The Best Easy Air Fryer Cornish Game Hens recipe - tender, juicy delicious cornish game hens in under 40 minutes from an air fryer or Instant Pot with broiler lid!

Tender, delicious Cornish game hens with a crispy, golden crust are one of the most delicious dishes to serve at a dinner party or holiday dinner.

They are low carb and keto compliant, have a light, chicken-like flavor, present beautifully, and are so easy to make.

These air fried Cornish game hens are a perfect main dish for a smaller holiday dinner - each hen serves about 2 (if your guests are big eaters, you can serve 1 per guest), and make great leftovers.

I hope you love this recipe as much as we do!

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How Many Cornish Game Hens To Serve Per Person
How To Air Fry Cornish Game Hens
Instant Pot Cornish Game Hens
- Instant Pot Cornish Game Hens
Recipe FAQ's
The Best Easy Air Fryer Cornish Game Hens Recipe

How Many Cornish Game Hens To Serve Per Person

One of the trickiest parts of serving Cornish Game Hens for a holiday dinner is planning out just how many to cook for a crowd!

Luckily, it can be easy to figure out with a little bit of planning!

While one Cornish hen per person might make the most sense for your dinner party, you might want to go for a little less, and serve it pre-carved to guests.

If you want to serve a meal with some meat left as leftovers, it is important to be sure you cook a slightly bigger portion per person.

Since cornish game hens are quite small, they really only give 1 - 1 1/2 servings per bird, making them a dish you really need to plan ahead to be sure you have the proper amount before roasting.

For larger portions dinners, plan for one cornish game hen per person for dinner.

This hen can be sliced and portioned and then served to dinner guests on a platter, or presented whole on a plate so the guest can carve their own hen.

How To Air Fry Cornish Game Hens

Cooking game hens in an air fryer is a delicious, easy way to get crunchy, juicy, deep-fried flavor without all the extra oil or carb-y breading.

If you love crunchy game hens, be sure to check my top tips for perfect air fried chicken legs below:

Preheat air fryer

Run your air fryer for a few minutes before adding the food so it is hot and ready to go when you go to air fry your cornish game hens.

This is optional, but I feel it helps the skin to puff up and get a crispy "fried" texture.

Don't Open Too Often

Since air fryers are completely sealed off, it’s hard to judge your hen’s doneness by the look of it.

Don’t open your air fryer constantly, letting heat escape - trust in the timing of the recipe, and a handy rapid-read digital meat thermometer.

Check the temperature of the game hen when you're already opening the air fryer to flip them - don't open it just to check the temperature or too much heat will escape.

Use a Digital Thermometer

When your timer is done, immediately test the temperature of the game hens with a digital thermometer inserted into the middle of the thickest part of the chicken drumstick without touching bone.

Cornish game hens should be cooked to 165 degrees internally.

If poutry has not met 165 degrees internally, add another 2-5 minutes to cook time.

Don’t crowd basket

Air fryers help get hot air to circulate around the game hens to get a heat so high it makes meat taste fried - and to do that, it helps to not crowd the pan.

Put the Cornish game hens in your air fryer pan in a way they aren’t crowding each other - it makes a huge difference.

Instant Pot Cornish Game Hens

If you have a crisping lid for your Instant pot, or an Instant Pot Duo crisp, you can also use your Instant Pot to air fry Cornish Game Hens!

If you need an air fryer crisplid for your Instant Pot, click here.

If you'd like to buy an Instant Pot with pressure cook and air fry functions, click here.

Use the method below to make these game hens in your Instant Pot:

Instant Pot Cornish Game Hens

Prep cornish game hens as called for in recipe below.
Place the hens in the CrispLid basket.
Place the trivet and the basket inside the inner steel pot.
Place the Crisplid on the Instant Pot.
Set to 425°F and follow instructions in recipe below.

Recipe FAQ's

How many Cornish game hens per person?

Plan on one game hen per person for hungry adults if it is a main course.

How big is a Cornish game hen?

Game hens run from 1-2 pounds, but most hens will weigh about 1 1/4 pound.

How can I get crispier skin?

Slather cooked game hen in a little butter and prop under the broiler for 2-5 minutes to crisp skin before serving.

The Best Easy Air Fryer Cornish Game Hens Recipe

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2 game hens