This air fryer roast beef recipe is tender, juicy, flavorful, and cooked to the perfect medium-rare.
Can you cook a beef roast in the air fryer? Yes! This air fryer roast beef recipe is tender, juicy, flavorful, and cooked to the perfect medium-rare. Learn how to pick the most delicious and buttery cut of beef you’ve ever had for roast dinner. We’ll cook it on the air fryer spit, for a main course ideal for a holiday or special Sunday dinner.
Ingredients
2 lb beef roast (907 grams; see article above for tips on choosing the right beef roast for roast beef; I recommend this one)
1 tablespoon olive oil
steak seasoning (to taste)
Instructions
Important! Please read the article above before beginning this recipe! It contains information critical to recipe success.
Allow the thawed roast rest at room temperature for about an hour.
Attach the hooks of the air fryer rotisserie spit to the center of the long sides of the roast. (Watch the recipe video below!)
Fold the meat over the spit so the short ends of the roast touch. Tie the roast around the spit in three places with the kitchen twine.
Rub the tied roast on all sides with the olive oil and sprinkle liberally with steak seasoning.
Preheat your air fryer to 390°F (199°C) for 5 minutes.
Attach the rotisserie spit with the meat to your air fryer.
Air fry for 15 minutes at 390°F (199°C), then 15 more minutes at 325°F (163°C).
Check the internal temperature of the roast with a meat thermometer to ensure it has reached the desired level of doneness. I’ve cooked mine to 130°F/54°C (medium rare). Air fry longer at 325°F (163°C) if your roast is not done.
After air frying, remove the spit, cover the roast in foil, and let rest for 10-15 minutes.
After air frying and resting, you can cut the twine from the roast and unroll it. Cut the roast against the grain (widthwise) into thin slices. Enjoy this special entree!
Notes
This is a level 2 recipe (transition or weight maintenance). Beef tenderloin is a lean beef choice. (Cuts of beef with “loin” or “round” in the name tend to be lower fat options.)
That said, this entree is so delicious that I think it would be practically impossible to eat a small amount. We each easily devoured about ¼ of the roast in a sitting. When you add all the sides that typically accompany a roast, you’re getting a moderate- to high-calorie meal.
If you have a weight loss goal, you can make your meal lower in calories by modifying your side dish choices. Instead of buttery mashed potatoes, biscuits, and Yorkshire puddings, pile on the non-starchy veggies.
Items like green leafy veggies, broccoli, and green beans will add a lot of volume to your meal for few calories. (Unless, of course, you pile on the added fats and oils. Items like butter and olive oil add 100-120 calories per tablespoon.)
If you add enough veggies to your plate, you may be satisfied with a smaller portion of the beef. That said, this entrée is amongst the top 5-10 things I’ve eaten in my life. TBH, I wouldn’t want to cut back and definitely think it’s worth the splurge.
I prefer to evaluate foods based on what may be a realistic portion versus what is recommended. Though ⅛ of the roast may be closer to Dietary Guidelines recommendations for a portion of meat, I don’t consider it realistic for many. (“Many” includes myself and my family, BTW.)
I’d rather have people take a larger portion of satiating protein, perhaps crowding some of the energy-dense starches off the plate. Doing so may make it less likely you’ll engage in mindless snacking, improving the overall quality of your diet.