diff --git a/roles/base/tasks/main.yml b/roles/base/tasks/main.yml
index 53ebf77636..7d5740b548 100644
--- a/roles/base/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/roles/base/tasks/main.yml
@@ -149,18 +149,14 @@
   when: ansible_distribution_major_version|int < 22
 
 - name: dist pkgs to remove (dnf)
-  dnf: state=absent name={{ item }}
-  with_items:
-   - "{{ base_pkgs_erase }}"
+  dnf: state=absent name=["{{ base_pkgs_erase }}"]
   tags:
   - packages
   - base
   when: ansible_distribution_major_version|int > 21 and ansible_cmdline.ostree is not defined
 
 - name: dist pkgs to install (dnf)
-  dnf: state=present name={{ item }}
-  with_items:
-   - "{{ base_pkgs_inst }}"
+  dnf: state=present name=["{{ base_pkgs_inst }}"]
   tags:
   - packages
   - base