diff --git a/lib/galaxy/config/sample/galaxy.yml.sample b/lib/galaxy/config/sample/galaxy.yml.sample
index a09b781abebe..2452f0211bcd 100644
--- a/lib/galaxy/config/sample/galaxy.yml.sample
+++ b/lib/galaxy/config/sample/galaxy.yml.sample
@@ -578,7 +578,7 @@ galaxy:
 
   # conda channels to enable by default
   # (https://conda.io/docs/user-guide/tasks/manage-channels.html)
-  #conda_ensure_channels: conda-forge,bioconda,defaults
+  #conda_ensure_channels: conda-forge,bioconda
 
   # Use locally-built conda packages.
   #conda_use_local: false
diff --git a/lib/galaxy/config/schemas/config_schema.yml b/lib/galaxy/config/schemas/config_schema.yml
index 0fba005c5e39..bf2b70de9a07 100644
--- a/lib/galaxy/config/schemas/config_schema.yml
+++ b/lib/galaxy/config/schemas/config_schema.yml
@@ -359,7 +359,7 @@ mapping:
 
       conda_ensure_channels:
         type: str
-        default: conda-forge,bioconda,defaults
+        default: conda-forge,bioconda
         required: false
         desc: |
           conda channels to enable by default