diff --git a/internal/ingress/controller/controller.go b/internal/ingress/controller/controller.go
index 7dc6dbf3c..1d3ba8147 100644
--- a/internal/ingress/controller/controller.go
+++ b/internal/ingress/controller/controller.go
@@ -523,6 +523,7 @@ func (n *NGINXController) getBackendServers(ingresses []*extensions.Ingress) ([]
 				if upstream.Name == location.Backend {
 					if len(upstream.Endpoints) == 0 {
 						glog.V(3).Infof("Upstream %q does not have any active endpoints.", upstream.Name)
+						location.Backend = "" // for nginx.tmpl checking
 
 						// check if the location contains endpoints and a custom default backend
 						if location.DefaultBackend != nil {