diff --git a/tests/unit_tests/core/test_config.py b/tests/unit_tests/core/test_config.py
index 35245b82d3..d31a66bdf6 100644
--- a/tests/unit_tests/core/test_config.py
+++ b/tests/unit_tests/core/test_config.py
@@ -3,10 +3,11 @@
 from collections.abc import Callable
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Any
+from unittest.mock import patch
 
 import pytest
 
-from esphome import config, config_validation as cv
+from esphome import config, config_validation as cv, yaml_util
 from esphome.config import Config
 from esphome.const import CONF_AREA, CONF_AREAS, CONF_DEVICES
 from esphome.core import CORE
@@ -38,8 +39,15 @@ def load_config_from_yaml(
     yaml_file: Callable[[str], str], yaml_content: str
 ) -> Config | None:
     """Load configuration from YAML content."""
-    CORE.config_path = yaml_file(yaml_content)
-    return config.read_config({})
+    yaml_path = yaml_file(yaml_content)
+    parsed_yaml = yaml_util.load_yaml(yaml_path)
+
+    # Mock yaml_util.load_yaml to return our parsed content
+    with (
+        patch.object(yaml_util, "load_yaml", return_value=parsed_yaml),
+        patch.object(CORE, "config_path", yaml_path),
+    ):
+        return config.read_config({})
 
 
 def load_config_from_fixture(