diff --git a/kubetest2/internal/deployers/eksapi/nodegroup.go b/kubetest2/internal/deployers/eksapi/nodegroup.go
index 5095c05df..64fa2c827 100644
--- a/kubetest2/internal/deployers/eksapi/nodegroup.go
+++ b/kubetest2/internal/deployers/eksapi/nodegroup.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import (
 	ec2types "github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/ec2/types"
 	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/eks"
 	ekstypes "github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/eks/types"
+	"github.com/aws/smithy-go"
 	"k8s.io/klog/v2"
 
 	"github.com/aws/aws-k8s-tester/kubetest2/internal/deployers/eksapi/templates"
@@ -78,9 +79,9 @@ func (m *NodegroupManager) createNodegroup(infra *Infrastructure, cluster *Clust
 				return fmt.Errorf("failed to describe AMI when populating default instance types: %s: %v", opts.AMI, err)
 			} else {
 				amiArch := out.Images[0].Architecture
-				defaultInstanceTypes, ok := defaultInstanceTypesByEC2ArchitectureValues[amiArch]
-				if !ok {
-					return fmt.Errorf("no default instance types known for AMI architecture: %v", amiArch)
+				defaultInstanceTypes, err := m.getValidDefaultInstanceTypesByEC2Arch(amiArch)
+				if err != nil {
+					return err
 				}
 				opts.InstanceTypes = defaultInstanceTypes
 				klog.V(2).Infof("Using default instance types for AMI architecture: %v: %v", amiArch, opts.InstanceTypes)
@@ -116,9 +117,9 @@ func (m *NodegroupManager) createManagedNodegroup(infra *Infrastructure, cluster
 	} else {
 		// managed nodegroups uses a t3.medium by default at the time of writing
 		// this only supports 17 pods, which can cause some flakes in the k8s e2e suite
-		defaultInstanceTypes, ok := defaultInstanceTypesByEKSAMITypes[input.AmiType]
-		if !ok {
-			return fmt.Errorf("no default instance types known for AmiType: %v", input.AmiType)
+		defaultInstanceTypes, err := m.getValidDefaultInstanceTypesByEKSAMIType(input.AmiType)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
 		}
 		input.InstanceTypes = defaultInstanceTypes
 	}
@@ -532,3 +533,40 @@ func (m *NodegroupManager) getSubnetWithCapacity(infra *Infrastructure, opts *de
 	klog.Infof("Using subnet: %s", subnetId)
 	return subnetId, capacityReservationId, nil
 }
+
+func (m *NodegroupManager) getValidDefaultInstanceTypesByEKSAMIType(amiType ekstypes.AMITypes) ([]string, error) {
+	defaults, ok := defaultInstanceTypesByEKSAMITypes[amiType]
+	if !ok {
+		return []string{}, fmt.Errorf("no default instance types known for AmiType: %v", amiType)
+	}
+	return m.getValidInstanceTypesFromList(defaults)
+}
+
+func (m *NodegroupManager) getValidDefaultInstanceTypesByEC2Arch(arch ec2types.ArchitectureValues) ([]string, error) {
+	defaults, ok := defaultInstanceTypesByEC2ArchitectureValues[arch]
+	if !ok {
+		return []string{}, fmt.Errorf("no default instance types known for AMI architecture: %v", arch)
+	}
+	return m.getValidInstanceTypesFromList(defaults)
+}
+
+func (m *NodegroupManager) getValidInstanceTypesFromList(desiredInstanceTypes []string) ([]string, error) {
+	var validInstanceTypes []string
+	for _, instanceType := range desiredInstanceTypes {
+		ec2InstanceType := ec2types.InstanceType(instanceType)
+		_, err := m.clients.EC2().DescribeInstanceTypes(context.TODO(), &ec2.DescribeInstanceTypesInput{
+			InstanceTypes: []ec2types.InstanceType{ec2InstanceType},
+		})
+		if err != nil {
+			var apierr smithy.APIError
+			if errors.As(err, &apierr) && apierr.ErrorCode() == "InvalidInstanceType" {
+				klog.Infof("Eliminating instance type %s as an option", instanceType)
+			} else {
+				return []string{}, fmt.Errorf("could not determine invalid instance types, received error: %s", err)
+			}
+		} else {
+			validInstanceTypes = append(validInstanceTypes, instanceType)
+		}
+	}
+	return validInstanceTypes, nil
+}