14 Stuffed Cornish Hen Recipes For An Affordable Dinner Indulgence (2024)

Here’s 14 stuffed Cornish hen recipes that’ll help you get your “game” on for your next special meal. (See what I did there?)

If you fancy trying game-meat, but pheasants and partridges are still a tad outside of your comfort zone, why not give the humble Cornish hen a go?

Its deliciously-savory umami flavor makes it a great foray into wild meat—as does its economical price-tag.

Sunday roast on the horizon and your defrosting chicken has quite lost its glamour.

And isn’t there something quite charming about everyone getting their own personal poultry?

You’re in need of something simply appealing with loads of flavor to be brought slowly to sweet, velvet-y tenderness whilst you busy yourself elsewhere.

Enter the Cornish hen: plump, succulent and just slightly, eccentrically game-y enough to win over all at the table.

There’s much goodness in looking beyond traditional poultry for your next meal.

From Apricot Glazed to Sausage Stuffed and Herb Roasted (#4, you’re it, baby), here’s 14 stuffed Cornish hen recipes that’ll elevate your Sunday spread.

Bright cranberries and rosy apples lend a splash of color to this grand bird.

The flavor, too, is superb—perfectly sweet and savory with a lovely floral note.

A welcome, spirited alternative to the Thanksgiving turkey.

Banish your dinnertime-doldrums with this gorgeous, superlative roast that’s so exceedingly tender you could probably carve it with a spoon (though we advise against it, if only for aesthetic reasons).

Crackling, crisp skin, golden, fragrant juices, loads of wine to wash it all down with—this one’s a ceremony.

We’re overcome by a warm sense of satisfaction just thinking about cooking this roast.

Glorious, slippery mushrooms, bronzed, flavorsome skin: what an accomplishment.

Here come the waterworks.

What, you don’t get emotional about a good roast?

We particularly like that they’ve opted to brine the hen in this recipe.

It’s not completely necessary, but you’ll find the extra few hours pay great dividends in meat that is that much more tender and tasteful.

The pungent, rollicking kick of flavor imparted by the garlic and sage butter is really what makes this recipe.

Don’t be afraid to really get in all the nooks and crannies of your chicken (forgive us this last indignity, hen).

The more thorough your massage, the better your bird.

Out with the breadcrumbs (for now) and in with this hearty, warming sausage stir-up.

You’ll want to make more stuffing than the recipe advises, the idea being that at some point during the roasting you can toss it right in the dish to cook in balls or haphazard lumps, drinking up that lovely cooking juice as it goes.

Light, bright and vibrant, this jazzed-up roast is a thing of beauty.

The traditional flavors of rosemary and garlic are complemented wonderfully by electrically-vivid lemon that conjures up images of long summer evenings spent in the sun.

Flute of wine optional but highly recommended.

Buttermilk’s good for more than just some bangin’ biscuits—it also makes an excellent addition to your stuffing.

Its sweet-sour tang will flatter any roast.

Golden and fragrant with roasting juices, onions are the base of this recipe!

A blessedly simple, speedy supper that will hearten all at the table (a roast needn’t be a piece of theater, after all).

Cooking Chew Tip: O.K, so a roast needn’t be a piece of theater, but it should definitely have a cast of supporting characters! We recommend serving this alongside a leafy, bejeweled lettuce and tomato salad.

A Cooking Chew roundup that doesn’t feature a crockpot?

Perish the thought.

Accordingly, here’s an easy, breezy supper that takes no time at all—a glass of wine is de rigueur when waiting for this to come out of the crockpot.

May we suggest turning the remainder of the bottle into a gravy?

Poultry + lemon = magic. Always.

This roast is as lovely to look at as it is to eat—we could spend all day in the kitchen waxing poetic about its superbly crisp golden skin and juicy, tender meat.

That is, if we could trust one another not to immediately inhale it.

Oh well. It’s worthy of more than a moment’s pause, is what we’re saying.

We should all be cooking with fruit more often.

Case in point: this glorious roast with a snappily—tart, jammy glaze.

Even the hardest, most-underwhelming apricots will do, here.

The application of a little heat will turn them into altogether different, syrupy, golden little parcels of sweetness.

The classic bread, onion and celery stuffing is the workhorse of roast-dinners.

Here, it’s been deployed to marvelous effect in a fairly traditional stuffing for Cornish hen that’s sure to put a big (if slightly greasy) smile on your face.

The bottom line

Cooking stuffed Cornish hen has never been easier.

You won’t find a pair of people as committed to the ceremony of the roast as we.

From the accompaniments—colorful, spinning carousels of salads and sauces—to the gloriously long naps that follow, we love roast.

And roasted stuffed Cornish hen is in a league of its own.

A word for the wise: your butcher will probably be willing to give you a way better deal on game than the grocery store, so be sure to pop by there first!

If you have any leftover Cornish hen after indulging in one of these recipes, give this next-day chicken salad recipe a try.