How to Cook Cornish Hens for the Holidays

This Roasted Cornish Hen recipe will be a stunning festive centerpiece on your Thanksgiving or Christmas table this year. It's shimmering with an apricot glaze and bursting with wild rice stuffing that's loaded with dried apricots and craisins. The glaze produces an orange hue and glistens against the skin of these hens. Garnishing the tray with fresh sage, dried apricots, and fresh cranberries will add a touch of holiday cheer for your guests during the festive season. This dish is sure to be a "show stopper."

Roasted Cornish Hen Recipe

You might be saying to yourself, "What's so exciting about Cornish hens? They're just little chickens." True, but so much more! They have a "fancy air" as they find their way to elegant dinner parties or ritzy restaurants. These beauties are the perfect recommendation for your upcoming holiday dinners in the next several weeks. It will automatically bring a “wow” effect to your table. Another stuffed holiday recipe that I think you would love is this Fruit Stuffed Pork Loin Roast or you could consider this beautiful Stuffed Pork Crown Roast. Any one of these recipes will add sophistication to your menu.  

What is a Cornish Game Hen?

Cornish Game Hens are petite poultry gems but they reach maturity at a younger age resulting in succulent flesh brimming with a subtle sweetness and refined taste. The breed has a muscular body with larger breasts yielding a higher proportion of juicy breast meat. Cornish hens range anywhere from one to two pounds whereas a regular chicken weighs approximately four pounds and is ideal for personal gourmet experiences. 

Ingredients for Stuffed Cornish Hens

Wild Rice Stuffing

• Butter. For Sautéeing the vegetables.
• Automatics. Onions and Garlic are sautéed to produce a wonderful base of flavor for the rice and dried fruit. 
• Celery. These are sautéed with aromatics and provide a slight crunch to the stuffing. 
• Salt and Pepper. 
• Cooked Wild Rice. An ancient grain treasure that is satisfyingly chewy with a hint of nutty flavor. It boasts double the protein content of regular rice, contains plenty of nutrients, and is rich in antioxidants which makes it a truly healthy choice. 
• Dried Fruit. Apricots and craisin are what I chose for this stuffing. But you can substitute nearly any other dried fruit variety to suit your taste.
• Slivered Almonds. An added crunch is highlighted by the almonds in this recipe. 

Cornish Hens

• Cornish Hens. These miniature chickens are the best for individual servings. 
• Olive Oil
• Salt and Black Pepper
• Fresh Herbs. Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme. You can use any fresh herbs that you would like. 
• Wild Rice Stuffing. This stuffing not only goes into the cavity of the cornish hens but the recipe makes plenty for a side dish as well. 
• Apricot Preserves. You can use peach preserves if you prefer. I have a great peach preserves recipe that works wonderfully with the cornish hens. 
• Triple Sec. I added the triple sec because I wanted the extra orange flavor but a white wine works just as well. 

How to Cook Cornish Hens 

• Make the Wild Rice Stuffing. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and sauté the chopped onions and celery in the butter for eight to ten minutes or until the veggies are tender. Season with salt and pepper while cooking. Add the minced garlic and cook for one minute. Add the cooked wild rice, dried apricots, and craisins. 
• Remove the giblets from inside the Cornish hens and rinse the hens both inside and out. Dry them with a paper towel and generously salt and pepper the insides of the hens. Shake out any excess seasonings.
• Fill the cavity of the bird with wild rice stuffing. Use a heaping ½ cup of wild rice to fill.
• Prepare the hens for roasting. Using kitchen twine, tie the legs together. Rub olive oil on all sides of the Cornish hens and generously salt and pepper the outside of the birds.
• Lay the hens breast side up in a shallow roasting pan and tuck under the wings. Sprinkle with fresh herbs.

• Roast the Cornish Hens. Preheat the oven to 400°F and cook uncovered for about 80 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer registers 160°F in the thigh. If they start to burn while cooking, tent foil over them but remove the foil for the last 15 minutes of cooking.

• Baste with apricot preserves mixed with triple sec. Baste the birds before they go in the oven and continue basting every 20 minutes while they are roasting.
• Tent and rest. Remove the hens from the oven and tent with more foil and let them sit for 10 minutes.

• Cook the extra wild rice stuffing. There is more than enough leftover wild rice stuffing for a side dish. Transfer the extra stuffing to a casserole dish and throw it in the oven for the last 15-20 minutes while cooking the cornish hens to ensure the stuffing is nice and warm.

Tips for How to Cook Cornish Hens with Wild Rice Stuffing

• You can find Cornish hens in the freezer section of your grocer's meat department. 
• Roast the birds uncovered and baste them often, every 20 minutes. If they begin to burn, cover them with foil but remove the foil for the last 15 minutes of roasting. 
• Roast the hens on a wire rack inside a shallow baking sheet to elevate the birds. This will help prevent the thighs from cooking as quickly as the breasts.
• Let the Cornish hens rest for 10-15 minutes once you pull them out of the oven to ensure juicier meat. If you cut into them too soon, all the juices will run out and the meat will be much drier. 
• Do not overcook. Use an instant-read digital thermometer to determine when the hens are done cooking. It should register 160°F in the thickest part of the thigh. The temperature will continue to rise about five degrees after you pull it from the oven. Cornish Hens are fully cooked at an internal temperature of 165°F. 

What to serve with Roasted Cornish Hens

• Wild Rice Stuffing. The number one side dish for serving with these Cornish hens is found right here in the recipe. The wild rice stuffing adds both texture and depth of flavor to this dish and is the perfect combination that enhances the overall flavor of this featured entree.
• Asparagus Wrapped in Prosciutto. A super easy, make-ahead side dish to go alongside these little birds.
• Sautéed Brussel Sprouts with Dates. A sophisticated side dish for your holiday table. 
• Oven Roasted Green Beans. These are roasted to perfect tenderness. Feta cheese, kalamata olives, and sundried tomatoes enhance beans with flavors and texture.
• Roasted Candied Carrots. The carrots are bathed in a syrup made from fresh orange juice, pure maple syrup, and bacon grease all the while roasting to a supple tenderness.
• Sheet Pan Roasted Vegetables. Vegetables and Potatoes with Garlic and Herbs are brimming with vibrant colors and flavors. 

How to Serve These Cornish Hens

You have a couple of options when serving these adorable little birds. You can place the Cornish Hens on individual plates which are then displayed at each guest's place setting. Or you can display them on a serving tray and garnish them with fresh sage, dried apricots, and fresh cranberries as a festive centerpiece for your Holiday table.

Can you cook cornish hens ahead of time?

You can make the wild rice stuffing a day ahead of time and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You will NOT want to stuff the hens until ready to roast though.  

If you're tired of the traditional ham or turkey for the Holidays, give these gorgeous Stuffed Cornish Hens a try. You can make as many as you need for either a small gathering or a large one. I think you just might find these to be your new go-to holiday entree.

This dish was originally posted back in 2018. Since then, I have made significant refinements to the recipe and wanted to reintroduce it as a star attraction to become a cherished tradition in your holiday celebrations.

More Holiday Entrées:

Herbed Crown Roast of Pork

Racks of Lamb with Apricot Mustard Glaze

Fruit Stuffed Pork Loin Roast

Boneless Leg of Lamb

Herb Crusted Beef Tenderloin

Pork Roast Stuffed with Feta, Roasted Red Peppers and Spinach

Baked Glazed Ham with Brown Sugar and Grainy Mustard

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