This oven roasted trip tip with chili lime seasoning is like a grilling party in the house! The zesty chili lime spice blend is also great for roasted chicken, shrimp or even vegetables like roasted potatoes. (Grilling instructions included too!)
Living in Southern California, our backyard is like an extension of our house. We love to grill and eat outdoors, especially during these longer days. It helps to have mild winters, so we grill all year long.
But I don’t always feel like grilling. Many cuts of meat and roasts can easily be cooked indoors. The tri tip roast is one of these versatile meats. My family’s newest obsession is this homemade chili lime seasoning.
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Recipe highlights
- Super Easy: This tri tip recipe is super simple to make, requiring no marinating, but an easy and delicious spice rub you apply right before cooking.
- Texture: A tri tip roast is a budget friendly way to serve up a tender cut of meat. It is also known as a Bottom Sirloin Roast, Triangle Roast or Santa Maria Steak.
- Spice Rub: The chili lime seasoning is smokey and citrusy. You can make it spicy or mild, depending on the chile powder you use. It’s also great on chicken, pork, shrimp and vegetables like potatoes!
Ingredients you need
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- Tri tip roast: You can purchase trimmed tri tips from the butcher or you can trim off the excess fat yourself. If you are grilling your tri tip, you can keep more fat on the roast than if you are roasting it in the oven.
- Kosher salt: I prefer using kosher salt for my dry rubs because is melts easily onto the surface of your meats without making it overtly salty. Salts come in a variety of saltiness. If you are using sea salt, start with half the amount listed, taste the mix and see if you need to add more salt. Do not substitute kosher salt with the amount in regular salt.
- Chili powder: There are so many varieties of chile powders available, from red to green, spicy to mild and of course from every type of pepper. So choose your favorite or use a combination.
- Paprika: There are various types of paprika available. I prefer smoked paprika for meats but you can use sweet paprika or whatever you have on hand!
- Other seasonings: ground coriander, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper and black pepper
Step-by-step directions
- Prepare the seasonings. Grate lime zest and combine with with rest of the seasonings in a bowl.
- Prep roast. Trim off any large deposits of fat surrounding the tri tip. The amount you trim off depends if you are oven roasting or grilling your meat. For grilling you want a little bit of fat, but nothing larger than ½-inch thick. For oven roasting, I trim off more of the fat, leaving only small bits that will melt in the cooking process.
- Coat the roast. Cover roast with chili lime seasoning.
- Oven instructions. Place the tri-tip fat side up on a rack in a shallow roasting pan and roast at 450ºF until the internal temperature reaches 135º-140º F for medium-rare or 140º-145º F for medium.
- Grilling instructions. Heat grill to 275ºF and place roast on the grill, fat side up. Close grill and cook until the temperature reaches 135ºF inside. Remove roast and place directly on the coals to sear all sides of the roast.
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Recipe tips and FAQs
Slice thinly across the grain and serve immediately. I like to serve it with roasted potatoes or my Spanish rice. You can also dice up the meat and serve it with tortillas to make delicious tacos.
You will have extra chili lime seasoning leftover, so just bottle it and stick it in your pantry. The grated lime zest will dry out and its essence will meld with the rest of the spices. Add it to chicken, pork or seafood.
Need more easy family-friendly dinner ideas that are full of flavor? Try my oven country style ribs or my Air Fryer Chicken Legs with Chipotle Glaze.
And if you are looking for another great way to enjoy this cut of beef, you should try my whiskey tri tip marinade.
Storing/Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Store any leftover roast in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Do not reheat steak in the microwave, but sauté chopped steak in a hot pan with a little butter or olive oil.
TO FREEZE: You could also freeze leftovers, but I suggest not to do this as the texture does change when frozen and thawed.
The tri tip roast is cut from the bottom sirloin. You can easily find tri-tip roasts in major supermarkets here on the west coast, but may find it difficult to locate on the east side of the US. It is also called a Bottom Sirloin Roast or a Triangle Roast because, well it looks like a triangle.
Tri-tips weigh approximately 2-3 pounds, depending on size and how much fat is on it. When I am roasting a tri-tip in the oven, I trim most of the fat off the roast. I like to cook this bad boy at a high temperature, 450ºF. This creates a nice crust around the roast. The roast is done after approximately 45-minutes, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 135º-140ºF for medium-rare and 140º-145º F for medium.
I do trim the tri-tip a little bit even for grilling, especially since the grocery stores sell these roasts untrimmed and with a huge amount of fat surrounding it. I do not cut the fat from the tri-tip as cleanly for the grill as I do for the oven. So leave some of that fat on for flavor. It will melt and burn off while on the grill.
We grill a tri tip roast at 275ºF temperature until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 135ºF inside. Then take the roast off the grill and gives the outside a nice sear by placing the meat directly on the coals.
Oven Roasted Tri Tip with Chili Lime Seasoning
Ingredients
- 2 ½ lb tri tip roast
- Grated zest from 1 fresh lime
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoon chile chili powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Using a fine grater or zester, grate the zest from your lime into a small bowl. Add the seasonings in the bowl and mix to combine.
- Trim off any large deposits of fat surrounding the tri-tip. For grilling you want a little bit of fat, but nothing larger than ½-inch thick.
- Coat the entire roast with chili lime seasoning. You will make more seasoning than needed, so jar what is left to use again later.
- For oven roasting, preheat the oven to 450º F.
- Place the tri-tip fat side up on a rack in a shallow roasting pan.
- Roast for 30 minutes and begin checking the internal temperature on a meat thermometer: for medium-rare, 135º-140º F and 140º-145º F for medium.
- If grilling, heat grill to 275ºF temperature and place roast on the grill, fat side up. Close grill and cook until the temperature of the meat reaches 135ºF inside. Remove roast from grill and place meat directly on the coals and sears each of the roast
- Transfer roast to a platter and let rest 10 minutes.
- Slice thinly across the grain and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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Written by Laura Bashar
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!
Love that chili lime seasoning! Yum! Bet it’d be great with grilled chicken. And of course with this trip tip. I think I actually prefer cooking tri tip in the oven — oven heat seems to work a bit better for the roast’s uneven shape than grilling does. Might just be me, though. 🙂 Anyway, really nice. Thanks.
I seriously prefer the ease of the oven. And sometimes grilling gives food too much smoke. I know, I’m in the minority for preferring less smoke!