Name: Top Round Roast Recipe with Gravy
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 140 min
Ingredients: 1 top round roast (2 1/2 - 4 pounds); 1/2 head celery; 3 large carrots (or 5 small carrots); 1 onion (yellow or white); 1 head garlic; 2-3 tbsp salt; 2 tsp black pepper (coarse or fine ground); 1 cup stock or broth (vegetable, beef, or chicken); 2 tbsp olive oil; Sprigs of fresh rosemary, bay leaves, and/or oregano (to place around the roast); 1 cup stock or broth (vegetable, beef, or chicken); 2 tbsp raspberry or blackberry jam; 1/4 cup all-purpose flour; 1/3 cup red wine (any full-bodied red wine like Pinot Noir); Pan juices from the roast

This top-round roast recipe takes a lean cut of meat and makes it tender and juicy with a delicious savory gravy on top. It’s the perfect holiday or celebration meal!

A top round roast is a cut from the inside of the hind legs of the cow.

The round is the muscles surrounding the back legs of the cow, which means it’s a muscular area that doesn’t have a lot of fat.

The top round is generally a budget-friendly cut of beef, which is why it’s considered the “cheaper version of prime rib.”

But since it comes from a lean (or not fatty) part of the cow, it can easily become dry and tough if not cooked correctly.

The upside is that a top round is full of flavor and packed with protein! But don’t worry about ending up with a dry, tough piece of meat.

Because I, Rebecca of Good Things Baking, am here to walk you through creating a perfect top round roast, roasted to flavorful perfection for a celebration or holiday dinner.

Table of Contents

Ingredients for a Top-Round Roast

Top round roast — Between 2 1/2 and 4 pounds

Half head of celery

Large or small carrots

Yellow or white onion

Head of garlic

Olive oil

Salt — I like to use a mixture of finely ground and large flake kosher salt.

Black pepper — Coarse or fine ground

Stock or broth — Vegetable, beef, or chicken

Fresh rosemary, bay leaves, or oregano

Ingredients for The Gravy

Pan juices from the roast

Stock or broth — Vegetable, beef, or chicken

Raspberry or blackberry jam

All-purpose flour

Red wine — I used Pinot Noir, but any full-bodied red wine will work well.

How to Cook a Top-Round Roast

Step 1 – Remove your beef from the refrigerator for at least an hour before cooking it. This removes the chill and helps the proteins in the roast relax for more tender meat.

Prepping Your Roast

Step 2 – While the meat is warming up, chop three large carrots, half a head of celery, and one onion into large chunks.

Step 3 – Cut the top off a head of garlic and break it up into cloves. Make sure to leave them in their papery skins.

Step 4 – Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Step 5 – Place the chunks of vegetables into the bottom of a roasting pan or Dutch oven.

Drizzle the vegetables with olive oil.

Step 6 – Then, pour a cup of stock or broth over the veggies.

Step 7 – When the roast has reached room temperature, pat it dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture.

Step 8 – Rub the roast with another tablespoon of olive oil.

Step 9 – Mix 2-3 tablespoons of salt with two teaspoons of ground black pepper.

Then, sprinkle and rub the entire surface of the beef with the salt and pepper mixture.

Step 10 – Add a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, bay leaves, and oregano around the roast.

Cooking Your Roast

Step 11 – Place in the oven and roast for 15 minutes at 450°F. This will sear the outside and make it crusty and flavorful.

Step 12 – Next, reduce the heat to 300°F.

Step 13 – Cook the roast at 300°F for another 50-60 minutes, or until the internal temperature measures between 131° and 135°.

This will leave the roast between medium-rare and medium doneness, but don’t be tempted to keep cooking it.

The leanness of this cut of meat means that cooking it to medium-well or well-done will result in a dry roast that’s difficult to eat and cut.

The cooking times will vary based on the size of your roast.

Step 14 – Start checking the temperature of the roast for around 45 minutes, and watch it closely during the last bit of roasting, as it will cook rather quickly at that stage.

Step 15 – Once it has reached your desired level of doneness, remove the roast from the oven.

Transfer it to a plate or pan and tent the top with foil.

Step 16 – Let the roast rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing.

You’ll use the remaining item to make your gravy.

Making the Gravy for Your Roast Beef Recipe

Step 1 – To make the gravy, remove and discard the sprigs of herbs that are in the pan.

Step 2 – Set the cooked carrots aside.

Step 3 – Then, use a fork or masher to smash the remaining vegetables. There should be a lot of juice in the bottom of the pan from the broth used and from the roast.

Step 4 – If you did not cook the roast in a stove-top safe pan, pour everything from the roasting dish into a pot at this point.

Step 5 – If you did, you could place the pan that the roast was cooked in on a burner and heat the contents over medium heat until they are simmering.

Step 6 – In a separate bowl, whisk the flour and a cup of stock or broth until there are no lumps of flour left.

Step 7 – Whisk the jam into the simmering pan until it has dissolved.

Step 8 – Then, add the red wine.

Step 9 – Continue whisking as you pour in the flour and broth mixture.

Next, bring it back to a simmer and continue to cook until the gravy has thickened.

Step 10 – Taste the gravy to see if it needs more seasoning. Salt and pepper accordingly.

Step 11 – Place a large sieve over a bowl and strain the gravy through it to remove the smashed vegetables.

Step 12 –Pour in a gravy boat or small bowl and serve it with the roast.

How To Serve The Roast

To cut and serve the roast, place it on a cutting board after it has finished resting.

Using a very sharp, straight-edged knife, slice the meat against the grain as thin as you can.

You can tell the direction of the grain in meat by which way the muscle fibers are aligned.

You want to cut across the fibers rather than along them. This helps break up the fibers in the meat, making it easier to chew.

After your roast is sliced, serve it immediately.

I recommend serving it with cooked carrots and roasted potatoes with a glass of spiced mulled wine.

Leftover roast is delicious when eaten cold and is perfect for sandwiches.

You can also gently reheat it in the microwave or oven, but be sure not to overcook it.

Do I Need To Let My Top Round Roast Beef Rest After Cooking?

You should always allow at least 15-20 minutes of rest time after your roast is finished cooking.

The proteins in the meat tighten during cooking, and rest time allows them to relax and reabsorb some of the juices.

If you cut into a roast immediately after it’s cooked, you’ll lose a lot more of the natural juices of the meat and will have a drier, less tender slice of meat.

The resting time for this roast is a perfect chance to make the gravy so that you can put that extra 20 minutes to good use.

Top Roast Cooking Times

All of these times are for roasting at 300°F.

Don’t forget to add an extra 30-40 minutes when calculating your cooking time to allow for the searing at 450°F and another 15-25 minutes of resting after the roast is cooked.

For a roast between:

— 2 1/2 to 4 pounds, calculate 30 minutes of cooking time per pound.

— 4 to 6 pounds, calculate 25 minutes of cooking time per pound.

— 6 to 10 pounds, calculate 20 minutes of cooking time per pound.

Keep in mind that all of these times are subjective and are best to be used for planning purposes only.

Rely on your meat thermometer to read the internal temperature to determine the readiness of your roast.

Some variables that could affect the cooking time are the real temperature of your oven (they can run a few degrees hot or cold), the kind of pan you’re cooking the roast in, and how often you open the oven door.

Internal Temperatures for a Top Roast

The temperatures listed here are for the different levels of doneness you can cook your roast too.

Because top-round roast is such a lean cut of meat, I don’t recommend cooking it past 135°F to avoid it getting tough and chewy.

However, you can cook it to the level that you like and are comfortable eating.

Rare — Very pink through the center and nearly to the edges. Cook to 125°F.

Medium-Rare — More brown around the edges, but the center will still be fairly pink. Cook to 135°F.

Medium — Mostly cooked through, with a pinkish center. Cook to 145°F.

Medium-Well — Hardly any pink in the very center of the roast. Cook to 150°F.

Well Done — The meat is cooked completely through, with no pink in the center at all. Cook to 160°F.

What to Serve with Top Round Roast Recipe With Gravy

This Winter Panzanella Salad with Honey Lemon Dressing is perfect for a meal with a Top Round Roast Recipe With Gravy.

The tangy dressing complements the savory roast, and the roasted vegetables provide a nice crunch.

If you have some extra time before dinner, try making this Flavorful Canned Green Beans with Bacon, Onion, and Garlic recipe.

This side dish is loaded with flavor from the bacon and garlic, and it’s a perfect vegetable to go alongside the roast.

Or this Beetroot Salad With Goat Cheese and Walnuts. The sweetness of the beets pairs well with the gravy, and the goat cheese and walnut add a crunchy texture.

More Dinner Ideas to Try

The holidays are hectic enough so check out some of our favorite quick and easy holiday recipes from the archives below —