Easy Roasted Cornish Hens
“Moist and tender cornish hens seasoned with a savory spice mixture and roasted with vegetables to perfection!”
Watch me make these easy roasted cornish hens from start to finish!
Cornish hens are so doggone cute!! Every time I make them I’m all like “awwwww look…. so precious”. Sometimes I even do the whole baby talk thing “awww wook at those wittle wegs!!” Ha! Ay don’t act like you didn’t know I was a tad off.
If you’ve never made cornish hens before then you should definitely start with this easy, basic recipe. It’s nothing fancy-schmancy really. No super seasoning blends. Just a delicious, quick recipe that creates one juicy, tender cornish hens (without brining) that pairs up great with so many side dishes.
Feel free to add in more seasonings and spices if you’re going for something really spicey…or smokey…or salty…or whatevs!
What I love about this roasted cornish hen recipe is that it cooks over a bed of fresh veggies so this could totally be a complete meal.
There is something about serving cornish hens that looks so elegant. Everybody gets their own little juicy hen to devour. It’s a GREAT alternative to doing a whole turkey for Thanksgiving, especially if you’re having a small gathering.
I usually serve it with wild rice, candied yams, and cabbage. Oh yeah and a basket of yeast rolls and sweet ice tea!!! Yes, Lordt!!!!” I wish I had that meal right now!
Get the Recipe: Easy Roasted Cornish Hens For Easter
Ingredients
- 8 carrot, peeled and evenly chopped
- 8 celery stalk, roughly chopped
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 5 springs rosemary, can use more
- 3 cloves minced garlic, optional
- 4 Cornish hens, thawed, rinsed and patted COMPLETELY dry inside out.
- olive oil
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2-3 tablespoons parsley
- 3-4 tablespoons butter, sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 F.
- Spread out chopped vegetables and rosemary in the bottom of 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
- Rub olive oil lightly over the Cornish hens. Set aside.
- In a bowl, mix together spices and sprinkle generously over the hens, being sure to season the inside cavity as well. ( Want more flavor? See note)
- Place the hens on top of the bed of vegetables.
- Run your fingers under the skin to loosen it.
- Place a slice of butter under the skin of each hen.
- Tie the legs together with kitchen string or foil paper. (I like to sprinkle on more parsley at this point but that's optional)
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, depending on size of hens.
- Let hens rest for 15 minutes before eating.
Video
Notes
Your video was cracking me up!! I can’t wait to use this recipe for my Thanksgiving hens!
We tried this recipe tonight and found it not only easy to prepare, but delicious! The hens were beautifully browned, juicy and perfectly seasoned. I wondered if the vegetables would be edible on the bottom of the pan, but to my surprise they were tender and well seasoned by the drippings. As a matter of fact, you could use sliced potatoes if desired. This is definitely a keeper!
The Cornish Hens were juicy and flavorful and the bed of vegetables added ever more flavor. I will be making again very soon. THANK YOU
This recipe has been my holy grail for the holidays. I make it EVERY year for Thanksgiving and Christmas and always receive RAVE reviews! Passing this one along in my family for sure.
This was delicious and looked like a million dollars too. Thanks for that great and easy recipe.
When you say you serve with cabbage – what kind and how? thank you muchly for this receipe!