How to Cook Top Round Roast

This is our easy top round roast recipe with dry rub baked in the oven to medium rare. This cut of beef will come out melt-in-your-mouth fork tender for dinner every single time.

We buy half of a cow at the beginning of every year so I cook a lot of easy beef recipes year round. Some are better cut into small bite size pieces and made into a stew of sorts. Others like this one is better left whole and left quite pink in the middle. Believe me, try it as instructed below, you will fall in love like I did.

I will start by saying that I typically like my cow well done, you do NOT want to overcook this one though. Sliced thin it is great served on slider buns or rolls like you would a French dip. We made a few side dishes instead and ate it as is that way. With our homemade rub you don’t need any sauce or A1 with this baby.

For large cuts of beef like this or our Eye of Round Roast it is best if you cook after it has been taken out of the fridge for a good 30 minutes. Then your cut of meat isn’t going from really cold to a hot oven all of a sudden. That requires thinking ahead a bit but keep that in mind.

How Long to Cook Top Round Roast in Oven Medium Rare

You are going to want a top round roast that is a few pounds, ours was 2.1 lbs and fed the 4-5 of us perfectly. This will take about 60 minutes to stay perfectly pink in the center. Sliced thin we always serve it with a side dish.

Frozen Top Round Roast in the Oven

We are using a defrosted / thawed piece of meat, or fresh would work. If you needed to know how to cook a frozen roast in the oven I have directions for that as well. It can be done either way but I will say that thawed beforehand is better. The other turns out surprisingly well but definitely a bit more dry than the other.

Another negative is that if it starts out rock hard you can’t roll it into our pot roast seasoning dry rub recipes and get it to stick. You can sprinkle some on midway once it cooks for a bit but not as much will stay on so it’s not as thick with the crust we like.

Dry Rub Ingredients

Dry rub includes seasonings such as chili powder (just a bit or more to make spicy), I like a bit of peppery Montreal steak seasoning, Salt and pepper are basics, paprika (smoked or regular), cumin is a nice touch for a bold WOW in the rub and garlic powder or onion powder creates a deep savory flavor. To add sweetness include brown sugar.

You will also need a roasting pan with a rack to keep it off the bottom or make a foil ball like you see below. It is just better so the bottom doesn’t get too done and/or sit in any of the drippings. I didn’t have one on hand so I made do with this and it worked just fine.

How to Cook Eye of Round Roast at 325

Always preheat the oven before adding your food in there so it is evenly cooked the whole time it’s in there. In my experience 450 degrees F is the best heat to get a bit of a crust on the outside but keep the center juicy and moist.. Mix together seasonings in a dish. Before adding this, pat outside with paper towels to dry so it sticks well. Set inside a baking dish lifted up slightly so it isn’t sitting directly on the bottom. Start at a higher temp for just 15 minutes and the remainder will be at 325F.

How do you know when top round roast is done?

Bake until internal temperature in the thickest part reaches 135 degrees F for a medium rare roast with a perfectly tender center. For a 2.1 lb. piece this took 60 minutes for us. You do not want to bake it too long, it should be pink, or it will dry out and be hard to chew.

Why do you have to let a roast rest before slicing?

You always want to allow your meat to rest for a good 15 minutes once it’s done, no matter what cooking method you use. That way it will stay moist and the juices won’t immediately run out. Only real exception to this rule is if you were making our frozen roast in slow cooker or fresh one. You could slice it right away that way.

How to save leftovers

The BEST way to reheat leftover beef is to dice it up, toss with some teriyaki sauce and make steak bites in the oven out of them. Seriously, it’s the only way to go. Then we usually put it on top of rice with some broccoli or steamed cauliflower. You do want to make sure to save it properly when you are done though.

With your roast leftovers wait until it cools to room temperature. Store it whole in a freezer bag or foil in the fridge. Within 3-4 days cut it up into bite size pieces and I think it needs some sauce to moisten it back up again. You could alternatively toss your lean cuts with olive oil and dry seasonings. Just a few minutes in your air fryer warms and crisps them up!