Reclaim your Sunday morning with this super simple air fryer roast beef recipe! It is tender and juicy, has a beautifully caramelized crust, and needs minimal effort from you.
The roast beef that started my air fryer obsession
Roast beef is one of the first things I cooked when I got my first air fryer, and it came out so delicious that I don’t think I’ve cooked it in my oven since!
It’s incredibly easy to prepare (which is why it’s my favorite way to roast beef), the only tricky thing is getting that balance between the dark caramelized outer crust and juicy pink inside. But I’ve made this recipe so many times that I’ve perfected the technique for getting the perfect sear, while keeping it medium-rare.
The best cut of beef for air frying
There is no single beef joint that you have to use to make this recipe, some good options include topside (top-round roast), rump roast, sirloin roast, or a boneless ribeye (scotch fillet).
Because the cooking time is relatively short, it is better to use the most tender beef joint that your budget will stretch to. I usually use topside or top rump for a family dinner, or sirloin or ribeye for a special occasion.
Note: Tougher cuts (e.g., bottom round, silverside, bolar, or chuck roast) are generally best suited to slow roasting as they need long cooking times to get really tender. Try this air fryer pot roast recipe, which is cooked lower and slower, slow cooker beef pot roast or Instant Pot chuck roast for these cuts.
>> See more: The Best Cuts of Beef for Roasting
What else do you need?
Herbs
I like to use rosemary and thyme for this recipe, but you can substitute any other herbs or seasoning you like (try oregano, sage, parsley).
Fresh or dried herbs will work. If you are using fresh rosemary, pick the leaves off and chop them up quite finely before using.
Salt
It is also important to season the beef with salt to bring out the flavor of the meat. I prefer fine ground sea salt, or kosher salt. Use approximately half a teaspoon per pound/ 500g of beef.
Oil
I normally use light olive oil when cooking a roast in the air fryer, but you can use any cooking oil with a high smoke point. Vegetable oil or avocado oil are good choices.
Onion (optional)
Another great way to add flavor to this dish is to add an onion to the air fryer basket with the beef. Cut it in half or into quarters.
Some more air fryer roasts you might like:
Tips for perfect roast beef
Perfect roast beef has a dark caramelized crust on the outside and is perfectly pink and tender on the inside.
To achieve a seared crust, the beef needs to be cooked hot, but to keep the center pink, the beef needs to be cooked slowly at a low temperature. Blasting it at a high temperature until the center is medium-rare, will give you a dark crust, but the pink center will be small and it will be surrounded by a wide band of overcooked grey meat.
To achieve that perfect crust while minimizing the grey and maximizing the pink:
- Get the roast out of the fridge ahead of time to allow it to reach room temperature before cooking (around 1 hour).
- Sear with a short blast in the air fryer on HOT, before lowering the temperature and cooking it through to your preferred level of doneness.
- Monitor the internal temperature and pull it out a couple of degrees early, because the temperature will continue to rise while it is resting.
- Rest before serving for at least 15 minutes before carving to allow the juices to reabsorb.
Ready? Let’s cook this roast in the air fryer!
Preheat.
Preheat the air fryer to 400°F / 200°C. Preheating is important for this recipe because we initially use the air fryer to sear the beef, so we need it to be as hot as possible before the beef goes in.
If your air fryer doesn’t have a preheat mode, just set it to air fry for 3-4 minutes.
Prepare.
First pat the beef roast dry with paper towels. Then mix the herbs, salt and oil together on a plate, and roll the beef in it until evenly covered.
Sear the beef.
To achieve a delicious crust, the beef roast initially needs to be cooked at a high temperature to sear the outside and allow the browning to begin. Place the beef roast in the air fryer basket and cook for the first 10 minutes at 400°F / 200°C.
Cook it through.
Lower the temperature of the air fryer to 300°F / 150°C, and air fry beef roast for another 30-40 minutes, or until it is cooked to your liking. See below for more details on cooking times and doneness.
Rest and carve.
When the beef has finished roasting, let it rest for at least 15 minutes – transfer it to a cutting board and cover it loosely with tinfoil. This allows the juices to reabsorb into the meat and keeps it succulent.
When you are ready to carve, use a very sharp chef’s knife or carving knife and cut thin slices against the grain.
How long to roast beef in the air fryer?
Cooking times depend on two things: the size of your beef, and your desired doneness. My rule of thumb for estimating cooking times is:
- Rare: 13 mins per lb / 15 mins per 500g
- Medium: 18 mins per lb / 20 mins 500g
- Well-done: 23 mins per lb / 25 mins per 500g
I use this as a starting point, but the exact cooking times depend on the size and shape of the beef joint you are using and will also vary with different air fryers.
Pro tip: use a meat thermometer. It takes the guesswork out of cooking meat, and I promise it will come in handy for more than just this recipe!
For a medium-rare roast, aim for an internal temperature of about 125°F / 52°C, for medium aim for 130°F / 55°C. Check towards the end of the cooking time, and remember the temperature of the meat will continue to rise while it rests (so pull it out a few degrees early).
Roast beef air fryer calculator
Use this calculator to estimate roast beef air fryer cooking times for different-sized roasts.
These cook times are usually exactly right for my Philips XXL Airfryer. If you have another powerful brand of air fryer like the Nuwave or a Ninja Foodi, then expect cook times to be similar.
Remember that the temperature of the meat will continue to rise a few degrees while it rests.
Serving ideas
- Serve slices of roast beef with crispy roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, gravy, and steamed vegetables.
- Serve slices of roast beef with a mound of creamy mashed potatoes, a ladleful of mushroom gravy, and a side of green beans or Brussels sprouts.
- Leftovers? Pile thinly sliced roast beef on a crusty roll with a dollop of horseradish sauce, a slice of sharp cheddar cheese, and some peppery rocket/arugula leaves.
- Top a bed of mixed greens with slices of roast beef, crumbled blue cheese, cherry tomatoes, and thinly sliced red onion. Drizzle with a tangy balsamic vinaigrette.
Here are some easy side dishes to serve with this recipe:
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes (no-drain recipe)
- Steamed Microwave Carrots
- Microwave Green Beans
- Gravy from stock cubes
- Air fryer roast potatoes
- Air fryer roasted vegetables
Note: If you also want to cook side dishes in the air fryer, you can pre-cook them for part of the cooking time before the beef, then put them back in the air fryer to finish cooking for 10 minutes while the beef is resting.
Air Fryer Roast Beef
Ingredients
- 2.2 lb beef roast
- 1 tablespoon light olive oil
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons rosemary and thyme fresh or dried
- 1 medium onion optional
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 400°F / 200°C.
- Mix salt, rosemary and oil on a plate.
- Pat the beef roast dry with paper towels. Place beef roast on plate and turn so that the oil-herb mix coats the outside of the beef.
- If using, peel onion and cut it in half, place onion halves in the air fryer basket.
- Place beef roast in the air fryer basket, and set to air fry for 10 minutes at 400°F / 200°C.
- When the time is up, change the temperature to 300°F /150°C. Set the beef to cook for an additional 25-35 minutes [Note 1]. This should give you medium-rare beef. Monitor the temperature with a meat thermometer to ensure it is cooked to your liking [Note 2]. Check it early, and cook for additional 5-minute intervals if you prefer it more well done.
- Remove roast beef from air fryer, cover with kitchen foil and leave to rest for at least 15 minutes before serving. This allows the meat to finish cooking and the juices to reabsorb into the meat.
- Carve the roast beef thinly against the grain to serve.
Notes
Note 1: to estimate cooking times:
- Rare: 13 mins per lb / 15 mins per 500g
- Medium: 18 mins per lb / 20 mins 500g
- Well-done: 23 mins per lb / 25 mins per 500g
Note 2: Internal temperatures:
- Rare: 120°F / 49°C
- Medium-rare: 125°F / 52°C
- Medium: 130°F / 55°C
- Medium-well: 135°F / 57°C
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate and provided for informational purposes only.
FAQs & Tips
Roasting is a way of cooking meat at high temperature. You can use an air fryer to roast meat and vegetables, or anything you might roast in an oven.
Some air fryers have different settings for air fry and roast. With some brands, there is no difference between the settings other than the starting temperature (which you can adjust), but with some air fryers the ‘roast’ setting operates the fan at a lower level which will require different cooking times. If in doubt, use the air fry setting for this recipe.
My rule of thumb for cooking beef is 13 minutes per lb, and then an additional 5 minutes for how well you want it done. Use the calculator above to estimate cooking times.
Roast beef needs to be cooked at a high temperature to get a tasty crust on the outside. To prevent it from getting dry before the center is cooked, I reduce the temperature to cook the beef through slowly after the initial 10 minute sear. It is also important to rest beef well after cooking to allow the moisture to reabsorb into the meat before you cut it.
Roasting food means cooking at a high temperature, usually with oil. To roast in an air fryer I would recommend cooking at least 360°F / 180°C. You can roast without oil, but I find you get tastier results if you use at least a spray of oil.
this is the only way to roast beef. OMG So good.
Absolutly wonderful!!!!! First thing I cooked in the Ninja Foodie Airfryer/Grill!
With a friend helping me (since I’m not a cook) … we stabbed the meat and added pieces of garlic cloves.
We both loved all of your awesome insights and cooking tips!!!
LOVE LOVE THIS!! Mine came out awesome last week! A definite keeper and will make again next week ❤ Thank you for sharing this!
Great advice and very helpful, especially when your oven decides to die the day before Christmas
Great site for beginners who have bought an airfryer
I made this today and the meat was cooked spot on. The beef was lovely and tender. Family loved it!
Delicious came out perfect!