Easy to make and always impressive, this Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon is the perfect showstopper recipe. With just six ingredients and incredible flavor, this steak is ultra-tender. It’s great for any special occasion and holidays as well. This recipe is naturally gluten-free, and a dairy-free option is listed. Try it with my Best Mashed Potatoes, Mushroom Cream Sauce, and Sautéed Green Beans for a full meal.
Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon is what my husband ordered on our first date 17 years ago. And he’s been ordering it every time he sees it on a menu ever since.
Watch How To Make Bacon Wrapped Fillet Mignon
We still go to that same restaurant once or twice a year. But long ago, they took his beloved filet off the menu.
So I figured it was way past time I got good at making him bacon-wrapped filets at home. This recipe keeps it super simple, all about a perfectly cooked steak.
You’ll find my fool-proof steak methods below as well as our favorite side dish recipes to serve this with!
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Filet Mignon – this recipe was developed specifically for filet mignon steak. A bacon wrap doesn’t work well with some other cuts of steak, but you’ll find other steak recipes above the recipe card below. Filet mignon is a tender cut of meat that comes from the beef tenderloin.
- Bacon – look for a package with meaty bacon for the best results. Some packages can be very fatty, so it’s always best to check the front and back windows on the package.
- Oil – this steak is seared in avocado oil because it has a high smoke point.
- Butter – after the searing, you add a bit of salted butter to the pan for butter basting. You can also skip this if you need your steak to be dairy-free.
- Garlic & rosemary– a whole clove cut in half adds a subtle flavor to the butter with the rosemary to infuse the steak. Rosemary is our favorite herb with beef, but thyme would also work.
How to make this recipe step by step
Step 1: Start by par-baking the bacon to render out some of the fat. You want a little browning to have started, but the bacon should still be very pliable.
Step 2: Next season the filets with sea salt and pepper, then wrap each steak in 2 strips of bacon, securing the overlapping ends with a toothpick on each side.
Step 3: Heat a large cast iron skillet (10″) over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the oil, swirl to coat the bottom of the pan, and sear the steaks for a few minutes on each side until nicely browned.
Step 4: Remove any excess oil from the pan, then add the butter along with the halved garlic and sprigs of rosemary. Swirl the aromatics around as the butter melts for a minute or so.
Then, using a spoon, scoop up some butter and drizzle it over each steak. I use an oven mitt to hold the handle, tilt to let the butter run to the side, then scoop it up and over the steak.
Continue basting for 1-2 minutes.
Step 5: Then insert an oven-safe thermometer into the thickest part of the steak, and finish cooking the filets in the oven to your desired internal temperature.
Beef Temperature Guide
- Rare – 125ºF most of the meat will be red with a little pink around the edges.
- Medium rare – 135ºF looks like the beef tenderloin pictured here with a good amount of red in the center, turning to pink, then brown near the edges.
- Medium – 145ºF has just a bit of red in the center but is mostly light pink with brown edges.
- Medium well – 150ºF barely a hint of pink in the center and mostly brown throughout. I don’t recommend medium well here because you’re getting too close to drying out this lean cut. But I’ve included it just in case medium isn’t your thing.
Ways to serve this
- Serve this Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon with my Garlic Cream Sauce or Mushroom Cream Sauce for the ultimate ‘all-out’ meal.
- Start your celebration with my Antipasto Platter and Cranberry Kombucha Mocktails.
- Pick a potato: Crispy Rosemary Potatoes – Best Mashed Potato – Cheesy Mashed Potatoes – Mashed Sweet Potatoes or even Mashed Cauliflower.
- Add a veggie: Perfect Roasted Asparagus – Roasted Broccoli – Roasted Brussels Sprouts – Honey Glazed Carrots – or Sautéed Green Beans.
- For dessert: Paleo Chocolate Cake – Death by Chocolate – Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies – or pass around some of my Paleo Twix Bars for a small dessert.
FAQ’s
I’ve found 400ºF to be best for cooking filet mignon because it produces a well-browned steak without burning the basting butter in the pan.
No filet mignon can be cooked without a bacon wrap, according to your personal preference. This recipe uses a bacon wrap because it’s my husband’s favorite way to eat steak.
Storing leftovers
- To store – place any leftover steak in an airtight sealed container and refrigerate for 4-5 days.
- Reheating – using a cast iron or non-stick skillet sear the leftover steak cut into bites in a bit of butter or oil, cooking briefly on each side to re-warm. Or reheat the steak with any leftover sauce.
- To freeze – place any leftovers into an airtight sealed container and freeze for up to 1 month.
Tips & Tricks
- Use an instant-read thermometer for perfect results every single time! Filet mignon is an expensive cut of meat, and a meat thermometer is the perfect way to make sure your occasion is stress-free and you always have a juicy steak.
- Not to sound like a broken record, but I absolutely love my Meater thermometer. It’s the type of thermometer that goes into the meat and stays in while it’s cooking in the oven. It connects to your phone and alerts you when it’s getting close to being done. This is a total game changer for entertaining and holidays and takes all the stress out of cooking an expensive cut of meat.
- Remove the filet mignon steaks from the refrigerator 1-2 hours before cooking to come up to room temperature, and season them with sea salt and pepper. This brings even more flavor to the meat, and it cooks more evenly.
- You can also use 2 tbsp of my Herb Butter recipe in place of the butter, garlic, and rosemary. I make batches of this recipe to have in small containers in the freezer, which makes it super convenient, and you don’t need to purchase fresh herbs as often.
- I don’t personally recommend going over the doneness level of medium because this is a lean cut of meat. But I have included medium well just in case medium isn’t your thing. Just be very careful because you don’t want to dry out your steak.
- Try to buy steaks that are the same size and thickness so they cook evenly. This can be a challenge sometimes, and another option is to buy the entire beef tenderloin, cut the steaks yourself, and freeze the extras for another time.
Dietary Options & Substitutions
- Dairy-free – omit the butter and add 1 tbsp olive oil to the pan with the garlic and rosemary. Lightly baste the steak with the oil before finishing in the oven.
- Paleo – use ghee instead of the butter.
More Beef Recipe Inspiration
I really hope you enjoy this Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon recipe! If you get a chance to make it, I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon
INGREDIENTS
- 4 strips bacon
- 1 pound filet mignon - 2-8 ounce steaks
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp avocado oil - or olive oil
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- 1 clove garlic - cut in half lengthwise
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
INSTRUCTIONS
- Ideally, remove the steaks from the fridge 1-2 hours ahead and season them with sea salt and pepper. Skip the seasoning in step 5 if you can do this ahead.
- Preheat the oven temperature to 425º and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Evenly space the 4 strips of bacon on the pan and place it into the oven as it's preheating.
- Cook the bacon until some of the fat renders out and it's beginning to brown on the edges but still very pliant, about 8 minutes.
- Remove the bacon from the oven, and lower the oven temperature to 400ºF. Transfer the bacon from the pan to a paper towel-lined plate and set it aside.
- Season the steaks on all sides with the sea salt and pepper, skip if you did this in step 1. Wrap each filet with 2 strips of bacon, securing the overlapping ends with toothpicks on each side.
- Heat a large 10" cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot but not smoking, add the oil to the pan, and using an oven mitt, swirl the oil to coat the bottom.
- Place the bacon wrapped filets evenly in the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes per side until well browned.
- Remove any excess oil, then turn the stove down to medium heat and add the butter, halved garlic, and rosemary sprigs to the pan.
- Swirl the aromatics around in the butter for a minute or so. Then using a spoon, scoop up some butter and drizzle it over each steak. I use an oven mitt to hold the handle, tilt to let the butter run to the side, then scoop it up and over the steak.
- Continue basting for 1-2 minutes. Then, insert an oven-safe thermometer and finish cooking the filets in the oven to your desired doneness, about 8 minutes for medium-rare.