Baked Cornish Hens with Rosemary Wine Sauce

These Baked Cornish Hens with Rosemary Wine Sauce are perfect for a special dinner and are totally company-worthy (so they are fancy enough for dinner parties). This recipe is also economical, simple, and easy to make and you can make it in advance. All my favorite things...

It's also Weight Watchers friendly - yay! And it's only 2 WW points. I love a fancy dinner that is healthy and won't break the WW points bank! This sauce for Cornish hens is, by far, the easiest and tastiest of the Cornish hen recipes out there! This recipe makes a great holiday meal, but it's popular any time of year. It pairs well with this Kale Salad with Cranberries and Feta and my Twice Baked Caesar Potatoes.

🐓What is a cornish hen?

And if you have never made Cornish hens, don't be intimidated- they are just little chickens and nothing more. Really- it's true! Many assume that they are like a pheasant or grouse because they are also known as Cornish Game Hens, but the "game" part doesn't mean wild or refer to anything remotely exotic in this case; they are simply regular chickens that were cross-bred to be smaller with more breast meat.

Yet this particular breed of chicken somehow gained and retained this reputation of being "exotic."  You can read more about Cornish hens HERE. But even if they aren't exactly exotic, because they are small chickens, that are cuter and you get half a hen all to yourself, they just feel fancier than eating your typical communal roasted chicken.

🥘Ingredient Notes

For this Cornish game hen recipe, you'll need:

• Cornish hens. The star of this recipe show! Many markets carry fresh Cornish hens ready to cook. IF you can get your hands on fresh hens, you'll want to choose ones that look plump and meaty, with unbroken, smooth, unblemished skin. The color of the bird may vary—it can range from white to yellow, depending on the bird's diet. Most grocery stores will have frozen ones in the freezer section of the meat department near the turkeys and other poultry.

Rosemary Wine Sauce:

• Dry white wine. Wine is the base of this sauce. I like to use a Sauvignon Blanc but you can use any dry white wine (it doesn't have to be expensive wine).
• White wine vinegar. The light, balanced sweetness of white wine vinegar makes it a refreshing addition to this sauce.
• Soy sauce. Soy sauce gives this sauce a depth of flavor. *I use low-sodium soy sauce
• Dried Rosemary and Thyme.  I use dried herbs IN the sauce and garnish with fresh or the flavors are too pungent. Rosemary has a peppery woody taste and thyme has an earthy lemony taste. Both add to the richness of this Cornish Hen Sauce.
• Garlic cloves. Garlic is an aromatic that adds a soft, sweet buttery flavor to this dish.

• Garnish: fresh herbs (rosemary or thyme) optional. Fresh herbs finish the dish off beautifully!

📖Variations & Substitutions

• White wine vinegar- you can use red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar, but I do NOT recommend plain white vinegar as it's too acidic.
• White wine - you can use any type of white wine, but dry white wine works best. You can also use no-alcohol wine
• Soy Sauce- you could use a Tamari or Teriyaki sauce instead

🔪 How to Cook a Cornish Game Hen

Cooking a Cornish Hen is just like roasting a chicken.

1. Remove and discard giblets and necks from cornish chickens. Rinse hens under cold water and pat dry. Split each hen in half lengthwise. Pat dry with paper towels.
2. Partially remove the backbone from the middle.
3. Cut backbone from each side. I use a cleaver to do this.
4. Place hens, meat side up, in a shallow roasting pan and whisk together wine, white wine vinegar, soya sauce, rosemary, thyme, and garlic in a separate bowl, then pour over hens. *Cover the hens' legs with a little aluminum foil to prevent burning (this can also be done during the cooking process, if you start to see them browning faster than the rest of the hen). Cook to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F/74 degrees C. Test with an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh.

🐔Cornish Hen Sauce

If you're looking for a sauce for Cornish Hens, you'll love this one because it's so easy! This Cornish hen sauce is a wine sauce with only a few ingredients that takes only minutes to throw together but tastes like it took hours. The best part of this recipe is that it can be made ahead!

I personally, don't like the stress of cooking while guests are over or for a special dinner, so I always cook ahead.

🥗 What goes well with Cornish hens?

Although rice is the most popular accompaniment to this dish, you can serve Cornish game hens as a main course with:

• Potatoes, such as my 3 Ingredient Onion Baked Potatoes in Foil, Chipotle Mashed Potatoes, Greek Style Potatoes or sweet potatoes
• Pasta: my  Easy Greek Pasta Salad is a great pairing
• Garden salad, Mandarin Orange salad, or Spinach salad, brussels sprouts or Green beans
• Rice: if you decide on rice, my Sausage Apple Rice with wild rice (shown below) goes very nicely with this recipe, as does my Easy Greek Rice (with Lemon)
• Buns: if you're making a holiday dinner (like Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, ) they go nicely with crusty bread, my Granny buns (dinner buns) or my WW Everything Bagel Cloud Bread Recipe
• WW sides: You can also check out my Weight Watchers side dishes for more ideas!

👪 Serving Size

This Baked Cornish Hen recipe serves 4. The serving sizes in all my recipes are adjustable by simply clicking on the number of servings, so you can make this recipe for all of the above and as many people as you want!

🔢WW Points

This Roasted Cornish Hen recipe is 2 ww points for a ½ a hen!

🌡️Storage

Store any leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate them for up to 3 to 4 days. You can store the sauce with the hens to keep them moist.

If you want to freeze the cooked Cornish hens, let them cool completely before transferring them into freezer-safe bags or containers. Be sure to write the date on the container and use it within 2 to 3 months. Ideally, you'll want to freeze the sauce and hens separately.

To reheat, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm in the oven. Always ensure the dish is heated through before serving.