Whether you're looking for a romantic dinner for two, or a quick and easy family meal, you'll want to check out this Greek-Style Air Fried Cornish Hens recipe. Air Fryer Cornish hens take less than 30 minutes to prepare. Serve with air fried potato wedges and a Greek cucumber salad.
Is it just me, or does everyone find these small chickens so darn cute? They have a wonderful flavor and are a perfect size. One hen can feed two individuals, or one person with a hearty appetite. They are tender, juicy, and have irresistible crispy skin.
If you eat a whole one by yourself, I won't judge, I did the same. 😬 I did, however, share with my fur babies, Holly and Winston. They loved it and highly recommend the recipe!
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😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe
This Greek-Style Air Fried Cornish Hens recipe is perfect for those who are on a low carb or keto diet. The hens are high in protein, low in carbohydrates, and make a healthy lunch or dinner option.
If you are cooking just one hen for yourself, you can have the other half the next night. Or use the leftovers to make my killer Rotisserie Chicken Salad for lunch.
I used my Ninja Foodi to prepare the air-fried cornish hens. It's like morphing an instant pot with an air fryer. It can fit one Cornish hen comfortably, or two Cornish hens snugly. I also love to use it to make these delicious air fryer bbq chicken wings.
The size of the air fryer does matter. Some air fryers, like this one (sponsored link), which I purchased for my daughter, may only fit one hen at a time. The cooking time and instructions are the same for air frying one hen or two hens at once.
🔖 Ingredients & Substitutions
- Cornish Game Hens: You can usually find Cornish hens in the frozen meat section of most grocery stores. Most game hens weigh around 11/2 pounds, enough to feed two people. This recipe makes enough marinade to marinate 3 Cornish game hens.
- Olive Oil: If you don't have olive oil you can use avocado oil instead.
- Lemon Juice: If possible, I like to use freshly squeezed lemon juice, however, you can use bottled lemon juice too.
- Garlic: When adding garlic to any recipe, I always use fresh garlic. Garlic powder is acceptable, but never garlic in a jar 😝.
- Herbs: Greek chicken marinade almost always contains Oregano. However, thyme or rosemary would also be excellent choices.
- Spices: Sea salt, black pepper, and paprika are all the seasonings you need in the marinade. However, you can add cayenne pepper to add some heat. Or use my Mediterranean spice blend instead!
🍗 How To Air Fry Cornish Hens
Step 1: Wash hens in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, mix olive oil, lemon juice, crushed garlic, oregano, sea salt, black pepper, and paprika. Place Cornish Hens in a large ziplock bag and pour the marinade over the whole Cornish Hens. Allow them to marinate for at least a few hours.
Step 2: Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes at 375° F. Place the Cornish Hens into the air fryer basket, breast side down. Air fry for 13 minutes. Using tongs, carefully flip the hens over and air fry them for an additional 12 minutes.
Pro Tip: Use a meat thermometer to test the internal temperature. The breast temperature should be at least 165° F. Or check the internal thigh temperature and make sure it's at 180° F. You may need to cook them a minute or two longer.
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Pro Tip: Tent the Cornish Hens and allow them to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.
🍽 What to Serve with Cornish Hens
You can serve these Cornish Hens the same as you would any other chicken recipe. Try them with scalloped potatoes, cream cheese garlic bread, air fried green tomatoes, air fryer rosemary potatoes, french onion fries, or try these yummy Ninja Dual air fryer chips!
How to Store Cornish Hen Leftovers
Store Cornish game hen leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and consume within 3 to 4 days. You can also freeze the leftovers in freezer bags and consume them within 3 months.
Reheating Cornish Hens
Although you can reheat Cornish Hens in the microwave for a minute or so (covered with a damp paper towel) the skin will no longer be crispy. Instead, reheat in the oven (350° F, for 10 to 15 minutes). Better yet, reheat the hens in an air fryer at 375° F for 5 minutes. Check after 3 minutes, depending on the size of the leftovers, to keep the hens from drying out.
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
To avoid bacteria growth, thaw frozen hens in the fridge for 24 hours. Another option is to thaw the frozen hens in a large bowl of cold water. Keep the hens in their packaging to keep them from absorbing water. Replace the water as it gets too cold or approximately every 30 minutes until the hens are completely thawed.
Yes, poultry should be rinsed with cold water and dried with paper towels before being cooked.
Cornish Hens are a breed of chicken. They are bred to be slaughtered while young and tender. Their weight needs to be under 2 pounds. Most Cornish hens weigh around 1.5 pounds, while a regular chicken weighs around 5 pounds.
Because Cornish Hens are butchered while they are around 5 weeks old, they are extra tender and flavorful. Surprisingly, they also contain less fat and cholesterol and are higher in protein than full-grown chickens.
• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Place seasoned/marinated hens into a roasting pan, breast side up.
• Roast hens, uncovered, for one hour. Depending on the size of the Cornish Hens, they may need to cook 10 to 15 minutes longer, or until the internal temperature on an instant thermometer (inserted in the inner thigh) reaches 180°F.
• Baste the hens occasionally.
• If necessary, turn up the heat to 400°F during the last ten minutes to brown hens.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- When preparing air fryer Cornish Hens, some people choose to truss the game birds first so that they hold their shape. It also keeps the wings from being overcooked. If you'd like to truss the hens, here's how.
- It is not necessary to spray the air fryer pan with cooking spray since the chicken is marinated in olive oil and the basket is non-stick.
- When splitting the hens between two people, use kitchen scissors (affiliate link) to cut them in half.
- Cooking time can vary depending on the size of the game hens. Mine were approximately 11/2 pounds each. If yours are smaller or larger, the cooking time will need to be adjusted.
- Remember to sanitize your working surface and wash your hands regularly when working with raw poultry to avoid cross-contamination.
♨️ More Air Fryer Recipes
Looking for other easy poultry recipes that you can prepare in an air fryer? If so, you'll definitely want to try these mouthwatering air fryer boneless chicken thighs and these simple and delicious air fryer frozen chicken wings when I'm short on time.
Here are some other recipes you can create in your air fryer:
🥩 Related Recipes
📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Cornish Hens
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 Cornish Hens
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 medium lemon (juiced)
- 4 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 1½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika powder
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
Instructions
- Wash hens in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, mix olive oil, lemon juice, crushed garlic, oregano, sea salt, black pepper, and paprika. Place Cornish Hens in a large ziplock bag and pour the marinade over the whole Cornish Hens. Allow them to marinate for at least a few hours.
- Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes at 375° F. Place the Cornish Hens into the air fryer basket, breast side down. Air fry for 13 minutes. Using tongs, carefully flip the hens over and air fry them for an additional 12 minutes.
- Use a meat thermometer to test the internal temperature. The breast temperature should be at least 165° F. Or check the internal thigh temperature and make sure it's at 180° F. You may need to cook them a minute or two longer.
Notes
- When preparing air fryer Cornish Hens, some people choose to truss the game birds first so that they hold their shape. It also keeps the wings from being overcooked. If you'd like to truss the hens, here's how.
- It is not necessary to spray the air fryer pan with cooking spray since the chicken is marinated in olive oil and the basket is non-stick.
- When splitting the hens between two people, use kitchen scissors (affiliate link) to cut them in half.
- Cooking time can vary depending on the size of the game hens. Mine were approximately 1-½ pounds each. If yours are smaller or larger, cooking time will need to be adjusted.
- Tent the cornish hens and allow them to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.
- Remember to sanitize your working surface, and wash your hands regularly when working with raw poultry to avoid cross-contamination.
Kelsie Moore says
I followed directions except I didn’t have any fresh lemons so I used 1-1/2 tbsp of liquid lemon juice. I didn’t read the recipe thru before I started. I only marinated the hens for about 45 minutes instead of the 4 hours as the recipe stated. Although it was really good. I suggest you try this recipe. You won’t be disappointed.
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Kelsie, So glad it worked out even with the modification. Thank you so much for the review!
Kathleen Scionti says
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Hilda Sterner says
Thanks for the review, Kathleen!
Deborah says
Hello. Do you pat the marinade off before placing in air fryer or do you place hens in air fryer with marinade on?
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Deborah, No need to wipe the marinade off before air frying them!
Carolyn says
Thank you for this recipe! Turned out very good. Thank you also for mentioning washing hands and counter surfaces when cooking poultry. Rarely do you see this and it's so important.
Hilda Sterner says
Thanks, Carolyn, I appreciate the feedback!
Kelly Methey says
These look gorgeous, almost too pretty to eat. They look delicious!
Hilda Sterner says
Thanks, Kelly, I agree, so brown and shiny!