diff --git a/nixos/modules/virtualisation/qemu-vm.nix b/nixos/modules/virtualisation/qemu-vm.nix
index 0cc1b1146a84..a35b9101c3d4 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/virtualisation/qemu-vm.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/virtualisation/qemu-vm.nix
@@ -480,6 +480,7 @@ in
             };
             options.driveConfig = mkOption {
               type = lib.types.submodule driveOptions;
+              default = { };
               description = "Drive configuration to pass to {option}`virtualisation.qemu.drives`";
             };
           }