Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Bleu Cheese Butter
Serve up a beautiful holiday beef tenderloin roast with very little active time and effort on your part.

1 hr 15 min
About 1 hour 15 minutes to prep and cook
493 cal
493 calories per serving
Serves 8
Serves about 8 people
Overview
Serving up a delicious holiday meal is not out of reach, even if pain and fatigue from arthritis are issues for you. Beef tenderloin is often a fancy special-occasion dish but it’s also surprisingly easy. Ask your butcher to do the work for you. (Any good supermarket butcher will know what “trimmed and tied” means.) You’ll just need to smear it with a bit of olive oil, season it and pop it into the oven. An instant-read thermometer is a great way to guarantee a perfect roast.
To make this recipe by professional recipe developer Jess Thomson, who lives with lupus, you will need a roasting pan, a couple bowls and a knife for slicing the butter into rounds.
To make this recipe by professional recipe developer Jess Thomson, who lives with lupus, you will need a roasting pan, a couple bowls and a knife for slicing the butter into rounds.
Ingredients
2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 Tbsp. ground pepper
1 (3 ½-pound) beef tenderloin roast, trimmed and tied
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
5-oz. crumbled bleu cheese
Calories: (493 ); Fat: (28.4g); Carbohydrates: (2g); Sodium: (1001mg); Sugar: (2g); Fiber: (0g); Cholesterol: (192mg); Protein: (58g)
Directions
Step One
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Step Two
In a small bowl, blend salt and pepper.
Step Three
Place tenderloin on a rack in a roasting pan or on a high-sided baking sheet lined with foil.
Step Four
Pat meat dry and rub on all sides with the olive oil, then pat seasonings on, taking care to get the bottom and sides of the tenderloin.
Step Five
Let sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes.
Step Six
While the meat sits, mash butter and bleu cheese together in a bowl. If you’re making it the day of the meal, serve it from the bowl.
Step Seven
If you’re making this in advance, dump the butter onto one end of a 12-inch-square piece of parchment or waxed paper, then roll it up, forming a log, and twist the ends to contain the butter. (It should look like a giant Tootsie Roll.) Wrap in plastic and refrigerate up to one week.
Step Eight
Roast beef for 40 to 50 minutes (timing will depend on the shape of your tenderloin), or until it reaches 130°F for medium-rare.
Step Nine
Let the roast rest 10 minutes before slicing into inch-thick rounds.
Step Ten
Unwrap bleu cheese butter and slice into ½-inch-thick discs.
Step Eleven
Serve meat warm and pass butter as a topping.
Chef's Notes:
- Extra virgin olive oil is a great oil choice for people with arthritis. That’s because it’s high in monounsaturated fats and anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds. Olive oil doesn’t need to be refrigerated, but it will last longer away from heat and fluctuating temperatures and even longer in the fridge.
- If you have the option, choose grass-fed butter. Butter from grass-fed cows is a great source of fatty acids, include Omega-3s. It’s also high in vitamin K2 and studies have shown that people who eat more grass-fed dairy have a lower risk of heart disease.
- Beef tenderloin is “trimmed” to remove the silvery outer layer of connective tissue. It’s important to have it removed because it’s hard to cut and doesn’t taste very good. Luckily the butcher can do this step for you!
*Disclaimer: All nutritional information provided is approximate and based on USDA measurements. Actual amounts may vary based on exact ingredients used, how they are prepared and serving size.

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