Oven baked prime rib is the easiest way to cook a prime rib. This prime rib roast recipe starts with a ribeye roast and then is baked in the oven for the perfect, juicy, tender, and flavorful baked prime rib. Prime Rib with Au Jus is the perfect holiday dinner recipe.

Oven Baked Prime Rib Recipe

We have had prime rib for every Christmas that I can remember since I was a kid. My dad always cooked the holiday dinner when Christmas was at our house and my aunt when Christmas dinner was at her house. Anytime they cooked it we always had perfect prime rib.

We have now started hosting Christmas for the past few years and I am always worried I am going to mess up the main dish, prime rib! Until I figured out how easy it is to cook a closed oven prime rib and have come up with the easiest recipe for prime rib roast. If you are in the same boat as I was, worried about cooking a prime rib roast and messing it up I am telling you there is no way to mess up this recipe for prime rib roast! Once you make this the first time, you will be a pro at making baked prime rib.

This prime rib au jus recipe is so easy! All you have to do is cook it for a short time at a high temperature in the oven and then turn off the oven for it to rest and finish cooking while the oven cools down and is off. While the roast is cooking make the au jus for prime rib if you want to have a dipping sauce and that is it!

There is basically no way to ruin this delicious holiday main dish recipe! Cook prime rib in the oven and you will have juicy, tender meat every time. If you are looking for the best prime rib recipe that you can not mess up this is it! The whole family will be asking you to make this recipe for prime rib roast every year!

Oven Baked Prime Rib on a plate with au jus, mashed potatoes and a roll

What is Prime Rib?

A prime rib roast is usually an expensive cut of beef that is normally served as a holiday main dish. Prime rib is the primal cut off beef that is the rib section of the cow. You then cook the roast, allow it to rest and slice and serve. The generous marbling and fatty layer are what give this cut the distinct and juicy flavor that you are paying for. Made from the rib primal, it’s often called Standing Rib Roast, holiday roast, or a holiday rib roast.

You can find this cut of meat at your local butcher or your local grocery store.

When Is Prime Rib Normally Served?

Prime rib roast is typically made for special occasions, Christmas, and other festive holidays. However, it is such a tasty cut of meat don’t be afraid to grab some when you see it on sale after the holidays to cook for a tasty weeknight dinner!

What is the difference between bone-in and boneless prime rib?

Bone-in prime rib has the bone still in the cut or meat, while the bonless has it removed.

I do not recommend a boneless prime rib, I like the bone in ours, but you can use this recipe to make a boneless prime rib.

While it is easier to carve a boneless prime rib, I am slightly old school and really love the classic prime rib with the bone in it. I love how it looks when set on a platter on the table and then carved.

What is a Ribeye Roast?

A Ribeye Roast refers to the beef rib cut that has had the 6th thru 12th rub bones removed. This leaves just the rib-eye muscle. That is what we have used in this oven baked prime rib recipe, but you can use a full bone in standing rib roast with this recipe as well.

Are Prime Rib and ribeye roast the same thing?

A rib eye roast is cut from the same primal rib section as the prime rib. If you are having rib eye steaks, they are cut from the rib roast section. One Rib eye roast can be cut into 7 ribeye steaks.

How To Serve Prime Rib

You can serve this easy prime rib recipe with Au Jus if you want to (I have included the au jus recipe for prime rib for that as well). However most of the time it is so flavorful that you do not need the sauce or you can dip prime rib in a small amount of sour cream.

Side Dishes for Prime Rib

Some of my favorite sides to serve with prime rib are Smashed Potatoes, green beans, mashed potatoes, and roasted Brussels sprouts but there are many side dishes that pair well with this classic holiday main dish.

If you are looking for more sides to serve with the best prime rib roast recipe, check out some of our favorites.

side view of sliced Oven Baked Prime Rib

What is the Prime rib serving size?

One pound of uncooked meat if making a boneless prime rib, or two servings for each rib section of a bone-in roast. If you are making a holiday dinner buffet then plan on 1/2 pound of meat per person and if it is a special occasion meal with a smaller amount of sides served with it then plan on 3/4-1 pound of meat per person.

How Many People Does Prime Rib Roast Serve?

How many people a prime rib roast will feed depends on the size of the roast. I stick with 1 pound of meat per person if doing a boneless roast. If a bone-in roast then one rib section for 2 people (about 1.5 pounds per person serving). For example, prime rib for 6 people would be a 6 pound boneless prime rib roast, and a 9 pound bone in roast.

How much Au Jus for each serving of Prime Rib?

Each portion of meat should get 1½ ounces in a ramekin or a small bowl for dipping.

How do you season a Prime Rib Roast?

There are many different ways to season a prime rib, I find it best to do a prime rib roast seasoning and the rub it all over the roast before putting it in the oven. If you want more flavoring or you are making a bigger roast then you can use more of the seasoning.

What is Herbs de Provence made of?

The seasoning combination includes thyme, rosemary, savory, marjoram, lavender, fennel seeds, crushed bay leaf, and oregano.

Can I make my own Herbs de Provence?

Yes! If you do not have Herbs de Provence on hand you can make a batch up and then use that as your prime rib seasoning. After making the prime rib seasoning recipe, use it to season the roast and then store the extra Herbs de Provence mixture in an airtight container.

To make your own you will need:

2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons dried savory
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon dried lavender
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 crushed bay leaf

Tips for Making Prime Rib

Choose a meat roast that is well marbled. This means that you cans streaks of fat thru out the muscle part of the meat. The more marbled the meat, the juicer, more flavorful and tender the meat will be. The marbling of the meat is important in making a perfect prime rib roast.

Buy Bone in Beef roast. While I did use a boneless cut for this recipe, you can make it just the same with the bone in and I actually prefer the bone in and find it gives more flavor.

Salt the roast the night before. If you have time, salt the prime rib roast the night before and put it in the fridge overnight. This step can be skipped if you are in a crunch for time however I find it gives the best results.

Don’t cook the roast cold. It is important that you set the roast on the counter for 2 hours minimum to bring it to room temperature before you put it in the oven. I prefer to have mine come to temperature for about 4 hours on the counter.

Use a thermometer to check the temperature. I find it best to use one that does not sit in the oven and to check it at the 1.5 hour mark of resting in the oven to make sure I do not over cook it.

While the roast is resting make the prime rib au jus. While we don’t always have au jus with our prime rib it is simple to make and I find it best to make the recipe for au jus for prime rib while the roast is cooking so it is all done at the same time. I find it best to use a basting tool to suck the juices from the roasting pan.

Use a cutting board. When you slice the prime rib I find it best to be done on a cutting board with a sheet pan under it. Place the sheet pan on the counter, then the cutting board, then slice the roast. Any drippings that make come from it will land of the sheet pan and you can use that for au jus or gravy.

Cook in a roasting pan with a roasting rack. You want to place the roasting rack in the roasting pan and then place the meat on the roasting rack, this will allow the juices to flow to the bottom while it cooks. You can then use the pan juices to make homemade au jus or gravy.

How do you prep a Prime Rib Roast for cooking?

The prep for prime rib is the same whether you are making a bone in prime rib recipe or boneless prime rib recipe. You will want to salt the roast the night before and store it in the fridge and then the day of cooking you will want to bring it to room temperature for 4 hours on the counter.

How do you make a Prime Rib Rub?

Combine butter, pepper, and herbes de Provence in a bowl; mix until well blended. Then spread this mixture on top of the uncooked prime rib roast.

How Long to Cook a Prime Rib Per Pound

Cooking time will vary depending on the size of your roast. To calculate your cooking time, multiply the exact weight of the roast by 5. Round the resulting number to the nearest whole number. The rib is cooked at 500° F for exactly that many minutes.

For example, a 5 pound prime rib will be 25 minutes at 500°F, a 6 pound roast will take 30 minutes and a 7 pound will take 35 minutes, and then a 200 hour rest time in the closed oven for all size roasts. The roast will be the perfect medium rare when cooked this way, and this cooking method can be used for larger roasts, just up the cook time.

What temperature should I cook prime rib at?

For this recipe, you will cook the Prime rib roast at 500°F.

What Temperature Should I Cook Prime Rib to?

You will want to use a meat thermometer when you are checking the temperature of the prime rib. It will continue to cook while resting after you have turned off the oven. This recipe will give you the perfect medium-rare prime rib, which will be at 115°F – 120°F when you remove it from the oven.

The temperature will rise 5-10 degrees while it rests in the oven, so if you would like it to be closer to rare then you will want to remove it from the oven before the 2 hours is done.

How to Store Leftover Prime Rib

Allow prime rib to cool completely and then store in air tight container in the fridge. If you made the au jus recipe for prime rib you will want to store that in a separate container from the cooked prime rib.

Oven Baked Prime Rib seasoning ingredients

Oven Baked Prime Rib Ingredients

1 Beef Ribeye Roast (4-5lbs)
1-2 tablespoons Coarse Ground Salt
1 tablespoon Coarse Ground Pepper
4-5 cloves Garlic (minced)
1-2 tablespoons Herbs de Provence
¼ Cup Unsalted Butter

Au jus recipe for prime rib Ingredients

2 Carrots roughly chopped
2 Celery stalks roughly chopped
1 Onion chopped
3 Cups Beef Stock or beef broth
Salt and Pepper to taste
Pan juice from baking the rib roast

How to Make Oven Baked Prime Rib

Clean roast and pat dry. and Liberally season with coarse salt.

Leave uncovered on a sheet pan with a rack in the refrigerator overnight.

Pull the roast out to come to room temperature about 4 hours ahead of cooking

Preheat the oven to 500° F.

Combine butter, pepper, and herbes de Provence in a bowl; mix until well blended.

Spread butter mixture evenly over the entire roast. Season roast generously with kosher salt.

Place the roast into a roasting pan.

Roast the prime rib in the oven for 20 minutes for a 4 pound roast.

Turn the oven off and let the roast rest in the oven for 2 hours. DO NOT open the oven during this time.

Remove from the oven, allow to rest for about 15 minutes, slice, and serve with jus sauce if desired.

How to make Au Jus for Prime Rib

In a skillet add the drippings left from the roasting pan, and the onions, carrots, and celery over med-high heat. Cook until the veggies are slightly browned. Be sure to keep things moving and stir often to keep from burning.

Pour in 1.5 cups beef stock to release all of the fond (the bits on the bottom of the pan). If needed use a silicone spatula to get the rest of the bits off the bottom of the pan.

Transfer everything in the skillet to a large saucepan; add the remaining 1.5 cups of beef stock and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes or until sauce has reduced by a third.

Strain veggies out using a mesh strainer.

Skim off any fat that rises to the top.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

If any other juices have leaked out of your roast while it has rested stir them into the sauce.

Serve with the sliced roast.

Holiday Recipes