Whenever we’re planning a potluck, my friends and family know that they can rely on me to fill one of three slots: appetizer, salad, or dessert. (Mom’s snickerdoodles always earn rave reviews!) For some reason, I’ve yet to land on a signature main dish; a stand-by stunner that I know by heart and trust myself to make and ace every time.

With my 40th birthday just a few short years away, I made this my quest: Perfect a signature dinner party entrée. That way, I’m no longer just the “salad girl.” Plus, I can learn some new tricks and feel even more confident in the kitchen.

After testing and swooning over Ina Garten’s easy risotto, hummus, and potato salad, I’ve become even more confident in the fact that the Barefoot Contessa will rarely, if ever, lead me astray. So when I spotted her recommendation for a recipe that is fairly hands-off yet flavorful—a mic drop of a meal, in a sense—I knew I had to try it.

Ina Garten’s Best Dinner Party Recipe to Impress

The recipe debuted in Ina’s 2012 cookbook Barefoot Contessa Foolproof, but I discovered it thanks to the “Ask Ina” section of the Barefoot Contessa website. A fan wrote in with the following puzzler: “I’m newly engaged and I’m dying to have my mother in law over for dinner. What’s a great menu to impress an experienced cook that won’t have me stuck in the kitchen when guests arrive?” 

Seemingly without hesitation, Ina replies, “I would make Slow-Roasted Filet of Beef with Basil Parmesan Mayonnaise, Roasted Broccolini, and Couscous with Pine Nuts. If you only have one oven, you can roast the broccolini while the filet of beef rests. I’m sure your mother in law will be impressed!!”

Even though I don’t have a mother in law, I do have many friends who are recipe developers and work in the restaurant industry, so I’d love to be able to blow them away with my beef skills. I set out to recreate this main.

How to Make Ina Garten’s Roast Beef

Part of what has deterred me from experimenting more in dinner party main dish territory is the fact that I live alone, so I don’t often cook for a crowd, and the fact that showy entrées can call for a lot of prep time and ingredients. Ina Garten’s roast beef recipe allows me to overcome both of those potential issues: It serves a reasonable 6 to 8 (leftovers are easy to remix into other meals—more on this below) and only 2 core ingredients are required.

Here’s how to make Ina Garten’s slow-roasted beef recipe:

1. Prepare the beef. Place a trimmed and tied filet of beef tenderloin on a sheet pan, pat it dry, and brush it with olive oil. Season with a generous amount of kosher salt and black pepper. Place fresh tarragon branches around the beef, then brush the herbs with a bit more oil.
2. Slow-roast the meat. Cook the beef low and slow in a 275° F oven for 1¼ to 1½ hours, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the horizontal end of the tenderloin reads 125° F for rare or 135° F for medium-rare at the center.
3. Allow it to rest. Remove the beef from the oven and cover the pan with foil. Allow to rest for 20 minutes to allow the juices that rose to the surface of the meat to reabsorb. Slice in thick pieces and serve warm or at room temperature with your desired sauce. (Ina recommends her Basil Mayo.)

What Makes Ina’s Beef Recipe Different?

Our Test Kitchen is keen on two different ways of roasting beef tenderloin: hot and quick or low and slow. Although the latter takes about 50% more time, it results in ultra-juicy and succulent beef that’s cooked evenly all the way through. Even though Ina’s roast beef recipe called for a mere 2 ingredients, it tastes so flavorful and rich after slow-roasting. It’s delicious on its own, but also is a delightful blank slate to dress up with sauces and sides that complement the savory, juicy tenderloin. 

Unlike other beef tenderloin recipes that involve rubs, marinades, or fussy prep steps, Ina leverages the fact that the tenderloin is already a tender cut (it’s in the name, after all), and allows us to dive immediately into the action. This is a perfect dinner party recipe for when you’re hosting, so you can turn your attention to setting the table, opening the wine, and polishing up any final cleaning touch-ups. 

Tips For Making Roast Beef Tenderloin

Ina’s slow-roasted beef tenderloin recipe is quite foolproof, but these pointers might come in handy as you shop, prep, and serve the meal.

• Buy good beef. Since this beef tenderloin recipe is so simple, the meat plays a starring role. Invest in the highest-quality meat that fits your budget. Meat is often sold in three quality tiers, listed from lowest to highest: select, choice, and prime. Once you’ve selected your roast, ask your butcher to trim (remove the silver skin) and tie it, if possible. This way the beef is essentially oven-ready.
• Blast it with heat at the end. If you crave a bit of a crust on your tenderloin and enjoy the results when you sear it at the start, try mimicking a reverse sear. Other home cooks have had luck flipping the oven to 425° F or “broil” once the meat hits 120° F. Cook at this high heat until the beef reaches 125° F for rare, 135° F for medium-rare, or 150° F for medium. (Check out our roasting guide for the perfect temp to cook poultry, beef, lamb, pork and more.)
• Don’t be afraid to get a head start. Ina verifies that it’s A-OK to serve this at room temp, so don’t feel like you must wait until guests arrive to pull it out of the oven. Other fans of Barefoot Contessa have let the beef tenderloin rest for more than an hour and served it to their party with great success. (“It was to die for,” one said.) Just be sure to get any extra in the fridge within 2 hours of removing it from the oven to avoid entering the USDA’s “danger zone” of 40° F to 140° F, where foodborne illness-causing bacteria might multiply. 
• Switch up your sauce. Ina usually pairs this roast beef recipe with her Basil Parmesan Mayonnaise, but that’s far from your only option. If it’s not basil season, try it with Ina’s Gorgonzola Sauce instead. This Garlic-Thyme Sauce would also be incredible spooned on top of slices of filet.

The Verdict on Ina’s Slow-Roasted Filet of Beef

I agree with a Barefoot Contessa viewer who raved, “This recipe was spot on. I debated about using the sear and high temperature method versus this slow roast. I don’t know that I would ever use the sear method again…My tenderloin was absolutely perfect! Evenly done all the way through, and melts in your mouth delicious.”

While it’s not the most exciting beef recipe you’ll ever make, it’s a terrific way to celebrate high-quality beef and feed a crowd with very little fuss. I adore that I can make this recipe feel like something new each time by selecting a different sauce.

This is the perfect “training wheels” recipe to get comfortable cooking a large beef roast, and I look forward to surprising my friends by volunteering for main dish duty at the next potluck. I plan to practice in the meantime by trying this another time or two as part of a Sunday roast menu. (The leftovers will be put to use in my meal plan for the week in creations like Beef Stroganoff, Beef Stew, and Shredded Beef and Caramelized Onion Stromboli.) 

When it comes time for the main event—to impress that mother in law or anyone you’re hosting—Ina suggests serving this slow-roasted filet of beef with her Parmesan Chive Smashed Potatoes, Garlic Sautéed Spinach, and Chocolate Cassis Cake. I also think it would be incredible with Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus, Oven-Roasted Brussels Sprouts, and Chantilly Potatoes on the side. Just be sure to save room for Raspberry Mocha Pie or 5-Ingredient Lemon Dump Cake for dessert!