diff --git a/templates/vhost.conf.j2 b/templates/vhost.conf.j2
index c964878..f93b175 100644
--- a/templates/vhost.conf.j2
+++ b/templates/vhost.conf.j2
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 {% set vhost = {}|combine(nginx_vhosts_defaults, item.value, recursive=True) %}
 {% set vhost_name = item.key %}
 {% set vhost_headers = {}|combine(nginx.add_headers, vhost.add_headers) %}
-{% set vhost_proxy_location = {}|combine(nginx_proxy_location, {'backend': vhost.backend }) if vhost.backend|d(False) else {} %}
+{% set vhost_proxy_location = {}|combine(nginx_proxy_location, {'backend': vhost.backend }) if vhost.backend|d(False) else [] %}
 
 {% macro nginx_listen(ips, port, options) %}
 	{% for ip in ips %}