This Roast Beef only takes five minutes to get in the oven and comes out perfectly every time. Even cheap cuts of meat are sensational!
Homemade Oven Roast Beef is Easier Than You Think!
Roast Beef is one of my go to meals for nice family dinners or having friends over or just because! Don’t be fooled by the pretty picture. This recipe is ridiculously easy and you can use any old roast that goes on sale. When I need a fancy dinner in a pinch, I just buy whatever roast has decent marbling and use this simple method. The results put restaurants to shame. Honestly this is a more flavorful and decadent meal than a lot of restaurant prime rib I have had!
How to Choose a Perfect Piece of Meat For Roast Beef
- What is on sale? I pay $3-$4 / lbs. You don’t need to buy a rib-eye. Any rump, sirloin, or chuck will work well.
- Don’t get one with bones. It just adds to the cost.
- Do pick one with a modest fat cap on part of the outside!
- Know what you are buying: Meat comes in three different grades (quality levels). “Prime” beef is the top grade with the most marbling. The second best grade is “Choice” and the lowest is “Select”. The higher the grade of beef the more fat that is marbled into the meat. Keep in mind that the fat gives the flavor. You need some for a good roast. Also, recent studies suggest that animal fat may be a good, healthy fat for people!
- Plan on ½ pound of raw roast for each adult you want to serve. So a 3 pound roast will serve about six adults and a 4 pound roast will serve about 8 adults.
The Secret Tool to Perfect Roast Beef!
A digital thermometer is essential for cooking a perfect roast. This is something I use almost every day in my kitchen and they are cheap! You need one.
I don’t think you need one of every pan invented but if you want to cook meat in your oven, you need a roasting pan with a rack. They range from $17 – $200+ but I think any that is dishwasher safe is fine. One where the rack has lift out handles (like this one) is a bonus. This is not the place to lay out hundreds of dollars. It will also cover you for a Turkey!
An amazing beef roast needs mashed potatoes. These are pretty awesome!
Perfect Oven Roast Beef
Ingredients
- 1 beef roast 3-4 pounds
- 1 Tbsp. good quality sea salt or smoked sea salt
- 2 tsp. black pepper fresh ground to a course size is best
Instructions
- Read the tips (above) before you begin.
- Leave your roast in the package on the counter at room temperature for 2-4 hours before you begin. You want it as close to room temperature as possible.
- Preheat the oven to 325 F.
- Mix your salt and pepper together in a small dish.
- Place the roast in any roasting pan that has a wire rack to hold the meat off the bottom of the pan. Rub the roast with your salt/pepper mixture to coat the entire outside.
- Some people really love to sear the outside of a roast before cooking it in the oven. For this recipe I don't feel it is necessary but if you want to it is easy. Smoking hot pan with oil, sear each side for several minutes until golden brown. (The including recipe video shows how.)
- Bake in preheated oven checking about every 30 minutes until it reaches the temperature you like (Remember the roast will rise about 10 degrees more after you take it out of the oven so pull it 10 degrees before your favorite level of doneness.):
- Rare: 120-130 degrees – most juicy, hot through and bright purple
- Medium Rare: 130 – 135 degrees – tender and very juicy, nice bright red (My 8 pound roast took almost 3 hours to arrive here).
- Medium: 135-145 degrees – less tender, still somewhat juicy, darker pink
- Medium Well: 145 – 155 degrees – more tough, tan with a hint of pink, almost no juice (not recommended)
- When your roast is 10 degrees under the doneness level you have selected remove it from the oven. Tent it in tin foil and let the meat rest for 15 minutes.
- Carve and serve!
- Leftovers make great sandwiches or soup. I also like to dice up leftover slices of the roast, sprinkle in good salt and pepper and eat them cold as a high protein snack. This is one of our favorites for road trips!
Your Rating Matters
When you leave a comment or star rating, it means more than you might think. It helps me understand what you’re enjoying, builds trust for other readers, and supports real, tested cooking content. If you have a moment, I’d truly appreciate you sharing your experience. - Mirlandra
A Note on Nutrition
Nutritional info is an imperfect estimate. Please take it with a grain of salt.
Kate says
Should it be covered?
Mirlandra says
No you do not need to cover it. When you cover meat it can end up getting more steamed than roasted. I find that meat that is well roasted has a wonderful, rich flavor and if it is covered and more steamed you loose that amazing taste. Good luck!
Jill says
My mother always slowly browned her roast with just a little oil before she put it in the oven…and she made a brown gravy after she took the roast out of the pan…so good! Browning was the “key” to her rich flavored roast to me…
Mirlandra says
Oh yum! There is certainly more than one great way to make a roast. You could brown this one before you put it in (sometimes it is just right to make things the way mom did!) but I’ve had great flavor without that step. I love the freedom of cooking to do things whatever way works best at the time!
Batb says
How long would it take to cook a 7 lb. roast so it is med. well done?
Mirlandra says
I’m sorry, I don’t really have a good answer to that. It will depend on the accuracy of your oven, the shape of your roast, and the temperature of the meat when starting.
Judy says
It’s burger time in the deep south and for unknown reasons I can’t save several of your recipes~the perfect burger,cole slaw, the perfect roast and Boursin cheese mashed potatoes. Any ideas?
Mirlandra says
Hi Judy – can you tell me how you are trying to save them? We have an option to print them out or you can bookmark the link or pin them to your Pinterest account. I’m not sure what other options you would have.
Sandy says
Mine came out tough what could I have done wrong?
Mirlandra says
Hi Sandy,
There are a few things that could have happened. One could have been the quality or cutting job of the beef. Sometimes you just get a bad one. If you think this is the case I suggest checking into where you get your meat. If they have a butcher at the counter that would be a great person to chat with about what level of quality they sell. My other best guess is that it might have come to a higher temperature than you had planned. Making sure to use a thermometer to decide when the roast is done is the best way to prevent this. The other thing worth checking is the temperature of your oven. Sometimes ovens are wrong and it causes all sorts of cooking and baking issues. You can buy an inexpensive oven thermometer and make sure your oven is the correct temperature. You can also move that thermometer around the oven to check for hot spots which can be helpful in knowing there is a problem with the oven. I hope that helps point you in the right direction! Happy cooking.
Brit says
Best roast I’ve ever made! Thanks so much for the detailed instructions! Everyone loved it and I plan to make another one in the near future!
Mirlandra says
Wow!!! That is high praise! I’m so glad it was a success. Getting a roast to come out perfectly is so much easier than I used to think and my family always looks forward to a great roast now!
Kila says
Your recipe sounds simple and delicious. My mom swears by something called “meat tenderizer”. I think I will forego that option. LOL
Thanks!
Mirlandra says
Hi Kila – This recipe is amazing and no meat tenderizer needed! I do like meat tenderizer in some cases. It is just an enzyme that breaks down protein in meat. It is good on cheap steaks for example. But it does add a lot of salt. (It also works wonders if you get stung by a wasp – I make a paste and put it on the skin! Random trivia for you 🙂 Thanks for stopping to say hi!
Maggie says
We made this for Thanksgiving Dinner this year forgoing the traditional turkey dinner because this year, well, is anything but traditional. Your recipe was perfect and so was dinner. It reminded me of my Mom’s delicious roast beef dinners that we had every Sunday. God Bless.
Mirlandra says
Oh Maggie! Thank you!!! This was not an easy year for Thanksgiving and I’m so glad you were able to make something that was special for a lovely meal. I’m looking forward to better things to come next year!!! Until then so glad for roast beef and people like you who are creative and continuing to persevere even in unusual times 🙂
Liz says
Hello! I was wondering if you can make gravy with this recipe ? And if so do you have a recipe for it ? Thanks !
Mirlandra says
Hi Liz – Great question! This recipe never gives me a lot of drippings to work with so if I’m going to make gravy here I make a country gravy, a mushroom gravy, or I use homemade beef stock to make my gravy. (You can read about how I do my own stock easily here: https://www.mirlandraskitchen.com/roast-beef-stock/) To make gravy with homemade stock I whisk together 4 Tablespoons of butter and 4 Tablespoons of flour over medium heat until butter is melted and the flour has had a few seconds (about 15) to cook. Then I slowly whisk in two cups warm beef stock. Continue to whisk and simmer until the gravy is a nice thickness. Usually this means it needs to come to a simmer. I taste the gravy and add additional salt, better than bouillon beef base, or fresh ground pepper until it tastes good to me! I hope this is helpful! (I will say in a pinch Johnny’s has a nice brown gravy mix. Not as good as homemade but sometimes you just have what you have time for 🙂 Best of luck with the roast and whatever gravy you go with!
Jenny says
What type of meat would you buy for this roast if it’s going to be a festive dinner? We are welcoming a new priest to our church and they requested roast beef for dinner and I’m feeding 6 men?
Mirlandra says
Hi Jenny – This is a great question. Check out the section in the post titled “How to Choose a Perfect Piece of Meat for Roast Beef.” That will give you everything you need to know. Enjoy your dinner with the new priest! Always wonderful to get to celebrate these moments and I’m sure your dinner will be wonderful!
Becca says
I’ve made this a number of times over the past few years. Comes out perfect every time and defiantly doesn’t need to be seared. My young kiddos ask for 3rd and 4th helpings. Does not make much drippings at all which is fine. My mom tried to add beef broth to the few dripping to make gravy once and it was way too salty (I tried to warn her lol).
I’m making it tonight and the kids are so excited for dinner.
Mirlandra Neuneker says
Hi Becca – I’m so glad you liked it and it’s wonderful your children enjoy it! (My littles call this “Roast Beast” which cracks me up!) It really isn’t a drippings heavy recipe and I can imagine how the beef broth went! It would be great with a country gravy recipe or maybe with a homemade beef broth where you could have less salt. Thanks so much for letting me know how much you all enjoy it 🙂