diff --git a/nixos/modules/virtualisation/qemu-vm.nix b/nixos/modules/virtualisation/qemu-vm.nix
index 74f6521462b8..20ce129c5a0a 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/virtualisation/qemu-vm.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/virtualisation/qemu-vm.nix
@@ -854,7 +854,7 @@ in
         "-device virtio-gpu-pci" "-device usb-ehci,id=usb0" "-device usb-kbd" "-device usb-tablet"
       ])
       (mkIf (!cfg.useBootLoader) [
-        "-kernel ${config.system.build.toplevel}/kernel"
+        "-kernel \${NIXPKGS_QEMU_KERNEL_${config.system.name}:-${config.system.build.toplevel}/kernel}"
         "-initrd ${config.system.build.toplevel}/initrd"
         ''-append "$(cat ${config.system.build.toplevel}/kernel-params) init=${config.system.build.toplevel}/init regInfo=${regInfo}/registration ${consoles} $QEMU_KERNEL_PARAMS"''
       ])