This dish is Christmas dinner special! A classic beef tenderloin gets a bit of a French twist with crispy leeks and a decadent mustard sauce. I also served this with roasted fingerling potatoes and grilled asparagus.
This sounds complicated but it’s not. It’s really very simple! There may be a lot of components here but it’s all pretty easy. I’ve choreographed this dish like a ballet: grill the asparagus and let it hang out at room temperature. Cook the tenderloin and the potatoes in the oven at the same temperature. Make the sauce. (It’s fast!) Make the crispy leeks (to die for) while the beef is resting. You got this!
Is a mustard cream sauce classic with beef tenderloin? No. Should it be? Absolutely! The flavors go perfectly together. This sauce is so much easier than many classic tenderloin sauces, which is a huge plus, especially if you’re making this dish for a holiday or special occasion.
I went in a French direction with this dish for three reason: (1) I dreamed up this dish for my Cinderella dinner party and Cinderella is French in origin, (2) I love leeks, (3) I thought mustard sauce would be incredible with beef tenderloin.

Cinderella’s Royal Roast
Beef tenderloin, recipe follows
Roasted baby potatoes, recipe follows
Grilled asparagus, recipe follows
Mustard cream sauce, recipe follows
Crispy leeks, recipe follows
- Grill asparagus and set aside. (This can be done easily an hour before the roast. They’re delicious room temperature.)
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and prepare the beef tenderloin. Put a baking sheet in the oven with the tenderloin to preheat. Set the timer for twenty minutes.
- After twenty minutes, remove the preheated baking sheet, add potatoes to to the sheet, and return to oven. The potatoes take about thirty minutes total. Set the timer for ten minutes.
- While tenderloin and potatoes are in the oven, make the sauce. This only takes five or ten minutes. Set aside at room temperature. Prep the leeks.
- When your timer goes off, do the butter/rosemary step of the tenderloin. Set the timer for 15 more minutes.
- When your timer goes off, check that your tenderloin is 135 degrees, then remove the tenderloin from oven, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest for at least fifteen minutes. Immediately bump the oven temperature up to 425 degrees. Let the potatoes hang out while the temperature rises.
- Remove potatoes and keep on hot cookie sheet. Cook the leeks for 12-15 minutes. Carve the beef tenderloin when the leeks are done.
- To plate: pour sauce in center of place, add three asparagus spears, then two slices of beef tenderloin over asparagus. Add potatoes and leeks.
For the asparagus:
1 lbs asparagus
Olive oil
Sea salt, black pepper
- Preheat grill to about 350-375. Snap ends off of asparagus while grill is preheating. Toss with olive oil, sea salt, and pepper.
- Grill over direct heat for about five minutes, turning every minute or so. Asparagus is done when it bends a bit when you pick it up.
For the beef tenderloin:
3-4 lbs beef tenderloin
Olive oil
Sea salt, pepper
3 Tbsp butter, melted
2 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary
- Take the beef tenderloin out about 30 minutes before you want to put it in the oven. You never want to cook meat cold from the fridge! Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Rinse tenderloin and pat dry with a paper towel. Set tenderloin on baking sheet. (Use an old one – it gets messy! – or line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.)
- Drizzle tenderloin with olive oil. Season well with sea salt and pepper. Massage the olive oil in so that it’s thoroughly covered. Roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes depending on the size. (Mine was 4 lbs and took 30 minutes.)
- Whisk together melted butter and Worchestershire sauce. Take the tenderloin out of the oven and brush with butter sauce. Sprinkle with fresh rosemary and return to oven for about 10-15 minutes, or until internal temperature of the thickest end reaches 135 degrees.
- Remove from oven and tent with foil for about 15 minutes until tenderloin reaches 145 degrees. Slice and serve!
For the potatoes:
1 lbs baby Dutch potatoes
Olive oil
Sea salt, black pepper
- Set a baking sheet in the oven to preheat. Halve potatoes. Toss olive oil, sea salt and freshly cracked pepper.
- Pour potatoes onto preheated baking sheet and roast for 35-40 minutes, flipping once in between.
For the sauce:
4 Tbsp butter
2 shallots, diced
1 cup champagne
4 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2/3 cup heavy cream
- Sauté diced shallot in butter over medium low heat until translucent. (About five minutes.
- Add champagne and turn heat up to medium. Cook until wine has reduced slightly and no longer smells strongly of alcohol.
- Add Dijon mustard and heavy cream. Reduce heat to low. Cook until thickened. Blend with immersion blender until smooth.
For the leeks:
3 leeks
1.5 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp flour
1 tsp paprika
Sea salt
- Bump temperature up to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Trim leek ends. Cut leeks in half lengthwise. Submerge in a bowl of water and swish around. Pour water out and repeat two or three times to clean the leeks. Remove and pat dry with a paper towel. Slice each half lengthwise into three long slices.
- Gently break layers apart and toss with remaining ingredients in a small bowl until well coated. Spread out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a baking mat. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until nicely golden.
Read more about Disney Dinners: Cinderella here. Watch the episode:
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