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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 made this last year and it was amazing! If I did a 2 lb roast, would this impact the cook times?
Hey Emily,
So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe last year! Absolutely, you will probably want to cut the cook time in half as well as the entire recipe:) I hope this helps! xTieghan
Hi! Can’t wait to try this! I have always heard to sear the beef on the outside before putting it in the oven – to get nice color; do you recommend that? Why or why not, thanks!
Hi Kathy,
You can totally do that! Either way is just fine:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Do you tie up the beef tenderloin before cooking? I have seen some recipes recommend this.
Hey Jennifer,
You definitely can tie the beef up! Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
I have a crowd of 20+ for
Christmas. How do I adjust quantities?
Hi Michele,
You can manually adjust the serving size above the list of ingredients and the ingredients list with automatically adjust accordingly. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
I want to make this for this Christmas, it sounds amazing! Are you cooking the mushrooms on the stove top before adding the roast and transferring to the oven? or just tossing them in the oil at room temp? Also, how do you think this would come out in an electric roaster rather than in the oven??
Hey Jenn,
You are not cooking the mushrooms, just tossing them in the olive oil. I have never used an electric roaster, so I really don’t know what the results would be. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Made this for a dinner party and beef came out great! The creamy white wine sauce unfortunately broke / separated when I added the whole milk in. Maybe I should have used heavy cream instead but all I had on hand was whole milk; all my heavy cream went to mashed potatoes 🙂 It was fine without the sauce but I think if the sauce came out how it should have it would have been fantastic.
Hey Nicole,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Sorry to hear about the sauce. xTieghan
Hi Tieghan! I love following HBH – my absolute fave. I’m going to give this a try for a holiday party next week – any suggestions for baking if I don’t have an oven-safe skillet? Thank you!!
Hi Caroline,
I would just transfer to an oven safe pan. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Gonna give this a good try this year I think!! Any recommendations other than mushrooms? My Hubby is not a fan of mushrooms.
Hi Sarah,
Carrots would also work well here. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan!!
This recipe looks incredible! Do you sear the meat before baking in the oven or just rub the raw meat and place in the oven safe skillet?
Thank you so much! I love following you and enjoy every recipe I make of yours!
Hi Alison,
I do not sear the meat, you can follow the instructions as is:) I hope you love the recipe. Happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan
Hi, What can I use besides a skillet?
Hi there! You could use a dutch oven or a large pan as well 🙂 xxTieghan
Can you please reccomend a type of white wine. I plan on making this for Christmas. Thank you
We are trying to find a pan big enough — would a roasting pan or baking sheet be better than cutting the tenderloin in half to fit on our cast iron skillets?
Hi Erin,
I would go with a roasting pan. I hope you love the recipe and happy holidays! xTieghan
I would like to make this for Christmas. What side dishes would you recommend to compliment this entree?
Some brussel sprouts, the harvest honeycrisp and feta salad, some yummy mashed potatoes, or the parker house rolls! 🙂 xxTieghan
Absolutely perfect stunner that is so easy to make!
Happy Thursday! So glad this recipe was enjoyed and thanks for making it! xTieghan
Another winner!!! If you like steak this is heaven!!!
Hey Melanie,
I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a go! xTieghan
So good and such an easy recipe to follow! I enjoyed cooking it almost as much as I enjoyed eating it!
Hey Sheryl,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Happy Monday! xTieghan
The cooking time was off (even though I used a smaller cut of tenderloin) and the cream sauce broke.
Hey Brittany,
So sorry you had issues with the recipe, please let me know if I can help in anyway. xTieghan