diff --git a/caddytest/caddytest.go b/caddytest/caddytest.go
index 05aa1e3f52f9..635c52e1be1a 100644
--- a/caddytest/caddytest.go
+++ b/caddytest/caddytest.go
@@ -133,6 +133,15 @@ func (tc *Tester) initServer(rawConfig string, configType string) error {
 			_ = json.Indent(&out, body, "", "  ")
 			tc.t.Logf("----------- failed with config -----------\n%s", out.String())
 		}
+		tc.t.Log("deleting existing config in test cleanup")
+		deleteRequest, _ := http.NewRequest(http.MethodDelete, fmt.Sprintf("http://localhost:%d/config/", Default.AdminPort), nil)
+		res, err := tc.Client.Do(deleteRequest)
+		if err != nil {
+			tc.t.Logf("failed to delete existing config: %s", err)
+		}
+		if res != nil {
+			_, _ = io.Copy(io.Discard, res.Body)
+		}
 	})
 
 	rawConfig = prependCaddyFilePath(rawConfig)