diff --git a/provisioner/powershell/provisioner.go b/provisioner/powershell/provisioner.go
index b62d35b91..4d5ffadf7 100644
--- a/provisioner/powershell/provisioner.go
+++ b/provisioner/powershell/provisioner.go
@@ -331,7 +331,7 @@ func (p *Provisioner) retryable(f func() error) error {
 	}
 }
 
-func (p *Provisioner) createFlattenedEnvVars(elevated bool) (flattened string, err error) {
+func (p *Provisioner) createFlattenedEnvVars(elevated bool) (flattened string) {
 	flattened = ""
 	envVars := make(map[string]string)
 
@@ -346,11 +346,6 @@ func (p *Provisioner) createFlattenedEnvVars(elevated bool) (flattened string, e
 	// Split vars into key/value components
 	for _, envVar := range p.config.Vars {
 		keyValue := strings.SplitN(envVar, "=", 2)
-
-		if len(keyValue) != 2 || keyValue[0] == "" {
-			err = errors.New(fmt.Sprintf("Shell provisioner environment variables must be in key=value format. Currently it is '%s'", envVar))
-			return
-		}
 		envVars[keyValue[0]] = keyValue[1]
 	}
 
@@ -383,10 +378,8 @@ func (p *Provisioner) createCommandText() (command string, err error) {
 
 func (p *Provisioner) createCommandTextNonPrivileged() (command string, err error) {
 	// Create environment variables to set before executing the command
-	flattenedEnvVars, err := p.createFlattenedEnvVars(false)
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
-	}
+	flattenedEnvVars := p.createFlattenedEnvVars(false)
+
 	p.config.ctx.Data = &ExecuteCommandTemplate{
 		Vars: flattenedEnvVars,
 		Path: p.config.RemotePath,
@@ -420,10 +413,8 @@ func (p *Provisioner) generateCommandLineRunner(command string) (commandText str
 
 func (p *Provisioner) createCommandTextPrivileged() (command string, err error) {
 	// Can't double escape the env vars, lets create shiny new ones
-	flattenedEnvVars, err := p.createFlattenedEnvVars(true)
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
-	}
+	flattenedEnvVars := p.createFlattenedEnvVars(true)
+
 	p.config.ctx.Data = &ExecuteCommandTemplate{
 		Vars: flattenedEnvVars,
 		Path: p.config.RemotePath,