Easy Cornish Hen Recipe

Cassie
Easy Cornish Hen Recipe

This post, Easy Cornish Hen Recipe, was originally published in 2019 and has been completely updated in August 2020.

Cornish hens with text overlay – Easy Cornish Hen Recipe.
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Cooked Cornish hen on a plate with text overlay – Easy Cornish hen recipe.
Wooden spoons filled with spices with text overlay – How to make the best Cornish hen.
Holiday plate of food with text overlay – Easy Cornish hen.

When I was younger and we had larger family get-togethers (there’s only four of us in my immediate family) for Thanksgiving it was a no-brainer, it was always turkey.

Related Post: Thanksgiving Traditions

Once I became an adult and all of our family were older and out on our own, we got together less often 🙁

One year, when I lived in Colorado, my parents came out to visit for a Thanksgiving and that’s when this new ‘tradition’ began!

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I was not interested in having that much turkey leftovers, even if we could find a small one so we decided to try Cornish hens.

Now, we’d never had them before, but we were willing to be adventurous!

Just in case you’ve never had them either I’ll share a little info 🙂

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They are a breed of chicken from Cornwall, England that are heavy and muscular.

Each of these little guys are only usually between 1-2 pounds each though.

Be adventurous! Try a different main dish for your next holiday meal.

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And I’ll fill you in on a little secret.

Even one of these little hens are too much for mom and I separately.

Last year we split one and it was perfect!

We’ve become less of a ‘having seconds’ on Thanksgiving, except for maybe dessert 🙂 so these really are an excellent option if you’re not looking to cook or eat a large turkey. Nor having days and days worth of leftovers.

Related Post: Best No-Bake Dessert

Although you might still have a day or two worth of leftovers depending on how many hens you initially get.

So, the first recipe we used in Colorado was way more complicated than we liked.

The recipe I used last year was much better and definitely easier.

Some herbs, spices and butter and you’ll have a delicious Cornish hen you can’t wait to eat.

Start with this beautiful baking dish.

You can not only, obviously, bake in but will be able to put it right on the table and serve your hens it.

Now, on to the recipe!!

Cornish Hen

A simple yet delicious recipe for your next Cornish hen meal.

  • 4 Cornish hens
  • olive or coconut oil
  • 2 tsp rosemary
  • 2 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 1 tbsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp parsley
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • kitchen string

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

  2. Rub olive/coconut oil on each whole hen.

  3. Mix rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper, garlic powder and parsley together in a small bowl.

  4. Rub mixed spices all over each whole hen.

  5. Loosen the skin by running a finger under it.

  6. Place one tablespoon of butter under each skin.

  7. Tie legs together with kitchen string so the hen will cook evenly.

  8. Place hens in baking dish.

  9. Bake for about 50 minutes.

  10. Let hens rest for 10 minutes.

  11. Serve and enjoy!

Have you ever tried Cornish hen? Would you try this recipe? Please share with us in the comments below 🙂 Thanks!!!

2 thoughts on “Easy Cornish Hen Recipe”

  1. Cynthia
    July 14, 2019 at 2:38 pm

    I wanna try this recipe, I hope it’s gonna taste good for me and my kids.

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