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Welcome to first full week of December…and happy Monday!
Just in case you aren’t already completely aware of this fact…it’s the most festive month of the year! The time of year when dinner parties are in full swing, and fancy menus items, like this Roasted Beef Tenderloin are just what everyone needs in their back pocket. Easy recipe ✔️ Delicious recipe ✔️ YES!
You guys, I’m sorry if all my Christmas talk is making you want to pull your hair out, but I literally just can’t help it. I think the crazy year I’ve had just has me so overjoyed for this month. I LOVE the month of December with all of its excitement. I also love how by the end of the month, things finally start to settle down and pretty much the whole world takes a chill pill, which is kind of needed for me at the moment. The year has been go, go, go for me, and I’ve loved every minute, but I have to say, I’m excited for Christmas Eve with my family. It’s a low-key night full of cooking, good food, plenty of cocktails for some, gift wrapping and hanging out by the fireplace. I mean, it’s still a crazy day, but in good way, that I 100% love. In fact Christmas Eve is probably my favorite day of the entire year. It’s probably the one day of the year that I don’t think about work. I just cook a good meal, listen to Christmas music and hang out with my family…and whomever is currently sharing my parents house…you just never know who’s gonna be there!
I wanted to kick off the month with my family’s Christmas Eve Dinner entree. Last year I did a standing rib roast, but this year I’m going back to the classic Gerard family meal of Christmas Eve roasted beef tenderloin.
I know it’s only the beginning of December, but I thought you planners of the world might appreciate me being on the ball this year. Plus, the entire month is dedicated to holiday eats, drinks, appetizers and a few easy dinners for busy nights. Are you excited yet? Because I am so excited…as if that wasn’t obvious before.
My family moved to Colorado when I was in 8th grade, but before that, every year my parents would host my dad’s side of the family for a Christmas Eve party. I want to say there were around twenty-five to thirty people, so our house was pretty packed. My mom always prepared the same meal ever year. Yup, a roasted beef tenderloin. My mom is a huge lover of good beef, but this cut right here is her favorite. Plus, I’m pretty sure my grandma (Dad’s mom) would serve it on Christmas Eve, before my mom started hosting the family gatherings, so really my mom was just carrying on the tradition.
Anyway, mom made beef tenderloin ever year, and when we moved, she continued to do so. When I started cooking however, I kind of wanted to get creative with the big dinner. I’ve cooked up a few different roasts over the last couple of years, always some kind of beef, but I’ve yet to try my hand at a beef tenderloin.
Well, that just changed, and to be completely honest, I may never have the urge to get creative again. Something about this meal is just so amazing. I mean, for one, it’s as easy as can be. I’m talking EASY, one skillet and ready in less than an hour. Seriously.
Two, it’s possibly one of the most delicious meals for anyone who eats meat, my family absolutely LOVES beef tenderloin and considers it a very special treat. I’m talking melt in your mouth kind of delicious treat.
The beef is seasoned simply with crushed peppercorn, kosher salt and Dijon mustard. If you don’t like mustard, don’t let that scare you off. It adds flavor, but in a subtle way. You’d never guess the mustard was there, but trust me, you need it.
The secret though? Just a little bit of butter…I can see my cousin rolling her eyes now, “more butter!?”. Yes Abby, more butter, but only a couple of tablespoons, and honestly, it really is the secret here. It’s what makes the meat just melt in your mouth and helps to make it tender, juicy and perfect.
I roasted the beef over a bed of mushrooms for yet another layer of flavor. The mushroom and pan drippings are what create the white wine cream sauce. Here’s the thing, while the steak is amazing on its own, this sauce takes it to a whole different level. The drippings from the pan create the most flavorful cream sauce and it’s probably the best thing ever when paired with beef tenderloin, for real.
So is your mouth-watering yet? Because I know any family member of mine who may be reading this is going to be kicking themselves that they weren’t around to eat this one. Don’t worry, Christmas Eve guys, Christmas Eve! Only nineteen days until I’ll be serving it up again.
Hoping this Gerard family favorite will now be on your family’s menu too!
Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Mushrooms and White Wine Cream Sauce.
Servings: 8 servings
Calories Per Serving: 503 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 (4-5) pound whole beef tenderloin, trimmed of fat
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup peppercorns, crushed, or fresh balck pepper
- kosher salt
- 16 ounces cremini mushrooms, halved
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
White Wine Cream Sauce
- 1/2 cup white wine (or chicken broth)
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
- 2 cups heavy cream or whole milk
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan
- kosher salt and pepper
Instructions
- 1. Allow the beef to come to room temperature for at least 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. 2. Rub the beef with mustard and season generously with peppercorns and salt.3. In a large oven safe skillet, toss the mushrooms with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place the beef over the mushrooms and insert a meat thermometer. Add the butter to the top of the beef. Transfer to the oven and roast until the beef registers 120 to 125 degrees F for medium-rare/rare, about 25-40 minutes, dependent on the size of your roast. 4. Remove the beef and mushrooms from the skillet to a serving plate and cover will foil. Let rest 10 minutes before slicing.5. Meanwhile, make the cream sauce. Place the same skillet used to roast the beef over high heat. Add the wine and scrape up any browned bits off the pan. Simmer 3-5 minutes or until the wine has reduce by about 1/3 to 1/2. Add the butter and thyme and continue cooking another 2 minutes until the butter has melted into the sauce. Slowly pour in the cream and bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 5 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Remove from the heat and stir in the parmesan. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.6. Slice the beef and serve with the warm cream sauce and roasted mushrooms.
ps. if you wanted to give this beef a try before Christmas, I think it would make an awesome Monday dinner. Obviously.
This post was originally published on December 5, 2016
How does the sauce do if I make a day ahead? Trying to prepare a meal for someone coming home from the hospital. Thought I could sear the roast today then finish out the baking tomorrow?
HI! You can make the sauce ahead and re-warm over low heat on the stove. For the meat, I would sear and then cook right after. I worry it will cook up differently after searing, chilling, and then cooking again. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
Also, hope whomever you are feeding is feeling better!
Was a great meal. My wife (who hates med rare) tried it on the rare side. I was amazingly delicious
It helps also to buy meat fresh from our local butcher (Maltese Grocery)
I would cut out the salt when sautéeing the mushrooms
Thank you so much Reggie! I am so glad you and your wife enjoyed this dish!
Hi Tammy!
I am making this for Christmas dinner and am so excited. Due to cost, I went with a 6lb prime rib roast instead of tenderloin. Do you recommend I cook it any differently?
This looks delicious! Do you sear the tenderloin before placing it on top of the mushrooms? Thanks!
HI Rachel! I do not sear the tenderloin first, but if you’d like to, that works fine as well! Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Happy Holiday’s ? 🙂
35-45 minutes with mushrooms in a 475 degree oven? That sounds like a horrible idea but the recipe sounds delish!
HI! Are you asking a question? Not sure exactly what you are asking. Can you clarify? It is 35-45 minutes in the oven. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Happy Holidays ? 🙂
I think I’m going to give this a shot for hosting on Christmas Day! What variations would you recommend for making enough to feed 25 people?
HI! I would buy two large beef tenderloin roast (the whole roast) and then adjust the cooking time. It shouldn’t be too different as most roast are similar in size. It really just depends on how many pounds each roast is (most are about 4-5 pounds). Hoping this helps a little! Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Happy Holiday’s ? 🙂
I made this for Thanksgiving this year and it was great! But I couldn’t get the sauce to come together, it totally separated into a watery liquid on top with cheese clumps on the bottom. Not sure what I did wrong… What kind of wine do you use for this? Maybe my Chardonnay was the culprit? Thanks for the recipes!!!
HI! I use a chardonnay too, so I don’t think that is the issue. What kind of parmesan did you use? It’s so hard to know what went wrong without knowing just how you made this. So sorry for the trouble, but happy you enjoyed the recipe! Please let me know if you have other questions. Thanks! 🙂
Thank you so much for this fantastic recipe! I made it yesterday for Thanksgiving/anniversary dinner for my parents. It turned out great. I did have to cook the meat a bit longer but that was no issue. My problem was the sauce. I cooked it exactly like the directions stated but it was thin and runny. When I was cleaning the pan out later I noticed that the Parmesan cheese didn’t seem to melt in. I don’t know what I did wrong. The flavor of the sauce was great it just wasn’t thick like your picture.
HI Jamie! It’s so weird that your cheese did not melt. Was it already grated parmesan or did you grate it yourself? I always use fresh grated, so this is the only thing that I can think might have happened. So sorry for the trouble, but glad everyone enjoyed the recipe! Please let me know if you have other questions. Thanks! 🙂
I did use packaged parmesan so maybe that is what happened.
Can I use my dutch oven for this recipe? And if I can, should I keep it uncovered or put the lid on when it is roasting in the oven?
Yes, a dutch oven will be great! keep it uncovered. Let me know if you have questions. Hope you love this! 🙂
What is the red spices that are in the picture? I want to add a little color to mine as well?
Those are pink peppercorns! 🙂
Just made this tonight and it was sooooooo incredibly delicious!! Plates looked like they were licked clean and I felt like a five star chef. Thanks for sharing! This will be my family/friend gathing recipe from now on.
Hi,
So I made this tonight for dinner and the time listed to baked the tenderloin wasn’t even close. We had a 4.5 lb tenderloin and after being in the over at 475 for 45 mins the meat was completely raw in the center still. We eventually had to slice it up and pan sear it to speed up the process and serve our guests. It was very tasty and my husbands favorite at home dinner but be sure to allow yourself way way more time then recommended.
Hi! So sorry the cook time was much longer than anticipated! Sometimes its very hard to know with different cuts of beef. Sounds like you made it all okay and it was yummy! Thanks for making it!
I made this for Christmas. It was very tasty but the cook time needs to be adjusted. I started with a half an hour and tested meat and it was 100 degrees at the ends. We cooked it longer and served the meat from the ends for those liked it less bloody. You need a meat thermometer for this one. I’ll be reheating the middle today without fear of overcooking because I know it is really rare in the middle.
I made this for Christmas dinner tonight. Followed your recipe exactly as written (although mine took a little bit longer to cook) and it was AMAZING and there were no leftovers. Thank you so much!!
So happy you guys liked it, thanks so much Lexey!
Hi Tieghan! I am planning on using this recipe for Christmas tomorrow. The only thing is that my family is lactose intolerant. Are there any red wine sauces that you could recommend? Thanks so much and Merry Christmas!
Hi Meghan! So sorry I did not catch your comment in time! Let me know if you are still looking for a red wine sauce! Hope you and your family had a Merry Christmas!
Looks delicious! Do you cover it with foil before placing it in the oven?
Thank you! No need to cover with foil. Let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this and Merry Christmas!