup. You don't have to get the best, just a decent brand.
Fresh Italian Parsley: It adds a peppery, unmistakable aromatic flavor that lifts up the whole soup.
Simple Seasoning: Salt and black pepper to taste.

How To Make Stracciatella Soup

See the full recipe with measurements in the recipe card.

Steps showing how to make Italian egg drop soup.

Step One (Picture 1 above) - Bring chicken stock to a simmer—season lightly with salt. Add chopped vegetables to hot stock and cook for 5 minutes. Then stir in the kale. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes at a steady simmer. If you choose to add any frozen or refrigerated tortellini or ravioli, stir it in at this point.

Step Two (Picture 2 above) - In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs with the cheese and parsley.

Step Three (Picture 3 above) - Pour the egg mixture into the soup, stir it, and simmer for one minute, allowing it to cook and fluff to the surface.

Step Four (Picture 4 above) - Serve hot with extra parmesan cheese on the side.

Note: For fluffy clouds or soft clumps—our home version—avoid over-stirring once you add them to the broth. A few stirs will suffice. For a more delicate stracciatella soup where the egg mixture becomes more stringy, slowly pour it while whisking it in the soup until it becomes straggly.

Top Tips

Vegetables: Chop them fine to soften faster during the soup's simmer. Finely chopped vegetables also create a better texture.
Use a Good Broth: Preferably, a good homemade chicken stock. It's one of the main ingredients in the soup. So, even if you have to use store-bought, go for one with rich flavors and clean ingredients.
Let the Egg "Rags" Form: Pour the egg mixture slowly into the simmering broth. Give it a good stir, and then let those big fluffy curds form. Don't stir anymore until they float on top of the broth. Then, stir slowly again, just enough to break apart any larger floating mass.

Variations & Substitutions (Ways To Further Enrich The Soup)

You can enrich this soup or substitute certain ingredients depending on your dietary requirements or what you have. It's versatile enough to keep adding ingredients or tweaking it to your liking.

The most important thing is the quality of your ingredients, and I would make it with a good chicken stock or homemade broth. Let's have a look.

Greens: Instead of kale, try rainbow or Swiss chard, especially if you have any leftovers from my Hearty Vegetable Soup.
Hot Broth: Although traditionally made with a rich chicken broth, bone broth works too.
Cheese Mixture: Go for grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese or a mixture of both.
Add More Proteins: To make it a more substantial meal, throw in any cooked shredded chicken (or leftovers from a cast-iron roasted chicken) or pre-cooked ground Italian sausage. You can also add more eggs. But don't overdo it. I would not add more than four.
Add Pasta: Add cheese, spinach, or meat-filled tortellini. Even ravioli can work. Refrigerated or frozen tortellini, go straight into hot chicken broth and cook for a few minutes. Like kale, they are added toward the end. I wouldn't add more than a pack of eight to nine ounces; otherwise, the pasta will soak up all the broth (more on that later—see storage). Consider small pasta for little children.
Keep it Low-Carb & Gluten-Free: No pasta is needed to enjoy this soup because it has satisfying flavors and incredibly nourishing ingredients.

Note: Tortellini stracciatella is always very popular amongst kids and is a tremendously comforting, easy meal, like this sausage broccoli rabe pasta.

Storage & Reheating

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
If you've made it with any pasta, it's best to store the pasta and soup separately so the noodles won't drink up the broth.
The soup warms up quickly on the stove over medium-low heat. When hot, stir back in the noodles and cook for about a minute. Then serve and enjoy!
I never freeze this soup. Instead, I make a big batch of homemade chicken stock, freeze it in smaller portions, and only remove what I need to make this hearty Stracciatella soup.

Serving Suggestions

This Italian egg drop soup is wonderfully filling and savory. The flavors are big and fresh. Sometimes, I serve it with a few sides like:

An Italian-flavored healthy chicken salad recipe.
Extra grated Parmesan, Pecorino, or Asiago cheese.
Italian-baked Garlic Bread (especially around the Holidays) or rusty Farmer's bread.
It could also be a great side to this amazing Mediterranean grazing board.

Recipe FAQs

What is Stracciatella soup?

You may know it as Stracciatella Alla Romana or Italian egg drop soup. It's a simple soup made usually from a rich meat-based broth. A raw egg-based mixture is stirred during the simmer, creating little shreds or soft egg pockets, "little rags," usually deliciously flavored with Parmesan-Reggiano cheese and fresh chopped parsley. Although traditionally a starter soup for Easter dinner with bread on the side, it's one of these recipes that was often adapted and served as a whole winter meal with added vegetables, meats, or pasta in my childhood.

Can I make this soup with vegetable stock?

Yes. Although less rich than our traditional Italian soup, you certainly can. Make sure to use homemade or good-quality vegetable stock or broth.

Can I use dried tortellini instead of frozen?

You can also use dried tortellini, but instead of going straight into the soup, cook them first according to package instructions. Dried tortellini takes longer to soften and will take away too much of the broth when cooked together.