roasted cornish hens

These Roasted Cornish Hens will be your new favorite recipe for romantic date nights or to impress dinner party guests. They&#x27;re simple, elegant, and turn out perfectly every time with my easy step-by-step instructions.

Roasted Cornish Hens

whole Cornish hens (about 1 1/2 lb each)

rosemary

thyme

onion

garlic

lemon

olive oil

salt (or

tsp pepper (or

Italian seasoning

tsp smoked paprika

garlic powder

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

Combine all the dry rub ingredients together in a small bowl.

Pat the hens dry with paper towels and generously season with the dry rub both inside and out.

Preheat your oven to 425°F.

In a roasting pan add the rosemary, thyme, garlic, onion, and half the lemon slices. Place the hens in the roasting pan over the herbs and onions and drizzle the olive oil over the hens.

Transfer the roasting pan to the preheated oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers at 165°F.

Remove the hens from the oven and let them rest for 20 minutes. Garnish with additional thyme, lemon slices and rosemary and serve over mashed potatoes.

This sheet pan spatchcocked Cornish hens with summer vegetables is the perfect weeknight dinner. It all bakes up on one sheet pan and is packed with perfectly crisp Cornish hens, zucchini, baby potatoes and cherry tomatoes all tossed in olive oil, oregano, thyme mixture. You&#x27;ll love this sheet pan meal!

Sheet Pan Spatchcocked Cornish Hens with Summer Vegetables

(2-1/2 pound) Cornish hens,

Kosher salt and pepper,

oregano

thyme leaves

baby yellow potatoes

cherry tomatoes,

zucchini,

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Remove the giblets from the Cornish hens and...

Remove the giblets from the Cornish hens and place them on a cutting board, breast side down.

Using sharp kitchen shears cut down each side...

Using sharp kitchen shears cut down each side of the backbone, starting from the neck end down to the tail. Remove the backbone, pull open the hen, flip it over, and lay it flat.

Optional: Near the bottom of the breast near...

Optional: Near the bottom of the breast near the legs there should be some loose skin. Cut a small slit on each slice of fat and put your legs through the hole. This helps hold the legs in place but it is completely optional.

Rub both birds with about 1 tablespoon olive...

Rub both birds with about 1 tablespoon olive oil, season the front and underside of the bird with kosher salt and pepper. Sprinkle with half of the oregano and thyme onto the bird and rub to coat the top and bottom.

Use the rest of the olive oil and...

Use the rest of the olive oil and herbs to toss with the vegetables. Season with the desired amount of kosher salt and pepper.

To a large rimmed sheet pan add the...

To a large rimmed sheet pan add the flattened Cornish hens and potatoes.

Cook for about 45 minutes, tossing the potatoes...

Cook for about 45 minutes, tossing the potatoes midway to keep them crispy and evenly cooked.

Remove from the oven and add on the...

Remove from the oven and add on the tomatoes and zucchini.

Cook for about another 15 minutes or until...

Cook for about another 15 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked, internal temperature 160 degrees in the thigh.

Individual Cornish Game Hens always make a meal feel special and are a great holiday meal choice as well.  This simple roasting method leaves them with juicy, succulent meat and crispy golden skin.

Kosher Salt

Black Pepper (, freshly ground)

small Yellow Onion (,

Thyme

(each

Sage leaves

Olive Oil

Unsalted Butter

Shallot (, diced)

Garlic Cloves (, diced)

Rosemary

Lemon ((see ingredients above))

Set the Cornish hens out to come to room temperature about 1 hour before cooking.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and set a rack to the middle position of the oven.

While the hens are coming to room temperature, make the basting sauce.  In a small sauce pan over medium-low heat, combine the olive oil and butter.

Once the butter has melted add the shallot, garlic, rosemary and lemon slices.  Allow to simmer for 3 minutes and then remove from the heat to cool and infuse.

Stuff each hen with 1-2 onion wedges, 1 lemon wedge, 2 sprigs of thyme, 2 rosemary sprig halves, 2 sage leaves.  Tie the legs together with butcher twine, in a crossed position but not overly tightly.

Spray the sides of an 11-inch by 13-inch baking pan (this helps prevent the sides of the hens from sticking to the pan while cooking), add remaining lemon slices and any of the onion wedges that were not stuffed into the hens (separate them into pieces).

Baste the hens fully and place them with breasts up in the baking pan.  Cook on 425 degrees for 30 minutes.

Lower the heat to 350 and cook an additional 20 minutes.  When an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh  reads 165 degrees remove the pan from the oven.

Allow the hens to rest for 15 minutes before serving. Reserve the flavorful pan juices to drizzle over the hens when serving.

Roasted Cornish hens are easy to prepare and great for special occasion dinners. They're seasoned with pantry spices and fresh herbs and roasted in the oven until the skin is golden and crispy. One hen is a generous serving for one person so, if you have sides, two people can easily share one.

Roasted Cornish Game Hens

cornish hens (about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds each)

½ teaspoon kosher salt

onion powder

paprika

black pepper

carrot,

celery,

garlic,

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Pat the hens dry with paper towels and place them in a baking dish that&#8217;s big enough to hold both of them so they aren&#8217;t touching.

In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, salt, garlic powder, dried thyme, onion powder, paprika, and black pepper.

Rub the oil mixture all over the hens and fill the cavity of each with the carrots, celery, garlic, and rosemary.

Tie the legs with kitchen twine and tuck the wings under the bird— this will prevent them from burning in the oven.

Roast the hens for 50 to 55 minutes or until an instant read thermometer registers 165°F in the thickest part.

Remove the pan from the oven and cover it with aluminum foil. Rest the hens for 10 minutes. You can carve them for serving or serve them whole. If you are serving four, you can also slice them in half for serving,

Had this for a special dinner with my girlfriend and it was a night I will never forget! Thank you for this recipe that will always have a special place in my heart.

My husband and I love Game Hens and I have made them three different ways before seeing your recipe. We LOVE yours the best!! The directions are clear and easy to follow, the birds looked toasty brown and were really crispy, the veggies inside were cooked to perfection (just a little crunchy) and the time between cooking and serving gave me enough time to make the wild rice I wanted.
This was the first recipe of yours I tried and I will definitely use others in the future! Thanks for making me look so good!

This Baked Cornish Hens recipe is surprisingly easy to make. Roasted to golden perfection, they have crispy skin that gives way to juicy, tender meat with every delightful bite. Serve these for weeknight dinners, Thanksgiving, or as an addition to any holiday spread.

Baked Cornish Hens

Cornish hens

smoked paprika

poultry seasoning

salt and pepper

chicken broth

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Drizzle the olive oil over the Cornish hens and sprinkle the spices throughout. Rub the spices onto both sides. Ensure the hens are fully coated and add additional spices if necessary.

Place the seasoned Cornish hens in a roasting pan or a baking dish.

Pour the chicken broth or water into the roasting pan to provide moisture during baking. This will help keep the hens tender and juicy. Be careful to pour it around the Cornish Hens so you don't disturb the spices on the skin.

Bake the Cornish hens for about 45 to 60 minutes, or however long it takes for them to reach an internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Use a meat thermometer.

Once done, remove the hens from the oven and let them rest for a few minutes before serving. This allows the juices to redistribute and results in tender, succulent meat.

Roasted Cornish Hens are small and roast into an easy fancy dinner that&#039;s both wholesome and delicious.

cornish hens (about 1.5 pounds each)

salt

pepper

Preheat the oven to 400º F. Combine dry seasoning ingredients in a small bowl. Rub each hen with olive oil, then sprinkle with the seasoning mix. Season or salt the insides as well. See note below for additional seasoning options.

Place the hens on a foil or parchment lined baking sheet or pan, then place in the oven. If baking with vegetables, see the notes section below.

Bake for 45–55 minutes, or just until the centers reach 165º. Then skin should be browned and crisp as well.

Remove from the oven and let sit at room temp for 5–10 minutes before serving.

Nice, easy recipe. Produced lots of flavor and crispy skin. Very adaptable, as well. Thanks!

Thank you for the delicious and easy recipe! The Cornish hens were fabulous, and I received many compliments. I will make this recipe again. It's an easy dish for entertainment. The roasted potatoes and the broccolini helped me achieve an attractive presentation.  Merci beaucoup!

Thanks for the amazing details about roasted-cornish-hens.

Thank you for a great recipe. It’s super nice and complete and helpful.

So yummy! recipe Thanks for sharing this blog with us I hope it will help me and others so please post more blogs like this.

At my old school, they would serve this almost every year at the students' graduation and I loved it!! I can't believe I never thought to make it myself. Thanks so much for the recipe!!

You had me at "almost prep time." Cornish hens have always been a little intimidating to me, however you make it seem pretty simple!

This recipe is so easy to make and so delicious. A great recipe for entertaining too!

Thank you so much for sharing this amazing roasted cornish hens recipe! Will surely have this again! It's really easy to make and it tasted so delicious! Highly recommended!

Glad to find this recipe because I just bought some cornish hens for a birthday dinner. These are really so easy to make and I love the presentation.

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Top Tags

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The most viewed roasted cornish hens recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine