Preheat your oven to 400 °F (204 °C). Create a foil bowl that is ⅓ the size of your sheet pan, making sure it is large enough to hold the cornish hens.
Remove any giblets from the cornish hens and pat them dry with a paper towel.
Add half of the onion, two cloves of garlic, and one sprig of thyme, rosemary, and sage to the cavity of each hen.
Drizzle the olive oil over the skin of each hen and rub it evenly over to coat.
Sprinkle over the salt and pepper, making sure to coat the hen evenly.
Tuck the wings under the hen and secture the legs with kitchen twine. Place the hens breast side up in the foil bowl on the baking sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes while you prepare the sides.
For the Smashed Potatoes (while the hens roast)
Microwave the potatoes according to the box directions, just until they’re tender.
Allow the potatoes to cool enough for you to handle them. Wrap the potatoes in a towel and smash them gently-- just until they’ve burst open. You want to keep them intact as much as possible!
Set the smashed potatoes aside until ready to use.
For the Roasted Root Vegetables (while the hens roast)
In a large bowl, combine the carrots, brussel sprouts, butternut squash, olive oil, and kosher salt.
Set aside until ready to use.
Final Roast (60 minutes before serving)
Remove the hens from the oven and add the smashed potatoes and root vegetables, making sure to spread them out so they roast not steam. Drizzle the smashed potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
Roast for an additional 15 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven and flip the smashed potatoes and vegetables.
In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, grated garlic, parsley, rosemary, thyme, and sage. Brush ⅓ of the mixture over the cornish hens and drizzle the remaining butter over the root vegetables and smashed potatoes.
Cook for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables are golden brown and the internal temperature of the hens reaches 165 °F (74 °C) on an instant read thermometer.
Remove the pan from the oven and baste the hens with juices from the pan. Allow the hens to sit for 10 minutes before carving or serving.
This sheet pan can be kept warm in a 200 °F (93 °C) oven for up to 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
Ingredient Notes - Cornish Hens
Cornish hens have great flavor and cook very easily! Before cooking, make sure to fully thaw the hens and remove any giblets. It also helps the skin become extra crispy if you pat the hens dry with a paper towel before adding the olive oil.Stuffing the cavity of the hen with onion, garlic, and herbs helps flavor the hen from the inside out. It also helps the hen keep its shape while roasting. Feel free to swap out whatever herbs or vegetables you have on hand-- leeks, carrots, celery, parsley, or shallots are all delicious.Olive oil helps the skin brown, but also helps the salt and pepper stick to the hen.Make sure to season the hens all over with salt and pepper-- I highly recommend kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
Ingredient Notes - Smashed Potatoes
I’m using steam-in-bag potatoes but you could also boil baby potatoes. The goal is to cook the potatoes until they’re fork tender so they smash easily.Olive oil helps the potatoes brown and crisp in the oven.Kosher salt seasons the potatoes and enhances their flavor. Feel free to season to taste.
Ingredient Notes - Roasted Root Vegetables
I’m using multi colored carrots, butternut squash, and brussel sprouts for this sheet pan dinner but you could use any root vegetables you like-- parsnips, beets, or sweet potatoes would also be delicious. The key is to cut all the vegetables into one inch pieces so they cook evenly.Just like the potatoes, the olive oil helps the root vegetables brown without burning. Feel free to substitute your favorite neutral cooking oil.Salt helps bring out extra moisture in the vegetables so they caramelize in the oven. It also helps enhance their natural flavors!
Ingredient Notes - Additional Ingredients
Butter adds great flavor to the hens, vegetables, and potatoes. It also helps all of the elements caramelize as the butter solids brown in the oven.I grate the garlic on a microplane zester-- this helps the garlic melt into the butter. Minced garlic tends to burn in the oven. If you don’t have a microplane, I recommend substituting the grated garlic for one teaspoon of garlic powder.Fresh herbs are the key to a delicious Thanksgiving! I’m using a combination of my favorite poultry herbs (parsley, rosemary, thyme, sage) but feel free to use what you have on hand!
Equipment Notes
The key to this sheet pan dinner is to not overcrowd the pan! We want the vegetables to roast, not steam. I’m using a half sheet USA PAN and everything fits perfectly. If you have smaller baking sheets, you may need to divide the vegetables between two sheets so they don’t get overcrowded.