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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Hi, Jenn,
I tried leaving this question last week; I hope you view it today! I have guests coming for our Chanukah-Christmas dinner who absolutely cannot eat wheat at all. Is it possible to substitute cornstarch in the beurre manie? I’m hoping because it’s such a small amount of flour, the cornstarch sub won’t affect the taste. I hope you say yes! Thank you very much!
Hi Anne, Sorry I missed that! I think cornstarch will work, but I would go about incorporating it a bit differently. I would add all of the butter in the beginning, then instead of the beurre manie, I would make a cornstarch slurry with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of cold water. Add the slurry little by little at the end, whisking to combine and letting the sauce thicken with each addition, until the sauce is thickened to your liking. You may not need all of it. I’d love to know how it turns out if you try it!
Hello Jenn
Why is one side of the tenderloin left unseared?
Thank you
Debbie
Hi Debbie, It’s not necessary to sear that side as it’s the side that’s in contact with the skillet and will cook in the oven. Hope that clarifies!
Thank you Jenn for answering my question.
Dear Jenn,
My butcher said it is fine to purchase the tenderloin almost a week ahead of roasting. Is this really so?
The red wine sauce is the best!
Thank you!
Hi Diana, I’d typically trust the butcher, but a week sounds like a long time to me. If I were in your shoes, I’d probably wait to buy it until a little closer to serving it.
Hi Jenn
I had commented on the person who asked you this question, however I should’ve asked you. I purchased a large tenderloin from Costco , as I have done in the past. It’s vacuum sealed & says sell by 12/25? Now I’m concerned.do I need to freeze it? Or just let it be?
Thanks!
Hi Calley, If you leave it in the packaging it should be just fine in the fridge until Christmas (vacuum sealed meat typically keeps in the fridge for about 10 days), but if you’re nervous about it, I would call the butcher at Costco and ask what they recommend.
I have a very slight disagreement on the red wine choices for the sauce. Some of those in the list are fruit bombs, others are big tannin wines. Both of ends of the spectrum concentrate in the reduction. I personally have standardized on Petite Syrah for red wine sauce. When reduced it is neither “jammy” or astringent. With that modification, I am going to try this for my first turkey-less thanksgiving in 60+ years!
SO GOOD!!! I found this randomly when looking for a red wine sauce to add to a roast beef I was making. The sauce was AMAZING and I saved this recipe to try the whole thing. I’ve made it for 2 or 3 holidays so far and everyone loves it. I have never really been the one to cook the main course for a holiday (I usually make most of the sides) and this recipe is so well explained that you’d never know I’m an amateur. I will forever make this recipe for Christmas!!! THANK YOU!!
Can someone tell me how long I should leave it in the oven? I don’t like relying on a thermometer to tell me when my meat is done.
Meat doneness is a function of temperature not time. If you don’t believe me, learn about sous vide cooking. If I keep the bath at 130 degrees, it doesn’t matter if the meat is in for 1 hour or 3 hours – that steak will be medium no matter what.If you’re cooking by time, then I’m assuming that half the time when you cook your meat it’s either over-done or under-done (raw) or your frequently cutting into it to look.
Hi Jen! I have a port I’ve used to make a reduction for steaks before, do you think that would work well here too if I left out the sugar? Want to make this sauce to go with some seared sirloin soon
Hi Bubbles, I haven’t tried it, but I think it should work.
Update: it was fantastic! Thank you so much for this recipe!😄
Can I ask how much Port you used?
Delicious with one exception. Cooked it to 125 degrees before letting it rest, and for me that was over cooked. Should’ve cooked it to 120 degrees.
As long as I have been making the tenderloin roast or any beef roast, I always without fail, took the roast out at 120 degrees. Always came out medium rare.
Hi Jenn, just wondering roughly how many cups of red wine sauce I’ll get from 1 recipe. Thanks!
Hi Jane, I’d guesstimate it will give you about 2.5 cups of sauce.
Hello! I was wondering if this recipe could be made with a red wine substitute(if you abstain from using alcohol)
Thank you!
Hi Farah, unfortunately, there’s not a great substitute for the wine. This would also be nice with a horseradish cream sauce if you want to give that a try.
I have also done a non-alcoholic similar sauce (to the red wine) but using Urbani truffle paste. Both the black and white have been amazing. Essentially start with the same butter and shallot base and then add the truffle paste and finish with heavy cream. I kind of eyeball the amounts so forgive the lack of measurements. You will not need a thickening agent in this sauce.
You can use wine if you’re abstaining from alcohol because the recipe requires that you reduce and simmer for 30 minutes. All the alcohol will evaporate before the water content does because alcohol has a much lower heat of vaporization then water. After 30, minutes not one molecule of CH3 CH2 OH will exist in the sauce