Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Sauce
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Impress your guests with this easy yet elegant beef tenderloin recipe. Cooked to perfection and paired with a rich red wine sauce, it’s a foolproof dish that’s sure to steal the spotlight at any special meal.
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
Wow your guests with ease! My roasted beef tenderloin paired with a rich red wine sauce is simple, sophisticated, and foolproof.
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- ¾ cup finely chopped shallots, from 2-3 large shallots
- 1¼ cups red wine
- 3 cups beef broth
- 6 fresh thyme sprigs
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon 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.
- 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-125° for medium rare, about 15 minutes, or until done to your liking (115°F-120°F for rare, 130°F-135°F 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 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-thick slices. Serve the beef, passing the red wine sauce at the table.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 1,001
- Fat: 61 g
- Saturated fat: 26 g
- Carbohydrates: 9 g
- Sugar: 3 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 49 g
- Sodium: 1093 mg
- Cholesterol: 233 mg
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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Made this today, 12/25/2023, and made it as written. Used a nice Pinot Noir I found for a not so bad price and set to work assembling. I suspected that my other half would definitely NOT like it as she often does not like foods cooked in or with wine. I am slowly changing her mind but have never made a sauce this heavy in wine before. This was a test today.
Delicious sauce! My wife wanted to practically drink this sauce and requested extra on her plate because my drizzle wasn’t generous enough I guess.
Thank you for this one. Truly. It was easy to execute and was so worth the effort to peel and dice shallots.
Hello can I make red wine sauce a few hours before so make it mid morning and leave it on stove until dinner around 5?
Hi Brandon, You can definitely make it ahead, but I’d pop it in the fridge and then reheat it prior to serving.
If you are making wine sauce the day before or the morning of, can you just leave it in the stainless steel pan and stick in frig or should you transfer the wine sauce to another container?
Hi Cindy, It’s fine to leave it in the pan; just be sure to let it cool to room temp first. Enjoy!
Hi Jenn,
Love all your recipes. Am planning on making the Roast Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Sauce for Christmas Dinner along with the potatoes au gratin.
However, I have a problem – my oven is broken and I only have a Cuisinart toaster oven that I can use.
I certainly can make either recipe in the toaster oven but not both since they each take an hour. My husband suggested we use our kitchen aid CHARCOAL GRILL to make one of these. Can you please help me, should I attempt to make the potatoes au gratin on the grill or the tenderloin and how do I adjust for temperature control?
Hi Phyllis, I’d put the tenderloin in the grill. After searing, just place it over indirect heat with the lid closed. You can adjust the vents to control the heat as it cooks. Hope that helps and please LMK how it turns out!
Hi Jenn,
Christmas Dinner was perfection! Didn’t end up putting the tenderloin on the grill per your suggestion as I didn’t want to miss out in not having any of the pan juices to add to the wine sauce. Was going to have my hubby put the potatoes au gratin on the grill, however, the timer went off at 115 degrees for the meat in about 20 minutes. Took it out of the oven to rest covered with foil. By this time we were still waiting for the coals to heat up to make the potatoes so I just put the potatoes in the toaster oven, when they were done, made the asparagus and then warmed the demi baguettes. Even though the timing on the meal wasn’t perfect – Dinner was wonderful, the tenderloin was perfectly done (medium-rare) and only a small portion of the tenderloin was left and the potatoes au gratin was devoured by all. My guests and I loved everything. Can’t wait to make it again for a special occasion.
Just made! It came out fabulous! For those who are gluten free – i used King Arthur cup for cup as flour sub instead of corn starch. The texture is perfect! I would make sure you don’t rush it – make sure the flour/butter mixture is completely incorporated in before adding. I did corn starch before but I personally think the flour sub worked out a little better.
Made this today. Followed recipe exactly. It’s is an easy wonderful recipe, as are all your recipes. I have your books too.
I don’t have a thermometer and like it more on medium side, so I cooked it in the oven for 18 mins, came out great.
Hi, this sounds amazing and planning to make it for Christmas dinner for 14 people. I have three 5lb tenderloins. will they cook ok of all three placed in oven? Thanks in advance.
Hi Melissa, yes they will cook although they may take a touch longer because the oven will be more crowded. I definitely recommend using a remote thermometer to remove any guesswork about when they’re done to your liking. Hope everyone enjoys!
Help! Since you season the roast w/good amount of salt, wont the pan drippings be too salty for the reduction sauce?
Novice . . . Merry Christmas!
No, the sauce doesn’t come out too salty — there’s a nice balance of flavors.
We make this every year for our Christmas dinner; my wife LOVES the red wine sauce. It’s great, thank you.
I won’t have pan drippings since making the tenderloin in the CSO on slow roast – it was phenomenal last year . What should I use for the sauce ? Better than Bouillon beef or a store bought Demi glacé ?? Thanks so much – I have all of your cook books !
Hi Meg, No adjustments necessary but when you let the tenderloin rest on a cutting board before serving, you’ll get a bit of juice on the board, which can be added to the sauce for flavor. Enjoy!
Hi Jenn – I am a super fan of your recipes and can’t wait to try this! I’m cooking for 14 and planning to buy a 7-8 pound tenderloin. Should I cut it in half and cook each separately, or is it better to cook it whole? Will the cooking time change for a whole tenderloin? Thank you!
Hi Kate, so glad you like the recipes! For a tenderloin that large, I’d cut it in half. Hope everyone enjoys!