Air Fryer Roast Beef Recipe

There's nothing like juicy, tender roast beef for dinner. No, we're not talking about the thin slices you might find on a roast beef sandwich — we're talking about a whole piece of beef, similar to a steak. Of course, it's not always easy to yield a juicy, tender roast, and it's pretty easy to dry out the beef. Luckily, thanks to recipe developer Susan Olayinka's air fryer roast beef recipe, you can kiss dry roast beef goodbye!

Olayinka herself admits that her favorite thing about this recipe is "the succulence that can be achieved with the air fryer without [the roast] drying out." And, believe it or not, you can cook an entire 25-ounce roast to absolute perfection in just 30 minutes. No need to hover over the oven for this recipe, as you can just pop the roast in the air fryer, flip it halfway through cooking, and let the handy little appliance take care of the rest. Top off your roast beef with gravy, pair it with some fresh vegetables, and voila! You've got a hearty, healthy, and flavorful dinner ready to go.

As with any recipe, you'll want to be sure that you have the right ingredients before you jump into cooking. For this recipe, the star of the show is the beef itself, and you can use any type of roasting beef. Olayinka herself suggests tip roast, though really any type of joint cut will do. Next up, you'll need some oil — "avocado oil or any high-heat vegetable oil," Olayinka suggests — some salt, steak seasoning, paprika, and garlic powder.

The first step in this recipe is to preheat your air fryer to 360 F. While it's not always crucial to preheat an air fryer, it definitely helps expedite the cooking process. Luckily, it's easy to get the air fryer preheating and then focus on other tasks — in this case, seasoning the beef. Pour the oil all over the roast, ensuring that the entire surface — front, back, and sides — is covered. Next, grab your seasoning blend of salt, steak seasoning, paprika, and garlic powder, and mix them all together. Sprinkle the seasoning blend across the roast, ensuring that every part of it is covered. Fortunately, the oil will do a good job at helping the seasonings stick to the meat.

With your beef all seasoned and your air fryer preheated, you can go ahead and place the roast right into the air fryer basket. Allow the beef to cook for 30 minutes total, but be sure to flip it halfway through. Keep in mind that cooking the beef at 360 F for 30 minutes will give you a well done result. 

"You can cook it for less time," Olayinka says, if you prefer a more medium-rare meat. The goal is to reach a certain internal temperature. If you cook it to well doneness, as Olayinka does, then you'll want to look for an internal temperature of 160 F. Olayinka recommends letting the beef sit for five minutes after the 30 minutes of cooking, before checking the temperature. If you want beef that's less well done, look for an internal temperature of 135 to 150 F. When it comes to cooking the beef, Olayinka has one crucial tip: "Just be careful not to overcook — use a meat thermometer."

Once the roast beef has reached your desired doneness, you're ready to slice into it and enjoy. Olayinka's recipe yields enough for three people, so it's perfect for couples or small families on busy weeknights. Also, as for pairing options, Olayinka recommends potatoes, roasted carrots, or roasted broccoli. Pretty much any vegetable would work well as a side dish, though there's no doubt that this tender, juicy, perfectly-cooked roast beef will be the star of the show!