diff --git a/cluster/gce/container-linux/configure-helper.sh b/cluster/gce/container-linux/configure-helper.sh
index f0c3925e891..a0f2ffc3002 100755
--- a/cluster/gce/container-linux/configure-helper.sh
+++ b/cluster/gce/container-linux/configure-helper.sh
@@ -655,7 +655,11 @@ function prepare-etcd-manifest {
   sed -i -e "s@{{ *hostname *}}@$host_name@g" "${temp_file}"
   sed -i -e "s@{{ *srv_kube_path *}}@/etc/srv/kubernetes@g" "${temp_file}"
   sed -i -e "s@{{ *etcd_cluster *}}@$etcd_cluster@g" "${temp_file}"
-  sed -i -e "s@{{ *storage_backend *}}@${STORAGE_BACKEND:-}@g" "${temp_file}"
+  if [[ -n "${STORAGE_BACKEND:-}" ]]; then
+    sed -i -e "s@{{ *pillar\.get('storage_backend', '\(.*\)') *}}@${STORAGE_BACKEND}@g" "${temp_file}"
+  else
+    sed -i -e "s@{{ *pillar\.get('storage_backend', '\(.*\)') *}}@\1@g" "${temp_file}"
+  fi
   if [[ "${STORAGE_BACKEND:-}" == "etcd3" ]]; then
     sed -i -e "s@{{ *quota_bytes *}}@--quota-backend-bytes=4294967296@g" "${temp_file}"
   else
diff --git a/cluster/gce/gci/configure-helper.sh b/cluster/gce/gci/configure-helper.sh
index af7d732372b..f9206d69b12 100644
--- a/cluster/gce/gci/configure-helper.sh
+++ b/cluster/gce/gci/configure-helper.sh
@@ -721,7 +721,11 @@ function prepare-etcd-manifest {
   sed -i -e "s@{{ *hostname *}}@$host_name@g" "${temp_file}"
   sed -i -e "s@{{ *srv_kube_path *}}@/etc/srv/kubernetes@g" "${temp_file}"
   sed -i -e "s@{{ *etcd_cluster *}}@$etcd_cluster@g" "${temp_file}"
-  sed -i -e "s@{{ *storage_backend *}}@${STORAGE_BACKEND:-}@g" "${temp_file}"
+  if [[ -n "${STORAGE_BACKEND:-}" ]]; then
+    sed -i -e "s@{{ *pillar\.get('storage_backend', '\(.*\)') *}}@${STORAGE_BACKEND}@g" "${temp_file}"
+  else
+    sed -i -e "s@{{ *pillar\.get('storage_backend', '\(.*\)') *}}@\1@g" "${temp_file}"
+  fi
   if [[ "${STORAGE_BACKEND:-}" == "etcd3" ]]; then
     sed -i -e "s@{{ *quota_bytes *}}@--quota-backend-bytes=4294967296@g" "${temp_file}"
   else
diff --git a/cluster/gce/trusty/configure-helper.sh b/cluster/gce/trusty/configure-helper.sh
index fc6aee6244d..53e7e38b874 100644
--- a/cluster/gce/trusty/configure-helper.sh
+++ b/cluster/gce/trusty/configure-helper.sh
@@ -476,7 +476,11 @@ prepare_etcd_manifest() {
   sed -i -e "s@{{ *srv_kube_path *}}@/etc/srv/kubernetes@g" "${etcd_temp_file}"
   sed -i -e "s@{{ *hostname *}}@$host_name@g" "${etcd_temp_file}"
   sed -i -e "s@{{ *etcd_cluster *}}@$etcd_cluster@g" "${etcd_temp_file}"
-  sed -i -e "s@{{ *storage_backend *}}@${STORAGE_BACKEND:-}@g" "${temp_file}"
+  if [[ -n "${STORAGE_BACKEND:-}" ]]; then
+    sed -i -e "s@{{ *pillar\.get('storage_backend', '\(.*\)') *}}@${STORAGE_BACKEND}@g" "${temp_file}"
+  else
+    sed -i -e "s@{{ *pillar\.get('storage_backend', '\(.*\)') *}}@\1@g" "${temp_file}"
+  fi
   if [[ "${STORAGE_BACKEND:-}" == "etcd3" ]]; then
     sed -i -e "s@{{ *quota_bytes *}}@--quota-backend-bytes=4294967296@g" "${temp_file}"
   else
diff --git a/cluster/saltbase/salt/etcd/etcd.manifest b/cluster/saltbase/salt/etcd/etcd.manifest
index 4d896202fa7..5f1ea9a6d60 100644
--- a/cluster/saltbase/salt/etcd/etcd.manifest
+++ b/cluster/saltbase/salt/etcd/etcd.manifest
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@
 {% endfor -%}
 {% set etcd_cluster = vars.etcd_cluster -%}
 {% set cluster_state = vars.cluster_state -%}
-{% set storage_backend = pillar.get('storage_backend', 'etcd3') -%}
 {% set quota_bytes = '' -%}
 {% if pillar.get('storage_backend', 'etcd3') == 'etcd3' -%}
   {% set quota_bytes = '--quota-backend-bytes=4294967296' -%}
@@ -52,7 +51,7 @@
             ],
     "env": [
       { "name": "TARGET_STORAGE",
-        "value": "{{ storage_backend }}"
+        "value": "{{ pillar.get('storage_backend', 'etcd3') }}"
       },
       { "name": "TARGET_VERSION",
         "value": "{{ pillar.get('etcd_version', '3.0.14') }}"