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There is really nothing quite as iconic as a beautiful Beef Tenderloin during the holiday season — and this Herb-Crusted Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish Sauce is definitely iconic.
Here is a recipe that I know you all are going to just love. I’ve crusted a beef tenderloin in beautiful herbs and roasted it with a bit of white wine. The end result is absolutely juicy, tender, and extremely flavorful. It’s the perfect impressive dish to make any time you are hosting a fancy little gathering — during the holidays or not!
Now, I know that cooking such a large, beautiful, and expensive cut of meat can be intimidating — I mean, no one wants to screw up a beef tenderloin! However, I have one major tip for you: GET A GOOD THERMOMETER! I recently got the Yummly thermometer and *really* love it. It’s super user friendly and you just tuck the wireless/digital thermometer into the meat, plug in what you are cooking into the app, tell it what “doneness” you want, and then it will tell you *exactly* when your tenderloin has reached the temperature so that you can take it out and let it rest. I am very impressed with it and really think it’s a great purchase for the kitchen and take the guesswork (and stress) out of knowing when your meat is cooked through properly! You can most certainly use an instant stick thermometer and check around 18 minutes to see where you are at — but I just think poking the meat one time and letting it tell you when it’s ready is pretty epic.
Now back to the flavors of this Herb-Crusted Beef Tenderloin, while it is perfect in my opinion, what sets it over the top is pairing it with my Horseradish Sauce. Even if you don’t think you like horseradish, I promise you will love this. Perfectly tangy from the horseradish and creamy with the sour cream, it’s a great pairing with the beef. It also pairs perfectly with my Caramelized Onion Scalloped Potatoes — YUM! And if you are looking for another beef tenderloin recipe to try, definitely try my Thyme Crusted Beef Tenderloin Au Poivre.
I can’t wait to see you all create this for your holiday meal!
Looking for a side? Pair this with my Bacon Brussels Crunch Salad!
Herb-Crusted Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish Sauce
Ingredients
For the Horseradish Sauce:
- ½ cup sour cream sub dairy-free sour cream
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 3 tbsp prepared horseradish
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp distilled white vinegar
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- 2 tbsp thinly sliced chives
For the Herb Mixture:
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
For the Beef Tenderloin:
- 4 lb beef tenderloin *ask the butcher to trim for you if not already trimmed
- 3 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp coarse black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup white wine, divided
Instructions
Make the Horseradish Sauce:
- In a small bowl, whisk to combine the sour cream, mustard, horseradish, mayonnaise, lemon juice white vinegar, salt, white pepper and chives. Place in fridge while you prepare the tenderloin.
Make the Herb Mixture:
- In a small bowl, combine the finely chopped rosemary, thyme, garlic, olive oil and dijon mustard. Stir until well combined and set aside.
Prepare the Beef Tenderloin:
- Preheat oven to 425℉.
- Cut your tenderloin in half to make it two pieces (vertically, right down the center– this helps it all fit in one skillet) and secure with kitchen twine if it is not already. *A beef tenderloin is a long cut of beef that comes to a point at one end. In order to get the beef to cook evenly– tie it up and make it as uniform in shape as possible. I simply cinch the meat in two-inch intervals with kitchen twine.
- Next, pat the tenderloin dry and season all over with the salt and pepper, pressing/rubbing it into meat.
- Place a large, oven safe skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil.When the oil is shimmering, carefully place one half of the tenderloin into the skillet. Brown each side, about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove and set aside while you brown the other tenderloin.
- Once both tenderloins are browned, turn off the heat and set the skillet aside.
- Using a pastry brush, evenly distribute the herb mixture over all the sides of each tenderloin. Carefully place the tenderloins back into the skillet then pour ¼ cup of the wine around the tenderloins into the skillet.
- Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast for 18-25 minutes until you reach your desired doneness (see Temperature Note below. I cooked mine Medium-Rare for reference), flipping the tenderloin halfway through (about 10 minutes into the cook time) and adding another ¼ cup of wine around and over the tenderloin.
- Once desired temperature is reached, remove from the oven. Transfer to a cutting board to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
- The Horseradish Sauce can be made ahead and keeps well in the fridge for 5 to 7 days.
- Pre-chop your fresh herbs! This takes awhile and will help save you time when making the recipe day of. I store the freshly chopped herbs in a zip-top bag or air-tight small container and in the fridge.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Photography and styling by Eat Love Eats.
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Just to clarify in regards to the temperatures you gave for rare/medium rare/medium/etc.. is this the temp you should remove the meat from the oven or what the meat should end up at after it rests? Thanks!
I remove it from the oven when it is that temperature, then let it rest.
For the horseradish sauce the amount of sour cream isn’t listed. It just says to add the sour cream.
Oops I see the first ingredient !
cannot wait to try this! just curious, it seems you really use 1/2 c. wine divided? it says “add another 1/4 cup on and around the tenderloin” at the end of the recipe. I am assuming that is wine?
you are so right, just fixed that error thank you!!
Same process for single piece (2lbs)? Also, tips for minimizing oven splatter?????
yes, just expect lower cook time! Mine really didn’t splatter much in the oven!
I made this last night for dinner. My whole family loved it. So delicious!! Thank you for the recipe.
Definitely would love to see an image of the tenderloin cut in half…which way? And tied with twine, how exactly? I struggle with these things! LOL. Thanks Alex!
Cut in half vertically or horizontally?
vertically
I would also love some more pictures! It cut in half and it with the twine would be super helpful! Planning to make.
Thanks!
I second this! I understand that you cut in half so that you have 2 pieces to fit into the pan (you mentioned this on the live feta/olive call tonight) but I’m uncertain what the twine is for. Thanks!
I am also confused cutting vertical long wise or the other way around. It’s a simple dish to cook, but would love some clarification on cutting it in half and using twine. Alex, can you record an insta stories on this recipe please???
Seems like using the wine will braise the meat instead of roasting. Does the wine/liquid affect the texture? Thank you. 🎄
Do you recommend a specific type of white wine?
Agree! I’m having trouble visualizing the twine method, and I don’t want to mess it up for Christmas!
I am going to do a DEMO on my stories for this on 12/23 (as I am making it for my parent’s!)
Awesome! Can’t wait to watch. Thanks Alex
This sounds delicious! Do you cut the tenderloin in half horizontally or vertically (to make two long strips)? Would love to watch a video of you preparing a beef tenderloin. 🤗
Looks like the perfect holiday meal! I love all your recipes! Where can I find that Caramelized Onion Scalloped Potatoes?
I have it linked now! 🙂
What about the Au Gratin Potatoes? Do you have a recipe for the ones in the photo?
I just added the link, sorry about that!