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This Cornish hen recipe is an easy way to make an elegant meal.
Cornish hens are seasoned and roasted alongside vegetables until tender and juicy.
Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: Crispy, golden skin and tender, juicy meat infused with garlic, herbs, and a hint of citrus make this roasted Cornish hen irresistibly flavorful.
- Skill level: This is easy enough for home cooks but with techniques like seasoning, roasting, and temperature checking that require some attention to detail.
- Serving suggestions: Serve these roasted Cornish hens with buttery mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, a crisp green salad, or warm dinner rolls for a well-rounded meal.
Ingredient Tips For This Cornish Hen Recipe
- Cornish Hens: Cornish hens are small birds, usually about 1.5 to 2 lbs each. You can find Cornish hens in the freezer section with chicken and turkeys (you can also order them online here).
- Vegetables: Onions, carrots, and potatoes are cooked along with the hens for a complete meal in one pan. The juices from the hens will flavor the vegetables for a perfect meal. If you prefer to roast the hens without veggies, use a rack in the baking dish.
- Seasonings: Rosemary, lemon zest, thyme, and garlic powder make the perfect rub for these Cornish game hens.
Variations
- Cornish game hens can be stuffed with homemade stuffing like a holiday bird—ensure the center of the stuffing reaches 165°F.
- Other vegetables can be added; try bell pepper or mushrooms.
- You can also use a basic chicken blend, Italian seasoning, or zesty Cajun for a twist. Instead of olive oil, use leftover bacon grease to add a smoky flavor to the skin.
Recipe Tips
- Thaw the hens in the fridge overnight before cooking.
- Fresh herbs or lemon slices can be added to the cavity before cooking.
- Cook until the hens reach 165°F with a thermometer in the thickest part of the breast.
- Let the hens rest for 10 minutes before serving. If needed, the vegetables can be placed back in the oven while the hens rest.
Storing Leftovers
Leftover Cornish hens can be kept in the refrigerator in a covered container for up to 4 days and can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Use leftovers as you would use leftover chicken— in a chicken wrap, toss into soup, or add to a quick and easy buffalo chicken dip.
Create a Cornish Hen Feast with These Sides…
Did you enjoy this Roasted Cornish Hen Recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below.
Cornish Hen
Roasted Cornish hens are tender and juicy with a crispy, golden-brown skin.
Equipment
- 9 x 13-inch Casserole Dish or rimmed baking sheet
Ingredients
- 2 cornish hens about 1.5 pounds each
- 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary crushed
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Optional Vegetables
- 1 pound potatoes cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 carrots cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 onion cut into 1-inch wedges
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F.
- If using, toss the vegetables with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt & pepper to taste. Place in the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish or roasting pan.
- In a small bowl, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil with salt, rosemary, lemon zest, pepper, thyme, and garlic powder. Brush hens with the olive oil mixture. Twist wings to tuck under the bird. Tie legs together with twine if desired.
- Place Cornish hens on the vegetables and transfer the dish to the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 400°F.
- Bake the hens uncovered for 55 to 65 minutes or until the hens reach 165°F* with a thermometer. Ensure the thermometer does not touch the bone.
- Transfer the hens to a serving plate and loosely tent with foil for 10 minutes.
- Stir the vegetables into the juices on the pan. If needed, you can place them back into the oven as the hens rest. If the vegetables are cooked to your liking, turn the oven off and place them in the oven to keep warm.
- Cut hens in half using kitchen scissors and serve with vegetables.
Notes
Cornish hens can range in size from 1.5 to 2.25 lbs. Cooking time can vary slightly based on the size of your hens.
Poultry should reach a final temperature of 165°F in the thickest part of the meat with the thermometer not touching the bone. I remove the hens from the oven at 160°F as they will continue to cook as they rest and will reach 165°F.
Leftovers will keep for 4 days in the refrigerator and 3 months in the freezer.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 568 | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 227mg | Sodium: 450mg | Potassium: 669mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 5338IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Chicken, Dinner, Entree, Main Course
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
I made this tonight. I added celery and calliflower also. squirt of lemon juice in the hens and some fresh rosemary from my plant. I cooked for 55 minutes then I added some water to help my vegetables soften. I covered with aluminum foil for 15 additional minutes. removed from oven and let rest as suggested. the chicken was so tender and juicy and so where the veggies
great
Wonderful!! So easy! Whole family loved! One hen had to go a little longer but came out delicious! A+ recipe
if anyone cooks that hen at 450 like someone posted you’re gonna have a burnt hen on the outside and not cooked all the way
Hi Francine, we preheat the oven to 450°F in step 1. When adding the Cornish Hen and vegetables into the oven be sure to turn it down to 400°F as directed in step 4. We find this helps create a crisp delicious skin with juicy tender meat!
I am not a lemon meat fan, so I bought the Rosemary Butter patties (50 cents each in the HyVee meat case) and put one inside each hen. It was delicious!
I have never cooked Cornish Hens before so this was a new venture. I loaded up the vegetables with carrots, butternut squash, Idaho potatoes, celery, onion, and broccoli, then threw in some chopped Brussels sprouts close to the end of the cook time. With your 30 minute yeast rolls, it was a dinner that my husband has already requested as a repeat. An easy, flavorful dinner without a lot of fuss and bother and not many dishes to clean up. Just the ticket for a day when oncology related fatigue kicked in. Love your recipes!!!!!!
We love to hear that, Marion. So happy it was such a hit for you!!
These have nothing whatsoever to do with Cornwall, but were bred by a couple in CT in the 1950s.
Thanks for the information, Brian.
Delicious! I had but a single hen, tho did not halve the other ingredients. Half a lemon was enough for the zest, and after salting the hen’s interior, I halved the lemon half and put that inside, too. She came out amazingly tender, moist, and tasty.
I made the mistake of reading through all the comments and doing as one suggested by putting my hens on top of the veggies. DO NOT DO THIS.
My hens were perfect at 55 minutes and thermometer read exactly 165 but when I cut them in half, the bottoms were not fully cooked.
I put them cut side down in a plain pan and cooked them a little longer by themselves but the result was drier meat where they were done the first time and perfect meat where the hen met the pan.
Put your veggies around like the recipe suggests. Flavor was perfect and mine would have been perfect otherwise.
I saw that someone said cook to 165 but thats not enough , it needs to be at least 185
Hi Francine, we follow the FDA-approved safe internal temperatures. For poultry, including cornish hen, that is 165°F. I hope that helps!
That will give you dry, overcooked meat. As she noted, 160 to 165 degrees is the suggested temperature in order to kill any bacteria or other microorganisms.
This living creature died to provide you with your dinner; don’t disrespect that by turning it into something akin to a tennis shoe.
Delicious! I added a cup of chicken broth to the bottom of my dish before cooking.
My husband and I enjoy Cornish hens. He’s not a turkey fan. One is plenty for the two of us. I used cubed sweet potoes, red skin potoates along with carrots, cerlery and oinion tossed with the oil and herbs. Have a rosemary plant so put sprigs of fresh rosemary in the cavity with some of the oil with the other herbs. It was wonderful. Have made it twice. This recipe is a keeper!! Thank you for this recipe.
Oh boy, my mouth is watering! That sounds so delicious. Glad you enjoyed this recipe.
Hi I enjoyed this meal very easy to make. Will make this again. Thanks for the recipe!
I made this for my Christmas dinner. Easy and delicious. I would give it 10 stars!
No cooking Temp. included. OK otherwise.
The cooking temperature is step 1 of the recipe. Glad you enjoyed it!
1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
Hello:
I don’t have to put anything inside the hen except for the herbs and lemon, is this correct?
Thanks!
Yes, that is correct!
What temperature is best for Cornish Hens? You didn’t mention that.
We cook the cornish hens at 400°F, Sharon. The full recipe is towards the bottom of this post, or you can use the jump to recipe button at the top.
I understood that you preheat the oven at 450 but then cook them at 400. Is that correct?
That’s correct Jennifer, sorry for the typo.
It says veggies are optional. Has anyone made these without? How does it turn out? I’m alone for thanksgiving this year and don’t have room in my belly for more root veggies as I’m already making my favs.
I made this for supper tonight and it was delicious!! Followed the recipe except I didn’t have any carrots. This is perfect for a fancy meal if you’re having company! The chicken was very juicy.
Excellent!!!!! Nice stuff here!
Came out perfectly. I used new potatoes, celery, carrots, onions and garlic for the veggies.
Thanks so much for putting this out there.
Made it for Canadian Thanksgiving. Was so easy and turned out delicious. My husband and I were on our own for this holiday, and I still wanted to serve something that looked like a turkey! Was just perfect. I have a herb garden so I loaded up with fresh thyme and rosemary. I did insert lemon slices into the cavity as suggested, and that left a subtle lemony flavour to the juices. I followed the recipe as laid out and it was perfect.
I am going to give this a try it looks yummy