Oven Roasted Cornish Hens With Vegetables

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It doesn't have to be Thanksgiving to enjoy this perfect meal. This recipe is simple, nutritious, and delicious. Learn how to make Cornish Hens with Vegetables.

Have you ever gotten tired of the same meals over and over for dinner?

How about a nice homecooked meal that is as beautiful as it is delicious! Plus it doesn't take very long to make!

Cornish hens usually come in a single pack or double pack from the grocery store, but each hen is individually packaged.

I love these little cornish hens! They are the perfect size for my family.

Ingredients You'll Need For This Recipe:

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• 2 Cornish Game Hens
• Olive Oil
• 1 - 2 lbs Gemstone Medley Potatoes
• 1 Pound Asparagus
• 1 cup Baby Carrots
• 15 Pearl Onions
• 4 cloves Garlic
• 1 tablespoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• a couple of Fresh Sprigs of Thyme and Sage

This meal serves 4 people. I plan on 2 people per hen.

You could make this recipe with chickens as well.

Since they are a larger birds, I would quarter the bird instead of halving it.

Prepare Vegetables:

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  

Wash and dry the potatoes and cut in half or ¾ pieces, depending on the size.

Wash Asparagusm cut off the end and cut the rest of the stalk into 1 ½ inch pieces.

Peel the pearl onions and garlic.

Drizzle a large baking sheet with Olive Oil.

Add potatoes, baby carrots, asparagus, pearl onions, and garlic cloves to the baking sheet.

Sprinkle the vegetables with salt and pepper and with a spatula to toss everything around until everything is coated with the olive oil and seasoning mixture.

Set the baking sheet aside.

Preparing the Cornish Hens:

Rinse the hens and discard the bits inside.

Then dry the hens with a paper towel.  

I like to butterfly them to make them cook quicker.

The official term for this is “spatchcock” – and it is pretty easy to do.

First, you place the hen backside up and cut along both sides of the backbone. I used kitchen sheers but a sharp knife would work as well.

Now place breast side up and press down on the breastbone so it flattens.

Cut the hens in half so each piece will have a wing, breast, thigh, and drumstick.

Then rub them all over with olive oil.

I mix up the ½ tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, and 1 teaspoon garlic powder, and rub that onto the hens.

Place the Cornish hens on the baking sheet. You can move the vegetables a bit to make room for them.

Add some springs of fresh Thyme and Sage.

Roasting the Cornish Hens:

Bake in the oven at 425 degrees for 30 minutes or until the hens register 165 degrees with a meat thermometer.  

When mine were ready the skins were not as browned as I wanted so I turned on my broiler for about 2 minutes.

I just kept a good watch on the oven and when they were the color I wanted I pulled them out.

They smelled amazing while it was cooking and I couldn't wait to eat it!

Remove the sprigs of thyme and sage from the baking sheet.

Serve each hen half on a dinner plate with a couple of scoops of vegetables.

No need to make extra side dishes, this is can be a complete meal.

I love how gourmet this meal looks, and the oven did most of the work!

The Cornish Hens are so flavorful and juicy and the vegetables are tender and tasted amazing!

Everything looks so pretty put together and is the perfect family meal or holiday meal for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

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