diff --git a/elasticsearch/templates/statefulset.yaml b/elasticsearch/templates/statefulset.yaml
index 593504fcf..7642daf65 100644
--- a/elasticsearch/templates/statefulset.yaml
+++ b/elasticsearch/templates/statefulset.yaml
@@ -211,8 +211,8 @@ spec:
                 }
 
                 if [ -f "${START_FILE}" ]; then
-                    echo 'Elasticsearch is already running, lets check the node is healthy'
-                    http "/"
+                    echo 'Elasticsearch is already running, lets check the node is healthy and there are master nodes available'
+                    http "/_cluster/health?timeout=0s"
                 else
                     echo 'Waiting for elasticsearch cluster to become cluster to be ready (request params: "{{ .Values.clusterHealthCheckParams }}" )'
                     if http "/_cluster/health?{{ .Values.clusterHealthCheckParams }}" ; then
diff --git a/elasticsearch/tests/elasticsearch_test.py b/elasticsearch/tests/elasticsearch_test.py
index 2e88b5e8d..978284aea 100755
--- a/elasticsearch/tests/elasticsearch_test.py
+++ b/elasticsearch/tests/elasticsearch_test.py
@@ -107,6 +107,7 @@ def test_defaults():
 
     assert 'curl' in c['readinessProbe']['exec']['command'][-1]
     assert 'http://127.0.0.1:9200' in c['readinessProbe']['exec']['command'][-1]
+    assert '/_cluster/health?timeout=0s' in c['readinessProbe']['exec']['command'][-1]
 
     # Resources
     assert c['resources'] == {