Follow my guide to bake super delicious oven roasted Cornish Hens! Simple steps and a few seasonings is all you need for this easy Cornish hen recipe!
I love Cornish hens and so does my family. They bring a little joy to the dinner table and 2 Cornish hens are the perfect size for 2 adults and 2 children or 2 adults! These cook up super easily in a casserole dish in the oven and come out juicy every time. Let me show you how to make them!
The thing about Cornish hens is that the price per pound is usually more than a whole chicken, but I think cooking Cornish game hens is much easier and sometimes worth the additional cost. They are great for special occasions, busy weeknights, or just when you want to feel a little fancy.
Serving suggestions
Some amazing sides to pair with the Cornish hens are Keto Creamed Spinach, Keto Bacon Wrapped Asparagus, Fried Radishes with Crispy Bacon, or my personal favorite: Loaded Cauliflower Rice Casserole. I also like a nice salad like my keto broccoli salad.
How to cook Cornish hens
I like to keep recipes as simple as possible and with minimal ingredients. For this recipe I like to use my favorite homemade chicken seasoning that gets rave reviews. It is so good! It includes smoked paprika, garlic powder, oregano, onion powder, and salt and pepper. For the ingredient amounts please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Preheat the oven and prep the hens: Before we get started, we need to pre-heat the oven to 400F and prep the hens. Some Cornish game hens come with giblets and some do not. If yours does, you need to remove them from the cavity before cooking.
After we rub them down with oil, I place the Cornish hens in a 9x13 baking dish, I combine the seasonings in a small bowl, and I season both sides. You could also cook them in a roasting pan or a baking sheet just like a roast chicken.
Now we just put them in the oven for around an hour, or until an internal meat thermometer reads 165 degrees f.
How do I make sure my Cornish hens stay juicy?
The trick to keeping any meat juicy and tender, especially chicken, is to cook it until it is the right internal temperature. Chicken should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165F. We use and internal probe thermometer to test the temperature and pull the Cornish hens out of the oven right when they come to temp. You can see what meat thermometer is my favorite in the recipe carb below.
The next step to insure juicy meat is to let it rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting into it.
Recipe tips and notes
- I know we were all raised to rinse our poultry in the sink with water before cooking but this is actually a good way to spread bacteria. There is no need to rinse the Cornish hens or any meat before cooking.
- Throw some root vegetables around the Cornish hens before roasting for the most amazing side dish!
- If you want to use olive oil instead of avocado oil, I would reduce the cooking temperature to 375F
How to Cook Cornish Hens
Ingredients
- 2 Cornish Hens
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
Method
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Remove anything from the cavity of the Cornish hens. Place the Cornish hens in a casserole dish and coat with the avocado oil. Combine the seasonings in a small bowl and season all sides of each hen.
- Place your Cornish Hens into already preheated oven and cook until internal temperature reaches 165F. This should take 55 minutes to an hour. Check the temperature of the hen by inserting the meat thermometer probe between the leg and breast.
Notes
- Throw some root vegetables around the Cornish hens before roasting for the most amazing side dish!
- If you want to use olive oil instead of avocado oil, I would reduce the cooking temperature to 375F
Christine says
Why are you using kosher salt? We have rock salt and sea salt.
Harry says
The receipt helped a great deal. Hens came out very well.
Barbara says
I love that you keep it simple