diff --git a/vertical-pod-autoscaler/e2e/v1/full_vpa.go b/vertical-pod-autoscaler/e2e/v1/full_vpa.go
index 230a3e9b1d32..7ced7c0a49d7 100644
--- a/vertical-pod-autoscaler/e2e/v1/full_vpa.go
+++ b/vertical-pod-autoscaler/e2e/v1/full_vpa.go
@@ -238,6 +238,7 @@ var _ = FullVpaE2eDescribe("Pods under VPA with non-recognized recommender expli
 		containerName := GetHamsterContainerNameByIndex(0)
 		vpaCRD := test.VerticalPodAutoscaler().
 			WithName("hamster-vpa").
+			WithRecommender("non-recognized").
 			WithNamespace(f.Namespace.Name).
 			WithTargetRef(targetRef).
 			WithContainer(containerName).
diff --git a/vertical-pod-autoscaler/e2e/vendor/k8s.io/autoscaler/vertical-pod-autoscaler/pkg/apis/autoscaling.k8s.io/v1/types.go b/vertical-pod-autoscaler/e2e/vendor/k8s.io/autoscaler/vertical-pod-autoscaler/pkg/apis/autoscaling.k8s.io/v1/types.go
index cd3eba2ea125..5e9b6adb739a 100644
--- a/vertical-pod-autoscaler/e2e/vendor/k8s.io/autoscaler/vertical-pod-autoscaler/pkg/apis/autoscaling.k8s.io/v1/types.go
+++ b/vertical-pod-autoscaler/e2e/vendor/k8s.io/autoscaler/vertical-pod-autoscaler/pkg/apis/autoscaling.k8s.io/v1/types.go
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ type EvictionRequirement struct {
 	// Resources is a list of one or more resources that the condition applies
 	// to. If more than one resource is given, the EvictionRequirement is fulfilled
 	// if at least one resource meets `changeRequirement`.
-	Resources         []v1.ResourceName         `json:"resource" protobuf:"bytes,1,name=resources"`
+	Resources         []v1.ResourceName         `json:"resources" protobuf:"bytes,1,name=resources"`
 	ChangeRequirement EvictionChangeRequirement `json:"changeRequirement" protobuf:"bytes,2,name=changeRequirement"`
 }
 
diff --git a/vertical-pod-autoscaler/e2e/vendor/k8s.io/autoscaler/vertical-pod-autoscaler/pkg/utils/test/test_vpa.go b/vertical-pod-autoscaler/e2e/vendor/k8s.io/autoscaler/vertical-pod-autoscaler/pkg/utils/test/test_vpa.go
index 3767e0685853..459aed757bdd 100644
--- a/vertical-pod-autoscaler/e2e/vendor/k8s.io/autoscaler/vertical-pod-autoscaler/pkg/utils/test/test_vpa.go
+++ b/vertical-pod-autoscaler/e2e/vendor/k8s.io/autoscaler/vertical-pod-autoscaler/pkg/utils/test/test_vpa.go
@@ -248,7 +248,12 @@ func (b *verticalPodAutoscalerBuilder) Get() *vpa_types.VerticalPodAutoscaler {
 			Mode:             b.scalingMode[containerName],
 		})
 	}
-	recommendation = b.recommendation.WithContainer(b.containerNames[0]).Get()
+	// VPAs with a single container may still use the old/implicit way of adding recommendations
+	r := b.recommendation.WithContainer(b.containerNames[0]).Get()
+	if r.ContainerRecommendations[0].Target != nil {
+		recommendation = r
+	}
+
 	recommendation.ContainerRecommendations = append(recommendation.ContainerRecommendations, b.appendedRecommendations...)
 
 	return &vpa_types.VerticalPodAutoscaler{
diff --git a/vertical-pod-autoscaler/pkg/utils/test/test_vpa.go b/vertical-pod-autoscaler/pkg/utils/test/test_vpa.go
index 3767e0685853..459aed757bdd 100644
--- a/vertical-pod-autoscaler/pkg/utils/test/test_vpa.go
+++ b/vertical-pod-autoscaler/pkg/utils/test/test_vpa.go
@@ -248,7 +248,12 @@ func (b *verticalPodAutoscalerBuilder) Get() *vpa_types.VerticalPodAutoscaler {
 			Mode:             b.scalingMode[containerName],
 		})
 	}
-	recommendation = b.recommendation.WithContainer(b.containerNames[0]).Get()
+	// VPAs with a single container may still use the old/implicit way of adding recommendations
+	r := b.recommendation.WithContainer(b.containerNames[0]).Get()
+	if r.ContainerRecommendations[0].Target != nil {
+		recommendation = r
+	}
+
 	recommendation.ContainerRecommendations = append(recommendation.ContainerRecommendations, b.appendedRecommendations...)
 
 	return &vpa_types.VerticalPodAutoscaler{