Prime Rib Roast is a favorite for holiday dinners. If you want to know how to cook a the most mouthwatering tender roast with a flavorful fresh herb crust and divine rich wine sauce, everything you need to know to get perfect results every time is below. This recipe works for any size roast; boneless or bone-in.
Why this recipe works:
If you're looking for the best prime rib recipe, look no further.
- Best Christmas Dinner: Prime rib roast is an excellent cut of beef to enjoy for a special or holiday dinner. Why? Because you can buy various sizes of the roast that will feed anywhere from 4-20 people. Plus, by the nature of how prime rib cooks, you will end up with servings that range anywhere from rare or medium rare all the way to well done.
- You won't stress about the cost: Prime rib is an expensive cut of meat for good reason. The incredibly tender cut is marbled with fat in all the right places to yield the most delicious beef roast you'll ever enjoy. That being said, it can be rather intimidating to spend that much money on a roast if you've never cooked one before. Never fear; I will walk you through everything you need to know to achieve perfect results.
This recipe has always been my favorite because it is actually incredibly simple. You'll find that the roast turns out flavorful and moist because of the cooking method and the herb crust. The rich red wine sauce is the perfect accompaniment.
This recipe has been viewed well over 2 million times and continues to be everyone's favorite holiday recipe.
How to cook prime rib in the oven:
Full instructions are located in the recipe card below, but here is a summary.
Step 1: Prepare the roast:
Place the roast on a rack in a roasting pan with the fat cap facing up. Add beef broth and red wine to the pan.
add beef broth to pan 
add red wine to pan
Meanwhile, create a mixture of olive oil, fresh garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
Spread all of the herb mixture over the top of the roast. Insert a meat thermometer into the center of the roast.
Step 2: Roast in oven:
Cook the prime rib in a 450°F oven for about 20 minutes. Then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and continue cooking until the desired internal temperature is met.
Remove the roast from the pan and loosely tent with aluminum foil to keep it warm while it rests. Finally, you'll add more wine to the drippings in the pan and reduce the sauce over heat to serve alongside the roast.
FAQs:
What is prime rib?
A standing prime rib roast is an expensive cut of meat from a steer consisting of beef ribs and the ribeye section. It is referred to as a standing rib roast because the roast stands on the bones, creating an insulating layer of protection.
Prime rib roast can be purchased as boneless or bone-in. The bones do not add to the flavor like they would if they were braised in liquid, however they do insulate the meat and are also quite delicious.
How much prime rib per person:
A prime rib roast can contain anywhere from 2-7 bones. Alternatively, they often range in size from 4-pounds all the way up to 20-pounds. To determine the size, plan on at least 1-pound per serving.
How long to cook prime rib:
This recipe uses a very high heat to first sear the roast, creating a flavorful crust, and then continues to use a relatively high heat to continue cooking the roast.
For that reason, this recipe does not take that long to cook, but completely depends on a number of factors: size of roast, starting temperature of meat, consistency of oven, final temperature of meat (rare, medium rare, etc.).
Using this recipe, a 5-pound roast will only take about 2 hours to roast, plus rest time. For larger roasts, estimate an additional 10 minutes per pound.
Cooking tips for perfect results:
- For more even cooking, allow meat to sit at room temperature for at least an hour prior to cooking. If the prime rib is taken directly from the refrigerator to the oven, the ends will be cooked much more than the middle.
- Keep a close eye on the internal temperature as it approaches your desired temperature. The rate at which the temperature increases will accelerate the closer the roast is to being cooked.
- Any kind of dry red wine will work. I will typically use a Pinot Noir.
- When you cook large roast in a roasting pan, you have to ensure you get the roast the the exact desired temperature and you have to let it properly rest if you want a perfectly cooked, tender, juicy roast.
- A 4-5 pound roast should take approximately two hours to cook. There are many factors impacting total cook time including the size and starting temperature of the roast, the accuracy of your oven temperature, and how consistently your oven cooks.
- Slicing the roast is easiest with an electric knife.
Prime Rib temperature:
- Plan to remove your prime rib roast from the oven when it is at 10 degrees below your desired final temperature.
- The final prime rib temperature for rare meat is 120-125°F, medium rare is 130-135°F, and well done is 140-145°F
- When you cook for a crowd, the best rule of thumb is to remove your prime rib roast from the oven when it hits 120°F and allow it to rest for about 20 minutes while loosely tented with foil.
- If you target medium rare, you'll most likely please everyone's preferences for how they like their prime rib roast cooked.
Side dish recipe recommendations:
A feast like a perfectly cooked prime rib roast deserves side dishes that are equally amazing. Here are a few recommendations that are perfect.
- Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, or Gorgonzola Celery Root Mashed Potatoes for your starch
- Wilted Garlic Spinach or Garlic Parmesan Oven Roasted Asparagus as a dark green vegetable
- Homemade Dinner Rolls or Cornmeal Yeast Rolls with butter are also heavenly!
Did you make this recipe? Please leave me a comment below and let me know what you think!
Perfect Prime Rib Roast
CLICK TO PLAY RECIPE VIDEO
Ingredients
- 1 4-5 pound beef prime rib roast (I prefer bone-in where the bones are cut and then tied to the roast )
- 1 750 mL bottle red wine (divided)
- 2 cups beef broth (Might need more, see note below)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons garlic
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary (minced)
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme (minced)
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- For best results and even cooking, set roast out at room temperature for at least an hour prior to cooking. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 450°F and ensure top rack is low enough such that the roasting pan will be in the middle of the oven.
- Prepare roast: Using a roasting pan with a rack, add 2 cups of wine (reserving the rest for later) and the beef broth to the base of the pan. Set the roast in the rack with the fat side up. In a separate bowl, mix olive oil, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper and spread this mixture on top of the roast. Insert meat thermometer into center of roast, avoiding contact with the bones.
- Roast in oven: Place roasting pan in hot 450°F oven for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350°F and continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 115 to 120°F for medium rare (125 to 130°F after resting), or 125 to 130°F for medium (135 to 140°F after resting). And remember, a roast will continue to rise by 5 to 10°F as it rests. Total cooking time will depend on size of roast and initial temperature. Once removed from oven, transfer roast to plate or cutting board, loosely tent with foil, and allow to rest for at least 15-20 minutes. NOTE: Keep an eye on the liquid in the roasting pan as the roast is cooking. If it appears that the liquid is evaporating, add additional beef broth. If all the liquid evaporates, the contents on the bottom of the pan will burn.
- Make red wine sauce: While the roast is resting, Transfer any liquid and drippings from the roasting pan to a saucepan. Add remaining wine, heat until the mixture starts to bubble around the edges, then reduce heat as low as you can to maintain a gentle simmer. When roast has finished resting, skim off any fat from the wine sauce and serve warm sauce alongside the roast.
- Serve: Slice roast and serve with red wine sauce on the side.
Notes
Cooking tips for perfect results:
- Allow meat to sit at room temperature for at least an hour prior to cooking.
- Keep a close eye on the internal temperature as it approaches your desired temperature. The rate at which the temperature increases will accelerate the closer the roast is to being cooked.
- Any kind of dry red wine will work. I will typically use a Pinot Noir.
- When you cook large roast in a roasting pan, you have to ensure you get the roast to the exact desired temperature and you have to let it properly rest if you want a perfectly cooked, tender, juicy roast.
- A 4-5 pound roast should take approximately two hours to cook. There are many factors impacting total cook time including the size and starting temperature of the roast, the accuracy of your oven temperature, and how consistently your oven cooks.
- Slicing the roast is easiest with an electric knife.
- NOTE: Keep an eye on the liquid in the roasting pan as the roast is cooking. If it appears that the liquid is evaporating, add additional beef broth. If all the liquid evaporates, the contents on the bottom of the pan will burn.
NUTRITION INFORMATION
This post was originally published in November 2016 and has been updated with process photos, helpful information, and cooking tips. Don't worry - I didn't change the recipe!
Joan
Fabulous recipe!! Roast was tender and delicious!! Very easy. Came out exactly how instructions said it would for lengthy of cooking time and internal temperature. I’m no chef and I followed along very easily.
Juliet
The recommended oven temperature is way too high. A prime rib should cook slowly on a much lower temperature. The herbs got burned instead of letting out their aroma and taste slowly. My prime rib cooked way too fast and didn’t have time to develop the flavor of the wine and herbs.
Krissy
I'm sorry it didn't work for you? I've made it many times and it worked perfectly. It only starts out on a high heat to "sear" the outside. I wonder if your rack wasn't low enough?
Amie
Amazing! Cooked two 7lb at once and it was so good! Thank you!
Michael W
Turned out great… a fine steakhouse quality. So moist and flavorful.
And, I was pleasantly surprised with the wine/broth reduction in place of our traditional Au Jùs.
We will be making our next Prime Rib roast using this same recipe.
Sheila guzman
How long to cook 15 lb
Audrey
Delicious. this is a classic. It's very easy and since the roast is no fuss, you can turn your attention to the side dishes or your guests while the house fills with the aromas. I cooked it last night for a family holiday feast. Everybody loved it. I used this recipe for a lamb rack earlier this week too- also delicious.
Amie
Can I cook two roasts at one time? Also, can I use my electric roasting oven?
Krissy
Should totally work. Just be sure to space them out so that they aren't touching and it *may* increase your cooking time.
Elisa
How long should a 4 bone in roast take? We have a good thermometer but want to tune everything well. Thanks!
Tim
Good Recipe. I liked trying the herbs vs traditional salt and pepper crust. I also like the way the herbs stayed attached to roast. Everything was easy. I didn’t need to reference any other online recipes as this one was quite comprehensive. The recipe gave some practice tips. I also tried the horseradish sauce which was very good as well. I was going to make au jus using a marketed product, but skipped that, preferring the wine/broth au jus. I’ll try this recipe again.