diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index fcb90e0ba09d..eca054be043d 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ BUG FIXES:
  * client/config: Use `cpu_total_compute` whenever it is set [GH-2745]
  * driver/exec: Properly set file/dir ownership in chroots [GH-2552]
  * driver/docker: Fix panic in Docker driver on Windows [GH-2614]
+ * driver/rkt: Fix env var interpolation [GH-2777]
  * server: Reject non-TLS clients when TLS enabled [GH-2525]
  * server: Fix a panic in plan evaluation with partial failures and all_at_once
    set [GH-2544]
diff --git a/client/driver/rkt.go b/client/driver/rkt.go
index 17c05711930e..a21ef809bdab 100644
--- a/client/driver/rkt.go
+++ b/client/driver/rkt.go
@@ -332,7 +332,7 @@ func (d *RktDriver) Start(ctx *ExecContext, task *structs.Task) (*StartResponse,
 
 	// Inject environment variables
 	for k, v := range ctx.TaskEnv.Map() {
-		cmdArgs = append(cmdArgs, fmt.Sprintf("--set-env=%v=%q", k, v))
+		cmdArgs = append(cmdArgs, fmt.Sprintf("--set-env=%s=%s", k, v))
 	}
 
 	// Check if the user has overridden the exec command.