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. Â 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!!!!” Â 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
After reading your recipe & watching the video I’ve decided to make my hens this way. Looks delicious & pretty easy to make. It’s only for my husband & myself.
Omg! Made these and my hubby loved it! Definitely adding to my list of meals. Thank you!
We LOVE LOVE LOVED IT!!! THANK YOU so much!!!
It was so delishious and simple. Just made this tonight with 3 hens and extra seasoning. Didn’t have rosemery or celery. But I Added poultry, dill, sage, smoked paprika and some other savory seasonings. My husbands and kids loved it. We had french style greenbeans and red mashed potatoes with skin on. My husband wants me to use your recipie on a 6 lb chicken.
I watched the video and was encouraged by the enthusiasm of the cook!! Made this dish and it was DEELISH . Will definitely be adding this to my most favorites!!
So glad you enjoyed Terry!
Hello I only want to make 2 of these but what are the ingredients sizes for that or for 1?
Made this recipe tonight with some roasted potatoes. The hens were moist and delicious. I also put two garlic cloves and 2 lemon quarters in each cavity. The veggies were unbelievably good. We added a little chopped green pepper too since we had a partial one in the fridge. Thank you so much fir sharing this recipe!