Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Sauce
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This beef tenderloin looks fancy, but it couldn’t be easier to make. It cooks up perfectly every time, and the rich red wine sauce takes it over the top. A total showstopper for any special dinner.
This beef tenderloin recipe is my #1 go-to for holidays and special occasions. It never fails to impress, and my foolproof method ensures perfectly cooked beef every time, with no guesswork. The tenderloin is paired with a red wine reduction sauce made by simmering wine, broth, and aromatics until the flavors concentrate, then finished with butter for a silky, gorgeous sauce that rivals anything you’d order at a fine restaurant. Yes, it’s fancy!
A great bonus is that the sauce can be prepared mostly in advance, so there’s very little fussing at the last minute. Similar to my pork tenderloin, this recipe is truly the best of both worlds: simple to prepare yet incredibly delicious.
“Voted best Christmas dinner ever!”
What You’ll Need To Make Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Sauce
- Beef tenderloin: The most tender and expensive cut of beef, this is the whole piece before it’s sliced into steaks, which are known as filet mignon (great for recipes like steak au poivre or pan-seared steaks). As a general rule, plan for about ½ pound per person for a generous serving. Your tenderloin may be tied with butcher’s twine near the tapered end to keep it evenly thick; leave the string on until after it is cooked. If it’s not tied, no worries—no tying is necessary.
- Butter: A portion is used for sautéing shallots, while the rest is combined with flour to create a beurre manié, which thickens the sauce.
- Shallots: Adds a mild onion flavor to the sauce.
- Red wine: Adds rich, fruity flavors and depth of color to the sauce. Any variety, such as Merlot, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, or Red Zinfandel, will work. When cooking with wine, choose an inexpensive bottle that’s still enjoyable to drink. Avoid supermarket “cooking wines,” which often contain salt and additives.
- Beef broth: Provides a savory base for the sauce; also used to deglaze the pan after roasting the beef.
- Thyme sprigs: Adds earthy, aromatic flavor to the sauce.
- All-purpose flour: Mixed with butter to create a beurre manié, a thickening agent for the sauce.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Make the Sauce: Melt the butter in a saucepan and cook the shallots over medium-low heat until soft. Add the wine, broth, thyme, salt, pepper, and sugar, then bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes until reduced by half. In a small bowl, mix a few more tablespoons butter with flour to form a paste. Gradually whisk the paste into the sauce and simmer until thickened. The sauce can be made a few days ahead up to this point.
Sear & Roast the Beef Tenderloin: Season the beef with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Don’t be shy with the seasoning; it needs a lot!
Heat the oil in an oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Cook until well browned with a nice crust on all but one side. Turn the tenderloin so that the un-seared side is down and transfer the skillet directly to a 400°F oven. I recommend using a leave-in meat thermometer with a remote monitor to keep an eye on the roast. These are ideal for cooking pricey cuts like tenderloin (they’re great for other dishes too, like turkey).
Roast until cooked to your liking, keeping in mind that the the internal temperature will continue to rise 5 to 10 degrees after being removed from the oven—this is known as carryover cooking.
Rare: 115°F-120°F
Medium Rare: 120°F-125°F
Medium: 130°F-135°F
Medium-Well: 140°F-145°F
Well Done: 150°F and above
Finish the Sauce and Carve the Beef: Set the pan on the stovetop, add the broth, and bring to a boil, deglazing by scraping up the brown bits with a wooden spoon. Add this flavorful broth to the wine sauce and bring it to a simmer.
Carve the roast into slices and serve, passing the red wine sauce at the table. The tenderloin is wonderful served over mashed potatoes with a simple vegetable, like French green beans or roasted Brussels sprouts.
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Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Sauce
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- ¾ cup finely chopped shallots, from 2 to 3 large shallots
- 1¼ cups red wine
- 3 cups beef broth
- 6 fresh thyme sprigs
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
For the Beef
- 1 (2 to 3 lb) center-cut beef tenderloin roast
- Kosher salt (½ teaspoon per pound of beef)
- Freshly ground black pepper (¼ teaspoon per pound of beef)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ¼ cup beef broth
Instructions
For the Sauce
- Melt 5 tablespoons of the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the shallots and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the wine, beef broth, thyme sprigs, salt, pepper and sugar, and bring to a boil. Cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes, or until the liquid is reduced by about half.
- While the liquid is reducing, place the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in a small bowl and soften in the microwave, if necessary (it should be soft but not melted). Add the flour and, using a small spoon, mix into a smooth paste.
- Once the wine mixture is reduced, reduce the heat to low and remove the thyme sprigs. Whisk the flour-butter paste, a tablespoon at a time, into the simmering liquid, and simmer for a few minutes, until the sauce is thickened. Set aside. (The sauce can be made up to this point and refrigerated up to 3 days ahead of time.)
For the Tenderloin
- Let the beef stand at room temperature for 1 hour before roasting. Set an oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C).
- Season the beef all over with kosher salt and pepper. Heat the oil in an oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Cook, turning with tongs, until well browned on all but one side, about 10 minutes total. Turn the tenderloin so that the un-seared side is down, and transfer the skillet directly to the preheated oven. (If your pan isn't oven-proof, transfer the beef to a lightly oiled roasting pan.) Roast until a thermometer inserted into the center of the meat registers 120°F to 125° (49°C to 52°C) for medium rare, about 15 minutes, or until done to your liking (115°F to 120°F/46°C to 49°C for rare, 130°F to 135°F/54°C to 57°C for medium). Keep in mind that these temperatures account for the fact that the temperature will continue to rise about 5 degrees while the meat rests.
- Transfer the meat to a carving board (preferably with a well for collecting juices) and let it rest, covered loosely with aluminum foil, for 10 to 15 minutes. Place a dishtowel or oven mitt over the handle of the roasting pan to remind yourself that it's hot.
- Meanwhile, carefully discard the fat from the roasting pan (remember that the handle is hot!). Set the pan on the stovetop and add the ¼ cup (60 ml) of broth. Bring the broth to a boil and, using a wooden spoon, scrape the fond, or brown bits, from the bottom of the pan. Add the flavorful broth to the red wine sauce, and then bring the sauce to a simmer.
- Carve the tenderloin into ½-inch (13-mm) thick slices. Serve the beef, passing the red wine sauce at the table.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Prepared the Red Wine Sauce used on our Beef Wellington made on New Years Eve. Wow this was fantastic and new to the buerre manié world!
I made this for Christmas 2020; it was delicious. I made the red wine sauce the day before and added sliced mushrooms sauteed in butter to it. (However, I forgot to add the searing juices to the sauce, oh well.) It was very convenient to be able to make the sauce beforehand. The beef tenderloin that I bought at Costco was perfectly cooked to 125 degrees and then I let it rest for a bit. It was served medium rare leaning toward rare. I found that the recipe timing was very accurate. I think in the future I might cook it to 130 degrees and let it rest. I will make this again and probably again; it was so good.
I made this recipe for our Christmas dinner this year. After reading many of the reviews I felt pretty good about serving this. It did no disappoint. I bought a 6 pound USDA prime tenderloin from Costco and used home made beef broth. It was fantastic! Cooked to perfection and so moist and tender. The sauce really put it over the top. I was expecting a lot of leftovers for sandwiches but there was not that much. Everyone went back for a second piece. Served it with potatoes au gratin with some carmelized onions worked in. Fantastic. I will definitely go back to this recipe. Thanks.
Wow! Another great recipe. The sauce was straightforward to make, but had the flavor of a top French restaurant. It was a perfect Christmas dinner. Thanks Jenn
My daughter was unable to have a large extended family and friend wedding reception for 180. Instead, we opted for an intimate siblings and parents only wedding with a dinner outside under our gazebo. I couldn’t get a caterer to come to our home to cook so I enlisted a couple close friends who are great cooks in their own right and a couple of HS girls to serve. I did a ton of prep the day before including making the appetizers, the sauce and the mashed potatoes. My menu included your beef tenderloin, seared lemon scallops, garlic mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus. I doubled the sauce as I had 3 tenderloins for 16 people ( wanted leftovers you know). It was absolutely wonderful. So delicious, tender, and cooked to perfection. I opted to serve it again for Christmas dinner. I wanted to enjoy it minus the blur of a wedding day. Of course, I made 2 tenderloins knowing the big boys would want more the next day. I had enough to take the leftover sauce, add some sauteed fresh mushrooms and a bit of cream. After heating it all up, I threw in some leftover tenderloin cut into 1-inch chunks and reheated just barely. I served it over egg noodles for a very delicious beef burgundy. Still some left for sandwiches. So really, one 3 lb tenderloin feeds 8 easily. One last comment, I really like your precise measurements. Once one becomes familiar with particular seasonings, then it’s easier to just wing it. It is very helpful for a new recipe. Thank you so much.
Cooked this exactly like your recipe. It was fantastic! That red wine sauce is better than any sauce I have tried in the past. Server it with air fryer French fries, spinach with a white sauce and Caesar salad.
I made it for Christmas Eve dinner. Amazing! Elegant and super delicious. Everyone was really happy 🙂
I made this dish for Christmas dinner with the Scalloped potatoes. The meat was perfect and the red wine sauce was excellent as were the potatoes. Definitely will make again!!
Hi Jenn,
What cut of beef did you use for your recipe? Prime or Choice? We made this for Christmas dinner and used a prime cut, but had almost nothing in drippings to add to the sauce. Is prime too lean of a cut? Overall the dinner was delicious, and will definitely be making again, but I will make two separate batches of the sauce instead of doubling it the first time. I’m not sure it tasted or looked quite like your recipe.
Also any suggestions for keeping the meat and sauce hot while serving? It seemed to cool off so quickly. Thank you!
Hi Lynn, the prime cut explains your lack of drippings (because it’s so lean). This is the one cut of beef where a choice cut is preferable to prime. Regarding keeping the meat and sauce hot while you’re serving, you could keep them in covered dishes. I wouldn’t do anything like a warming tray as that will continue to cook the meat.
Thanks so much for the info. Choice it will be for next Christmas. A delicious recipe overall!!
Happy New Year!
Lynn B
Actually, prime cuts have more marbling, which means MORE fat. Choice cuts are more lean. Just for clarification.
This was the most tender and juicy tenderloin I have ever prepared thank you for sharing this will be a great company treat when we are allowed to all get together again
Hands down the best beef tenderloin recipe I’ve had the pleasure of using. It was easy to follow, easy to prepare, and the final gourmet result far exceeded the ease of making it. The red wine sauce was a huge success at our Christmas dinner, and paired perfectly with the potato gratin and roasted carrots. I prepared mine the day ahead and it reheated nicely. It was a bit thick but once I added the juices from the roasting pan it thinned out to a thinner and smoother consistency. I had a bit of sauce leftover and used it on a seared duck breast the next day and it was also heavenly! I will be using this recipe again and again and have already sent it to a few family members.