Roast Beef Dinner

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The ease of this roast beef dinner recipe makes me wonder why I don’t make it more often. Its secret is the combination of herbs and spices you sprinkle on the beef and the garlic you push into the meat. This roast beef comes out moist, tender and delicious.

Closer view of the sliced roast beef on a plate with veggiesPin

When I was growing up, roast beef dinner was the meal each of my four siblings and I would pick for celebrating our birthdays because it was so flavorful and delicious. My mother cooked it to perfection; always medium rare.

My mother also cooked roast beef at least once a month for Sunday dinner. Do people still cook and enjoy a big Sunday dinner? I’d love to know.

My sister Robyn started up the Sunday dinner tradition again recently and all of her kids and their significant others really enjoy and look forward to it. I remember how much I loved my family’s Sunday dinner meal, especially when there was roast beef to look forward to!!

Which cut of roast beef is best?

I really like top round, bottom round and chuck roasts for my roast beef dinners. That said, if money isn’t an issue, tenderloin roast and sirloin tip roast are probably the best choices. Here is a great article explaining the different cuts of roast beef.

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Helpful Tips

  • For a small roast (less than three pounds), take the beef out at least a half hour before starting the recipe. For a larger roast, take it out an hour before starting the recipe. The reason you do this is to gradually raise the surface temperature of the meat so once you start roasting the beef, it quickly reaches browning temperature and will form a crust.
  • Choose grass-fed beef whenever you can. I enjoy the meat I buy from ButcherBox, a meat subscription company that delivers the products directly to your door monthly or bi-monthly. I really trust the quality of meat they sell.
  • Experiment with herbs and spices to suit your taste, but I really enjoy the combination of seasonings I call for in this recipe.
  • Use organic herbs as they are superior to conventional. Plus, a little goes a long way so they are cost effective.
  • When you cook meat, the proteins set and push the juices to the middle of the meat. Allowing the roast to rest for 10 – 15 minutes after it’s finished allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat.

Ingredients and substitutions

  • Beef – grass-fed top round roast.
  • Onion – Vidalia because I like the slightly sweet taste, but yellow onion will work just as well.
  • Garlic – use as much as you like. I say the more the merrier.
  • Basil – organic.
  • Tarragon – organic.
  • Rosemary – organic.
  • Kosher salt – helps flavor the meat.
  • Pepper – I only use a little because hubby isn’t fond of it, but use as much as you want.

How to Make a Roast Beef Dinner

Pre-step

Take your cut of beef out of the refrigerator before you start the recipe: 1/2 hour for less than 3 pounds and one hour for anything bigger.

Get a roasting pan.

Step one

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step two

Cut a large onion in thick slices and get garlic cloves.

Step three

Unwrap the beef. The roast pictured weighs 2.75 pounds.

Top round roast on a plate with onions and garlic in the backgroundPin

Step four

Place onion slices in the roasting pan and place the roast beef on top of them.

Step five

Cut as many slivers out of the cloves of garlic you’re going to use and take a small sharp knife and make slits all over the roast beef.

Step six

Stick the slivers of garlic into the slits.

Garlic pushed in the slits of beef and in the panPin

“Peek a boo,” the garlic yells!

Step seven

Gather the ingredients to make your rub: dried rosemary, basil, tarragon, garlic powder, kosher salt and pepper.

Herbs and spices on a plate with the roast in the panPin

Step eight

Place the rub ingredients in a small mixing bowl and whisk them to combine.

Pick the roast up in your hand and sprinkle some of the rub over the bottom of the roast. Replace the meat in the pan and sprinkle the rest of the rub over the roast beef. Use your hands to rub the herbs and spices evenly over the roast beef.

Herbs and spices on the beef and in the pan with onionsPin

Step nine

Bake until the internal temperature reaches 130 – 135 degrees Fahrenheit. I use this digital thermometer to check the temperature.

Figure 20 minutes of cooking time per pound. My 2.75 pound roast took 1 hour.

Roast beef straight out of the oven but still in the panPin

Let the roast beef rest for 15 minutes before slicing into it.

Slices of the roast beef on a blue plate with a plate of potato in the backgroundPin

Yeeee-HAW!  Perfect! I love this roast beef dinner so much!

Time to plate it with a baked potato and an onion slice from the pan.

A white plate with a few pieces of roast beef with a potato and onionsPin

I hope you enjoyed this roast beef dinner recipe! Christopher and I enjoyed eating it!

And as always, may all your dishes be delish!

If you’ve tried this Roast Beef Dinner recipe, I’d love the know what you thought about it in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more of my delicious food and delightful cocktails!

Blue platter with sliced roast beef with a white plate behind it with a potato on it - squarePin

Roast Beef Dinner

This delicious medium rare roast beef is a delight to serve and eat!
5 from 15 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Meat
Keyword: roast beef, roast beef dinner, sunday supper
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 20 slices
Calories: 129kcal

Ingredients

  • 2.75 pounds top round roast beef (or as big as you want it)
  • 1 onion (medium, 4 thick slices off of it)
  • 2 cloves garlic (slivered)
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325 F.
  • In a roasting pan, place the four slices of onion on the bottom.
    1 onion
  • With a small blade, cut small holes in various places in the roast and push slivered garlic into the holes.
    2.75 pounds top round roast beef, 2 cloves garlic
  • Combine salt, pepper, rosemary, basil and tarragon in a small bowl, forming a rub.
    1 tablespoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, 1 teaspoon dried basil, 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
  • Pick the roast in your had and sprinkle some of the rub on the bottom. Place roast on the onion slices and sprinkle rub on the top round roast. Use your hands to rub in on the meat.
  • Give the roast a few shakes of garlic powder because you can never have enough garlic :).
    1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • Place roasting pan on the rack in the middle of the oven. Cook for 20 – 30 minutes per pound.
  • Check internal temperature with a thermometer, depending on how done you want it. Medium rare will be between 130 – 135 degrees.
  • Take roast out of oven and let it rest 15 minutes before slicing into it.
  • Place slices on plates and add some veggies and a potato.
  • Serve
  • Smile
  • Enjoy

Equipment

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Notes

Helpful Tips
  • For a small roast (less than three pounds), take the beef out at least a half hour before starting the recipe. For a larger roast, take it out an hour before starting the recipe. The reason you do this is to gradually raise the surface temperature of the meat so once you start roasting the beef, it quickly reaches browning temperature and will form a crust.
  • Choose grass-fed beef whenever you can. I enjoy the meat I buy from ButcherBox, a meat subscription company that delivers the products directly to your door monthly or bi-monthly. I really trust the quality of meat they sell.
  • Experiment with herbs and spices to suit your taste, but I really enjoy the combination of seasonings I call for in this recipe.
  • Use organic herbs as they are superior to conventional. Plus, a little goes a long way so they are cost effective.
  • When you cook meat, the proteins set and push the juices to the middle of the meat. Allowing the roast to rest for 10 – 15 minutes after it’s finished allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat.

Nutrition

Serving: 2slices | Calories: 129kcal | Protein: 18g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 53mg | Sodium: 141mg | Potassium: 162mg | Vitamin A: 5IU | Vitamin C: 0.6mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1.7mg
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Originially published in April of 2016.

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34 Comments

  1. Wow! Your photos look fantastic in my web browser (FireFox). Feel like the food is right in front of me!! (Oh yeah. And the roast beef was delish.)

  2. Very well explained and defined…I like the simplicity of your cooking and the pics are out of sight!!!

  3. It’s hard to be a good ol beef roast. This is comfort food for me at it’s finest. Brings back so many memories of growing up.

  4. I love a good roast beef! It makes such a homey dinner on a Sunday night. I think I might surprise my husband with a homemade roast beef dinner this weekend. Thank you for the inspiration!

  5. We had roast beef for Sunday lunch almost every week when I was a kid. Haven’t had it much since, but always loved it. Putting a nice bottom round roast on my shopping list for this next coming week!

  6. My mouth is watering now! This roast beef looks absolutely delicious and I think about making it for Easter dinner!

  7. Your roast beef looks incredibly juicy and perfect! I love the step by step instructions, you make it look easy for the rest of us!

  8. My mother was the queen of roast beef dinners when I was growing up, but this recipe sounds much flavorful! I will pass it on to her and see if it sticks, haha. Thanks for sharing.

  9. Such GORGEOUS photos! I am definitely craving roast beef right now! I LOVE that you inserted the garlic cloves into the meat as well!

    This would make the perfect Sunday supper!

    1. Thanks Lori! That’s so sweet of you to say. I love the garlic and have been known to steal the slivers out of the meat before I cut it.

  10. I am such a meat and potatoes kind of girl so I love this simple meal! Poking slivers of garlic into the roast is such a great idea too. It adds so much flavor to the meat!

  11. That’s beef cooked to perfection. The recipe sounds so flavorful and with roast potatoes, this is best meal ever.

  12. This recipe sounds amazing and perfect for the holidays. Serve with a scoop of horseradish and we’ll be over soon! 🙂