diff --git a/consul/state/state_store.go b/consul/state/state_store.go
index 7949d89f12..1f92e26e01 100644
--- a/consul/state/state_store.go
+++ b/consul/state/state_store.go
@@ -1248,7 +1248,7 @@ func (s *StateStore) parseCheckServiceNodes(
 		return 0, nil, err
 	}
 
-	var results structs.CheckServiceNodes
+	results := make(structs.CheckServiceNodes, 0, len(services))
 	for _, sn := range services {
 		// Retrieve the node.
 		n, err := tx.First("nodes", "id", sn.Node)