This bacon-wrapped maple baked cornish game hen recipe is an easy dinner that only has three ingredients! Easy and delicious, this cornish hen recipe is guaranteed to become a family favorite!
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Are you still wondering what to make for your holiday dinner?
If you don't need a large turkey, why not consider baking a cornish hen for your holiday dinner? I guarantee it will turn out just as moist and flavorful as a turkey! (And a bonus, you can easily cook two game hens in your oven at the same time!)
There are many recipes for Cornish game hens, but this one is wrapped in bacon, making it hard to resist.
If you are looking for more delicious dinner recipes, check out all of my gluten free dinner recipes! If you want to make these in an air fryer, check out my easy gluten free air fryer cornish game hens recipe.
What is a Cornish Game Hen?
A Cornish game hen is a hybrid of a chicken that is a lot smaller! These birds are sold whole, in most grocery stores.
Our family is enjoying our first experience with cornish game hens. Have you tried baking one of these hens yet? They look like teeny tiny little chickens and they have just enough meat to fill up one adult, or one very hungry growing teenager!
Three simple ingredients; bacon, maple syrup, and Cornish game hens. It won't get much easier than this. If you are entertaining for the holidays or looking for an easy dinner recipe, this recipe is for you.
This easy Cornish hen recipe is paleo, gluten free, refined sugar-free, and is free of the top 8 allergens! (*If you are feeding more of a crowd, try one of these Gluten Free Chicken dinner recipes!!)
Usually, I hate when the house smells like what I cook, but I can forgive bacon the bacon smells. Bacon makes everything great, including my house :-). (I suspect our dog won't agree...it probably made her very tempted to steal a game hen!)
There is an added bonus to the smell of bacon cooking. It is quite magical. Did you know bacon smells makes teenagers come out of their caves? (If you have teens, you know exactly what I mean!!)
My teens' reactions were actually quite funny. I could hear their desk chairs move. Then doors opened...and sprinted downstairs. They were so excited to try a Cornish game hen.
Bummer for them they had to wait until I took a few pictures. #kidsoffoodbloggerproblems
My son, the die-hard carnivore ate a whole hen by himself! I hope that you love this recipe as much as my family did :-).
Ways to cook a Cornish Hen:
- Marinate the hen and cook it on the grill.
- Stuff the hen with fresh oranges and stuffing and bake it!
- Cook it in a slow cooker with fresh vegetables.
- If you have a smoker, try smoking your game hens. Smoking adds a rich flavor that penetrates the whole hen!
Instructions:
Rub the game hens with natural maple syrup. You can use either Grade A or Grade B maple syrup. Next, is wrapping these hens in bacon!
Wrap the hens in bacon and bake.
How do you know when your hens are done baking?
If your hens are completely thawed out, you can bake these for an hour.
Cornish game hen's cook time is very similar to chicken. Make sure the internal temperature is 165 degrees F when finished. Use a digital thermometer to verify the temperature.
Delicious Sides:
Tools:
- A good pan to bake these Cornish game hens in.
- My very favorite meat thermometer.
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📖 Recipe
Bacon Wrapped Maple Cornish Game Hens
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons Grade B Maple Syrup
- 2 cornish game hens thawed
- 8 slices of raw bacon
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Remove cornish game hens from wrapping. Place in a pan.
- Drizzle maple syrup over the chicken.
- Wrap the raw bacon around the hens. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 30 minutes, or until the cornish game hens reach 165 degrees internal temperature.
Nutrition
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Kara Mathys @Wellnessgrit
Mmm this bacon wrapped maple baked cornish game hen recipe looks awesome and so nourishing!
Sandi Gaertner
Thank you so much Kara, we are huge bacon fans too 🙂
Alice Malkowych
Can I substitute Manuka Honey, for the maple syrup?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Alice, I have not used honey so I am not sure. Maple and bacon flavors impart in the recipe...and honey and maple are very different in their flavor profile. If you do try it, please do come back and let us know how it turned out.