diff --git a/builder/amazon/common/run_config.go b/builder/amazon/common/run_config.go
index e3805c229..ea97af41e 100644
--- a/builder/amazon/common/run_config.go
+++ b/builder/amazon/common/run_config.go
@@ -42,6 +42,32 @@ func (c *RunConfig) Prepare(t *packer.ConfigTemplate) []error {
 		}
 	}
 
+	templates := map[string]*string{
+		"iam_instance_profile":    &c.IamInstanceProfile,
+		"instance_type":           &c.InstanceType,
+		"ssh_timeout":             &c.RawSSHTimeout,
+		"ssh_username":            &c.SSHUsername,
+		"ssh_private_key_file":    &c.SSHPrivateKeyFile,
+		"source_ami":              &c.SourceAmi,
+		"subnet_id":               &c.SubnetId,
+		"temporary_key_pair_name": &c.TemporaryKeyPairName,
+		"vpc_id":                  &c.VpcId,
+		"availability_zone":       &c.AvailabilityZone,
+		"user_data":               &c.UserData,
+		"user_data_file":          &c.UserDataFile,
+		"security_group_id":       &c.SecurityGroupId,
+	}
+
+	errs := make([]error, 0)
+	for n, ptr := range templates {
+		var err error
+		*ptr, err = t.Process(*ptr, nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			errs = append(
+				errs, fmt.Errorf("Error processing %s: %s", n, err))
+		}
+	}
+
 	// Defaults
 	if c.SSHPort == 0 {
 		c.SSHPort = 22
@@ -57,7 +83,6 @@ func (c *RunConfig) Prepare(t *packer.ConfigTemplate) []error {
 
 	// Validation
 	var err error
-	errs := make([]error, 0)
 	if c.SourceAmi == "" {
 		errs = append(errs, errors.New("A source_ami must be specified"))
 	}
diff --git a/provisioner/chef-client/provisioner.go b/provisioner/chef-client/provisioner.go
index c880691c3..71f37aafa 100644
--- a/provisioner/chef-client/provisioner.go
+++ b/provisioner/chef-client/provisioner.go
@@ -71,6 +71,29 @@ func (p *Provisioner) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 	}
 	p.config.tpl.UserVars = p.config.PackerUserVars
 
+	// Accumulate any errors
+	errs := common.CheckUnusedConfig(md)
+
+	templates := map[string]*string{
+		"config_template":        &p.config.ConfigTemplate,
+		"node_name":              &p.config.NodeName,
+		"staging_dir":            &p.config.StagingDir,
+		"chef_server_url":        &p.config.ServerUrl,
+		"execute_command":        &p.config.ExecuteCommand,
+		"install_command":        &p.config.InstallCommand,
+		"validation_key_path":    &p.config.ValidationKeyPath,
+		"validation_client_name": &p.config.ValidationClientName,
+	}
+
+	for n, ptr := range templates {
+		var err error
+		*ptr, err = p.config.tpl.Process(*ptr, nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(
+				errs, fmt.Errorf("Error processing %s: %s", n, err))
+		}
+	}
+
 	if p.config.ExecuteCommand == "" {
 		p.config.ExecuteCommand = "{{if .Sudo}}sudo {{end}}chef-client " +
 			"--no-color -c {{.ConfigPath}} -j {{.JsonPath}}"
@@ -90,25 +113,6 @@ func (p *Provisioner) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 		p.config.StagingDir = "/tmp/packer-chef-client"
 	}
 
-	// Accumulate any errors
-	errs := common.CheckUnusedConfig(md)
-
-	templates := map[string]*string{
-		"config_template": &p.config.ConfigTemplate,
-		"node_name":       &p.config.NodeName,
-		"staging_dir":     &p.config.StagingDir,
-		"chef_server_url": &p.config.ServerUrl,
-	}
-
-	for n, ptr := range templates {
-		var err error
-		*ptr, err = p.config.tpl.Process(*ptr, nil)
-		if err != nil {
-			errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(
-				errs, fmt.Errorf("Error processing %s: %s", n, err))
-		}
-	}
-
 	sliceTemplates := map[string][]string{
 		"run_list": p.config.RunList,
 	}