Make an impression with this Garlic Roast Beef Tenderloin Recipe. Super easy to prepare, yet tastes like a million bucks!
We love to make this special cut of meat for the holidays because it’s perfect for feeding a large amount of people and doesn’t require a ton of work. With just a little bit of prep, a good skillet and a probe meat thermometer, you’ll have a juicy cut of roast beef tenderloin that’ll make you close your eyes, do a little dance and smile with each bite.
What Is a Beef Tenderloin?
Beef tenderloin is the most tender cut of beef and it is located within the loin. This is where we get filet mignon, which is made from the very tip of the pointy end of the tenderloin. There is also very little fat within the tenderloin, making it a very lean cut. Because of all that, beef tenderloin is one of the most expensive cuts of beef.
When properly cooked, it will melt in your mouth. And let’s face it, when you’re paying a pretty penny for some meat, you’ll want to make sure you’re cooking it right.
How To Prepare Beef Tenderloin
- TRIM: Start by trimming your beef tenderloin if it is not already trimmed for you. I purchased mine from Costco and it came trimmed. To trim the beef tenderloin you’ll want to remove the “silverskin” that runs down the length of the tenderloin. Run your knife gently underneath while pulling it up with your other hand. Trim off any other excess fat around the outside and remove “the chain” which is just a fatty strip along the outside as well.
- TIE: A beef tenderloin is a long cut of beef that comes to a point at one end. In order to get the beef to cook evenly it’s important to tie it up and make it as uniform in shape as possible. Using butcher’s twine you can easily tie it up. Tuck the long pointed end up into the thicker part of the tenderloin creating a uniform cylinder shape.
- CHILL: To give your tenderloin a delicious crust on the outside, you can leave it in the fridge overnight unwrapped. This will dry out the surface, helping it to gain a gorgeous browned crust when seared. This step is optional, so if you don’t have time, don’t worry, you’ll still get great results.
How To Cook Roast Beef Tenderloin
- SEASON: Coat the outside with salt and pepper and let sit at room temperature for a couple of hours. This will help to cook the insides evenly.
- SEAR: Heat some avocado oil in a large cast-iron skillet and sear the beef tenderloin on all sides for about 3 to 5 minutes per side. Since the beef tenderloin is a long piece of beef, I’ve cut it in two manageable roasts that can easily fit into my 12″ skillet.
- SLATHER: Create a simple garlic and herb butter and slather it all over the seared beef. Insert your probe thermometer.
- ROAST: Cook the beef tenderloin at 425 degrees F. until the desired internal temperature is reached. This will only take about 20 to 25 minutes!
What Temperature To Cook Beef Tenderloin?
We’re roasting our beef tenderloin at a high temperature of 425 degrees F after we’ve seared it in a skillet. If you don’t have an oven-safe skillet yet, you can sear the beef tenderloin and then transfer it to an oven safe dish to finish cooking.
How Long To Cook Beef Tenderloin?
Searing the outside of the beef tenderloin should take about 12 to 15 minutes (about 3 to 5 minutes per side), followed by 20 to 25 minutes in the oven for a total of about 40 to 45 minutes. After it’s finished cooking, you’ll want to let it rest for about 15 minutes, where it’ll still rise in temperature but allow the juices inside to settle and redistribute.
What Temperature Should Beef Tenderloin Be?
The worst thing you can do is overcook a pricey cut of beef. Ideally you should cook it to a nice medium-rare or medium. The higher the internal temperature, the more tough the meat will become. My biggest suggestion is to use a digital probe thermometer for accurate cooking.
Here is a good chart to go by.
- RARE – 115°F – 120°F
- MEDIUM RARE – 120°F – 125°F
- MEDIUM – 130°F – 135°F
PRO TIP: Keep in mind that the internal temperature will continue to rise about 5 to 7 degrees after being removed from the oven.
What To Serve with Beef Tenderloin
- Creamy Horseradish Sauce
- Fluffy Mashed Potatoes
- Parmesan Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Toss some fresh green beans and mushrooms in the same skillet that the beef tenderloin cooked in and sauté them over medium heat until tender – so good!
More Beef Recipes To Try
Helpful Products To Make Recipe:
Million Dollar Roast Beef Tenderloin Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 to 5 lb. Beef tenderloin, trimmed, cut in two pieces and tied.
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 4 tbsp butter, salted, softened
- 2 tsp garlic, minced
- 1 tsp horseradish, prepared or dijon mustard
- 1 tsp rosemary, minced or thyme
Instructions
The Day Before Cooking (*optional):
- Trim the beef tenderloin if it’s not already, then cut in half to make two pieces. Tuck the long end under and use butcher’s twine to tie the tenderloin. *Watch video in blog post for demonstration
- Season all over with salt and pepper and leave in fridge, uncovered overnight, or at least 10 hours. *not necessary, but helps to give the tenderloin a great crust.
Day Of Cooking:
- Tie up tenderloin and season with salt and pepper if you did not do this the day prior. Remove from fridge and set on counter for about 2 hours prior to cooking, to come to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Place oil in a large cast-iron skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Sear the beef tenderloin on all sides, about 3 to 5 minutes per side, creating a nice golden-brown crust.
- Meanwhile combine the softened butter, garlic, horseradish and herbs in a small dish and mix. Slather the seared tenderloin with the butter mixture and then insert a probe thermometer. If using the skillet, place in preheated oven, or transfer to a baking dish and place in preheated oven. Roast until desired internal temperature is reached, about 20 to 25 minutes. *see notes for temperatures.
- Remove tenderloin from oven and transfer to a cutting board. Let rest for 15 to 20 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute before slicing into 1″ slices.
Video
Notes
- RARE – 115°F – 120°F
- MEDIUM RARE – 120°F – 125°F
- MEDIUM – 130°F – 135°F
Nutrition
PIN THIS IMAGE TO SAVE THE RECIPE:
What a disaster!
Smoke! Every window had to be open. Followed the recipe. Not even sure I want to eat the beef.
Thank goodness it wasn’t 20° outside. Never again!
Love and thank you. Cooked for 5 guys and me. We enjoyed your recipe. It was super easy with a temp control thermometer, the kind that has a cord.
Oh my! We made this for Christmas dinner yesterday and it was amazing!! We used Dijon mustard instead of the horseradish for the butter mixture but I did make the creamy horseradish spread which was delicious on the meat (although it certainly didn’t need it) as well as on the roasted potatoes. I think we pulled the meat at 120 and 122 degrees which took about 23 minutes just as the recipe stated.
We had a lot of smoke when opening the oven to check the meat but opening doors to the outside was completely worth it.
We will definitely continue to use this recipe for special occasions. Thank you!
I made this recipe exactly like the steps provided and WOW – it was the best tenderloin I’ve ever had! I got the same comment from the other adults eating Christmas Dinner with us and pointed them to this recipe. I will definitely be making this again. Thank you!
I made this for Christmas dinner last night and it was absolutely fantastic!! We had some folks not into horseradish, so I used Dijon mustard. It was delicious and perfectly cooked. Thank you!!
While it does take a bit of planning, the end result is superb. I processed two 8lb. l roasts and every steak I sliced was tender based on the little pressure I had to apply slicing the roast. The fact that we are talking Beef Tenderloin is certainly a contributing factor but the texture and flavor can’t be denied. I will be doing this again!
This method is the best I have made in years. I used much more salt and pepper than it called and the crust was amazing. It did not mess with the flavor at all and was fabulous!!! I had two sizes so I used my meat thermometer in the larger piece. Had one perfect med rare and one rare. It was perfect!!!!
We followed the recipe to the letter, including the optional tips, and it was FANTASTIC! Thank you so much for sharing.
Well … I just about thought that I must have died and gone to heaven!! I’ve made a beef tenderloin roast before and I honestly believed that it came out great Clearly NOT! This came out so tender, so flavourful; running with juices and such a lovely crust – you can honestly cut this with the side of your fork it’s melt in your mouth TENDER I did hassleback potatoes & Gordon Ramsay’s onion, Roma tomato & green beans w/a touch of Sicilean spice, garlic, paprika & salt/pepper. Your recipe made our Christmas dinner beyond special … THANK YOU!
Do not make this unless you want your house full of smoke, smoke detectors going off and a major oven cleaning project. Butter has a low smoke point and should not be baked at 425. I have no idea why this is 5 star. What a mess.
Not sure why this happened to you, but this recipe has worked for everyone else. There should not be a problem at all with cooking using butter at 425 unless you put far too much on or there is a problem with your oven.
I Fully expected that so we put ours on a cast iron skillet on our outdoor grill. Try that next time.
I have been roasting rib roasts for many years and decided to try a tenderloin this Christmas. I follow this recipe exactly and it was the most perfect delicious roast ever! I had the butcher cut and trim and tie a 7 lb tenderloin that I cut in half. It also was not Prime meat, just premium choice and it was so very tender. Perfect recipe, thank you!
I’ve been making this recipe for Christmas Eve or Christmas dinner for 3 years now and we all look forward to it. The instructions for how to get a crust on the outside are spot on and the flavor is delicious. Thanks for making it so easy to serve a restaurant-worthy tenderloin!
Family and friends said this was THE BEST beef tenderloin ever. We added Bookbinders Sassy Horseradish to the oil, garlic, thyme and rosemary mixture that we slathered after crusting it. Wonderful!
I made this last year and it was so good — but it smoked up my kitchen a ton and unfortunately we don’t have a vent/fan there. Want to make it this year – any low smoke or no smoke tips?
Try using a high smoke point oil like avocado oil in place of the olive oil.
These website hosting platforms are terrible. Influencers need to learn to use Wix, Wordpress, or similar. PDF doesn’t work. No video (or too difficult to find). Too much noise. Still going to give this a shot, though. Will update later.
This is a Wordpress site. I don’t have any PDF on this recipe… so I’m not quite sure what you’re referring to? Video for tying the tenderloin is in the recipe card. I hope you enjoy it!
Why do you cut the tenderloin in half?
I cut my tenderloin in half so it can easily fit into my skillet without having to curl it. Makes it easy to sear on all sides.
Absolute perfection. Followed the recipe and temps to a T and it was SO good! We used the dijon mustard opposed to the horseradish, and dried rosemary.
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed the tenderloin Kate!
So if the temp of the beef increases while resting do I still take it out at 120-125 degrees for Medium rare or should I take it out earlier to adjust the rising temp while resting? I would hate to overcook it.
I am also curious about this. Did you try it or get an answer?
You’ll take it out when it reaches that internal temperature of 120-125 for medium rare. It’ll increase a little bit, while still being medium rare.
Great quick and easy recipe. Although my cook time was much different, my oven run very hot. Searing for a few minutes each side on the stove in cast iron, at 425 in the oven my 4.2lb (split in 2 pc) tenderloin only took 15 min for the smaller side and 17m for the thicker end. Medium rare, other than that it came out perfect!
Made this tonight. Modified the seasoning about because I love Montreal Steak Seasoning. We live a condo with an internal exhaust fan so it’s thought to brown anything. So I browned the meat in the iron skillet an hour before our company arrived. Then I let it cool a bit before I slathered with butter mixture (added salt and pepper). The meat sat n the stove for an hours and a half before I put it in the oven. Used my Meater Thermometer and the meat was awesome!
I made this for Christmas and 2 months later people are still talking about it. “That was the best thing I ever had” said one guest 2 months later when asking for the accompanying horseradish sauce recipe. Not to brag but I’m semi-famous in the grilling world and this blew me away.
Did you grill or use the oven?
What is the horseradish sauce recipe? Thank you!!
It’s linked above in the blog post above – but here it is as well – Creamy Horseradish Sauce Recipe
Awesome recipe! Delicious for medium rare. Bookmarked a number of others to try, also.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Linda!
Best ever! I cooked to 140 to get medium rare at thickest part. So tender and flavorful! First time cooking this and it was a 10!!! Thanks!
I have used this recipe for the last three years and even shared it with a stranger at Costco who was asking the butcher how to cook this cut of meat without ruining it. (She texted me on Christmas Day and told me her family loved it!) I follow the directions to the letter and it always comes out perfectly. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
This was a wonderful way to serve beef tenderloin. I took the advice to double the butter mix, which worked well. We also seared it before church and cooked it after church on Christmas Eve, which was a blessing, as our kitchen was pretty smokey after searing. Everything was perfect. Thank you!
I allow 4 hours to bring the tenderloin to room temp. I roast it at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temp to 300 degrees and slowly cook til it reaches the desired temp. This way, the entire slice of meat is the same doneness – there is no ring of overdone meat around each slice. Also, I have learned that if any part of the meal needs more cooking time, I can turn down the temp of the oven which holds the tenderloin to slow its cooking so that the side dishes can finish cooking. I make béarnaise sauce while someone is slicing the tenderloin. It’s definitely a challenge to serve every dish done and piping hot!
Beef tenderloin came out perfect! Thank you for the tasty recipe!
Please re-read the part (#4) where it states roast until desired internal temperature is reaches, about 20-25 minutes. 20-25 minutes & that’s it! No, 4–5 lb roasts
Cook for 50–60 minutes for medium rare (135°F) or 60–70 minutes for medium (150°F). Please correct this, because this is totally wrong!
You do NOT cook for 20-25 minutes in total. This is very misleading! The correct time is stated 50-60, etc.
Hi, what is the total cooking time in the oven?
Thanks
Lina
The timing is correct if you correctly seared the roast first. You must not skip that step. Skipping the searing first would not only add time but fail to give you the beautiful crust
What if it’s the night before Christmas and I just realized I have to trim it and I DONT have butchers twine?
I ran into the same problem! I’m using tooth picks to keep it as secure as I can. Let’s it works!
It will work just fine without butcher twine if you don’t have any. Just tuck the tail up as best as you can. When you brown it prior to going in the oven, the tail will “stick” to the rest of it. 🙂
i am hesitant with the horseradish… How spicy/hot would this recipe if made following exact instructions lusted above? Is it possible to omit the.horseradish and keep rest of recipe as is…listed above? Thank you..can’t wait to try /taste recipe tomorrow
Perfect and foolproof!
Can’t wait to try this tomorrow. Have a 10lb tenderloin that I am preparing. Have you ever done with a reverse sear? Considering that to minimize potential overcook. Was going to bring to about 110-115 and then sear it. Thanks.
I have a question. I am making your recipe for tonight’s Christmas Eve dinner. Can I sear it, go to church and put it in the oven to cook when I get home? It would sit approximately 60-75 minutes between searing and going in the oven. I would guess that would work okay. I would like your thoughts. Thank you!
I’m glad you asked this…. I am doing the SAME thing!! Good luck and Merry Christmas!
It should be okay but I suggest keep in the oven on warm or even cold. You want it to stay dry so direct cover would probably ruin the bark. Or you can cook on 500 middle rack and skip the browning.
I’ve made this recipe twice and it was phenomenal. Everyone loved it. After tying and seasoning the meat, I let it rest uncovered in the fridge per the recipe for 12-48 hours. I waited 2 hours to bring the roast to room temperature before searing and placing in the oven. There’s a lot of waiting in this recipe but it’s totally worth it.
I have made this recipe the past 2 years and it is absolutely fantastic. There is nothing I would change. My entire family raves about this meal and I will be making this for christmas dinner for the foreseeable future.
This exact recipe has been our family’s Christmas dinner for the past four years and it’s always fantastic. I cook it with the recommended green beans and mushrooms and serve it with the creamy horseradish sauce linked above. Wonderful recipe and the step-by-step instructions make it super easy. Invest in a digital meat thermometer and remember that the temperature will rise for a bit after you pull the beef from the oven; treat this fantastic cut of meat with the respect it deserves!
Look great but won’t the butter burn at 425 degrees and cause a lot of smoke in the kitchen?
Your dear is fabulous. Just the perfect sear with lots of juicy delicious rare tenderloin
Just for clarification- I should cut the tenderloin in half, tie both halves, and then follow the remainder of the steps? Thank you!
Yes. The main reason for cutting in half is so it can easily fit in a pan and also making them similar in size for even cooking.