Cornish Hens & Dressing In Slow Cooker

Slow cooker Cornish hens get the Creole treatment in this easy one-pot recipe that can also be made in your Instant Pot.

PIN FOR LATER

Updated 2020 with Instant Pot instructions

I love slow cooker Cornish hens because they're perfect for a party of two. Most nights it's just my husband and me for dinner. Cornish hens can be individual servings or split in half. In my household, we usually split one Cornish hen between the two of us.

Cornish hen

What Are Cornish Hens?

Cornish hens (also known as Rock Cornish game hens) look and taste like chicken. Male or female, they're slaughtered before 6 weeks of age hence their small size. Most Cornish hens weigh around 2 pounds. The ones you see here were approximately 1 1/2 pounds each. It's common to find Cornish hens sold in your local grocery store in packs of two. If you're feeding a party of one, cut the recipe in half.

homemade Creole seasoning

Creole Seasoning

The base of a lot of Creole recipes is a good Creole seasoning. In the recipe box you'll find my homemade Creole seasoning. It's great on meat, poultry, seafood, and vegetables. You can mix together the spice blend together first or add each spice to the slow cooker one-by-one. I like to mix them all together. I actually keep a big batch of this in my pantry. Of course you can use a store-bough Creole seasoning as well.

before (slow cooker)

The Holy Trinity

Are you familiar with mirepoix? Mirepoix is a combination of diced onions, carrots, and celery. It's used as a base for lots of traditional recipes like soups (think chicken soup), stews, and stocks. The holy trinity, also known as theholy trinity ofCreolecooking is the Creole version of mirepoix. It consists of bell pepper, celery, and onion. It's the base for lots of traditional Creole recipes so I used it here in this slow cooker Creole Cornish hens recipe. I used one red, one green bell pepper but you can use two of the same color bell pepper.

after – the potatoes & veggies

What Type Of Potatoes To Use

Waxy potatoes always work best for slow cooking because they hold their shape better than other forms of potatoes. Having said that, like most of my recipes, I encourage you to use the ingredients you have & like. Meaning, you can use your preferred potato whether it be a waxy potato like red or yellow, russet potato, sweet potato, etc. If you use non-waxy potatoes like russet or sweet potatoes, I suggest you cut them into larger chunks than you usually would. This will help them hold their shape during the cooking process and not turn mushy on you.

Other Creole recipes you might enjoy:

Low-Carb Jambalaya

Gumbo

Creole Shrimp Au Gratin

Broiling The Skin

When I slow cooker poultry that has its skin on, I almost always remove it from the appliance when it's done cooking to broil the skin. What can I say, I like crispy skin. If you want your Cornish hens to have a crisp skin, remove them from the slow cooker or Instant Pot. Place them on a baking sheet lined with foil and place them under the broiler for 3-5 minutes or until crisp to your liking. This is an optional step of course. If you're going to remove the skin, don't bother with this step.

Tips For This Cornish Hens Recipe

With the slow cooker, I didn't add any liquid. What you see in the pics is all natural juices. I understand that might make some people uncomfortable so go ahead and add up to 1/2 cup of low-sodium broth or water if you want. It certainly won't hurt.
You can cook the Cornish hens from frozen if you use the Instant Pot. If you do, add an additional 4-5 minutes of cooking time.

I used a large 6-quart slow cooker or Instant Pot for this recipe.

2 Cornish hens (approximately 3–4 pounds total)
2 tablespoons Creole seasoning (see below for homemade blend)
1 1/2 pounds potatoes or sweet potatoes, chopped
2 bell peppers, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth (Instant Pot only)
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons oil
Salt & pepper to taste

CREOLE SPICE BLEND

1 1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt (or more)
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Prepare the Cornish hens :

Rinse & pat dry Cornish hens. Remove giblets & trim any excess fat.
Drizzle the Cornish hens all over with the 2 teaspoons of oil. In a small bowl mix together the Creole seasoning. Season the the Cornish hens evenly & all over the Creole seasoning.

Slow Cooker

Add potatoes, bell pepper, celery, and onion to the slow cooker. Season with salt & pepper. Add the prepared Cornish hens on top of the food.
Cook HIGH 3-4 hours or LOW 6-8.

Instant Pot

Turn on the pressure cooker and select sauté. Add the Cornish hens and cook 3-5 minutes on each side, until evenly browned. You may need to do this one hen at a time. Remove the hens and set aside.
Add the bell peppers, onions, and celery to the pot. Cook 2-5 minutes or until vegetables are soft.
Turn off the Instant Pot. Pour in the broth and deglaze the bottom of the pressure cooker by scraping all the bits off with a wooden spoon.
Add the prepared Cornish hens. Place the potatoes on top.
Close lid and seal valve. Set high pressure for 20 minutes. When cook time is done, let the pressure release naturally.

Notes

Instant Pot: to cook these Cornish hens from frozen add extra 4 minutes to the cook time.

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 5 hours

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Slow Cooker Creole Cornish Hens + VIDEO