This Easy Top Round Roast Beef Recipe is going to become a regular in your house after you see how easy it is to make, how tender and perfect it comes out every time, and how versatile the left overs are. With only five minutes of preparation time and the most perfect flavor, your family will love this easy roast beef recipe.
FIVE MINUTE EASY ROAST BEEF RECIPE
I have this group of friends that I text with every single day. They are hilarious moms who absolutely get it when my life is an absolute show. (You know what kind of show. Don’t make me swear on the blog.) They make me laugh. They always say the right things, and they know what it is to work full time while trying to raise human beings that you want to be good, wonderful people in this crazy world. And! They sometimes like to make my recipes. I love this because they wouldn’t tell me they are good if they sucked. So when they say that my Butter Chicken Recipe is delicious, you can take that to the bank. (Who talks like that and when did I become 80? <—- The kind of thing I would text them.)
I have already sent them pictures of this roast beef recipe and I can’t wait for them to try it. One said that I won her over by saying that it was five minutes prep. That was the whole reason I sent it to them. I know their lives because I’m living it too. Dinner needs to be delicious, but it also needs to be fast and easy to make, and this easy top round roast beef recipe is both of those things.
Side bar: Another one said, “I can’t wait to eat Lisa’s beef,” and we all died laughing, and decided that needed to go on a t-shirt.
HOW TO COOK ROAST BEEF
Full disclosure: You do not make this recipe in a cast iron pan, so put that baby away until you need to make some bacon. (Oooo, this would be good with bits of bacon.) I just thought it would photograph beautifully in the cast iron skillet, and it does. But for this recipe you really need a roasting pan fitted with a rack. I bought mine for $20 at a local department store and it is a great investment. You can also find one here. Another full disclosure: So many of these great tips came from my time with Certified Angus Beef that resulted in this amazing Top Round Roast Beef Recipe.
- As mentioned above, place the roast beef in a roasting pan fitted with a rack. This allows air to circulate around the roast, which is what you want.
- Start with the oven at 450 degrees. This will sear the outside of the roast beef, given it a nice crisp outside.
- After fifteen minutes, reduce the heat to 325. This will let the roast finish cooking and be nice and tender at the end.
- Use an oven proof thermometer to keep an eye on the internal temperature. You want to remove the top round roast right around 135 to 140 degrees for a nice medium rare roast. This will give you a nice red center.
- Remove the roast and tent it with foil, letting it rest for 10 minutes before slicing thin. This will prevent the juices from running out and will leave you with a juicer cut once you do slice it.
- Thinnly slice the roast beef against the grain.
ROAST BEEF LEFT OVERS
Assuming you have top round roast beef left overs, though I would not be surprised if you don’t have any, there are so many great ways that you can eat it.
STORING IT
This roast can be kept in the refrigerator in an air tight container for three to four days.
REHEATING IT
There are many different methods when it comes to reheating roast beef. I sliced the entire roast before storing it. Then when I went to reheat it, I put the sliced pieces in a 9×13 baking dish covered with tin foil. I preheated my oven to 350 degrees. When the oven hit the right temperature, I put the meat in and turned off the heat. I let it warm in there for about 15 minutes and then it was the perfect temperature for the left overs.
EATING IT
- Roast Beef Sandwich – We layered the reheated thin slices of roast beef on French baguettes, topped them with provolone cheese, and put them under the broiler until the cheese was melted. Nathan put horseradish sauce on his. Yummy!
- Steak Salad – Okay, not technically steak. But this roast beef is perfect on a simple green salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, and red peppers with some ranch dressing. It would also be amazing on this strawberry spinach salad or my favorite roasted beet salad.
- Roast Beef Breakfast Bowl – Next time we have left overs, I’m going to add them to some hash browns, onions, and eggs, for a breakfast bowl!
GREAT SIDE DISHES FOR THIS TOP ROUND ROAST BEEF RECIPE
There are so many great sides that would go with this roast beef!
- Baked Potato Wedges
- Oven Roasted Asparagus
- Crispy Brussels Sprouts
- Brown Sugar Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Broccoli and Rice Casserole
If you make this easy top round roast beef recipe or any of my other recipes, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
Easy Top Round Roast Beef Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 pound top round roast
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 2 cloves fresh garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley minced (optional)
- caramelized onions for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Fit a rack in a roasting pan and set aside.
- Rub the top round roast with the olive oil. Then spread the salt, black pepper and garlic over it. Do your best to cover not only the top and bottom but the sides.
- Place the seasoned roast on the rack in roasting pan. Put (uncovered) in the oven for 15 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 325. Roast for another 20 to 60 minutes or until the a thermometer reads between 135 and 140. (see note)
- Remove from the oven, loosely tent with foil, and allow the roast to rest for 10 minutes. Slice thin, and enjoy. See post for details about reheating and left over ideas.
Notes
Video
Cari Fallis says
I used regular black pepper instead of cracked pepper. It was VERY peppery!!! I also had to put the meat back into the oven after 15 mins at 450, and 40 mins at 325, because I could have given it a bandaid and helped it up and walk away…
Even with the extra 20 minutes, it was quite rare (which is fine for us).
I’ll try this again, with longer cook time, different pepper. Thanks!
Hi Cari! I like making really thin slices so that the taste of the pepper on the outside isn’t overwhelming. That said, maybe cut it back a little next time, it is definitely a matter of preference.
As for the cook time, it is so difficult on this recipe to give my readers an accurate time frame since the thickness of the top round roast can vary so greatly. I would recommend investing in an instant read thermometer that is oven proof. They run about $25 and they are so helpful for so many different recipes to make sure you are pulling out the meat the exact point you want.
Bret says
So is there a way to make this top round with potatoes and carrots. I know an hour isn’t long enough to cook those. Thank you
Hi Bret! I would need to play around it with you to give you something concrete, but I think if they were cut small enough and if you had a thick round roast that required a little more than an hour it would work well.
Janet Wagley says
Sounds great! Could an eye of round be used?
Yes, it should work fine with eye of round. Just be sure to keep a close eye on the temperature so it isn’t over done and make sure to slice it thin.
Margie says
Really excellent and so easy!
So glad you liked it!
Loretta says
I will be trying this recipe soon. I notices in your picture that you show pieces of rosemary, but I don’t see that in the recipe. Can you add rosemary?
It was just for pretty picture garnish, Loretta :)
Karen A says
First absolutely love that it isn’t imposing with the ingredients, and doesn’t take long. So easy and after resting, sliced and tasted… had to Drag myself away so there’d be some left for dinner!
So happy you liked it, Karen! It’s one of my family’s favorites too!
Bec says
I cooked as described at 425 degrees for 15 min and did not seat. The temp already said 140! I didn’t know what to do except broil the top to make it brown. We will see what happens. It’s probably currently overcooking.
Hi Bec! I’m so sorry this didn’t work fo you. I’m not sure what you mean by “did not seat.” I’m guessing that was an autocorrect. If you get back to me, I’d be happy to walk you through what you could try next time.
Donelle Cushing says
Pretty sure its supposed to say sear, not seat!!
Steph says
Do you put water in bottom of pan ? Steph
Nope, no need for water in the pan.
Joan Swan says
We are seniors in this house so, like many others of our age, we like our beef pink not red. How long should I cook a 3 pound roast to keep it as tender as possible and still have it chewable for our made to measure teeth? Also, thankyou for all the wonderful recipes you send. I have tried a few so far and I am impressed with the variety of meats and fruit and vegs you suggest. Keep them coming please.
Hi Joan! First of all, thank you so much for your kind words. Second, the best bet with this recipe is to get an instant read thermometer. Even better if you can get one with a long wire prob that allows you to keep it in the meat as it cooks. You will likely need to add about 20 minutes to the end to get it more well done. It sounds like you are looking for something in the medium well to well done, which is 150 to 160 degrees. And then, finally, make sure to slice this meat really thin. A really sharp knife helps with this, and it makes all the difference in enjoying it.
MrsSW says
Your recipe sounds great and I’m eager to try it but why not use a cast iron skillet with a rack?
Thanks,
Sheila
MrsSW says
PS – the “new” blog looks terrific. :)
Sheila