diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/monitoring/grafana.nix b/nixos/modules/services/monitoring/grafana.nix
index eae2658b7ffb..dbbec443bf42 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/monitoring/grafana.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/monitoring/grafana.nix
@@ -255,6 +255,7 @@ in
         Grafana settings. See <https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/setup-grafana/configure-grafana/>
         for available options. INI format is used.
       '';
+      default = { };
       type = types.submodule {
         freeformType = settingsFormatIni.type;