diff --git a/roles/dns-nsd/defaults/main.yml b/roles/dns-nsd/defaults/main.yml
index 5dcbddf..c5ff6e7 100644
--- a/roles/dns-nsd/defaults/main.yml
+++ b/roles/dns-nsd/defaults/main.yml
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@
 nsd_zonesdir: "/var/nsd/zones"
 nsd_group: "nsd"
 
+nsd_zones: []
+
 # default DNS TTL
 dns_ttl: 3600