diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index e79441435..29c458a47 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 ## Unreleased
 
+BUG FIXES:
+* CRDs: Fix a bug where the `config` field in `ProxyDefaults` CR was not synced to Consul because
+  `apiextensions.k8s.io/v1` requires CRD spec to have structured schema. [[GH-921](https://github.com/hashicorp/consul-helm/pull/921)]
+
 ## 0.32.0-beta1 (Apr 16, 2021)
 
 IMPROVEMENTS: 
diff --git a/templates/crd-proxydefaults.yaml b/templates/crd-proxydefaults.yaml
index e3e9a979d..adb33d4fb 100644
--- a/templates/crd-proxydefaults.yaml
+++ b/templates/crd-proxydefaults.yaml
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ spec:
               config:
                 description: Config is an arbitrary map of configuration values used by Connect proxies. Any values that your proxy allows can be configured globally here. Supports JSON config values. See https://www.consul.io/docs/connect/proxies/envoy#configuration-formatting
                 type: object
+                x-kubernetes-preserve-unknown-fields: true
               expose:
                 description: Expose controls the default expose path configuration for Envoy.
                 properties:
diff --git a/test/acceptance/tests/controller/controller_test.go b/test/acceptance/tests/controller/controller_test.go
index a152295ad..7c2272fc6 100644
--- a/test/acceptance/tests/controller/controller_test.go
+++ b/test/acceptance/tests/controller/controller_test.go
@@ -92,6 +92,14 @@ func TestController(t *testing.T) {
 					proxyDefaultEntry, ok := entry.(*api.ProxyConfigEntry)
 					require.True(r, ok, "could not cast to ProxyConfigEntry")
 					require.Equal(r, api.MeshGatewayModeLocal, proxyDefaultEntry.MeshGateway.Mode)
+					require.Equal(r, "tcp", proxyDefaultEntry.Config["protocol"])
+					require.Equal(r, float64(3), proxyDefaultEntry.Config["number"])
+					require.Equal(r, true, proxyDefaultEntry.Config["bool"])
+					require.Equal(r, []interface{}{"item1", "item2"}, proxyDefaultEntry.Config["array"])
+					require.Equal(r, map[string]interface{}{"key": "value"}, proxyDefaultEntry.Config["map"])
+					require.Equal(r, "/health", proxyDefaultEntry.Expose.Paths[0].Path)
+					require.Equal(r, 22000, proxyDefaultEntry.Expose.Paths[0].ListenerPort)
+					require.Equal(r, 8080, proxyDefaultEntry.Expose.Paths[0].LocalPathPort)
 
 					// service-router
 					entry, _, err = consulClient.ConfigEntries().Get(api.ServiceRouter, "router", nil)
diff --git a/test/acceptance/tests/fixtures/crds/proxydefaults.yaml b/test/acceptance/tests/fixtures/crds/proxydefaults.yaml
index 1172c6ac6..040da247f 100644
--- a/test/acceptance/tests/fixtures/crds/proxydefaults.yaml
+++ b/test/acceptance/tests/fixtures/crds/proxydefaults.yaml
@@ -4,7 +4,18 @@ metadata:
   name: global
 spec:
   config:
-    foo: '{"http":{"name":"envoy.zipkin","config":{"collector_cluster":"zipkin","collector_endpoint":"/api/v1/spans","shared_span_context":false}}}'
-    members: 3
+    protocol: "tcp"
+    number: 3
+    bool: true
+    array:
+      - item1
+      - item2
+    map:
+      key: value
   meshGateway:
     mode: local
+  expose:
+    paths:
+      - path: /health
+        listenerPort: 22000
+        localPathPort: 8080