How do you cook a lean and budget-friendly cut of meat like an eye of round? You slow roast it in the oven, let it rest, and finish it with a reverse sear. Trust me! You do not want to cook a lean eye of round, bottom round, or top round recipe on high heat.
Contents
🌟 Why This Recipe Works!
When you cook meat at a low temperature for an extended period, it tenderizes the meat. It doesn't matter if you cook beef, pork, or lamb; the result is the same. Lean cuts are miraculously transformed into flavorful, tender, and delicious meals.
Don't get me wrong. Eye of round is still an inexpensive cut of beef, and you'll never turn it into a tenderloin or rib-eye roast, which are pretty darn expensive. Nonetheless, if you cook it right, you'll have an inexpensive roast beef dinner and even leftover roast beef.
Thanks to the low temperature and long cooking time, you can't burn your eye of round roast. Making this an easy recipe and practically fool proof!
Beef is getting more and more expensive! Today a 2-pound tenderloin is going for around $27, while a 2-pound eye of round roast is only $10. And trust me, I wrote a guide on saving money on beef.
Eye of round makes the perfect everyday roast, is perfect for sliced roast beef sandwiches, and makes a fantastic roast beef sandwich. Learn more about easy cheap dinner ideas in my 50 best budget-friendly recipes.
🍽 Ingredient Notes
Eye of round roast is a lean and beefy cut that is easy to find and inexpensive. I love preparing this cut of beef low and slow with a quick 10-minute reverse sear for the best results.
Fresh chimichurri sauce makes this roast sing and brings the entire meal to life. The combination of fresh parsley (or cilantro) combined with red wine vinegar, garlic, and red pepper is perfect.
Grab my authentic chimichurri recipe. It goes great with roasts, steak, and chicken.
🔪 How to Make
Cooking an eye of round roast is nearly foolproof if you follow my step-by-step instructions and use a meat thermometer to check the roast's internal temperature.
Remove your roast from the refrigerator, remove the packaging, and allow it to rest for 10 - 30 minutes to take the chill off.
Step 1
Remove the silvery skin with a sharp chef's knife. Most roasts will have this removed, but I find they always miss some.
Step 2
Pat the roast dry with paper towels. A dry roast browns better and helps the seasoning stick to the roast better.
Step 3
Drizzle olive oil over the roast and use your hands to rub it all around. This will help seasonings stick better!
Step 4
Add the seasoning to a bowl and combine thoroughly. Distribute the seasoning evenly to all sides of your roast.
Step 5
Place the roast into the center of your roasting pan, cast iron, or check my list of alternative roasting pans for additional options. Fat side up if your roast has the fat cap.
For small 2 pound roasts, I use a Nordic Ware half sheet, which allows me to cook vegetables, potatoes, and side dishes in the second half.
Step 6
Insert your meat probe into the thickest part of the meat. Learn how to use a meat thermometer in my how-to guide.
Step 7
Transfer it to your preheated oven at 170 - 200 degrees Fahrenheit (77 - 93 degrees Celsius). Cook low and slow until the internal temperature reaches your desired doneness.
- 120-125° F (49-52° C) - Rare
- 125-130° F (52-54° C) - Medium Rare
- 130-135° F (54-57° C) - Medium
- 135-140° F (57-60° C) - Medium Well
- 140° F+ (60° C+) - Well Done
As a general guide, aim for 2 hours per pound at 170 degrees and 1.5 hours per pound at 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 8
Take the roast out of the oven, place a foil tent on top, and let it rest for 10 minutes up to 2 hours.
Step 9
About 20 minutes before you are ready to eat, preheat your oven to 500-550 degrees Fahrenheit (260-288 degrees Celsius).
Once your oven is preheated, reverse sear your eye of round roast for about 10 minutes or until a nice bark forms.
Step 10
Transfer it to a cutting board and carve it against the grain for the best result. Since we let the roast rest after cooking it low and slow, we do not have to let it rest again, which I love.
Final Plate
I love pairing lean roasts with my authentic chimichurri sauce loaded with fresh herbs and a touch of red wine vinegar.
Don't get me wrong, I love a red wine jus, but consider it a posher sauce as it pairs better with higher quality cuts of meat. Plus, you'll have a hard time making gravy, red wine jus, or anything similar as lean cuts lack fat, thus the juice you need.
Are you a gravy fan? I rounded up the best gravy recipes for roast beef for you to pick one and enjoy with this eye out round recipe.
💭 Cooking Tips
Avoid high-heat recipes when cooking cuts of meat like the eye of round, bottom round, or top round. These cuts lack the necessary intramuscular fat you'd find on heavily marbled rib eye or prime rib. Rather than high-heat, learn how to cook low and slow to transform these affordable beefy cuts into mouth-watering family meals.
Reverse searing, searing your roast at the end rather than the start, has numerous benefits. Easier to plan, more control and prevents overcooking, and more consistent internal color and internal doneness.
Lean cut roasts make the ultimate roast beef sandwiches. Why buy processed roast beef when you can make it for half the price. When you cook an eye of round for sandwich meat, let it cool and chill before slicing. A chilled roast is easy to slice super thin!
🥗 What to Serve With
Eye of round is best served with fresh ingredients like my chimichurri recipe made with fresh parsley or my pesto with cashews. For sides, stick to the classics for an all-around fantastic dinner.
Mashed Potatoes pair perfectly with roasts. But rather than trying to force a nice gravy out of a lean cut, consider making my cream cheese mashed potatoes with green onion and top with fresh black pepper, sea salt, and butter.
Steamed vegetables that are easy to prepare and pair well with both the roast and the mashed potatoes are perfect. I love steamed broccoli and carrots for this recipe.
Garden Salad is another excellent option that compliments the roast and mashed potatoes equally. Also, I highly recommend to pair this dish with my copycat longhorn brussel sprouts recipe. YUM!
🐄 Grades of Beef
The most common grades of beef are USDA Select, Choice, and Prime. I typically by choice but may buy prime when it is on sale.
- Select Beef is leaner than choice or prime and has less marbling.
- Choice Beef is high quality with less marbling than USDA prime but more than choice.
- Prime Beef is from young, well-fed cattle and has well-defined marbling throughout.
For more information on beef, check out my guide on how to save money on beef with pricing details for common roast and beef cuts.
🙋 Frequently Asked Questions
Eye of round is a budget-friendly cut from the hindquarters/rounds part on cattle. It has more movement than other parts making it leaner and less tender but still flavorful enough for your favorite dish!
Cooked right, eye of round roasts can be tender. When cooked low, typically 170-200 degrees Fahrenheit, slowly in an oven produces fantastic results. Unfortunately many, mistake this cut for tenderloin and cook it on high heat, resulting in a tough and chewy roast.
I love cooking an eye of round roast low and slow to medium-rare. The result is a fantastic roast beef that is affordable, tender, and packed with beefy flavor. And if you're looking for roast beef sandwich meat, you can't go wrong with an eye of round roast.
🍲 What to do with leftovers?
With a boneless roast like the eye of round, you can estimate about ½ pound per person. For 4 people, you'll need a 2-pound roast; for 8 people, you'll need a 4-pound roast, and so on.
However, double it to 1 pound per person if you want leftover roast beef—this way, you are covered regardless of whether you have heavy eaters and want tasty leftovers.
And if you're not sure what to do, pop over to my 25 leftover roast beef recipes for some great classics and new ideas.
🍳 Related Roasts and Roasting
Love this dinner recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page.
Try one of my quick, easy, and affordable dinner recipes for your next family meal! And if you have any questions, I'm here to help!
📋 Recipe
Slow Roasted "Eye of Round Roast" with Chimichurri
Equipment
- Chef's Knife or Carving Knife
- Large wood cutting board
- Meat Probe or Meat Thermometer
- Roasting Pan or Baking Sheet
Ingredients
- 2 pound eye of round roast - USDA Choice or Higher
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon thyme - fresh or dried
- 2 teaspoons rosemary - fresh or dried
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Remove your roast from the refrigerator, remove the packaging, and allow it to rest for 10 - 30 minutes to take the chill off.
- Remove the silvery skin with a sharp chef's knife. Most roasts will have this removed, but I find they always miss some.
- Pat the roast dry with paper towel. A dry roast browns better and this helps the seasoning stick to the roast better.
- Drizzle olive oil over the roast and use your hands to rub it all around. This will help seasonings stick better!
- Add the seasoning to a bowl and combine thoroughly. Distribute the seasoning evenly to all sides of your roast.
- Place the roast into the center of your roasting pan, cast iron, or check my list of alternative roasting pans for additional options. Fat side up if your roast has the fat cap.
- Insert your meat probe into the thickest part of the meat. Learn how to use a meat thermometer in my how to guide. See notes for internal temperature guide to doneness.
- Take the roast out of the oven, place a foil tent on top, and let it rest for 10 minutes up to 2 hours.
- About 20 minutes before your ready to eat, preheat your oven to 500-550 degrees Fahrenheit (260-288 degrees Celsius).
- Once your oven is preheated, reverse sear your eye of round roast for about 10 minutes or until a nice bark forms.
- Transfer it to a cutting board and carve against the grain for the best result. Since we let the roast rest after cooking it low and slow, we do not have to let it rest again, which I absolutely love.
Notes
- 120-125° F (49-52° C) - Rare
- 125-130° F (52-54° C) - Medium Rare
- 130-135° F (54-57° C) - Medium
- 135-140° F (57-60° C) - Medium Well
- 140° F+ (60° C+) - Well Done
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Mikeal Mucha
The best eye of round roast I've ever had. I'm surprised how moist and flavorful the meat was. Can't wait to try leftovers tomorrow for roast beef sandwiches.