Top Round Roast is an outstanding beef roast that is delicious, economical and easy to prepare. This sensational top round roast beef recipe is perfect for company or for a family dinner. The herb seasoning adds just the right flavors. This beef roast pairs well with so many side dishes, you will find yourself making it again and again.
Jump to:
💭 Why We Love This Recipe
Top round roast is a lean cut of meat and therefore often less expensive. This lack of fat can often make a cooked roast dry and tough. However, if cooked slowly on a low to medium temperature, you end up top round beef roast that has as much flavor as more expensive cuts of beef.
My simple cooking method for roasting top round yields wonderfully tender and mouthwatering roast beef. This is the perfect roast for a main course Sunday dinner or a special occasion. You don't even have to fuss with the roast, just let your oven do all the work.
🥘 Ingredients
- Top round roast weighing approximately 3-½ pounds. For 10 servings, this size roast amounts to approximately 5 ounces per serving. A 3 to 4 pound roast is typical for top round.
- Dijon mustard for brushing over the roast. The Dijon mustard acts as an amazing 'glue' that holds the seasonings on the beef.
- Herb seasoning rub made with fresh thyme, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
- Sauce ingredients to serve alongside the top round roast. Shallots, olive oil, sour cream, and more Dijon mustard.
🍽 Kitchen Tools
- A shallow roasting pan lined with foil and a baking rack for oven use to place on top.
- A small skillet for sautéing the shallots for the sauce.
- An Instant Read Thermometer. A good thermometer is one of the best tools you can have in your kitchen. You can also use an oven safe meat thermometer if you prefer.
- A sharp chef's knife. The roast needs to be sliced across the grain for the most tender cut. You can also thinly slice the roast to use in scrumptious top round roast beef sandwiches. Either way, a good sharp knife is a plus!
🔪 Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Pat the roast dry using paper towels. Brush the mustard all over the top round roast. Just a thin layer is all that is needed. Not only does the mustard add a nice touch of flavor, it helps the seasonings adhere to the roast.
- Combine the thyme, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Then sprinkle this seasoning mixture evenly over the beef. Place roast on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.
- Insert an oven safe thermometer into the roast. The roast will need to bake about 1-¼ to 1-¾ hours. If you are using an instant-read thermometer, start checking the temperature of your roast at 1-¼ hours cooking time. For medium-rare, roast until the top round roast reaches an internal temperature of 145°F or for medium the desired temperature is 160°F. The roast will increase in temperature about 10 degrees while it is resting, so pulling the roast out of the oven before it reaches the ideal temperature is recommended.
- Make the mustard shallot sauce that is in the top round roast recipe or one of the variations below.
- Transfer your roast to a cutting board. Slice the roast across the grain. The grain refers to the direction of the muscle tissue. When you cut across that muscle, the slices of top round roast beef are far more tender. Now this succulent beef roast is ready to serve!
Cook's Tips
Make sure to let your roast rest after cooking. That time helps the juices absorb back into the meat ensuring tender beef and rich flavor.
🌡️ Storage Instructions
- Fresh uncooked top round roast can be refrigerated for up to 5 days and frozen for 4 to 12 months.
- Cooked top round roast can be refrigerated 2 to 3 days and frozen for 2 to 3 months.
📖 Recipe Variations
- Rosemary: Replace the thyme with chopped fresh rosemary in the rub and the sauce.
- Horseradish Crème Fraîche: Omit the Shallot Sauce. Combine Crème Fraîche and freshly grated horseradish, about 1 to 2 tablespoons or to taste
- Porcini Herb Rub: Omit the thyme, Dijon mustard and the Shallot Sauce. Rub the roast with a mixture of 1 tablespoon dried oregano, 2 teaspoons dried mushroom powder, 2 teaspoons dried thyme, 2 teaspoons dried rosemary, and 1 teaspoon dry mustard.
- Lemon-Garlic Rub: Omit the Dijon mustard, thyme and Shallot Sauce. Add 2 tablespoons of grated lemon rind and 4 cloves of minced garlic to the rub mixture in step 3.
🥩 More Family Friendly Roasts
- Deliciously Lean and Tender Rump Roast
- Instant Pot Pot Roast (Melt-In-Your-Mouth)
- Instant Pot Pork Roast With a Classic Seasoning Rub
🥗 Serving Suggestions
- Perfectly Crispy and Tender Roasted Baby Potatoes
- Sweet and Crispy Roasted Carrots and Potatoes
- Easy Oven Roasted Asparagus
- Sautéed Broccoli with Garlic (Simple Ingredients)
📋 Recipe
📋 Amazing Herb Seasoned Top Round Roast Recipe
This sensational top round roast recipe is perfect for company or for a family dinner. The herb seasoning adds just the right flavors.
Ingredients
Roast
- 3-½ pound top round roast approximate weight
- 6 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1-½ tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
- 1-½ tablespoons kosher salt
- 1-½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Shallot Sauce
- 2 tablespoons pure olive oil
- ⅔ cup minced shallots
- 1-½ tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
- ⅔ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup Dijon mustard
Instructions
Roast
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a shallow roasting pan with foil. Place a rack on top of the foil.
- Using a pastry brush, brush 6 tablespoons mustard all over the top round roast.
- In a small bowl, combine the thyme, salt and pepper; mix well. Sprinkle seasoning completely over the roast.
- Arrange roast on prepared roasting pan. Bake, 1-¼ to 1-¾ hours or until an instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally in the thickest part of the roast registers 145°F for medium-rare or 160°F for medium (see tip).
- Remove roast from oven and tent with foil. Let rest 5 to 10 minutes.
Shallot Sauce
- Meanwhile in a small skillet over medium-low heat, heat oil until shimmering. Add shallots and cook, stirring often, 3 minutes. Add the thyme and cook, stirring 2 minutes or until shallots are softened and golden. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine sour cream and mustard. Stir in shallots.
- Slice roast across the grain into thin slices. Season to taste with salt.
- Arrange beef slices on a platter. Serve with mustard mixture alongside.
Cooks Tips
- The meat will continue to rise in temperature 5 to 10 degrees while it is resting. For this reason, I recommend taking your roast out of the oven before it reaches the ideal temperature. The USDA recommended temperatures for beef are 145°F for medium-rare and 160°F for medium.
- 10 medium shallots will yield approximately ⅔ cup minced shallots. If you end up with slightly more or less, that will be fine in this recipe.
- Fresh uncooked top round roast can be refrigerated for up to 5 days and frozen for 4 to 12 months.
- Cooked top round roast can be refrigerated 2 to 3 days and frozen for 2 to 3 months.
Nutrition
Calories: 282kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 38gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 105mgSodium: 638mgPotassium: 698mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 178IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 73mgIron: 4mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was @MavenCookery or tag #mavencookery!
Lori says
Yum! Perfect in every way but certainly not the most tender. I used spicy brown mustard instead of Dijon and did not mix spices but applied to mustard individually. The sauce was great on mashed potatoes.