Eye Round Roast (2024)

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One of my kids is obsessed with roast beef. She was likely a dinosaur in a past life, because she loves a big plate of meat. We have a few roast beef recipes that are regulars in our house (you can see them below the recipe card), but we love adding to the list.

What I love about this Eye Round Roast is that it is a more budget friendly piece of meat. This also means that it needs a little time and attention to make it tender. With my simple marinade, we do that with minimal work. It leaves you with a roast that was not only easy to make, but full of delicious flavor.

What is an Eye Round Roast?

Eye Round Roast is a very lean cut of beef from the round, or rear leg, of a cow. This is an economical and flavorful cut of meat. Because it is so lean, it is best enjoyed when it is braised or roasted, and only cooked to medium. In this recipe we are also going to marinate it to help tenderize it.

How to Cook Eye Round Roast

This is a brief overview of how to make this easy recipe. For the full recipe with all of the measurements, be sure to see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

1. Make the marinade. Combine all of the ingredients in a measuring cup. Pour the marinade over the eye round roast in a reusable container. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours (6 hours as an absolute minimum).
2. Prepare the pan. For this recipe we will use a roast pan fitted with a rack. You can read more about this method below. Alternatively, you can place a cooling rack on a baking dish.
3. Start the oven at a high temperature. Start the roast at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. This is similar to searing a roast in a skillet before putting it in the slow cooker.
4. Reduce the oven temperature. After 15 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 1 hour or until the temperature of the meat reaches 125 degrees Fahrenheit. Use an instant read thermometer so as not to over cook your meat.
5. Let the meat rest. Remove the roast beef from the oven and tent loosely with aluminum foil. Let rest for 10 minutes. During that time the temperature will rise to a 135 degrees.
6. Slice the meat thin. Because this is such a lean cut of meat, you will enjoy it most if you slice it very thin.

Roast Beef Marinade

This very simple roast beef marinade is the same as I use for my Steak Kabobs. It is the perfect beef tenderizer, and works so well here too.

• olive oil
• soy sauce
• brown sugar
• lemon juice
• Worcestershire sauce
• garlic
• black pepper

Substitutions and Variations

While the ingredients listed above make for the best version of the marinade in my humble opinion, there are a few substations or variations you can make if necessary.

• To lower the sugar content of the marinade, replace the brown sugar with 1/2 tablespoon of honey or 2 tablespoons of brown sugar monk fruit.
• If you or someone in your family is allergic to soy, you can replace it with coconut aminos.
• If you are on a low sodium diet, replace the soy sauce with low sodium soy sauce, and again only use 2 tablespoons to start. Add more only as needed for taste.

Roasting Pan with Fitted Rack

This is such a great investment if you plan on making roasts. We use it for so many of our recipes.

Instant Read Thermometer

This amazing thermometer can be left in the meat while it is in the oven. I use it in so many of my recipes!

FAQ

What to Serve with Eye Round Roast

• Roasted Baby Potatoes: This is always our go to recipe when we make roast beef. These potatoes are family favorite.
• Honey Roasted Carrots: A simple vegetable side dish, but I’m obsessed with it. It is so good.
• Cheddar Bay Biscuits: We are in love with this biscuit recipe and it goes perfectly here.

If you make this Eye Round Roast recipe or any of my other recipes, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

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• Top Round Roast Beef Recipe
• Easy Top Round Roast Beef Recipe
• Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin