Southwestern Roast Beef

Southwestern Roast Beef is loaded with spicy flavors and cooked until tender enough to slice with a fork.

Each juicy slice is rubbed with honey mustard and crusted with spices to create a roast beef recipe so delicious your family will eat up every bite without complaint.

Roast Beef

Roast beef is one of my favorite company meals. A few minutes prep work in advance and then the main dish cooks on its own while I’m handling the rest of the meal.

This frees up valuable time to focus on side dishes and desserts or just relax and enjoy conversation with your guests.

Roast Beef Recipes

I’ve made Roast Beef in the slow cooker and in the oven. I’ve cooked it simply with just a little salt and pepper and added delicious additions like red wine.

They’re all delicious and worthy of a spot on your dinner table but this Southwestern Crusted Roast Beef is by far the most festive. Mexican spices and tangy, sweet honey mustard make this Roast Beef recipe a must-try.

You can serve this tasty roast with just about any side dish you like. Consider Slow Cooker Creamed Corn, Sriracha Honey Roasted Broccoli or Garlic Lover’s Potato Salad as accompaniments for this meaty main dish.

How to Cook Roast Beef

To make Southwestern Roast Beef, an abundance of Mexican spices are rubbed into the roast, creating a crust so delicious, you may find yourself snacking on little pieces of beef before this makes its way to the table.

The day before you want to serve this, the roast is brushed with honey mustard and then rubbed with an abundance of southwestern spices.

I recommend tying the meat with cooking twine first to encourage the roast to cook more evenly. While it’s not required, it definitely helps!

After using a brush to coat the whole roast evenly in honey mustard, it’s time to get spicy. The spice blend I use for this roast beef includes New Mexico chili powder, cayenne pepper, plenty of colorful smoked paprika and garlic and onion powders for good measure.

Sprinkle the spice blend evenly over the top, then turn the roast fat side up and sprinkle the remainder of the spice blend. Keep sprinkling until the spices no longer stick to the meat. You want a generous and evenly coated crust.

Wrap the roast tightly in plastic wrap and give it an overnight rest. Ideally, leave the roast in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours. Half an hour before cooking, remove the roast from the fridge.

A couple hours before dinner, start it in the oven and cook it to a perfect medium rare (or the level of doneness that your family likes best).

While your roast is cooking, finish preparing the rest of your dinner, read a book, catch up on other chores or just take a nap and wake up to the heavenly smell of spicy roasting beef.

If your family loves this roast beef recipe as much as mine, you’re not likely to have too many leftovers! But if you do, the ways to use up the leftovers are numerous.

Spicy Southwestern Roast Beef leftovers are fantastic in soups and stews, piled into sandwiches (Southwestern Reuben anyone?) and even on this creative and delicious Naan Pizza.

Of course, you might even find yourself just snacking on the leftovers straight out of the container the next day. No judgment here!

Southwestern Crusted Roast Beef

I guarantee you this spicy, flavorful roast beef recipe will leave you smiling from ear to ear. The honey mustard rub, Mexican spiced crust and minimal effort make this roast beef stand out from the rest. 

Curious about how to choose a great beef roast? Here’s a quick video we made to show you how to select the perfect cut of meat. I developed this recipe while working with Certified Angus Beef in Ohio a few years ago. For a peek into that trip, you can read more here.

Kitchen Tip: I use this roasting pan or this roasting pan to make this recipe.

Southwestern Roast Beef

5 from 2 votes

Roast beef tender enough to cut with a fork, each juicy slice is loaded with southwestern flavors to create this Southwestern Roast Beef.

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Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 1 hr 15 mins

Total Time: 1 hr 35 mins

Servings: 6 servings

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Ingredients 

• ▢ 3 pounds center cut top sirloin beef roast
• ▢ 1/3 cup honey mustard
• ▢ 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• ▢ 1 tablespoon NM chili powder
• ▢ 4 teaspoons cumin
• ▢ 3 teaspoons smoked paprika
• ▢ 2 teaspoons granulated garlic or garlic powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon granulated onion or onion powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions

• Stir together the salt, chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne. Tie the roast with cooking twine. You can watch a quick how to video here. (Tying isn't required, but it will help ensure an evenly cooked roast.) Set the roast on a rack over a baking tray or inside a roasting pan. Use a pastry brush to coat the roast generously with the honey mustard. Place the roast fat side down and sprinkle the roast with about 1/3 of the spices. Turn the roast over, so the fat side is on top, and sprinkle the top and sides with the remaining spices. A good rule of thumb is to sprinkle the roast until the spices no longer stick to it. I used about 2/3 of the rub.
• Make sure the roast is still fat side up and cover lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. Remove the roast from the refrigerator and set it on the counter about half an hour before cooking. (You can also cook it straight from the refrigerator, just expect to add a few minutes cooking time.)
• Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Uncover the roast and place it in the center of the very hot oven. Roast for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 300 degrees, continue cooking for 45 minutes, or just until the roast hits 130 degrees. Remove from the oven and let the meat rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!

Notes

A thermometer is a must when roasting meats. Whether you use a remote style thermometer that can be left in the roast while cooking, or a simple internal thermometer you can use to check the meat periodically, you'll find that the results are much more reliable and the meat turns out beautifully every time.

Nutrition

Calories: 500kcal · Carbohydrates: 6g · Protein: 62g · Fat: 23g · Saturated Fat: 6g · Cholesterol: 180mg · Sodium: 2522mg · Potassium: 594mg · Fiber: 1g · Sugar: 2g · Vitamin A: 1055IU · Vitamin C: 0.2mg · Calcium: 33mg · Iron: 6.9mg

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{originally published 11/9/14 – recipe notes and photos updated 1/30/19}