Slow cooker Cornish hens and potatoes is easy. With frozen or fresh meat, these come out tender and moist in just a few hours. Enjoy these little chickens as is or crisp Cornish hens in air fryer skin and then enjoy the juicy meat for dinner.
If you have ever seen Cornish game hens at the grocery store you have probably said “oh how cute” too huh? We have made these many ways but hadn’t tried them low and slow yet so it was time to tackle these Crockpot recipe directions and share with you thawed or frozen. (affiliate links present)
Crockpot Cornish Hens Recipe
How Long to Cook Cornish Hens literally takes 10 minute to prep. A bit longer if you want to add potatoes and even chunks of carrots on the bottom. That is up to you but those make great edible trivets as opposed to using a metal version to keep them off the bottom. You can jump to recipe above or continue reading for additional tips.
Ingredients
- 2 cornish hens, fresh or frozen
- Chicken broth or water for liquid to steam
- Lawrys seasoned salt or favorite seasonings
- Garlic salt is optional for flavor
- Onion powder or other seasonings of your choice
- 5 potatoes are optional, cut into large bite size pieces.
Variations and Substitutions
You could peel and cut chunks of carrots and add in there too if you wanted to. If you use a small trivet like one you use in a pressure cooker then you could omit the vegetables (but why???) It is handy to have a meat thermometer handy so you don’t overcook them and dry the protein out. Timing will vary slightly depending on the size and weight of yours.
How to Cook Cornish Hens in Slow Cooker
- Rinse and cut potatoes into 6ths.
- Lay in bottom of slow cooker or use a trivet
- Pour in broth or cold water.
- You’ll want to pat dry skin and dry with paper towels, rub olive oil on skin and season.
- Set on top of potatoes with breast sides facing up.
- Close lid and set to low and cook cornish hens together for 4.5-5 hours cook time or until thickest part registers 165 degrees F.
- Rest and slice
- Serve with potatoes topped with butter and salt and pepper.
Always set for the minimum timing suggested below, test, and then monitor it every 30 minutes after that until the internal meat temperature is reached.
How do you crisp the skin?
If you want crispy skin like Ninja Foodi cornish hens, remove once they reach 160 degrees internally. Preheat air fryer to 400 F and set inside. Spray tops with olive oil and air fry for 4 minutes or until top is golden brown to your liking and internally reaches 165 F.
Frozen Cornish Hens in Slow Cooker
Now if these are frozen you can of course defrost or pop those babies right in there as is. So easy cooked fresh or takes the same time for frozen whole chicken slow cooker too. It doesn’t make a difference in timing, seriously. You would think that it would but even with a whole regular chicken I cook that rock hard all the time and you’d never know the difference.
Another option if you love it crispy is to follow our Frozen Whole Chicken in Air Fryer directions. To fit inside the basket it does have to be rather small, so little chickens are the perfect size, works quite well to get crispy skin and still get tender and juicy meat on the inside as another option.
Last but not least you can use your oven. With a whole regular size you’re looking at 3-4 hours to reach a safe internal temperature but since these are about half the weight you can cut that in half. Of course there will be slight variations but checking at hour 2 with a thermometer works. Follow our Whole Frozen Chicken in Oven for that option.
That depends on the method you choose. If you cook (steam) in a Crockpot like we explain here it doesn’t take any longer! The best way to do this if starting off rock hard is low and slow to get the meat as tender as possible.
We have served these a number of different ways. You can serve whole is you want to be fancy pants but we never do. Instead I will cut into pieces and serve these “cute pieces” to the kiddos that way. If I take it straight out after making the slow cooker recipe the meat typically just wants to fall off the bone so I discard all the bones.
How to Serve
- Then you can make all sorts of shredded chicken meals like tacos, burrito bowls, over rice with a bit of salsa for a super healthy choice….the choices go on and on. Or
- For a lighter option, you can shred and use it in salads. Combine it with fresh greens, vegetables, and your favorite dressings or vinaigrettes.
Regardless of the serving style, consider garnishing with fresh herbs, citrus wedges, or edible flowers to enhance the flavors. Offer a variety of sauces or gravies on the side, such as cranberry sauce, chimichurri, or a creamy mushroom sauce, for family members or guests to customize their meal.
Slow Cooker Cornish Hens
Equipment
- 1 slow cooker
Ingredients
- 2 cornish hens
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 c chicken broth, or water
- 1/2 tsp Lawrys seasoned salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic salt
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 5 potatoes, optional, cut into large bite size pieces
Instructions
- Rinse and cut potatoes into 6ths. Lay in bottom of slow cooker. (if you don't want to add potatoes just use a low trivet to keep off the bottom so skin doesn't get soggy) Pour in broth.
- You'll want to pat dry skin of birds and dry with paper towels, rub olive oil on skin. Set cornish hens on top of potatoes with breast sides facing up.
- Sprinkle seasonings on top of birds. (if frozen rub with a bit of oil first so they stick) Close lid and set to low for 4.5-5 hours or until thickest part registers 165 degrees F. Remove, rest on cutting board for 15 minutes before separating pieces and/or slicing meat.
- Serve with potatoes topped with butter and salt and pepper.
- ** If you want to crisp the skin, remove once they reach 160 degrees internally. Preheat air fryer to 400 F and set inside. Spray tops with olive oil and air fry for 4 minutes or until top is golden brown to your liking and internally reaches 165 F.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
