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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.
I have been cooking for 20 years and have made probably hundreds of HBH recipes in the last several years (all delicious) and this is EASILY one of the MOST delicious things I have ever cooked or eaten. Truly, SO much flavor. My family couldn’t stop raving about it. We may have shed a tear when it was over. I served it with the HBH garlic mashed potatoes which went perfectly with it. SO yum! This will be our Christmas dinner for years to come.
Hey Sarah,
Happy New Year!🎆🎈 I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment! So glad to hear it was enjoyed! xx
This so good. We will make this every Christmas. The sauce was so good I would eat it on a flip flop.
Hey Brooke,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Thanks for your comment! xx
Made this Christmas for dinner. It was amazing!! I was skeptical about the mustard but it was undetectable. I used my mini electric chopper to crush the peppercorns. They made for a nice outside crust. The mushrooms and white wine cream sauce were oh, so good!! Definitely will make it every time I make a tenderloin. Thanks, Tieghan❣️🎄🎅🏻
Hey Sandy,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you and appreciate you giving it a try! xT
What an amazing yet very easy recipe. I was able to get beef tenderloin for only 9.99 a lb, yay! Our mouths were watering the whole time we were cooking. The only bummer was I forgot to bring a meat thermometer up to our cabin, so we had to guess and after slicing we had to throw it back in. Never less it was so tender and the mushroom white wine sauce was so velvety smooth and flavorful, just next level. Merry Christmas to you and your lovely family, and thank you for all recipes you share daily. They are the best gift!
Hey Suzanne,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you and appreciate you giving it a try! xT
This was absolutely delicious! I made this for Christmas Day dinner and it did not disappoint, my husband says it was the best Christmas dinner he’s had!
I did sear the meat before putting it in the oven. By the way, I made your cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning as well, thank you for making all our Christmas food such an overwhelming success! Everything was amazing!
Hey Marina,
Happy Holidays!!☃️ I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
A very special dish for a perfect Christmas Eve dinner—I can’t describe how delicious it was and so simple and quick to prepare for something that tastes like a five-star restaurant. We had HBH Cheesy Scalloped potatoes and some broiled lobster tails for just the best holiday meal—so wonderful!
Hey Lucy,
Happy Monday!❄️ I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! xx
Your pictures look like the tenderloin was tied? When/ why do we do that? Tenderloin newbie here.
Hey Andrea,
You can tie your tenderloin before cooking, I usually have my butcher do it for me, it ensures for even cooking. Let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
Hi there! I know this recipe calls for tenderloin but would a sirloin work too? Thanks!
Hey Isabella,
Sorry, I wouldn’t recommend using a sirloin for this recipe, it’s going to cook completely differently than a tenderloin. Let me know if you have any other questions! xT
I’m so excited to make this for Christmas eve dinner this year. What sides would you serve with this? Thanks so much =)
Hey Victoria,
Here’s some ideas for you:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/christmas-salad/
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/make-ahead-roasted-garlic-mashed-potatoes/
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/candy-cane-bagels/
I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
I made this last year for Christmas Eve for my entire family and it was SUCH a hit that I’m making it again this year! I can’t wait. Not sure I can wait another year before making it again though.
Hey Kirsten,
Happy Holidays!!☃️ I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it and your comment! xT
This looks delicious! Our family loves your recipes. I make several each week!
Some of my kids really don’t like dijon mustard. Is there another mustard you would recommend or should I omit it altogether? Maybe I could cover just half the tenderloin with dijon? Thanks!
Hey Sarah,
Thanks so much for your kind message and making so many recipes! I would just skip the dijon for the kids:) Let me know how this recipe turns out! Happy Holidays! xT
Fantastic recipe! I have never made beef tenderloin before because I was afraid to mess up a $100+ piece of meat, but this was so simple and quick that I tried it for a party of 20. It came out perfectly! Everyone raved and all said they hadn’t tried to make one for the same reason. I had a 5.5 lb chateaubriand to save me from having to trim and tie and it was 120 in about 38 minutes. I used a rustic dijon, coarse kosher salt and finer pink Himalayan salt with fresh cracked pepper and covered the meat twice. I nearly forgot to put the butter on top but went back to add it after the meat had been in the oven a minute or so. My only complaint is that the butter smoked up the house a bit but I had plenty of time to air out. This will be my go-to holiday meal from now on!
Hey Kim,
Happy Holidays!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! Thanks for sharing your feedback and what worked well for you!🎁🎅
Hey Tieghan!
Will this still taste good if I don’t have an oven safe skillet? Will a simple roasting dish work?
Hey Julie,
Sure, that will be fine for you to do use! Let me know how this recipe turns out, I hope you love it! xT
What skillet are you using to go into oven at 475 degrees and how large? Thanks
Hi Nancy,
I use a Staub cast iron skillet that is 12 inches. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
What do you like to serve on the side with this? Thanks!
Hi Andrea,
I usually do a salad and mashed potatoes! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx