When life is hectic and I don’t have time to prepare a more complicated dinner party menu, my go-to meal is my easy beef tenderloin recipe. This recipe is fail proof and best of all, it doesn’t take long to cook. Later in the post I share my favorite kitchen gadget which helps me to prepare the perfect beef tenderloin each and every time.
I usually just put the tenderloin in oven after all of our guests have arrived. By the time we are finished with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, the roast is ready to serve.
Impromptu Dinner Party
The other day I had some dear friends visiting from South Carolina. We decided to cook at home instead of going out. The four of us plus another couple had a lot of catching up to do and a long relaxing evening at our dining room table was in order.
Serving beef tenderloin was not only festive for the holidays but also easy for me to prepare on a work night. I haven’t entertained much since I broke my wrist in the Spring so this menu was easy for me to pull together.
To lessen my work load as I eased back in to entertaining, my friend Ruthie brought roasted vegetables and a wonderful salad. I also served baked potatoes with butter, sour cream and sliced green onions on the side. This was an All American Meat & Potatoes Dinner Party.
Bless my girlfriends as they did all the clean up for me. I kept it casual and set the table with everyday dishes and stemless wine glasses so that everything could go in the dishwasher.
Bookmark this recipe as you will make it often once you see how easy it is.
My Easy Beef Tenderloin Recipe
When buying a whole tenderloin for a dinner party, I prefer to buy the already trimmed version at Costco. If buying at your local grocery store, you can also have your butcher trim the tenderloin for you.
Tenderloin Prep
Items needed to prepare tenderloin:
Whole Beef Tenderloin, Trimmed
Paper Towels
Kitchen Twine
Foil lined pan or roasting pan with rack
Cooking Spray or Olive Oil
External Meat Thermometer with Probe (see below)
McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning
Remove tenderloin from packaging and dry off with paper towels. Place tenderloin on a roasting rack or foil lined pan. Tie tenderloin as needed with kitchen twine.
Be sure to let the tenderloin sit at room temperature a minimum of 45 minutes before roasting.
Fifteen minutes prior to roasting, pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees.
Simply spray the meat with either canola oil or rub olive oil over it.
Heavily season the roast with McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning. If you haven’t tried this seasoning, it’s the perfect blend of coarse salt, pepper and garlic.
Insert a meat thermometer halfway into the thickest part of the roast. Set the thermometer to your desired temperature. (125º for medium rare as shown in the photo).
That’s the only prep needed! It doesn’t get any easier!
Roasting the Tenderloin
Cook the roast at 500 degrees for the first ten minutes. By starting the roast at a high temperature, it sears the meat. Be sure to set a timer so you don’t forget the next step!
After the initial ten minutes, drop the oven temperature to 400 degrees and continue to cook until the thermometer reaches your desired temperature. We like to take it out at 125 degrees for medium rare.
Once the tenderloin has reached your desired temperature, let it sit for a minimum of 15 minutes. Tent it loosely with aluminum foil to keep it warm. It needs to rest so that the juices remain in the meat and not on the cutting board. It’s best to cut the roast on a cutting board that has grooves to collect any juices.
It’s the perfect entrée, allowing you and your guests time for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.
Beef Tenderloin cooked to internal temperature of 125 degrees
Key to the Perfect Roast
What makes this recipe fail proof as I mentioned earlier? My all in one meat thermometer and timer is my key to the perfect roast! I’d be lost without this reliable kitchen gadget. The thermometer has a heat proof probe that you stick in the thickest part of the roast.
The cord attached to the probe is long enough to extend outside of the oven where it plugs into the timer. Set the timer to the internal temperature you prefer. Make sure the sound is turned on so that you can hear the alarm. The timer will beep when its time to take it out of the oven.
Easy Two-Ingredient Horseradish Sauce
Horseradish sauce compliments beef tenderloin and this recipe has been a favorite of ours for years. It is so easy!
My horseradish sauce consists of only two ingredients. That’s it. Reddi Wip Whipped Cream in a can and pure horseradish from a jar. Both items can be found in the dairy section at your local grocery store.
Mix the two together and you end up with a creamy sauce with a kick!
Homemade Horseradish Sauce Recipe
Fill your bowl with the whipped cream. Add horseradish to taste. Start off with a couple of tablespoons. Stir it in and taste before adding more. We like it spicy so I tend to use more horseradish than most would. It all depends on personal preference.
Next Wednesday I will post about My Casual yet Festive Holiday Table Setting.
What’s your favorite go to dinner party menu?
More on Beef Tenderloin
Visit my post on Accompaniments and Garnishing Beef Tenderloin where I share my recipe for caramelized onions. They are amazing!
You just planned our Xmas Eve dinner! Sounds perfect!
Hi – If I’m cooking two tenderloins (we have a crowd of 18), can I put them both on the same rack in the same pan? Thanks! This is my kind of recipe as i use this seasoning along with balsamic/oo for pork tenderloin all the time and it’s really great!
If I were doing two at a time, I would roast them on an extra large rimmed cookie sheet and line it with foil. I would buy two tenderloins similar in size so they cook the same. Place the tenderloins on the cookie sheet but leave as much space between them as possible so they can sear. Make sure to bring the meat to room temp before roasting so as not to cool the oven temp down. Lastly, I would definitely use a meat thermometer as suggested in the post. It will probably take a little longer to cook since there are two but not a significant amount. I love the thermometer that lets me know when its done by beeping! I won’t cook a roast without it! Good luck and let me know how it comes out. Happy holidays.
Just a quick question. Just so I can plan approximately how long to cook the beef tenderloin, how long do you think a 5 1/2 pound tenderloin would take using your recipe?
Hi Peggy. Because I bring the meat to room temperature before placing in the oven, it cuts down on the cooking time compared to other roasting charts. It really doesn’t take long to cook if you want it medium rare as shown in my photo. So many recipes say to cook the beef to 130-140º for medium rare but to me that is way overcooking it! Removing it at 125º is ideal for medium rare in my opinion.
Oven temperatures do vary so it’s hard to say exactly how long to cook the roast. That’s why a thermometer is key! The temperature of the roast going in to the oven makes a difference too. For a 5 1/2 lb roast, I would start checking at 30 minutes. For a smaller roast, 25 minutes. It will probably take a little longer than that to reach 125º, but not by more than 5-10 minutes.
Adding in the resting time of 15 minutes, I usually can cook the roast, let it rest, carve and plate by the time the cocktail hour is over.
Sorry for the long answer but there are so many variables. Good luck and let me know how it comes out.
Merry Christmas!
Thanks. Just needed a general idea of what time to start. Thanks again and Merry Christmas
Hi Elaine,
What temperature would you suggest I take the tenderloin out if I wanted it medium?
And would a 5lb. roast feed 8 adults?
Thank you,
Pam
Hi Pam. Yes, a 5 lb roast will feed 8. If you want it medium with a light pink center, I would take it out at 135. Don’t forget it will also continue to cook during the resting period. Enjoy!
Would the 125 be F or C? My thermometer was set at C and it was overdone:(
125 F for medium rare
Please tell me what kind of meat thermometer you use. I purchased one but it says it should not be used above 450 degrees. Thank you!
Hi Susan. Forgive my delay in responding. I was away from my blog due to a family illness. The oven temperature needs to be 500 and then lowered to 400 degrees. The meat thermometer does not need to show the oven temperature, just the internal temperature of the meat. Good luck!
Thank you for your response and I hope all is well. I tried your tenderloin recipe and it is delicious and I love that it is easy. Also love the horseradish cream sauce. Such a great idea. I was just concerned about the thermometer melting since it was not to be put in such a hot oven but I waited until the temperature was reduced to 400 and inserted and all went well. Thank you again for the wonderful recipe. Best wishes!
This looks delicious ! I hope you still respond to questions… My question is if I am making baked potatoes with this as you have done ,do I bake them first and keep warm till the meat is done ? I do have a warmer, would that work, would I wrap them in foil ?? Thanks !!
Sorry for the delay in responding. You can put the potatoes in 20-30 min prior to putting in tenderloin and then keep in oven while roasting the tenderloin. It’s hard for me to say how long it would take to bake them as potatoes vary in size.
Thank you for sharing your recipe for Beef Tenderloin. I made it for friends last night and it is delicious!! Love your blog!
Thank you Suzanne! Glad you liked it!