What to Eat with Cornish Hens – Stuffings and Sides

How it works

What to eat with Cornish hens? Each bird is one serving, so the plate needs little more: a stuffing, a glaze or a gravy and a side or two. These 37 ideas cover each part, with salads and drinks.

Read the full guide

What a Cornish hen is

A Cornish game hen is a young chicken, a cross of the Cornish and White Plymouth Rock breeds, sold at no more than two pounds ready to cook. It is not a game bird, and many are not hens, because males are sold under the name too. The meat is tender and takes up marinades and seasonings readily.

Plan one plate each

Fill the bird or bake the stuffing beside it, choose a glaze or a gravy and not both, and roast the vegetables in the same oven.

Pair a sweet glaze with a plain stuffing, or a fruit stuffing with plain gravy, so only one thing on the plate is sweet.
If a whole bird looks like too much on the plate, halve each hen with kitchen shears before serving.

Questions and answers

What sides go with Cornish hens?

Roasted fingerling potatoes or rice pilaf, wild rice stuffing and one roasted vegetable. Mashed potatoes suit hens served with pan gravy, and a green salad with mustard vinaigrette ends the meal.

What stuffing goes in Cornish hens?

Wild rice stuffing and sage and onion stuffing are the plain choices. Cornbread stuffing, sausage and apple stuffing, and apricot and almond rice stuffing are richer. Lemon halves and herb sprigs fill the bird with no stuffing at all.

What sauce or glaze goes with Cornish hens?

Cranberry sauce or pan gravy at the table. To brush on the skin, choose orange glaze, pomegranate glaze or maple and mustard glaze. Hot honey and balsamic glaze go on after carving.

What vegetables go with Cornish hens?

Roasted root vegetables, roasted Brussels sprouts and green beans with shallots. Roasted grapes, roasted radishes, braised celery hearts and roasted pumpkin wedges are less usual.

What do you drink with Cornish hens?

Without alcohol: sparkling white grape juice, warm spiced apple juice or a cold grapefruit soda.

All 37 ideas

Stuffings 7

Apricot and almond rice stuffing Chopped dried fruit and toasted nuts stirred through cooked rice.
Cornbread stuffing Crumbly and a little sweet, with celery and herbs.
Lemon halves and herb sprigs Tuck them inside when you want no stuffing at all.
Mushroom and leek stuffing Soft and savory inside a bird rubbed with thyme.
Sage and onion stuffing Spoon it in loosely, or bake it in a dish beside the birds.
Sausage and apple stuffing Brown the sausage first and fold in diced tart apple.
Wild rice stuffing Cook the rice first with mushrooms, then fill each bird just before roasting.

Glazes and sauces 9

Balsamic glaze A thin drizzle over the carved bird.
Bread sauce Thick, mild and milky, spooned beside the meat.
Cranberry sauce A spoonful on the side, tart against the rich skin.
Hot honey Trickle it over the crisp skin at the table.
Maple and mustard glaze Sweet and sharp together. Brush on a second coat before serving.
Orange glaze Brush it on late in the roasting so it shines and does not burn.
Pan gravy Whisk the roasting juices with a little flour and stock.
Pomegranate glaze Dark, tart and glossy on the skin.
Tarragon cream sauce Pour a pool onto the plate and set the hen on it.

Potatoes, rice and other starches 7

Mashed potatoes A soft bed for a bird and its gravy.
Pommes Anna A crisp cake of thin potato slices, cut into wedges at the table.
Rice pilaf Fluffy and buttery, to catch the juices.
Rice with toasted pecans Stir the nuts in at the end so they stay crisp.
Roasted fingerling potatoes Roast them in the same pan so they cook in the drippings.
Savory bread pudding Cut it in squares and serve it in place of stuffing.
Twice-baked potatoes One half each, to match one bird each.

Vegetables 8

Braised celery hearts Cook them slowly in stock until a knife slides in.
Creamed pearl onions Small whole onions in a white sauce, served in a warm dish.
Green beans with shallots Blanch them, then turn them in butter with soft shallots.
Roasted Brussels sprouts Halve them and roast them cut side down until dark.
Roasted grapes Roast small bunches beside the birds until they slump and turn jammy.
Roasted pumpkin wedges Leave the skin on and roast them until the edges brown.
Roasted radishes They turn mild and juicy in the oven. Leave a little stem on.
Roasted root vegetables Carrots, parsnips and turnips cut to one size and tossed in oil.

Salads 3

Bitter greens with pomegranate seeds Peppery leaves, a sharp dressing and the seeds scattered over.
Celery, date and almond salad Slice the celery thin and keep it very cold.
Green salad with mustard vinaigrette Dress it at the last minute and serve it after the bird.

Drinks 3

Grapefruit soda Bitter, cold and fizzy against a sweet glaze.
Sparkling white grape juice Chilled, in the glasses you would use for a toast.
Warm spiced apple juice Simmer it with a cinnamon stick and pour it into mugs.