How To Cook Tri Tip In Oven Perfectly (2024)

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Cooking tri tip in the oven for the first time? I have some secrets to share with you! Learn the best way, exactly how to cook tri tip in oven (no grill needed!) for a tasty steak dinner.

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Table of Contents

Quick look at the recipe…

The recipe below will show you how to make delicious oven-baked tri tips every time. Once you give it a try, let me know what you think in the comment section below.

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Season tri tip.
Sear it in a large cast iron skillet.
Oven bake it for 12 minutes per pound.
Rest and serve.

Beginner home cooks – scroll down for a detailed and printable step by step recipe (with video!).

What is tri tip beef?

Tri tip is a cut of beef that has a really nice marbling, meaning it has streaks of fat running through the meat and is sometimes sold with a fat cap on either or both sides.

Other names for tri tip include “triangle roast” because of its triangle shape and the “Newport steak”.

What part of the cow is trip tip from?

Tri tip is found at the bottom point of the sirloin.

How is tri tip prepared?

In addition to oven-roasting tri tips, which you’ll learn to do on this page, this cut of meat can be cooked deliciously on the grill or as a sous vide recipe.

In addition to charcoal and gas grilling it, if you’re into outdoor cooking, you make a Traeger smoked tri tip, too.

But this recipe will teach you how to get perferoastct tri tip baked in the oven and exactly how to cut tri tip the right way.

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Why this is the best tri tip recipe…

Easy weeknight meal.
Super simple seasoning.
It’s so tender and juicy.
It’s the best way to cook tri tip
Great alternative to grilled tri tip.
Serves a crowd.

Ingredients

Here’s what you need to make a tri tip steak in ovens.

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Tri tip steak (about 2 LBs, but you can use this recipe to cook bigger tri tip steaks, too)
BBQ rub (store bought with salt, or add 1 tsp salt)
Olive oil

Note: in the video recipe demo, I use pre-seasoned tri tip from Costco that already came with BBQ rub on it.

(The fat side was still in tact, which I’ll teach you how to work with in this tri tip recipe.)

If you’re making your own from scratch, you need to use a store bought bbq rub. Look for a dry rub with salt, or add 1 tsp of salt to it to make this recipe.

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My garlic and herb compound butter is perfect to serve on top of this steak.

It’s also delicious on my new recipe for t bone steak in oven.

How To Cook Tri Tip In Oven (Step by step)

Preheat oven to 425°F. Season tri tip steak for oven baking by rubbing the BBQ dry rub all over the steak. If required, trim any silver skin if not already done by your butcher.
Heat a large cast iron skillet (or other oven safe pan as desired) to medium-high heat on the stove. Add olive oil, and once olive oil gets hot and begins to smoke, add the tri tip to the pan (fat side down, if the fat cap is still on the steak). Sear for 3 minutes, without moving. Take a peek to make sure the bottom is completely browned and seared, then use tongs to sear the edges for about 20 seconds each, until lightly browned (against the pan for 20 seconds each side. Place the uncooked flat side of the tri tip down on the pan. Turn off the burner.
Transfer skillet seared beef to the oven to bake at 425°F for about 12 minutes per pound. This helps warm the roast throughout with indirect heat. Exact time of how long to cook tri tip in the oven will vary based on your desired steak temperature. For best results, use a thermometer that has a probe that reads the temperature of the steak while it cooks in the oven so you know exactly when the inside temperature reaches your desired level of doneness. See the steak cooking chart below for the temperature the tri tip steak is done at. The steak in this recipe tutorial was cooked to 140°F which is more of a medium temp VS. medium rare.
Once done roasting tri tip in the oven, transfer it to a cutting board to rest for 10 minutes. Add a compound butter (see recipe on Sip Bite Go) if desired. You can cover it with foil if you want to keep it warm, but I don’t personally find that necessary.
Slice thin and serve with your favorite steak sauce or in tri tip steak sandwiches. (see the bottom of this post for tips on slicing it against the grain).

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Tri tip temperature chart

How to know when tri-tip is done?

If you have a meat thermometer, you can check easily if the meat is cooked to your preferred level of done-ness.

Here’s a tri tip temp chart to help you out…

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Rare tri tip (125-130°F) is still red inside.
Medium rare tri tip (130-140°F) is red to pink inside.
Medium tri tip (140-150°F) is mostly pink.
Medium well (150-160°F) has just a slight bit of pink inside.
Well cooked (160°F) has no red or pink inside.

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For another impressive main dish, see how to smoke a turkey…

FAQs for making tri tip in the oven

How much tri tip do I need per person?

A rule of thumb is to figure ½ pound of meat per person. A tri-tip roast is typically 2 ½ to 4 pounds, and can feed five to eight people.

How do you slice tri tip?

Cutting into juicy steak roast is the best part of preparing this steak. If you’re wondering how to cut tri tip steak, don’t worry, it’s pretty easy and you don’t need to use a meat slicer. But you do need to find the center point, where the two grains meat (they run in different directions) and you’ll want to slice your tri tip into thin slices, perpendicular to the grain of the meat. This will bring out the tenderness of the meat. Keep your knife angled slightly as you slice. Learn more about how to cut tri tip.

What can I serve with my tri-tip roast?

Tri-tip is delicious with sous vide fingerling potatoes, crock pot sweet potatoes, or sous vide sweet corn. See what to serve for tri tip sides…

How do I season tri-tip?

Tri-tip is one of the most versatile cuts of meat. You can marinate it with a mixture of wet ingredients like oil, soy sauce, and lime juice for acidity. Or you can use simple dry ingredients like garlic salt, BBQ seasoning or just salt and black pepper if you are in a pinch.

How do I temperature check tri-tip?

Use an internal read thermometer and insert it into the thickest part of the tri-tip. Use my internal temperature chart below to find your desired doneness. Please note to rest your tri-tip at room temperature once done. The internal temperature will rise a few degrees, so pull the tri-tip out of the oven a few degrees early.

Meat thermometer recommendations

Every home chef needs a reliable meat thermometer to cook food perfectly.

On Sip Bite Go, you’ll often see me using:

Meater thermometer – a fancy wireless thermometer that connects to a phone app – gifted to me from a Traeger partnership.
ThermoPro digital thermometer – which has a wire that connects the thermometer to a display box outside the oven/grill.

It’s like being psychic! The great thing about either of the thermometers above is that I don’t have to take the food out of the oven to know the temperature.

How to use ‘em… What I do is stick the digital thermometer in steak, pork, chicken, whatever… Then put the food in the oven, on the smoker, or grill.

While the meat cooks, it reads the temperature so I know exactly what temp meat is as it’s cooking. Without having to take it out and check. It’s really difficult to overcook food when you know exactly what temp it is inside!

Why I wrote this recipe

My husband and I are huge fans of sous vide tri tip steak and most recently, smoked tri tip. It comes out so perfectly when cooked using the sous vide cooking method of cooking food underwater for a long period of time.

When I first thought about cooking tri tip in the oven I thought it was strange.

It was important to me to get a nice bark around the outside, so that’s why I decided to sear tri tip in a cast iron skillet before putting it in the oven.

Tri tip will be roasted in the oven from that point onwards. For the butter, I love making my own homemade condiments like jalapeno ranch dressing, and peppercorn sauce.

Are you a foodie, too?

Hey home chefs, hope that answers all your questions about the best way to cook tri tip in the oven.

You also should check out my recipes for tasty smoked brisket flat, crispy oven baked chicken thighs, smoked chicken wings, and Traeger smoked turkey breast or whole smoked turkey.

And if you have a griddle, check out this recipe for steak fajitas on griddle cooktops.

To get my latest and greatest recipes before they’re shared on the site, connect with me on Instagram @sipbitego.

And for more deliciousness, subscribe to the Sip Bite Go channel and see the Sip Bite Go recipe collection.

How To Cook Tri Tip In Oven Perfectly | Sip Bite Go

Cooking tri tip in the oven for the first time? I have some secrets to share with you! Learn the best way, exactly how to cook tri tip in oven (no grill needed!) for a tasty steak dinner.

5 from 84 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Entree, Main Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: best way to cook tri tip in oven, how to make tri tip in the oven, tri tip in oven

Prep Time: 3 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Finish Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 38 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 411kcal

Author: Jenna Passaro

Ingredients

▢ 2 lb tri tip steak
▢ 2 tbsp bbq rub store bought with salt, or add 1 tsp salt
▢ 1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425°F. Season tri tip steak for oven baking by rubbing the BBQ dry rub all over the steak.
Heat a large cast iron skillet (or other oven safe pan as desired) to medium-high heat on the stove. Add olive oil, and once olive oil gets hot and begins to smoke, add the tri tip to the pan (fat side down, if the fat cap is still on the tri tip steak). Sear for 3 minutes, without moving. Take a peek to make sure the bottom is completely browned and seared, then use tongs to sear the edges of the tri tip for about 20 seconds each, until lightly browned (against the pan for 20 seconds each side. Place the uncooked flat side of the tri tip down on the pan. Turn off the burner.
Transfer skillet seared tri tip to the oven to bake at 425°F for about 12 minutes per pound. Exact time of how long to cook tri tip in the oven will vary based on your desired steak temperature. For best results, use a thermometer that has a probe that reads the temperature of the steak while it cooks in the oven so you know exactly when the inside temperature reaches your desired level of doneness. See the steak cooking chart below for the temperature the tri tip steak is done at. The steak in this recipe tutorial was cooked to 140°F.
Once done roasting tri tip in the oven, transfer it to a cutting board to rest for 10 minutes. Add a compound butter (see recipe on Sip Bite Go) if desired. You can cover it with foil if you want to keep it warm, but I don’t personally find that necessary.
Slice thin and serve with your favorite steak sauce or in tri tip steak sandwiches. Note on slicing tri tip: it has two grains, so you have to first find the center point, where the two directions of grains meet in the middle of the meat (they run in different directions). Slice the tri tip in half. Then slice each half against the grain into thin slices.

Video

Notes

Tri tip temperature chart

Rare tri tip (125-130°F) is still red inside.
Medium rare tri tip (130-140°F) is red to pink inside.
Medium tri tip (140-150°F) is mostly pink.
Medium well tri tip (150-160°F) has just a slight bit of pink inside.
Well cooked tri tip (160°F) has no red or pink inside.

Tips

Tri tip comes both trimmed, and with the fat cap. It just depends on where you’re buying it. For this recipe, you can use either trimmed or tri tip with the fat layer.

Do you have to trim the tri tip fat cap to use it? No. Most people prefer to leave the fat later on for roasting the steak, because it adds to the juiciness of the meat.

Turn this into bacon wrapped tri tip in the oven by adding layers of bacon on top before adding the tri tip to the oven.

See the recipe: https://sipbitego.com/cook-tri-tip-oven

See the recipe video for tri tip in the oven on Sip Bite Go’s YouTube.

Nutrition

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