Say hello to your new favorite easy roast beef recipe for the holiday season! Everyone at the table will love this show-stopping Whole Beef Tenderloin Recipe. Get our secret to making this memorable holiday dinner (hint: it’s SO easy, you’ll hardly have to do any work!), and everyone will be asking you for the recipe and taking home leftovers – if there are any! Plus, this tender, melt-in-your-mouth roast is so easy to cut, you won’t even need a knife.

Whole Beef Tenderloin Recipe sliced on white platter

This whole beef tenderloin recipe is an outstanding special occasion roast beef recipe. It’s the PERFECT choice for a special holiday meal. Simply seasoned with salt, black pepper, garlic, and thyme, then roasted to your perfect degree of doneness thanks to a little help from the Certified Angus Beef ® brand Roast Perfect app (my secret weapon to making the perfect holiday roast)!

What is beef tenderloin?

Beef tenderloin roast is a cut from the loin section of the cow. This tender beef roast is lean, succulent and elegant, with a mild flavor. This cut of beef is also sometimes called Chateaubriand.

It’s best prepared by roasting or grilling, and I recommend using a Certified Angus Beef ® brand whole beef tenderloin roast because it’s trimmed and ready to roast or grill, in addition to being full of flavor from the gorgeous marbling on the beef.

How Long to Cook Beef Tenderloin

The best way to know how long to cook whole beef tenderloin is to use the proper tools. That means an instant meat thermometer and the Roast Perfect app from Certified Angus Beef ® brand. This FREE app, downloaded to your Apple or Android mobile device, takes the guesswork out of cooking any roast beef recipe.

The Roast Perfect app calculates the correct size roast for your guest list and has a nifty countdown timer to use to cook your roast to the perfect temperature. Plus, the timer allows you to choose your desired degree of doneness!

Roast perfect app open on phone with tenderloin roast selected

Whole Beef Tenderloin Roast Ingredients

All you need to make the perfect beef tenderloin is the beef itself and a small handful of simple seasonings. You will not believe how easily the perfect roast beef recipe comes together!

4 pounds Certified Angus Beef® brand trimmed whole beef tenderloin roast
2 tsp. Kosher salt
2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1 tsp. granulated garlic
1 Tbsp. olive oil

How to Trim Beef Tenderloin

Whole beef tenderloin often comes with a shiny, silvery skin you’ll want to trim away. This is fibrous and chewy connective tissue that gets in the way of your roast being as flavorful as it can be! Thankfully, getting rid of that skin, and the excess fat you’ll also want to trim, is easy. Follow these steps to trim a beef tenderloin:

Carefully cut just under the connective tissue with your knife. Keep the knife close to the meat, being careful not to remove too much of the meat itself.
Using your free hand, pull the tissue tightly against the blade.
Cut through the tissue, facing away from the meat, until it’s trimmed off. Do the same for excess fat.

How to Tie Beef Tenderloin

We tie our whole beef tenderloin as it helps the roast evenly cook by evening out the thickness of the roast. Your butcher will tie the roast for you if you request it, but if you forgot to ask or feel like learning how to do it yourself, it’s easy to do!

Using a kitchen string, loop one end of the tenderloin and tie into a tight knot.
Loop the string around your hand, then pull the loop over your tenderloin.
Continue to make loops about 1″ apart from one another, and make sure each is snug against the tenderloin.
Tie the end with a knot once you have an even amount of loops, about 6.

Best Beef Tenderloin Recipe

Cooking the perfect beef tenderloin is really so simple. Before you begin, calculate how many people you will be cooking for and your desired degree of doneness. Knowing what your goals are for cooking whole beef tenderloin makes the process that much easier! Follow these steps to begin:

Four hours (or more) before you are planning on cooking the roast, prepare the rub by mixing kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, dried thyme leaves, and granulated garlic in a small bowl. Coat the roast with the spice mixture and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 4 hours or more to allow spices to season the meat.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. While the oven is preheating, unwrap the roast, tie it, and put it on a rack in a small roasting pan or a small baking sheet with sides. Drizzle the olive oil over the roast.
Open Roast Perfect app. Select Roast Timer and choose cut, weight, and degree of doneness. If you are not sure what degree of doneness you’re looking for and want a little reassurance about the cooking time, scroll just below for a beef tenderloin temperature chart. Put roast in oven and press start on the app for sear time (15 minutes). When 15 minutes is up, reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
Roast to the degree of doneness you desire. I cooked my roast to mid-rare, using the Roast Perfect app to determine cooking time for that particular doneness. (For Mid-Rare, roast for an additional 35 minutes until roast reaches an internal temperature of 125°F.)
Take roast out and tent with foil. Allow it to sit for 10 – 15 minutes before carving.

Tips for Cooking Beef Tenderloin

Tie your roast: Beef tenderloin roasts have a skinny end that should be tucked underneath the roast. Tie your whole beef tenderloin to ensure it stays together as it roasts. This helps make sure it roasts evenly. Your butcher can help you with this step if you don’t feel comfortable doing it.
Use a rack: Make sure you use a rack and a shallow baking pan or roasting pan. Using a rack to roast tenderloin will help the warm air of the oven circulate around the roast for more even roasting.
Beef tenderloin temperature chart:
- ~22 minutes for rare (120-125˚F)
- ~24 minutes for mid-rare (130-135˚F)
- ~28 minutes for medium (138-140˚F)
- ~30 minutes for medium-well (140-145˚F)
- ~35 minutes for well done (150˚F)

Whole Beef Tenderloin Recipe on roasting pan

Can you freeze beef tenderloin?

Yes, you can freeze beef tenderloin. Follow these steps to freeze beef tenderloin properly:

Tightly wrap the entire tenderloin in plastic wrap
Add the plastic-wrapped tenderloin to a plastic zip-lock bag. Squeeze all air out and make sure it is sealed tightly.
Place the bag with the tenderloin in a plastic container with a tightly sealed lid.
Add to the freezer. We recommend placing it closer to the back so it reaches freezing temperature more quickly.

We highly recommend enjoying your leftover beef tenderloin no more than 2 weeks after freezing. Do not re-freeze after thawing.

How to Reheat Beef Tenderloin

To reheat your tenderloin, you will want to use low heat so the roast does not cook further and become well done. If you froze your leftover beef tenderloin, you will need to thaw it out first.

We recommend wrapping the tenderloin in foil with cooking juices or sauce so it retains moisture, then carefully reheat in the oven at low heat (we recommend 225˚F) until a meat thermometer inserted into the beef reads 150˚F.

Side Dishes for Whole Beef Tenderloin

Wondering what to serve with this easy beef tenderloin recipe? This easy recipe is perfect with your Christmas dinner ideas, especially! Check out the best side dishes for roast beef below!

Whole Beef Tenderloin recipe on cutting board

Recipes for Leftover Beef Tenderloin

There is plenty you can do with leftover beef tenderloin! We recommend trying…

Beef tenderloin sandwiches; you can even make easy leftover beef Philly cheesesteak sliders!
Make beef stroganoff with leftover beef tenderloin
Leftover beef tenderloin stew
Add beef tenderloin slices to a crisp salad
Beef tenderloin crostini

Best Roast Beef Recipes

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