Eye of Round Roast

Medium rare beef round eye roast with onion gravy on a plate.

Eye of round roast is a lean beef roast that’s quick and easy to cook in the oven in under an hour. This affordable eye round roast recipe includes a delicious onion gravy you can make from the pan drippings as the beef roast rests.

an infographic on the cuts of beef from a cow.

Eye of round roast is a lean cut of beef that can be tough because it comes from the rump (or round primal), a highly muscled area of the animal.

Because roasts from this area (the top round, bottom round, and eye of round) are so lean and well-used, it’s not a good option for people who prefer their meat cooked to be well-done.

However, this economical cut can be a flavorful and tender roast beef when cooked to a proper rare or medium rare doneness.

This eye round roast recipe is fancy enough for Sunday dinners but easy enough for busy weeknights and goes great with mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower for a lower-carb option. My husband always asks for these garlic green beans, with it.

I’ll show you how to cook an eye of the round roast in under an hour so that it’s juicy, tender, and flavorful. Bonus: this recipe comes with a simple brown onion gravy you and your family will love.

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Why this eye of round roast recipe works:

  • The seasoning rub enhances the natural flavors of the beef eye of round roast.
  • Roasting at a higher heat in the beginning of cooking sears the outside and locks in the juices.
  • Cooking the eye of round roast on a bed of onions and shallots lifts the roast off the bottom of the roasting pan, caramelizing the veg without overcooking the meat.
  • Roasting just until the internal temperature reaches 120-130°F, will give you a perfectly pink interior.
  • Allowing the round roast to rest (while you make the gravy) lets the natural juices settle and redistribute throughout the meat, ensuring it’s tender and juicy.
  • Use the bed of aromatic roasted vegetables in the gravy. It’s delicious with thinly sliced roast beef.

Ingredients:

Ingredients to make an eye of round roast recipe.
  • Eye Of Round Roast – Use a 3-pound round roast for this recipe. This lean cut comes with a small fat cap, which can be left on to render and flavor the onions and create a fat base for the gravy.
  • Brown Sugar – to balance the savory flavors in the beef rub. You can also use maple syrup.
  • Kosher Salt – I recommend Diamond Crystal Kosher salt, it has larger flakes and is less salty by volume than Morton’s Kosher salt.
  • Onion Powder – part of the beef rub mixture for seasoning the beef eye round roast.
  • Garlic Powder – adds concentrated garlic flavor to the beef rub.
  • Chili Powder – adds a warm kick to the seasoning without much heat.
  • Black Pepper – freshly ground will give the best flavor.
  • Worcestershire Sauce – I used Lea & Perrin’s.
  • Ketchup – Adds a hint of tomatoey sweetness and gives the eye of round seasoning a pasty consistency that helps it adhere to the roast.
  • Liquid Smoke (optional) literally, this is wood smoke in liquid form and just a touch is all you need to give the beef rub a hint of smokey flavor.
  • Yellow Onions – you can also use white or red onions.
  • Shallots – a cross between garlic and onions, these aromatic alliums get sweet and caramelized when roasted. They’re delicious in the gravy. If you don’t have shallots, use another half of an onion.
  • Olive Oil – This doesn’t have to be a fancy extra virgin oil, just your everyday is fine.
  • Red Wine Vinegar – adds a hint of acidity to the onion gravy and makes the flavors pop. This is an important ingredient. Don’t skip it.
  • Butter – eye of round roast doesn’t have a lot of extra fat, consequently, the drippings from the roast are meager compared to other cuts. Adding a bit of fat (in the form of butter) will bind with the flour for the roux, which thickens the gravy.
  • Flour – I recommend Wondra Flour for gravies, because it’s very fine and doesn’t clump, yielding a perfectly smooth sauce every time. You can also use all purpose flour, just be sure to stir until there are no lumps before adding the beef stock.
  • Beef Stock – if you have homemade beef stock, use it; otherwise, use a low-sodium beef broth.
  • Kitchen Bouquet (optional) – (can use Gravy Master or Maggi’s) is a browning liquid that will darken and enrich the gravy – giving it an even beefier look and flavor.

Before you get started with this beef recipe:

For optimal seasoning, I recommend marinating the eye of round roast for several hours before roasting it, so I usually make the seasoning rub in the morning to coat the beef roast and let it marinate. Even overnight is good.

Step-by-step instructions:

  1. Combine the brown sugar, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup and liquid smoke in a small bowl and stir to combine.
  2. Coat the meat thoroughly with the paste and cover it with plastic wrap or aluminum foil—Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
  3. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  4. Add the sliced onions and shallots to a roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss well to combine, then spread the vegetables in an even layer and rest the eye of round roast on top.
  5. Roast for 25 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to stir the onions and shallots around the roast.
  6. Reduce the heat to 325°F and continue to cook another 20-35 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 120F for rare; 125°F for medium rare or 130°F for medium.
  7. Transfer the meat to a carving board and loosely tent it with aluminum foil.
  8. Place the roasting pan on your stovetop (spanning one or two burners) and heat over medium high heat. Deglaze the pan with the vinegar and stir until it coats the onions and is fragrant.
  9. Add butter, stirring until it melts and coats the vegetables. Sprinkle with the flour and stir until it forms a paste and no dry bits are left in the pan.
  10. Add the beef broth a little at a time, stirring constantly until it thickens and begins to boil. Taste the gravy and season as needed with salt and pepper.
  11. Thinly slice the roast against the grain; this helps ensure the meat is tender. Serve with brown onion gravy.

The vinegar is critical to the gravy. It adds a tanginess and depth that transforms the gravy from flat and one-note — to a symphony of beefy onion flavor. Trust me on this one.

Pro-Tips:

Before you’re ready to roast, take the meat out of the refrigerator and let it rest on the counter for about half an hour to forty-five minutes to bring it closer to room temperature. You don’t want to stick an ice cold roast in a hot oven, because that can affect the cooking times.

Ensure your oven’s cooking rack is set to the center of the oven.

Since eye of round roasts have so little fat, it needs to be served with a rosy pink interior to ensure the roast is juicy, tender, and flavorful. We like ours served at medium rare, or about 125°F.

Medium is 130° and it will be a lighter pink but still flavorful. I would hesitate to go beyond 130° to 135° (at the most) because the meat will be tough to chew.

The only way to know for sure what temperature your beef eye round roast is, is by using a good instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the center of the roast.

Remember that the round roast continues to cook even after removing it from the oven, and the internal temperature can increase by 3°-5° while resting. Therefore, I recommend removing it from the oven a few minutes before it reaches your optimum doneness. Carryover cooking is real.

Checking the internal temperature of the beef eye of round roast.

Variations:

  • Make it a complete meal by adding chunks of potatoes (or sweet potatoes), carrots, turnips, or parsnips to roast around the perimeter of the pan. Remove the roasted vegetables to a serving dish before continuing to the onion gravy.
  • Add fresh chopped rosemary and thyme to the onion gravy for a fresh herbal pop of flavor.

Storage:

To store leftovers, wrap the round roast in foil or in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.

To Reheat:

Reheating an eye round roast can be tricky, because you don’t want to over-cook it. I recommend removing the roast from the refrigerator and letting it rest on the counter for half an hour, then warm it gently, covered with foil in a 300° oven for 15-20 minutes, just until it’s warmed but not too hot.

Conversely, thinly slice a few pieces of the roast and warm them in a pan of hot gravy. It should only take two or three minutes to warm through.

Freezing

You can freeze this eye round roast recipe by wrapping it well in freezer paper for up to 2-3 months. Defrost completely before reheating.

For a juicy round roast, don’t rely on strict cooking times

Use these cooking times as a gauge, not a hard-and-fast rule.

I say that because while the recipe may call for a 3-pound roast, yours might only weigh 2.63 pounds.  

Or your oven may run hot or cold.  My oven is hotter in the back than the front.

The best way to judge doneness is by temperature… on the inside of the meat. Use your instant-read thermometer; and if you don’t have one, this is the one I use and recommend {affiliate link}

Carving the roast beef on a platter.

FAQs

How do you cook eye of round roast so it is not tough?

The key is not over-cooking the roast. Because a beef eye round roast comes from a muscular part of the animal, it’s naturally lean and can be tough.

Cooking the meat to a medium rare and up to medium ensures the flesh will be juicy, and flavorful.

Slicing the roast into very thin slices will also make it easier to chew and seemingly more tender.

Is eye of round roast a good cut?

We like a beef round eye roast because it’s leaner and more economical than other more premium cuts of beef. It’s also great for making roast beef sandwiches.

How long to cook a eye of the round roast?

It’s not a matter of how long to cook the round roast (though this recipe will give you a guide), but rather to what internal temperature to cook the roast to. It will depend on the size of the roast, the oven temperature and what your desired doneness is.

Serving the eye round roast thinly sliced with onion gravy.

These tools are useful for cooking eye of round roast and any other recipe for roasting meats.

Helpful tools:

  • Instant Read Thermometer {affiliate link}.
  • A sturdy roasting pan with 2-3″ high sides (so you can make the onion gravy in the pan).
  • A good oven mitt (to hold the edge of the roasting pan while you’re making the gravy) – the pan will be hot and you don’t want to get burned.
Medium rare roast beef with gravy and green beans.

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An eye of round roast with onion gravy on the side.
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5 from 10 votes

Eye of Round Roast with Onion Gravy

Eye of round roast is leaner and more economical than other more tender beef like rib roasts, but it can be just as tender and delicious, especially when cooked to a rosy pink and served with an easy onion gravy.
Author: Lisa Lotts
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword roast beef
Dietary Restrictions Egg Free, Low-Carb
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 8

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE ROAST BEEF RUB/PASTE:

  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
  • ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon ketchup
  • teaspoon liquid smoke

FOR THE ROAST BEEF

  • 3 pound eye of round roast
  • 1 medium yellow onion sliced
  • 2 medium shallots sliced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • pinch kosher salt
  • pinch pepper

FOR THE ONION GRAVY:

  • 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons Wondra flour , if available, otherwise use all purpose
  • 2 cups low-sodium beef stock
  • ¼ teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet Gravy Master or Maggi’s browning liquid, optional
  • salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

FOR THE MARINADE:

  • In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, 1 teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon chili powder, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce,1 tablespoon ketchup and⅛ teaspoon liquid smoke

FOR THE ROAST BEEF:

  • Spread the marinade over the 3 pound eye of round roast.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
  • Remove the roast from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for half an hour before roasting.
  •  Preheat the oven to 400°.  
  • Place the 1 medium yellow onion, sliced root to tip and 2 medium shallots, quartered in a roasting pan and add 1 tablespoon olive oil and a pinch kosher salt and pinch pepper and toss until the vegetables are evenly coated. Spread the onions and shallots into a single layer in the roasting pan. Place the roast on top of the onions and shallots. 
  • Roast for 25 minutes. Stir the onions and shallots around the roast with a wooden spoon to rearrange and caramelize more of the veg. Spread them into a single layer.  
  • Reduce the oven temperature to 325°.
  • Roast for 25-35 minutes or until you achieve your desired doneness. Use an instant-read thermometer to take the guesswork out of it.  
  • Rare: 120-125° bright pink in the center.
    Medium Rare: 130° center is light pink.
    Medium 135° a hint of pink.
  • When the roast is finished, transfer it to a cutting board to rest for 10-15 minutes while you make the gravy. 

FOR THE ONION GRAVY:

  • Set the roasting pan containing the onions and shallots over a burner on the stove.  Turn the burner up to medium-high heat.  Add 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar and stir with a wooden spoon until the vinegar has infused the onions and the mixture starts to bubble and becomes fragrant.
  • Add 2 tablespoons butter, stirring until its melted, then sprinkle in 2 tablespoons Wondra flour and stir it into the butter and onions so that the flour gets pasty and bubbly and there are no dry bits of flour left in the pan.
  • Slowly add 2 cups low-sodium beef stock a little at a time, stirring constantly until the mixture boils.  Stir for one minute while the gravy thickens. Stir in ¼ teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet (if using). Remove from heat and season with saltsalt and pepper to taste

SERVE THE ROAST BEEF:

  • Carve the eye of round roast in very thin slices against the grain and transfer to a serving platter. Pour any accumulated juices from the roast into the brown onion gravy and stir to combine.
  • Serve the roast beef with a gravy boat of brown onion gravy on the side.

NOTES:

Leftovers will make excellent sandwiches.

NUTRITION:

Calories: 318.95kcal | Carbohydrates: 8.43g | Protein: 39.79g | Fat: 13.13g | Saturated Fat: 4.96g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.67g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5.6g | Trans Fat: 0.12g | Cholesterol: 112.98mg | Sodium: 844.16mg | Potassium: 752.27mg | Fiber: 0.69g | Sugar: 3.32g | Vitamin A: 135.65IU | Vitamin C: 1.71mg | Calcium: 47.85mg | Iron: 4.01mg

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11 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    We just made this tonight and spent the next couple of hours saying how amazing and delicious this meal is. I would not hesitate to serve this to guests. Thanks for a great meal1

  2. 5 stars
    Just like Madou used to make!

  3. 5 stars
    Oh my goodness I could eat a whole bowl just of the gravy alone. My grandmother always made the best gravy and I try every time to live up to her example! Your recipe will help, thanks!

  4. Cindy Gordon says:

    5 stars
    My moms favorite dish is roast beef with gravy! I am making this for her asap! Thanks for creating such a delicious looking and comforting dish!

  5. 5 stars
    The brown onion gravy sounds so nice. Perfect for a Sunday roast. Need to try this!

  6. 5 stars
    There is nothing more comforting than a tender roast beef , gravy and this would be my favorite meal with mashed potatoes as a side!

  7. 5 stars
    This would be the perfect meal for a special occasion or date night. And the browned butter mashed potatoes sound perfect as a side.

  8. 5 stars
    I just ordered my thermopen and am so excited to get it!!! Your roast beef looks amazing Lisa, it’s beautiful! I love a simple roast beef 🙂