Air Fryer Cornish Hens
Air Fryer Cornish Hens is a gourmet dinner, straight out of the Air Fryer! Crispy outside and tender and juicy inside makes this the perfect recipe for those fancier family gatherings or just a weekday meal! Faster/easier than oven-roasted and packed with so much flavor… makes this Air fryer Cornish game hen recipe a must-have for your keto kitchen!
What did we do before Air Fryers? It is my most used appliance in my kitchen, for sure! I love recipes that make our busy lives easier! That’s why I’m excited to share with you this recipe for Air Fryer Cornish Hens. This is super easy and has so much flavor! Crispy skin on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside! Perfect if you’re looking for something a little fancier to cook this holiday season or perfect weekday meal! Either way, this a must-have recipe for your keto Air Fryer needs!
Let’s get started!
HOW TO MAKE AIR FRYER CORNISH HENS
First, you will need to spray the inside of the air fryer with cooking spray.
Combine the avocado oil and all the seasonings in a small bowl. The seasoning recipe is amazing and the same mix I used for my Air Fryer Whole Chicken recipe. It uses salt, pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, dried basil, dried oregano, and dried thyme.
Now, rub the seasoning evenly over both hens. You can even lift up the breast skin and rub some seasoning directly on the breast meat for even more flavor.
Place the Cornish hens in the air fryer, breast side down and cook at 360F for 35 minutes.
Flip the hens to breast side up and cook for an additional 10 minutes to get the skin crispy.
Then hens are finished when the internal temperature is 165F.
Gourmet dinner, all in your Air Fryer! It doesn’t get much easier than that..and so delicious!
Like this air fryer recipe? Check out my recipe for Air Fryer Lasagna, Air Fryer Italian Stuffed Portobello Mushroom Caps or Air fryer Salmon!
Air Fryer Cornish Hens - Rotisserie Style
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Ingredients
- 2 Cornish Game Hens
- 2 Tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 Tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon Ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried Basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried Oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried Thyme
Equipment
Instructions
- Spray the inside of the air fryer with cooking spray.
- Combine the avocado oil, and all of the seasongs in a small bowl.
- Rub the seasoning evenly over both hens. You can even lift up the breast skin and rub some seasoning directly on the breast meat for even more flavor.
- Place in the air fryer breast side down and cook at 360F for 35 minutes.
- Flip the hens and cook for an additional 10 minutes to get the skin crispy.
- The hens are finished when the internal temperature is 165F.
I love and make many of your recipes. I follow a carnivore eating pattern though, so have to look more for very low carb meals. Would live to see more of your very low or zero carb recipes! Thank you very much!
I seasoned the hens and kept them in fridge overnight. Used cooking probe so there were no guesses when they were done. Omg, my husband and I LOVED the flavor and they came out so juicy!! Will def be making this when family is over
Such a winning recipe! So very easy. Used to cook Cornish game hen in a crock pot with a tried and true recipe. It was always delicious but your recipe is far superior. The hen turns out so succulent and juicy. My air fryer takes 5-6 minutes less time. Thank you so much for sharing.
Great recipe. Been making this ever since I found this recipe.
These hens were absolutely delicious. I cooked one at a time in the basket of my T-Fal compact air-fryer. I followed the cooking times and temperatures above.
This recipe worked quite well. The skin became nicely browned and crispy. I added
1/2 tsp of ground Chipotle & skipped the thyme. Most definitely a keeper!
Great recipe! I make it often.
Hi
I have a Ninja Foodi 8qt and would be cooking 2 corninsh hens in the basket. Is the cooking time the same? I’m not sure what you air fried yours in!!
Should be the same but just be sure the internal temp is 165F
Outstanding! 10 stars
Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe. What watts do you set the air fryer to? I have 900, 1500, and 1800. Thank you, Rebecca
Excellent
I love the recipe for air fried cornish game hen, I didn’t think I could cook the hen’s in my air fryer. Thank you so much for this awesome recipe. God bless all of us
Cooked these for my husband and I and we loved them. Now we want to have friends over and my husband thinks we each need a whole hen, so my question is…..can you cook two and place them in a warm oven while you cook two more? Also, do you need to empty the grease out of the air fryer before cooking that last two?
I’ve made this several times and absolutely wouldn’t change a thing! I’m going to be making five on Christmas Day and would love to use this method in advance and reheat? Good idea or bad idea? Any suggestions? Thanks so much for the great recipe!
Super yummy!! Loved that we could make this in the air fryer. No more oven for us! Delicious!
Simple, quick and full of amazing flavour.
Can you stuff the hens? How much more time roasting?
I am not sure
You can do as you please…Experiment with your food and get better with time.
How long in the air fryer for one hen instead of two?
Same amount of time
I like the seasoning but it was way too salty for me. Also the time was a bit long as mine got overcooked. Next time I will tweak this recipe by cutting the salt back by half and cook for about 20 minutes then turn over for another 10 to 15.
Thanks for the recipe! I love Cornish hen! I used different seasonings the first time and it was delicious, but tonight I tried yours and it’s just as yummy!
Just got my air fryer, I didn’t think you could spray the inside of the fryer with cooking spray.What if you don’t spray it?
Hi I would like to know I have a small airfyrer would I cook the same amount of time? I know to half the ingredients but would it be the same length of time and temp? I know it needs to be 165 fully cooked internally.
Thanks hurry with the answer please I want to cook one this weekend and share with my promised mate. He will love it!
Yes, same amount of time
Hi. If I only cook 1,do I shorten the cooking time?
The time would be the same
Put seasoning under the skin I do that even with my turkeys
My husband and I shared a Cornish hen today for Easter dinner. The skin was brown and crispy and meat was moist. I just wish the meat had more flavor like the skin. I don’t think it is a result of this recipe. It seems the skin is always more flavorful than the meat anytime I cook chicken or turkey. Thank you for the recipe!
Yes, agree! next-time try brining them in a salt solution for a few hours for more flavor.
Brining doesn’t necessarily add flavor; it adds moisture and Saltiness to the meat.
Suggestion: next time add seasoning to inside of birds and allow to rest for 1-hr in refrigerator before cooking…. Spray inside of birds with cooking spray before adding seasoning to inside.
This is a great recipe. I soaked the hens in Italian dressing for a day or so flipping it occasionally. Then cooking it will give it the flavor you want.
Thank you very much for the recipe! I made it for dinner tonight and it was absolutely delicious! I only had to cook my birds for 38 minutes (30 minutes, flip then another 8 minutes), other than that I followed it exactly. The birds were flavorful, juicy with crispy skin. I will be making this again and again! Thank you!
Excellent flavor, crispy skin and thanks for the tip on less fryer time. I think I have a fast cooking fryer.
This recipe was so flavorful and my whole family loved it! Thanks for sharing!
45 minutes for two hens? I love how quick Airfryer is. Nothing is worth than a soft and soggy skin.
Oh my goodness, the skin on these hens looks absolutely amazing. We did Cornish hens in the oven last year for Christmas and honestly it didn’t work that well – I would LOVE to try this method instead!
I haven’t invested in an air fryer yet but I think I need to after reading this quick and easy cornish hens recipe.
I’ve new to the air fryer game, so thank you for creating such a easy, delicious recipe!