How to Cook a Small Prime Rib Roast
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This foolproof guide shows you how to cook a small prime rib roast the best way! It’s the perfect main course for a small gathering, but you can scale it up if you’re feeding a large crowd. This easy method guarantees a flavorful crust with Italian herbs, tender meat, and lots of pan juices!
Serve this perfect prime rib roast with the red skin mashed potatoes and roasted green beans with garlic.
Quick Look: How to Cook a Small Prime Rib Roast
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes (or ~12 minutes per pound for rare)
- Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes (including 30 minutes resting time)
- Servings: 4-6 people
- Dietary Info: Dairy Free, Gluten Free
- Method: Oven Roasted
- Technique: Bring the meat to room temperature, then pat dry and rub with herb and oil mixture. Sear at a high oven temperature, then lower the heat and cook through. Tent with foil, rest, and serve.
- Flavor & Texture: This tender prime rib has an incredible herb crust and juicy interior that’s cooked to perfection with this easy method.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Looking for how to cook the best prime rib roast? You’ve come to the right place! The prime rib is slow-cooked to your preference, and the roasted herb crust is fantastic.
This recipe is inspired by my Italian Nonna Laura’s prime rib roast. She cooked hers on the stovetop, but I’ve chosen to bake it in the oven for a more hands-off, foolproof method. We’ve been making this recipe for prime rib roast (also known as standing rib roast) for Christmas or New Year’s Eve for years, and it is always a hit.
We love to serve this with horseradish on the side and some ciabatta bread to dip into the tasty au jus sauce. I’ve also collected my best 65+ Side Dishes to Serve with Prime Rib for lots of ideas to round out your meal. Use up any leftovers in my Best Prime Rib Sandwich.
Made With Amore,
“The only recipe I will use. This is my 2nd year with this recipe on Christmas Eve. It’s the perfect Prime Rib…With this recipe, it cooks to a perfect med-rare and has the best flavor…I love this recipe.”
– Teri
Table of Contents
- Quick Look: How to Cook a Small Prime Rib Roast
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simple Ingredients
- Variations & Substitutions
- How to Cook a Small Prime Rib Roast
- How Long Do You Cook Prime Rib?
- Cooking a Small Prime Rib Roast FAQs
- Serving Suggestions
- Expert Tips
- Other Holiday Meat Recipes You’ll Love
- How to Cook a Small Prime Rib Roast Recipe
Simple Ingredients
- Prime Rib Roast: Choose a high quality (preferably prime grade), bone-in prime rib roast that weighs between 4-5 pounds. (Larger roasts will take more rub and a longer cooking time.) I recommend calling your butcher to order yours in advance during the holiday season. For best results, keep the fat cap on the roast; I only trim the fat a little on the sides.
- Olive Oil: Using olive oil gives it an Italian twist and keeps it dairy free. Feel free to substitute with a different oil of your choice, or even melted butter if you prefer.
- Herbs: You just need a simple combination of fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, kosher salt, and black pepper to make an incredible herb crust on this roast.
- Beef Broth: Adding beef broth to the bottom of the pan creates more drippings and enhances their flavor.
- Red Wine (Optional But Recommended): I love adding a splash of red wine to the pan as the meat cooks. The alcohol cooks off during the roasting process, leaving a delicious depth of flavor behind.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations & Substitutions
- Sage Variation: Change up the herbs in the rub recipe. I love adding chopped fresh sage for a yummy twist!
- Herb Butter: Try my herb butter for roasted turkey instead of the oil and herb combo.
- Red Wine Substitute: Use pomegranate juice with a splash of balsamic vinegar; it will taste incredible. Use extra vinegar in my Italian balsamic dressing and serve it with a side salad.
How to Cook a Small Prime Rib Roast
Making a small prime rib roast is one of the easiest and most delicious meat recipes. It sounds so fancy, but requires very little effort!
- Take the prime roast out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature before cooking, about 1 hour. (This is the key to an evenly cooked roast.) Pat the meat with a paper towel until dry.
- Preheat oven to 450ºF. In a small bowl, mix the garlic, herbs, salt, pepper, and olive oil to form a paste. (You can also use this homemade prime rib rub!)
- Rub the roast with the paste on all sides of the meat. Place the roast fat side up on a rack inside of a roasting pan. Add the beef broth and water (and wine if using) to the bottom of the roasting pan.
- Roast for 15 minutes at 450ºF, then reduce the temperature to 325ºF.
- Continue roasting until the internal temperature on a digital thermometer reads 10ºF below your desired temperature (see notes for cooking times). Check the temperature at the ends and in the center.
- Tent the roast with foil and let it rest on a grooved cutting board for at least 30 minutes. This allows the juices to redistribute in the meat.
- Degrease the drippings using a fat separator (affiliate) and pour them into a saucepan. Reduce for about 10 minutes, or until the au jus has a nice rich flavor. (Add additional beef broth if needed.)
- Thickly slice it with a sharp knife against the grain. Enjoy this mouthwatering prime rib while it’s warm with the au jus sauce and your favorite side dishes, like roasted green beans, crispy Brussels sprouts, or creamy cauliflower bake.
How Long Do You Cook Prime Rib?
A general rule for cooking prime rib is to factor in carryover cooking. This means the meat continues to rise in temperature (usually about 10ºF) as the roast rests. This means that you will take it out when it is about 10ºF below your desired doneness based on this chart.
Always check for doneness with an instant-read thermometer (affiliate). This will ensure that it is cooked to your preference.
Final Temperature (After Resting)
- Rare: 125-130ºF; about 12 minutes per pound (my preference!)
- Medium Rare: 130-135ºF; about 14 minutes per pound
- Medium: 135-145ºF
- Medium-Well: 145-155ºF; about 15-16 minutes per pound
- Well Done (never! ha, ha): 155ºF+
Cooking a Small Prime Rib Roast FAQs
Prime rib (aka standing rib roast) is considered by many to be the best roast beef in the world. It’s a cut of beef from the primal rib, located in the area behind the shoulder but above the lower back. It’s a fatty cut of meat that not only has a fat cap, but also a generous marbling of fat throughout. This cut of meat is known for being juicy and delicious due to the fat.
Prime rib is graded as Prime (the best), followed by Choice, then Select. The grading is largely based on the fat marbling and taste.
You can estimate about one pound per person for a bone-in roast and about ¾ pounds each for a boneless prime rib roast.
To store any leftover prime rib, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze it. While it’s best the next day, leftover prime rib is good for 5-7 days in the fridge, or up to 6 months in the freezer.
Is there anything better than a Leftover Prime Rib Sandwich made with thick ciabatta bread dipped in the leftover au jus sauce? Nope!
If you have leftover bones, make beef broth with them as directed in my Italian penicillin soup and enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
This tender roasted prime rib is incredibly succulent on its own, but makes for an even more showstopping spread with the right side dishes. Enjoy it with Italian roasted potatoes, roasted portobello caps, roasted fennel, or sauteed frozen green beans. For dessert, serve it with Italian Pandoro Cake!
My Pro Tips
Expert Tips
- Let your prime rib roast come to room temperature on the counter before roasting in the oven. The roast will be largely overcooked around the outside, with only a tiny ring of perfectly cooked meat in the very center if it is cooked straight from the fridge. Take it out a couple of hours before cooking for the best results.
- Keep an eye on your small prime rib roast. During the roast, be sure that the liquid in the bottom of the pan doesn’t dry out (add more water or beef broth if needed).
- Let it rest! The resting time is crucial for flavor. Be patient; let it rest; you’ll be happy you did when you cut into your succulent prime rib roast.
Other Holiday Meat Recipes You’ll Love
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How to Cook a Small Prime Rib Roast
Ingredients
Meat
- 4-5 pound bone-in prime rib roast, for larger roasts, follow the notes for cooking time + increase the rub accordingly
Rub
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped (optional)
- ½ tablespoon coarse salt, I use Kosher
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 3 cups water
- ½ cup red wine, optional but recommended
Instructions
Prepping the Meat & Rub
- Take the prime roast out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature before cooking (about 2-3 hours). Bringing the meat to room temperature is key to an evenly cooked roast. Pat the meat with a paper towel until dry.
- Preheat oven to 450ºF. In a small bowl, mix the garlic, herbs, salt, pepper, and olive oil to form a paste.
- Rub the roast with the paste. Rub the paste into the score lines in the fat cap. Place the roast (fat side up) on a rack into a small (or large) roasting pan. Add the beef broth and water (and wine if using) to the bottom of the roasting pan.
Roasting the Meat
- Roast for 15 minutes at 450ºF, then reduce the temperature to 325ºF. Continue roasting until the temperature on the digital thermometer reads 10ºF below your desired temperature (see notes for cooking times). Check the temperature of the roast by inserting an instant-read thermometer in the ends and in the center.
- Place on a cutting board and tent with foil for at least 30 minutes.
Make the Au Jus Sauce
- Degrease the drippings by passing them through a fat separator, then pour them into a saucepan. Reduce over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until the au jus has a nice rich flavor. Add additional beef broth if needed.
- Thickly slice the prime rib against the grain, and serve warm with the sauce and horseradish on the side. Enjoy!
Notes
- Let your prime rib roast come to room temperature on the counter before roasting in the oven. The roast will be largely overcooked around the outside, with only a tiny ring of perfectly cooked meat in the very center if it is cooked straight from the fridge. Take it out a couple of hours before cooking for the best results.
- Always factor in carryover cooking. This means the meat continues to rise in temperature (usually about 10ºF) as the roast rests. Make sure to take it out when it is about 10ºF below your desired doneness based on this chart. Always check for doneness with an instant-read thermometer to ensure that it is cooked to your preference.
- Doneness Guide: Rare: 125-130ºF, about 12 minutes per pound (my preference!); Medium Rare: 130-135ºF, about 14 minutes per pound; Medium: 135-145ºF, Medium-Well: 145-155ºF, about 15-16 minutes per pound; and Well Done: 155ºF+.
- Keep an eye on your small prime rib roast. During the roast, be sure that the liquid in the bottom of the pan doesn’t dry out (add more water or beef broth if needed).
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this tonite, best prime rib we have ever made. Beautiful pink color. We could only think of 1 or 2 high end restaurants that might have been better but left most wanting. My wife has taken her ‘No more Prime rib, Joe’ decree off the table. Beginning of a new year and lots of left overs.
YAY! This is the best news. I am so happy that she likes it now. Here’s to many more yummy prime rib dinners!
Thank you for the help
I Love this recipe! every time I’m going to make a prime rib I take it out and I follow it cuz I don’t make them that often. I forget what to do. I made this Easter Sunday. it came out wonderful! thank you so much! Elena
Yay! I am always happy when I can provide a recipe that you will make time and time again! It is so easy, too!
The only recipe I will use. This is my 2nd year with this recipe on Christmas Eve.its the perfect Prime Rib. In the past, My Roasts are either tough and have flavor or no flavor and can be cut easily. With this recipe, it cooks to a perfect med-rare and has the best flavor. Maybe itโs the broth under the roast? I love this recipe.
YAY! Yes, this is a tried and true recipe we make for special occasions and everyone always loves it. I am so happy you love it as well.