This pan-seared Filet Mignon recipe really and truly is an excellent way to make filet mignon. Searing the beef makes it melt-in-your mouth tender and every bite is so flavorful in that mushroom wine cream sauce.
Make this filet mignon steak, served with creamy mashed potatoes and asparagus for your next special occasion and you will get rave reviews.
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Filet Mignon Recipe:
Beef tenderloin steak is probably the MOST expensive cut of beef so it can be intimidating, but honestly it’s difficult to mess this up following the recipe. To give you an extra nudge of confidence, watch the video tutorial below on how to cook the best filet mignon.
What is Filet Mignon?
“Filet Mignon” is often labeled as “beef tenderloin”. It is the most tender cut of steak you’ll have. So tender, you could cut through it with a fork.
Beef tenderloin is sold either pre-sliced or as a whole or partial tenderloin. I prefer to purchase the whole tenderloin when I can so I can ensure even 1 1/2″ thickness and portions when sliced. The price per pound is often less when purchasing a whole tenderloin.
What is the Best Red Wine for Cooking?
Any drinkable red wine will work. DO NOT USE “cooking wine.” Even an inexpensive $7 bottle of Merlot like what we used here is a way better option. Using wine really enhances depth of flavor here.
If you are looking for an alcohol free substitute; you could use more beef broth and it will still taste great but more like a mushroom gravy.
This Filet mignon recipe is perfect for special occasions like Christmas, New Years or a date night in. My husband and I celebrated Valentines day with this one and we kept saying to each other, “This is so much better than anything we would eat going out!”
It is ‘fancy restaurant’ quality without the insane price tag. We spent $40 to make an amazing filet mignon dinner for 4.
More Special Occassion Dinner Ideas:
- Broiled Lobster Tails with lemon garlic butter sauce
- Beet Salad with Feta (easy Cheesecake Factory copycat)
- Salmon Patties – easy salmon cakes with homemade tartar sauce
- Creamy Shrimp Pasta – loaded with juicy shrimp in alfredo sauce
Watch How to Cook Filet Mignon Recipe:
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Filet Mignon Recipe in Mushroom Sauce (VIDEO)
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
- 16 oz baby bella mushrooms, thickly sliced
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme, minced (or 1 tsp dry thyme)
- 24 oz filet mignon (beef tenderloin) steaks , 6-8 oz each, about 1 1/2" thick
- 1/2 cup Merlot wine, or any dry red wine
- 1 1/2 cups beef broth
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 1 1/4 tsp sea salt, we use sea salt, divided
- 1/2 tsp black pepper, divided
Instructions
How to Cook Filet Mignon Recipe:
- Place a large heavy-bottomed pan over med/high heat and melt in 2 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp oil. Add sliced mushrooms and cook 6 min or until softened and most of the liquid has evaporated. Add diced onion and cook 3 min, stirring often.
- Add minced garlic, 1 Tbsp thyme, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp black pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, 2 min or until garlic is fragrant. Transfer mushrooms to a large plate. Wipe pan clean with a wet paper towel.
- Season steaks all over with 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Place the same pan over medium/high heat and add 2 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp oil. When the butter is hot and finished foaming, add seasoned steaks and sear 3-5 min per side for medium-rare (5-6 min for medium doneness*), turning once. When steaks reach desired doneness, transfer them to the plate with mushrooms.
- In the same pan over med/high heat, add 1/2 cup red wine and boil down until reduced by half (3 min), scraping the bottom to deglaze. Add 1 1/2 cups beef broth and boil until 2/3 cup of liquid remains in the pan (5-7 min). Stir in 1/2 cup cream and boil 2 min or until slightly thickened. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper if desired.
- Add steaks and mushrooms back to pan, spooning some of the sauce over steaks. Once steaks are just heated through, remove from heat and serve garnished with fresh sprigs of thyme if desired.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
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MOUTH IS WATERING just thinking about it because I know just how completely amazing it tastes!! I hope you fall in love with this pan-seared filet mignon. It is a meal to remember!
awesome, wanna try!
I hope you try and love this recipe Terri!
Natasha, I have spent 4+ decades in the wine industry and have cooked with many chefs during that time. Your statement “What is the Best Red Wine for Cooking? Any drinkable red wine will work” is incorrect. Most inexpensive (cheap) red wines have too much RS (residual sugar) to be used in cooking. Make sure the wine you cook with is dry, and if possible one that complements the food, i.e. Italian food, Italian wine.
Hi Jim, thanks for your insights and I understand where you are coming from and we do have it specified in the recipe “1/2 cup Merlot wine or any dry red wine”, but it can also vary by recipe – marsala and madeira are sweet wines and are used in cooking. I simply meant by this statement that it’s best to avoid something labeled “cooking wine”
Hey Natasha,
I am a big fan of yours..
I tried this recipe with your extra creamy mashed potatoes..we fell in love with the mashed potatoes, but I don’t know why we felt that the steak was very heavy on the stomach..maybe because I made it in Summer..I don’t know..maybe it’s a winter recipe..
So..is there any other way to cook fillet mignon and not be so heavy?
P.S. um looking for a recipe which makes meat so tender that it can dissolve in the mouth..the one which enables the steak to be cut by spoon..
I know you can help me..
Hi Marly, my best tip with filet mignon is not to overcook it. If you want it super tender, it needs to be removed from the skillet sooner.
Awesome! Great directions.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
A joint effort – cooked the Filet Mignon for stay at home birthday. It was a complete and utter success. The tastes were amazing and I got to use fresh thyme from the garden. Yet another recipe to add to the growing list. I love watching your videos. You make cooking so much fun!!!xx
So wonderful to hear that it was a success! Thank you for sharing that with us and for giving it a great review.
It was pretty good and I enjoyed the mushroom gravy sauce it made over the meat and mashed potatoes but to me if your going to use a very expensive cut of meat like Filet Mignon its always comes out better on a hot grill with some light seasoning. But if you don’t have a BBQ this is pretty good. Worth a try but not likely to make this again.
Thanks for sharing that with us Doug!
This steak with mushrooms was without a doubt the best filet steak recipe I’ve ever tried, and I’ve made a few. Thanks so much.
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
Hi Natasha,
Thank you for the great yummy recipes you have on your website!
I’m going to make this tomorrow and I am so excited!!!!
How long should I leave the filet (each side) for well done?
Hi Sara, you would need a couple minutes more. I recommend using a meat thermometer to get your desired doneness temp.
It was perfect! We fell in love with each bite of it!!!
Thank you Natasha for making cooking fun, easy and soooo YUMMY!!!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
There isn’t a 5 star gourmet restaurant that could serve a better Filet Mignon! The best meal I’ve ever served with creamy mashed potatoes and glazed carrots… and a glass of red!
World class…. top notch… can I go on and on!!!
That is so great! Reading your comments really makes me smile and it inspires me to create more recipes!
Can also pan-sear scallops to pair with the mushrooms in the sauce. Takes this already amazing recipe to a whole new level.
Thank you, Natasha, for making me a much better cook!
Aww that’s the best!! Thank you for sharing that with me.
Made this tonight for the first time. My parents loved it and already asking when I’m going to make it again! Thank you Natasha for such a fantastic recipe!!! <3
Fantastic! I’m glad that your parents loved it.
I made this for my wife and I for Valentine’s. WOW, it was delicious!!! I know my way around a kitchen, but we (forgive the pun) rarely eat steak so I’m not great at cooking them. I used two NY strip steaks and they came out perfect. The mushrooms and sauce were the perfect combination. Thank you so much for this easy to follow recipe that made me look like a gourmet cook!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me and for giving great feedback!
My second date success meal and 18 months later still cooking it for him Thank you! This is perfect!!!
That’s so awesome Sandie!! I’m so glad you celebrated with this dish!
I made these for Valentines Day dinner for my girl. She loved them, said they might be the best steak she’s ever had!
My only substitution was that I used Marsala wine instead of Merlo. I had some left over from your Chicken Marsala recipe I made last week.
Both were great!
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me! I’m all smiles!
It’s very difficult to write this review, due to the food coma I am in…but I had to. WOW. Tastes like something out of a 5 star restaurant. This was my first time cooking steaks, because quite honestly I’ve been scared they wouldn’t come out as good as in a restaurant…but D*MN!! Valentine’s dinner was an enormous success, THANK YOU!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite! I’m so glad you enjoyed this. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Would dutch oven work for this recipe? also i saw in the video that when you cut the steak it still has pink color inside, was it fully cooked? I just dont like eating pink meat
Hi Jessica, yes, we seared the steak for 3-5 min per side for medium-rare or you can do 5-6 min for medium doneness.
Would you recommend using dutch oven as i dont have the one you mentioned in this recipe?
I believe that should work Jessica. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Can you please post a link to the pan you are using? Thanks
Hi Jessica, I have a link to the same Staub pan in our shop here. It is this one HERE.
How many steaks on this recipe
Hi Shirley, this recipe makes 4 filet mignon steaks.
Natasha, this recipe looks delicious, but I only have a large LeCreuset 8qt enameled pan, (it’s deep) do you think it would work?
Hi Laura, I believe that should still work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
I am serving the meat alongside mashed potatoes and homemade green bean casserole. Both are creamy so I don’t want to use the cream in the meat sauce. I think it will work if I just reduce the volume of beef broth and perhaps add a bit of cornstarch. What do you think? I typically make mushrooms with red wine and butter, so this is a variation to get more of a gravy. Comments appreciated
Hi Joellen, I think that would work fine to make a little slurry of cornstarch in cold water and adding that in until it reaches your desired thickness. You could also just leave it as a buttery liquid and pour buttery pan juices over your steaks.
Can a keep it warm in the oven for a few hours?
Hi Alina, that would work. I’ve done it before, just be sure it’s not so hot that it keeps cooking.