diff --git a/nixos/modules/system/boot/loader/grub/install-grub.pl b/nixos/modules/system/boot/loader/grub/install-grub.pl
index 82809edd6e86..d0d5307a804e 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/system/boot/loader/grub/install-grub.pl
+++ b/nixos/modules/system/boot/loader/grub/install-grub.pl
@@ -158,6 +158,11 @@ sub GrubFs {
 my $grubBoot = GrubFs("/boot");
 my $grubStore = GrubFs("/nix");
 
+# We don't need to copy if we can read the kernels directly
+if ($grubStore->search ne "") {
+	$copyKernels = 0;
+}
+
 # Generate the header.
 my $conf .= "# Automatically generated.  DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE!\n";