BEST Beef Tenderloin Recipe

This Beef Tenderloin recipe makes a decadent, celebratory roast that’s tender and juicy with a delicious brown crust. Our time-tested method and simple tips deliver the best beef tenderloin you’ll love for holidays and special occasions!

Perfectly cooked Beef Tenderloin is absolutely delicious! It’s a costly cut of beef that always takes center stage and is usually served for Christmas, holidays, and special celebrations. My recipe uses two ingredients, so the key to its delicious results lies in the steps and tips I share for preparing it. Those steps produce the best beef tenderloin, which melts in your mouth like butter!

Why you’ll love this family favorite recipe!

Beef tenderloin makes a special meal to prepare, serve, and share with friends and family. There are so many ways to prepare a whole beef tenderloin, but one thing I’ve learned over the years of preparing it – simple really is best.

Once I learned the simple tips I share with you in my recipe, I haven’t looked back. People always compliment it, most go back for seconds, and I am always asked for the recipe. I think you’ll love it, too.

BEST Beef Tenderloin Recipe

This recipe makes the best Beef tenderloin with just two ingredients and simple preparation. This beef tenderloin recipe couldn’t get much easier!

It’s one of those meals that my entire family looks forward to all day. It’s simple to prepare and delivers big flavor that is sure to impress your family and guests. They’ll swear you were in the kitchen working away over it for hours.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Easy recipe. This amazing beef tenderloin recipe is so easy! In summary, season the beef, refrigerate to brine, roast, then slice, serve, and enjoy.
• Two ingredients. You’ll use my favorite house seasoning blend and beef tenderloin. That’s it.
• Tender, juicy, flavorful beef every time. A beef tenderloin that is melt-in-your-mouth tender and full of flavor in every bite!

How to Cook Beef Tenderloin

Our beef tenderloin makes such a delectable, memorable meal your family and guests will love!

Ingredients for Beef Tenderloin

• Whole Beef Tenderloin – Plan on two 2-inch filets per person. (If your grocer doesn’t keep beef tenderloin in stock, ask your butcher to order one so that you can pick it up a couple of days or so before you plan to serve it to allow for adequate prep time.)
• Stone House Seasoning – This is my family’s seasoning blend. It imparts incredible flavor to beef tenderloin, resulting in a showstopper dish. *You can use Kosher Salt ONLY instead of the Stone House Seasoning, or use kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Kosher Salt is important in the prep of the beef tenderloin.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Dry Brine the Beef Tenderloin

Make sure the beef is completely thawed. Pat the tenderloin dry with paper towels and place it on a rimmed baking sheet.

Season the tenderloin all over with Stone House Seasoning (or Kosher salt and/or freshly ground black pepper).

Once seasoned, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator for at least one hour or up to four days before cooking.

I’ve found that the longer I let the Stone House Seasoning rest on the beef, the more flavor it develops when cooked!

Before cooking, remove the beef from the refrigerator and let it stand for about an hour to reach room temperature.

The seasoning used to dry-brine the beef forms a delicious crust on the tenderloin as it roasts, always impressing.

Cook the Beef Tenderloin

You can prepare my recipe in the oven, on the grill (or smoker or Big Green Egg if you prefer a smoky flavor).

While the beef is standing to reach room temperature, preheat the oven or grill to 400°F.

Place in oven and using an internal meat thermometer, allow to reach 140 degrees in the thicker areas and 145 degrees in the thinner areas, about 45 minutes. *See note to follow if you desire more rare beef.

Then, remove the beef from the oven or grill, tent it with foil, and rest for about 5 to 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Serve the Beef Tenderloin

After the beef has rested for a few minutes, remove the foil tent and place it on the serving platter. I garnished my platter with fresh rosemary.

No further seasoning is needed as the Stone House Seasoning (or kosher salt and ground pepper) was applied during the dry brining process and has soaked into the beef for flavor.

Slice only the number of filets you need for serving immediately. This helps to maintain the most moisture in the beef. As a rule of thumb, I plan for two 2-inch servings per person.

My family enjoys this served with Horseradish Sauce on the side.

Storage Tips

To store: Store any remaining tenderloin in an airtight food container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

To reheat: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the slices on a rimmed baking sheet covered with foil. Bake until each filet reaches 145º F.

Looking for more celebratory main dish recipes? I think you’ll also love my Prime Rib Recipe, Roast Turkey, and Baked Ham.

Here’s my Beef Tenderloin Recipe. I hope you love it as much as we do!

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Beef Tenderloin

Robyn Stone

5 from 5 votes

This Beef Tenderloin recipe makes a decadent celebratory roast that's tender and juicy with a delicious brown crust. Our time-tested recipe and simple tips result in the best beef tenderloin recipe you'll love for holidays and special occasions!

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 8

Equipment

• Instant Read Thermometer

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 whole beef tenderloin, Plan two 2″ filets per person
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Stone House Seasoning, *Or just Kosher Salt and/or freshly ground pepper in place of Stone House.

Instructions 

• Place beef tenderloin on a rimmed baking sheet, pat dry with paper towels and season both sides of the meat with Stone House Seasoning. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour or up to 4 days before you plan on cooking and serving.
• Remove from the refrigerator, unwrap and allow to stand for about an hour to come to room temperature.
• Meanwhile, preheat grill or oven to approximately 400º F.
• Place tenderloin onto grill or in the oven. Allow the beef tenderloin to cook until it reaches 145º F when checked with an internal meat thermometer in the thinner areas and 140º F in the thicker area, about 45 minutes.
• Remove from grill and cover loosely with aluminum foil and allow to rest on the carving board for about 15 minutes prior to carving and serving.

Notes

Total time does not include resting times used in this recipe.

Note: If you desire your beef at a different doneness than that given in the recipe, consult the temperature chart and remove it from the oven when the desired temperature is reached. Otherwise, follow the recipe as written.

• • 115º F – 120º F for rare

• • 125º F – 130º F for medium rare

• • 135º F – 140º F for medium

• • 145º F – 150º F for medium well

*There are thicker and thinner areas in the beef tenderloin so be sure to check the temperatures for both areas. 

Storage Tips:

To store: Store any remaining tenderloin in an airtight food container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

To reheat: Preheat oven to 350º F. Place slices on a rimmed baking sheet covered with foil. Bake until each filet is reheated to 145º F.

Nutrition

Calories: 238kcal

Protein: 35g

Fat: 10g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Enjoy!
Robyn xo

From the Add a Pinch recipe archives. Originally published in 2010.