diff --git a/packages/nx/src/config/workspaces.ts b/packages/nx/src/config/workspaces.ts
index c9ab38b4d5075..61a4cb381b026 100644
--- a/packages/nx/src/config/workspaces.ts
+++ b/packages/nx/src/config/workspaces.ts
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ export class Workspaces {
       });
       if (matchingProject) return matchingProject;
     }
-    return nxJson.defaultProject;
+    return nxJson?.defaultProject;
   }
 
   readProjectsConfigurations(opts?: {