A ribeye roast, also known as a boneless prime rib roast, is a classic entrée for holidays and other special meals. With a garlic butter crust and delicious, juicy meat, this recipe is perfect for smaller gatherings but can easily be scaled for larger crowds. A bone-in stand rib roast can also be used.
🐄Ingredients
Rib roast—2 to 4 pounds boneless rib roast, AKA ribeye roast. A bone-in rib roast may be used.
Fresh Garlic—crushed or minced
Butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Jump To (scroll for more)
- 🐄Ingredients
- 👨🍳How to Cook a Small Ribeye (Boneless Prime Rib) Roast—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
- ⏰Cooking Time for a Small Ribeye (Boneless Prime Rib) Roast
- 👨🍳Make it right every time
- 🥣Making Au Jus from the dripping
- 🛒Shopping
- 📋Related Recipes
- 🔥What to Do About Smoking Ovens
- 🍽️What to serve with ribeye roast?
- ❄️Storage and Reheating Leftovers
- 🐄Ribeye vs. Rib Roast vs. Prime Rib—What is the Difference?
- ❓FAQs
- 📖 Recipe
- Small Ribeye (Boneless Prime Rib) Roast
Featured Comment by Suzi :
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"OMG! My first time making a rib roast, and it is beyond delicious. An almost 3 lb roast cooked perfectly according to your directions. I may eat the entire thing. Thank you!"
If you have a smaller household, do you want to cook 5-10 pounds of prime rib or ribeye roast? If not, a small prime rib or ribeye roast will be perfect for you. Follow my easy, step-by-step instructions to make a small ribeye (prime rib) roast that is perfect for smaller households.
Ribeye roast is one of the best and most delicious cuts of beef. It has excellent marbling, which makes it extraordinarily moist and tender. We love to serve slices of prime rib at special meals.
A bone-in rib roast is a ribeye roast with the bones still attached. Because the bones absorb additional heat, cooking times are a bit longer, but the technique is the same.
👨🍳How to Cook a Small Ribeye (Boneless Prime Rib) Roast—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
1. Let the roast rest at room temperature for 30-90 minutes. Then, preheat the oven to 500°.
2. Mix softened butter with crushed garlic. Poke 15-20 half-inch knife holes into the roast.
3. Slather the butter/garlic mixture onto the roast and sprinkle with salt and black pepper.
4. Prep a roasting pan with a rack and give the rack a heavy coat of PAM.
5. Roast at 500° for 20 minutes, then at 325° for 45-90 minutes until desired internal temperature.
6. Tent lightly with foil and rest for 15-20 minutes before cutting. Au Jus is discussed below.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
⏰Cooking Time for a Small Ribeye (Boneless Prime Rib) Roast
After an initial 20-minute searing in a 500° oven, reduce the oven temperature to 325° and continue roasting until the desired internal temperature is reached.
Approximate cooking times for 2 to 2 ½ pound boneless prime rib roast
For a 2 ½ pound roast, the initial 20 minutes of searing at 500° are followed by approximately an additional 45 minutes for 130°, 55 minutes for 140°, and 60 minutes for 145°. However, the internal temperature should always be checked several times early on.
Rare—cold red center (125°-130°)—Searing time of 20 minutes plus oven time of about 40-45 minutes for a total time of about 60-65 minutes.
Medium Rare—warm red center (130°-140°)—Searing time of 20 minutes plus oven time of about 45-55 minutes for a total time of about 65-75 minutes.
Medium—pink and firm (140°-150°)—Searing time of 20 minutes plus oven time of about 55-65 minutes for a total time of about 75-85 minutes.
Medium Well and Well Done—Not recommended
For 3 to 3 ½ pounds of ribeye roast, add approximately 20-30 minutes to the approximate oven and total times. A 4-pound ribeye roast will take about 5-10 minutes longer than a 3-pound roast.
Times are only provided to help in planning; never cook by time. You must cook to a final internal temperature, which you should always check several times early. Remember to account for a rise in temperature of 4°-8° after removal from the oven.
The bigger and thicker a roast is, the longer it will reach your desired internal temperature. Small roasts that are larger around but thinner may be significantly faster.
👨🍳Make it right every time
It is important to let it rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, up to 1 ½ hours before roasting. Combined with the searing, you will have some pink to the edge if you are looking for rarer results (recommended).
Au Jus can be made with pan drippings, or if you are adding fluid under the rack (see the discussion about smoking ovens), use beef broth for the liquid.
Cook with the fat side up. If you cook a bone-in rib roast, the ribs will be on the downside.
Cooking on a rack is highly recommended and will help drain fats and fluids.
ALWAYS rest the meat before slicing. During the rest period, the temperature will rise 4° to 8° after cooking.
The quality of the meat matters. Buy prime quality if you can. The recipe's name is "Prime Rib," not to be confused with the quality rating of the beef.
🥣Making Au Jus from the dripping
Making homemade Au Jus is easy. Use a saucepan on the stovetop.
- ¼ cup meat drippings—I like to drain off the fat. If not available, use extra broth.
- 2 cups beef broth—can be reused from under the meat if used to prevent smoking.
- 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire or soy sauce OR 2 to 4 tablespoons of bold red wine.
- Salt and cracked black pepper to taste.
- If you want to thicken the au jus, near the end of simmering, slowly whisk in a slurry of cold water and 2 teaspoons of cornstarch.
Simmer on the stovetop with low heat for 10 to 15 minutes until slightly reduced.
🛒Shopping
Here are some suggestions I like, but you can find many more good products that will work at your local big-box store. All links below are affiliate links, meaning I make a small profit from your purchases. This commission does not affect your price. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Smoke™ by Thermoworks™
Oven Safe Racks
Thermapen™ One from Thermoworks™
ThermoPro TP19 Instant Read Thermometer
📋Related Recipes
For other special meal main dishes, check out Roasted Turkey Breast, Crock Pot Glazed Ham, Pan Seared Filet Mignon, New York Strip in the oven, or Chicken Parmesan. Or fire up the gas grill for Grilled Ribeyes, Grilled Filet Mignon, or Grilled Pork Tenderloin.
This recipe is featured in Thanksgiving Recipes, Christmas Recipes, and Easter Recipes roundups.
🔥What to Do About Smoking Ovens
You probably will have some smoke because you have fat from the meat and butter during the searing. The fat is going to hit hot metal and smoke.
I reduced the butter in the recipe, which helped a lot. Melted butter in the pan doesn't improve the taste, anyway.
You have some choices about if this smokes too much for you:
- You can add beef broth (if making Au Jus) or water to the pan under the rack so that when the butter melts, it hits the liquid (max temp of 212°) instead of the 500° pan. This is my favorite method.
- Sear at 450° instead of 500°. It works almost as well and will eliminate much of the smoke.
- You can eliminate the butter and use a higher-temperature vegetable oil, which still may smoke some but less. However, there are better solutions than this; I want butter.
- You can realize it will happen and live with it—lots of exhaust fans and open windows.
- You can skip the "searing" entirely and use a 350° oven. It will take a bit longer, but it will be fine. Just cook to a final internal temperature. This will lead to more moderately cooked meat above the less cooked center—not what most people want.
🍽️What to serve with ribeye roast?
Fresh salad and roasted vegetables like Baked Green Beans with Bacon or Roasted Asparagus are good side dishes, along with Roasted Baby Potatoes as a starch. I always like to add Julia Child's French Bread.
For a wine pairing, we prefer Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, or Pinot Noir.
❄️Storage and Reheating Leftovers
Leftovers can be stored tightly covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Or frozen airtight for 3-4 months.
To reheat leftovers, first, thaw overnight in the refrigerator if frozen. Reheat it in the oven and cover it with moisture, like au jus or beef broth.
🐄Ribeye vs. Rib Roast vs. Prime Rib—What is the Difference?
There can be confusing, but it is relatively simple. The term Prime Rib should be thought of as the name of a recipe. The meat used to cook prime rib is a rib roast. Most people will think of a bone-in-standing rib roast—usually 8-10 pounds.
If the butcher trims off the ribs, you will have a boneless rib roast, also known as a ribeye roast. These are generally cut smaller and much easier for home use, but they are the same cut of meat. If sliced before cooking, you have a ribeye steak, sometimes called a boneless prime rib steak.
Cuts of meat used for prime rib do not need to be prime grade; they will usually be choice grade. Prime grade will cost more, but it is worth the cost for special occasions.
Rib roasts with rib may be called “prime rib” or standing rib roast. In the US, things labeled ribeye will almost always be boneless but may have ribs in other countries/
❓FAQs
A reasonable estimate of how much ribeye roast to buy is ⅓ to ½ pound per serving. Assume more for teenage boys and hungry people.
Cut the meat across the grain. Think of it as a log and cut off round slices for serving.
📖 Recipe
Small Ribeye (Boneless Prime Rib) Roast
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Video Slideshow
Ingredients
- 2-4 pound boneless rib roast
- 3 cloves garlic crushed or minced
- 3 tablespoons butter
- salt and pepper to taste
- beef broth optional to prevent smoking and in au jus
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 500° and lower a rack so the roast will be in the middle of the oven. Allow the ribeye roast to rest at room temperature for 30-90 minutes.
- Mix 3 tablespoons of softened butter with 3 cloves of crushed garlic. Poke 15-20 half-inch knife holes into the roast.
- Slather the butter/garlic mixture onto the roast, pushing some of the mixture into the holes. Add some kosher salt and black pepper to the roast.
- Prep a roasting pan with a rack and give the rack a heavy coat of PAM. A cake pan is good here. The pan needs some sides to prevent splatter. I suggest using the rack and some water under the rack to decrease the smoke.
- Place the fat side up on the rack and into a 500° oven for 20 minutes, then decrease the oven's temperature to 325° and continue to roast until desired internal temperature—45 to 90 minutes, depending on size and desired temperature. Always check temp several times early. Allow for a 5°-10° rise in temperature after removal from the oven. Never cook by time alone. Always check with a meat thermometer. See Notes below about smaller or thinner roasts.
- Tent the roast lightly with foil and let it rest for 15-20 minutes before cutting. Remember that the temperature may increase by 4°-8° when tented.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- A reasonable estimate of the size of the roast is ⅓ to ½ pound per serving.
- Never cook by time alone. Always check with a meat thermometer. The timing chart is in the post.
- If cooking a smaller, flatter, and thinner roast, it may cook faster. Please check the temperature a few times, at least every 15-20 minutes. A continuous remote thermometer is recommended.
- Good refrigerated for 4 days and can be frozen for 4 months.
- Reheat it in the oven and cover it with some moisture, like au jus or beef broth.
- Homemade Au Jus is discussed in the post.
- Smoking ovens and estimated cooking times are covered in detail in the post.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
© 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.
Based on an Allrecipes.com recipe for inspiration.
Editor's Note: Originally published September 17, 2017. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Lindsay says
Did you take the meat out of the fridge and let it come to room temp before cooking? Excited to try your recipe today!
DrDan says
Hi Lindsay,
Welcome to the blog.
Resting to room temperature is not really needed here. If you want "well done" (and nobody does) then resting at room temp for 30 minutes would be helpful in obtaining the final internal temperature.
Have a good dinner.
Dan
Lindsay says
Thank you! The rarer the better for us! Thanks for your prompt response! Merry Christmas!
Karen E Holcomb says
Hey, I am so happy that I found your recipe again. It's been a year since I used it last and it took about 45 minutes surfing to find it this morning. While my riast is much bigger this year, I'm confident I can adjust. Definitely going to bookmark the page this time. Merry Christmas!
Faith K Beasley says
Just throwing this put there as a helpful tip, if you ask your butcher for a rib roast closer the the strip side then the chuck side you won't have that knot of fat in the middle of your roast.
DrDan says
Hi Faith,
Welcome to the blog.
Thanks for the tip. I believe it is also more marbled. So good in every way.
Happy Holiday and thanks for the note.
Dan
Lenore says
Hi—-was that coventional 500 or convection? I have an electric oven ( dislike it very much, but in Fl and unless running my own gas line.....) and things don’t seem to crisp too well without convection. Planning on making a small roast for Christmas.
Btw: love your recipes. The seared strip steak one of my favs.
DrDan says
Hi Lenore,
Welcome to the blog.
That is 500 degrees conventional not convection.
Watch for the smoking issues. If you are not used to high-temperature ovens, take it up to 500 degrees before the big day to see if it smokes.
Have a good holiday.
Dan
Mary Savage says
What do you use, or what do you suggest for au jus/gravy? Recipes?
DrDan says
Hi Mary,
Welcome to the blog.
For a clear au jus, I would use 2 cups of a good beef broth/stock to the drippings assuming there is not a lot of fat. You can use a fat separator if needed. Add a teaspoon of soy sauce to pop the beef taste some and add salt and pepper to taste. Be careful with the salt since the soy sauce is high in sodium.
Some people want more of a gravy. See https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/how-to-make-gravy-101/ for two methods.
Hope that helps.
Dan
Bill says
I do enjoy beef above other meats but cooking a beef roast of any kind is problematic for me. I enjoy my beef at medium rare. Even medium isn’t an enjoyable taste of beef. My wife is the opposite, no red at all, or she won’t eat it, well done or none.
I don’t want to waste a good rib roast by either over or under cooking, so I don’t cook them. What I’m thinking of trying is to cook a rib roast to medium rare then after resting, slice her portion, return that portion to the oven until it reaches her desired well done.
What are your thoughts?
Thanks!
Bill
DrDan says
Hi Bill,
Welcome to the blog.
I had a similar but not quite as severe problem yrs ago for large holiday meals. My solution at that time was to cook whole large beef tenderloins. The ends, and several inches in, were medium then tapered down to medium rare. But that was a big piece of meat. The key was to cook at high temps but not too long. The ends and outside of the middle cooked but the middle not so much.
This will work somewhat with this smaller rib roast but not as well.
Your plan to cook her portion after cutting will "work" but the issues I see are you will lose a lot of juices. So her's will be dry. And you will be eating at totally different times.
But considering how far apart your tastes are, I would suggest rib eye steaks or filets. You can control the cooking much easier with better results for both of you.
Hope that helps.
Dan
kiloran greenan says
Sensational! First time I tried a bone in ribeye roast and your instructions were spot on. I started with 450 oven, added water to just cover roasting pan, after 20 min. reduced to 325 for 45 min - came out a perfect medium rare. I was nervous because the roast was only 2 1/4 pounds. I also appreciated all the information you provided about the cut of beef and the "difference" between prime rib and ribeye. Many thanks! It's a keeper.
DrDan says
Hi Kiloran,
Welcome to the blog.
Glad it worked so well for you and thanks for the note.
Dan
Heidi says
Why does your instructions say to raise the time in the oven for higher temperatures? ("an additional 45 minutes for 130 degrees, 55 minutes for 140 and 60 minutes for 145."
DrDan says
Hi Heidi,
Welcome to the blog.
You start at 500 then decrease to the oven temp to 325. The part you are referring to is about the final internal temperature you want. So to get to 145-degree internal temp it takes about 60 minutes more but as always, times are provided for estimates, cook to the final internal temperature you want.
Hope that is clear.
Dan
Roz says
I don't have real butter. Would margarine do??
DrDan says
Hi Roz,
Welcome to the blog.
It will "work" but not be as good. Considering what you paid for the ribeye, spring for the butter.
Dan
Ros says
I keep this recipe bookmarked. It never fails. I do start it a little cooler (450) and then lower the temp as directed. This seems to keep the smoke down and it still gets nice and browned and crispy on the outside. I use a probe thermometer with a beeper, so when it hits 128, I'm alerted. This way, I can do any size roast and let the thermometer do the work! Thanks for the great recipe.
DrDan says
Hi Ros,
I do love my remote thermometer. Thanks for the suggestion and the note.
Dan
Erika says
Excellent! I had a 2.3 lb standing rib roast. I chewed on the bone as soon as it rested. Sooo good. How can you lose with that much beef and butter?
Leslie says
Made roast last Friday, per recipe, did not have any smoke problems. 5 star review, I also made your au-graten potato recipe and stove top green bean (also 5 star recipes). I got my menu ideas by looking at the first picture, would love it if you always posted pictures with side dishes or give serve with suggestions. My husban and and friends loved this meal thanks so much
DrDan says
Glad they are working well for you and you solved your oven issue at least for this meal. I'm a little surprised you had no smoke.
My side dishes tend to be boring so I never mention them. Plus, I have very little imagination. How many times can you say baked or mashed potatoes and green beans (grandpa's favorite)? Here I did have scalloped potatoes. I need to do more sides...
Leslie says
Thanks for the advice, may bring roast & cook at friends house.
Leslie says
I just purchased a beautiful roast (expensive) but my oven decided to act up! How do I convert this recipe for a 3 burner gas grill (plan on making the roast this Friday )? Thank you, Leslie
DrDan says
Hi Leslie,
You can probably do it on a grill, I suspect the best way is indirect heat similar to how I cooked the whole chicken a few months ago. https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/grilled-whole-chicken-on-a-gas-grill/
Now, this is a total guess on my part. I would set up the grill like the chicken then sear for 5 minutes per side on the hot side then put it the indirect side fat side up. Probably rotate after about 30 minutes. Then watch the internal temperature.
Now realize I have not done this or any beef like this but I was planning a Tri-Tip roast and this is what I had in my mind to do. It may or may not work well. It is your expensive meat and a company meal we are talking about. How do they feel about Pizza if it doesn't work... You may want to Google for somebody who as actually done this.
Dan
Melody says
You're killing me! The roast looks delicious! Say what? I've just developed a serious allergy to beef - my favorite special occasion treat. Have you ever heard of this?
DrDan says
Sorry about that...
In over 40 yrs in medicine, I have never had one but it is not impossible. Be sure you are seeing a board-certified allergist for confirmation. Food allergies are very tricky to be accurate about and there are lots of newer things the allergist can do.
Yvonne says
I have heard of sudden red meat allergies being caused by a kind of tick bite. Might be worth asking for testing. Best of luck.
Lara says
We have made this cut of roast on a rotisserie over a gas grill. Outstandingly delicious!!