This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. Please Read Our Disclosure Policy.
This easy prime rib with au jus recipe and perfect creamy horseradish sauce is perfect for Christmas or the holidays. This recipe is super easy (Really!), and it produces a perfect medium-rare, tender roast that everyone will love.
Why This Recipe Is So Good!
- It takes just 5 minutes to prep this show stopping main dish!
- The creamy horseradish sauce and rich au jus are the perfect accompaniments.
- It’s perfect for serving a crowd and the leftovers are amazing in sandwiches!
- It’s just so easy and simple, you don’t need to plan hours ahead of time!
How Long do I Cook Prime Rib for Medium-Rare?
This easy prime rib recipe is so tender and perfectly medium-rare, thanks to the use of a meat thermometer. It goes like this: put it in the oven at one temperature, lower the temperature, and when the thermometer beeps, take it out. Simple as it gets, right? I tried a couple of other methods first, before perfecting this easy prime rib recipe, and I can assure you: this is the most tender and all-around best prime rib I’ve had at home. Or maybe… anywhere? Big claim!
Au Jus Sauce for Prime Rib
The au jus to go with this easy prime rib recipe is equally easy: stir in a few things, let it simmer a bit, and voilà: rich and flavorful au jus to serve alongside your roast. I will literally drink a good au jus, and this au jus recipe is super easy, quick, and oh so savory.
You might be used to au jus from the little bottle at the store but it’s so, so much better made at home.
How Do You Make Au Jus at Home?
This au jus recipe is way easier than even making a little packet! To the pan, after you’ve removed the prime rib, add Worcestershire sauce and red wine and reduce slightly, by about 1/4. Add beef broth and continue to simmer until reduced to desired consistency. Carefully tilt the roasting pan and, using a spoon, discard excess fat floating on top. Carve roast and serve with the au jus recipe!
So focus less on the time it takes to cook this prime rib and more on the thermometer! You’ll cook the prime rib for 15 minutes at 450º, then reduce heat to 325º F. You’ll cook it until internal temperature is 113-115º F for very medium-rare. The roast will continue cooking after removing from oven when you let it rest 20 minutes while you make the au jus.
Horseradish Sauce
This homemade horseradish sauce is so much better than store bought ad comes together so quickly.
I let the sauce chill a couple of hours, and it was great, but 24 hours later? It was next level. I highly recommend letting the sauce chill for 24 hours before serving, but if you can’t swing that, give it at least 1 hour in the fridge. You’ll get it when you taste the stuff!
What Do You Serve With Prime Rib?
Other than the au jus and horseradish, which are a must, you can serve this rib up with a host of potato and vegetable sides. Try it with:
- Creamed Onions
- Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
- Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
- Baked Potatoes on the Grill
- Roasted Radishes with Garlic Browned Butter
Chef’s Tips
- If you can, make the horseradish the night before for maximum flavor.
- For the best results, use a meat thermometer.
- Baste the prime rib every 30 minutes during cooking for a really tasty roast.
- Let the prime rib roast for 20 minutes before serving.
Easy Prime Rib Recipe (with Au Jus and Creamy Horseradish Sauce)
Ingredients
For the Horseradish Sauce
- 1 cup full-fat sour cream
- ½ cup full-fat mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped green onion
- 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- 2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
- 1 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon sea salt more or less to taste
For the Prime Rib
- 1 4-pound prime rib
- sea salt to taste
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- ¼ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced; optional, for garlic-rosemary crust
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary optional, for garlic-rosemary crust
For the Jus
- 4 tablespoons beef drippings reserved from prime rib
- 4 tablespoons red wine or low-sodium beef broth
- 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- salt to taste
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
For the Horseradish Sauce
- Add 1 cup full-fat sour cream, ½ cup full-fat mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon finely chopped green onion, 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill, 2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard, 1 teaspoons white wine vinegar, and ½ teaspoon sea salt to large mixing bowl.
- Use large silicone spatula to mix all ingredients together until fully incorporated.
- Cover bowl with lid or plastic wrap and place bowl in refrigerator. Chill horseradish sauce at least 1 hour, but preferably overnight.
For the Prime Rib
- Preheat oven to 450° Fahrenheit. Place 1 4-pound prime rib on cutting board. Note: prime rib does not need to come to room temperature first.
- Liberally season all sides of prime rib with sea salt, then season all sides with generous amount of freshly cracked black pepper.
- If Using Rosemary-Garlic Crust: Add ¼ cup unsalted butter, 2-3 cloves garlic, and 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary to small bowl. Stir ingredients together with fork until well incorporated, then rub mixture onto prime rib, coating all sides of prime rib evenly.
- If NOT Using Rosemary-Garlic Crust: Rub ¼ cup unsalted butter onto prime rib, coating all sides of prime rib evenly.
- Place prime rib in large roasting pan, then place roasting pan in preheated oven. Roast prime rib 15 minutes at 450° Fahrenheit.
- After 15 minutes, reduce oven temperature to 325° Fahrenheit. Insert oven-safe internal meat thermometer into center of prime rib.
- Roast prime rib until internal temperature reaches 113° to 115° Fahrenheit. Important: Baste prime rib every 30 minutes by using basting brush to brush fat drippings in pan onto prime rib, covering roast completely.
- When internal temperature reaches 113° to 115° Fahrenheit, remove roasting pan from oven. Transfer prime rib to large cutting board and set aside. Allow prime rib to rest 20 minutes. While prime rib rests, prepare au jus.
For the Jus
- Place medium saucepan on stovetop over high heat. When saucepan is warm, add 4 tablespoons beef drippings, 4 tablespoons red wine, 2 cups low-sodium beef broth, and 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce.
- Whisk ingredients together until incorporated, then bring mixture to boil. Once mixture begins to boil, reduce heat under saucepan to medium-low. Simmer mixture 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, taste mixture and add salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste. When satisfied with flavor, transfer jus into serving container. Note: if your drippings contained any remnants from the beef, strain the jus through a fine mesh sieve first, so you're left with a smooth liquid.
To Serve
- Once prime rib has rested 20 minutes, carefully carve roast into slices of desired size and thickness. Serve carved roast immediately with prepared jus and horseradish sauce.
Video
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
Did You Make This Recipe?
Tag @40aprons on Instagram and be sure to leave a review on the blog post!
Holiday-Perfect Entrées You’ll Love
Never Miss A Meal!
New Recipes Straight To Your Inbox
A curated selection of our most recent recipes, delivered straight to your inbox once a week.
Leave A Review
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I’m confused, I swear this recipe used have an option for using cashews in place of sour cream? If so why would you remove that? It was perfect.. It’s weird that you say it’s a Whole30 recipe, but no longer give Whole30 options in the article or instructions. Unless I book marked the wrong recipe..idk
We actually don’t label this as a Whole30 recipe any longer 🙂 But all you do is simply switch out a tart cashew cream for the sour cream:
CASHEW CREAM
3/4 cup cashews
6 Tbsp. water
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. ACV
salt
Happy to help!
Oh well that makes sense then!! Thank you so much!
Hi! This looks delicious and I’d like to make it for my husband’s birthday. We are doing a Whole30 and the pin says it has Whole30 and Paleo modifications but I’m not seeing them anywhere on your post but I might be missing it somewhere… Thanks!
Hi! Sorry about that- for Whole30, swap the butter for ghee, you can try this instead of the Worcestershire sauce, https://www.tasteslovely.com/paleo-whole30-homemade-worcestershire-sauce/, sub the red wine with more beef broth, for the horseradish sauce- sub with plain Whole30-compliant coconut yogurt instead of the sour cream, and make sure the other condiments are Whole30-compliant, too!
Cheryl,
I’ve been using your receipe (to the tee) for 3 years now and EVERYTIME the family think I’m a cooking genius!! Having a U.K. ancestory and a love for roasted red potatoes and Yorkshire pudding your receipe has been a consistent hit every year. I always use butter, rosemary and garlic as a rub….the ends are out of this world. Your the bomb and make this 64 year old and family happy and full every Christmas!!!!
Thanks for your dedication, Brian! We’re so glad you enjoy this recipe. 🙂
Your recipe sounds delicious. What time of oven thermometer would you recommend?
Thank you! This is the one we like. 🙂 https://www.amazon.com/ThermoPro-TP-16-Thermometer-Stainless-Standard/dp/B017613C3C/ref=sr_1_7?crid=3AYVZYY0E90CD&dchild=1&keywords=meat+thermometer&qid=1606324523&sprefix=meat+thermometer%2Caps%2C-1&sr=8-7
I made your prime rib on Christmas Eve and it was perfect! The horseradish sauce was delicious… but on the mild side for some in my family so I divided it and added a lot more horseradish to half (to taste). A new Christmas tradition! Thanks Cheryl!
Both sauces were delish, and the prime rib was so tender!
The dinner was my best gift of all! Thanks Cheryl.
I’m doing the dual sauces! We’ll see who comes out as the Christmas Day dinner duel winner!
My money is on the Creamy Horseradish Sauce!
Happy Holidays, Cheryl!
This looks like Christmas dinner to me, so much goodness going on and that creamy horseradish sauce… YUM!
I have not had a good prime rib with horseradish sauce in a long time. I’m going to make this lovely for Christmas Eve! Thanks for all the detailed instructions.
This is perfect for entertaining this season! The creamy horseradish sauce sounds so good, have pinned to make next week!