21 Perfectly Juicy Roast Beef Recipes for Sunday Supper

21 Perfectly Juicy Roast Beef Recipes for Sunday Supper

You don’t have to be British to embrace the tradition of the Sunday roast beef. This classic dinner idea feels extra special without a lot of work. Check out the handy tips and fabulous recipes we’ve compiled to see for yourself. 

I have long been looking for the perfect Sunday supper — something that’s relatively uncomplicated to prep and cook, that can feed a small crowd and doesn’t make my husband hate me for the clean-up. Barbecue often fits the bill (in Los Angeles, we can cook outside all year 'round), but it doesn’t always feel ... special. You need comfort food that people want to gather around — and an unfussy cooking process that gives you time to gossip and gab. As Mark Bittman wrote long ago in The New York Times, the ideal Sunday family meal “sounds like Thanksgiving” and feels like it, too. That’s the goal.

I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised to realize the answer was right there all along — the Sunday roast beef. The spectacle of a large cut of meat makes it feel like an occasion, and yet the meal itself couldn’t be any easier.

Jump ahead to:

What cut of meat is roast beef? >>

What to make with roast beef >>

At what temperature is roast beef done? >>

What do I do with leftover roast beef? >>

The best Sunday roast beef recipes >>



What cut of meat is roast beef?

Luckily, when it comes to beef roasts, there are options. Per the aptly-named beef industry site, Beef. It’s What for Dinner, the best cuts of beef for oven roasting include eye of round roast, top round roast, bottom round roast, sirloin tip roast, or even a tri-tip roast (which, to be fair, most people grill). Per The New York Times, if your true aim is the leftover roast beef sandwiches — and why not?! — consider the top loin roast, which is leaner. And if you’re going big, then go big: ribeye roasts and tenderloins can make an average Sunday feel like Christmas. 



What to make with roast beef

In keeping with Mark Bittman’s advice — that the meal should feel a bit like Thanksgiving — and in the spirit of a proper British Sunday roast, your meal should probably feature delicious potatoes of some sort, and a simple vegetable side (or two!).

For a true British Sunday roast, don’t forget the Yorkshire pudding, gravy, au jus, or mint sauce, with perhaps some buttered peas.

For more of a steakhouse vibe, you can lean into creamed spinach and a baked potato bar. 

Or just riff to your heart’s content. There’s Brussels sprouts or roasted carrots to keep things low-carb. Green bean casserole. Cauliflower au gratin. Boiled, roasted, or any variety of mashed potatoes. Wild rice and sauteed kale. Or perhaps just a big ol’ salad and buttered rolls — store-bought or homemade, your choice. Honestly, just think of any big comforting family meal you’ve had in recent memory — and recreate it. 



At what temperature is roast beef done?

There’s only one answer to this question in my house — medium-rare — but to each her own. Check out the internal temperatures below.

  • For rare roast beef ... 125° F

  • For medium-rare roast beef ... 135° F

  • For medium roast beef ... 145° F

  • For medium-well roast beef ... 150° F

  • For well-done roast beef ... 160° F

And heed my words — be sure to take the roast out of the oven when it reaches 10° below the temperature you want and let it rest on the cutting board. Carryover cooking is real, folks!

(And if you'd like to stop guessing exactly when to take meat out of the oven — including getting the carryover cooking right — that's what the Yummly Smart Thermometer is designed for.)


What do I do with leftover roast beef?

I mean, this is the very best part of the Sunday roast — all that leftover meat. You can do proper roast beef sandwiches, of course — with plenty of horseradish sauce. The one below from Rachael Ray, with its DIY horseradish sauce and extra sharp white cheddar, will seriously up your game.

But you can also do an Italian stew, over-the-top roast beef sliders, pasta, roast beef enchiladas, even salad.

Here are a couple of our favorite uses for last night's leftover roast beef:


The best Sunday roast beef recipes

Before we can enjoy leftovers on Day 2, first we need to make that roast! Here are 21 of the best Sunday roast recipes on Yummly.


1. Jamie Oliver’s Sunday Roast

Of course, it only makes sense to start with a recipe from one of the U.K.’s most beloved chefs: Jamie Oliver. This Sunday roast beef recipe has a little more "ta-da" than most. You start with a 5-pound bone-in rib roast, for one. For this recipe, posted by Leite’s Culinaria, the carving is key — there are four distinct parts of the roast, which are piled separately so that each diner can grab what they love best. To be served with horseradish and English mustard.


2. Mustard Roast Beef

Donna Hay, the Australian cookbook author, uses a boneless beef rib-eye for her Sunday roast beef recipe, which, after searing on the stovetop, is slathered in mustard seeds and thyme and roasted for about an hour and a half total time. Reviewers love the subtle flavors and how easy and delicious it all is.


3. Air Fryer Roast Beef

For those of us who have an air fryer, this recipe from Love Food Not Cooking is another, less-greasy-but-still-flavorful option. Remember to cut the cook time in half if you opt for a tenderloin for your cut of beef.


4. Stupid-Simple Roast Beef with Horseradish Cream

I am a sucker for any recipe that includes the phrase “stupid-simple.” This roast beef recipe from Food and Wine really delivers on the promise: There’s just kosher salt, black pepper, and beef, really. The trick? “Just be sure to buy the roast with the full fat cap left on; otherwise the meat will be too salty,” says the magazine. Also, be sure to consider the timing: You salt this top round beef roast two days ahead of time and give it three hours to come to room temperature before slipping it into the oven.

5. Garlic Lover’s Roast Beef

Skinnytaste hides slivers of garlic cloves throughout a 3-pound beef roast or eye of round roast, so that there’s garlic in just about every bite. Otherwise, this is a pretty straightforward roast beef recipe. An olive oil spray helps keep the recipe on the skinny side, and a meat thermometer (um, have you seen the Yummly Smart Thermometer?) lets you cook the piece of meat to the exact doneness you prefer. She slices it thin — perfect for sandwiches.


6. Herb Rubbed Top Round Roast Beef

This roast beef recipe from Girl Carnivore checks all the boxes. It’s “hard to mess up, quick to prep, and is perfect all dressed up to entertain or shaved thin for sandwiches later,” says Kita, the site’s “meat maven.” Affordable top round roast is butterflied to maximize flavor, then tied up again before roasting slow and low for up to two hours.


7. Keto Garlic Butter Roast Beef

Yummly Original

Truer words were never said: Everything can be made better with garlic butter, even roast beef! And it’s the garlic butter that makes this keto-friendly recipe, featuring a boneless beef bottom round, a winner. As one reviewer wrote, “Had a VERY picky eater come out for seconds.”


8. Bottom Round Roast Beef

In this otherwise straightforward roast beef recipe, from Foodista, it’s the spices that make the difference: turmeric, cinnamon, garlic powder and paprika.


9. Coffee-Rubbed Ribeye Roast

Or try coffee! This recipe uses whole Peruvian coffee beans, ground peppercorns, salt, and dried garlic to coat a decadent ribeye roast.


10. Marinade Injected Beef Roast

In this recipe, a marinade of beef stock, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce is injected into a top sirloin roast before roasting. While The Old Fat Guy used a pellet smoker, you can get a similar result in an oven — perfectly juicy roast beef, cooked medium, and full of flavor.


11. Herb Crusted Eye Round Roast Beef 

This keto-friendly recipe for an eye round roast features … wait for it … crushed pork rinds and Parmesan instead of bread crumbs. Genius.


12. Garlic Roast Beef

This roast beef recipe looks familiar, but trust me, it is not what you’d expect. An eye of round roast sits overnight in a garlicky marinade, then it goes into a roasting pan with the fat cup facing up, to help keep things moist and tasty. Unlike other slow-and-low approaches, you actually set the oven to 500° F and blast the roast for 15 minutes on high heat, then let it sit with the oven off for a set amount of time, based on the roast’s weight. Mind. Blown.


13. Rotisserie Top Round Roast

The thing about the word “roast” is that it’s both the cut of meat and the method of cooking. Who says you can’t fudge it a little bit on the second part? In this I Food Blogger recipe, you take a top round roast, coat it in dry herbs and ample garlic, and put it on the rotisserie attachment over the fire outside.


14. Sous Vide Boneless Ribeye Roast

Another unconventional, yet equally delicious, approach to the Sunday roast? Sous vide.


15. Instant Pot Beef Roast

If you like the whole all-in-one Sunday roast vibe, but are short on time, consider slipping your roast into the Instant Pot with a little red wine and Worcestershire sauce. As Christina Lane of Dessert for Two writes, “While it feels a little sacrilegious to convert the beef roast recipe of my youth into something for the Instant Pot mini, I couldn’t resist the thrill of shaving down the cooking time.”


16. Spicy Marinated Eye Of Round

This riff on a Sunday roast, from Southern Living magazine, is a two-stepper — but worth the added time and energy in terms of flavor. Step one — roast a 3- to 5-pound eye of round for 3½ hours. Then slice, cover with the signature spicy sauce — which you’ll make separately — and let chill for 8 hours, before heating for another 45 minutes to serve.


17. Oven Roasted Beef Tenderloin stuffed with Garlic and Horseradish

For this festive dish, perhaps best for a smaller crowd, you first butterfly the beef tenderloin and stuff it with garlic and horseradish, which will impart flavor everywhere. Tie it up and you’re ready to roast.


18. Low-and-Slow Rib Roast

Folks, this is the real deal, for a special Sunday meal. A bone-in rib-eye roast, covered in bold anchovies, fresh rosemary, and garlic, then reverse-seared to medium-rare perfection. To me, it literally does not get better than this.


19. Crock Pot Pot Roast

Yummly Original

To make a simple roast even more simple, put away the roasting pan and stick it in the Crock Pot — then forget it for the next six hours. In this Yummly pot roast recipe, a chuck roast simmers in red wine along with potatoes, carrots, and onions, so you don't need to fuss with any side dishes, either. The all-in-one meal with minimal prep time makes this the perfect roast when you're trying to entertain. Pro tip: Sear the meat beforehand.


20. Balsamic Roast Beef

Some Sunday roasts weren’t necessarily meant to be served sliced next to potatoes and carrots, smothered in gravy, on your best china. This balsamic roast beef recipe, from Add a Pinch, is almost better as leftovers. And it comes together in a Crock Pot to make it foolproof. Here, a 3- to 4-pound beef chuck roast is cooked with beef broth, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, garlic, red pepper flakes, and honey, then fork-shredded and served in whichever way you like best.


21. Mississippi Roast

I seriously can’t get enough of this recipe. Six ingredients — two of them in packets! — and six hours of cooking time in a slow cooker or Dutch oven. That’s it. Don’t skip the pepperoncinis; you need the acid to cut through the fat. Perfect next to your favorite veggies and mashed potatoes, over rice, or in a bun.



Want more roast beef recipe ideas?

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