diff --git a/e2e/kafka/setup/kafka-ephemeral.yaml b/e2e/kafka/setup/kafka-ephemeral.yaml
index 05dfa94491..42bd305a0c 100644
--- a/e2e/kafka/setup/kafka-ephemeral.yaml
+++ b/e2e/kafka/setup/kafka-ephemeral.yaml
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-apiVersion: kafka.strimzi.io/v1beta2
+apiVersion: kafka.strimzi.io/v1
 kind: KafkaNodePool
 metadata:
   name: controller
@@ -32,8 +32,7 @@ spec:
         type: ephemeral
         kraftMetadata: shared
 ---
-
-apiVersion: kafka.strimzi.io/v1beta2
+apiVersion: kafka.strimzi.io/v1
 kind: KafkaNodePool
 metadata:
   name: broker
@@ -51,8 +50,7 @@ spec:
         type: ephemeral
         kraftMetadata: shared
 ---
-
-apiVersion: kafka.strimzi.io/v1beta2
+apiVersion: kafka.strimzi.io/v1
 kind: Kafka
 metadata:
   name: my-cluster
diff --git a/e2e/kafka/setup/kafka-topic.yaml b/e2e/kafka/setup/kafka-topic.yaml
index 896e43e4c1..04c0c60b1b 100644
--- a/e2e/kafka/setup/kafka-topic.yaml
+++ b/e2e/kafka/setup/kafka-topic.yaml
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-apiVersion: kafka.strimzi.io/v1beta2
+apiVersion: kafka.strimzi.io/v1
 kind: KafkaTopic
 metadata:
   name: my-topic
@@ -26,4 +26,4 @@ spec:
   replicas: 1
   config:
     retention.ms: 7200000
-    segment.bytes: 1073741824
\ No newline at end of file
+    segment.bytes: 1073741824
diff --git a/e2e/kafka/setup/setup.sh b/e2e/kafka/setup/setup.sh
index 20adbb2a58..3e20a4a9f4 100755
--- a/e2e/kafka/setup/setup.sh
+++ b/e2e/kafka/setup/setup.sh
@@ -23,13 +23,18 @@
 #
 ####
 
-kubectl create namespace kafka
-kubectl create -f 'https://strimzi.io/install/latest?namespace=kafka' -n kafka
+kubectl create namespace kafka --dry-run=client -o yaml | kubectl apply -f -
+kubectl apply --server-side -f 'https://strimzi.io/install/latest?namespace=kafka' -n kafka
 kubectl rollout status deployment strimzi-cluster-operator -n kafka --timeout=180s
 
+# Wait for CRDs to be established
+kubectl wait --for=condition=established crd/kafkas.kafka.strimzi.io --timeout=60s
+kubectl wait --for=condition=established crd/kafkanodepools.kafka.strimzi.io --timeout=60s
+kubectl wait --for=condition=established crd/kafkatopics.kafka.strimzi.io --timeout=60s
+
 #### Setup Keda operator
 # it creates by default a keda namespace
-kubectl apply -f https://github.com/kedacore/keda/releases/download/v2.17.2/keda-2.17.2.yaml
+kubectl apply --server-side -f https://github.com/kedacore/keda/releases/download/v2.17.2/keda-2.17.2.yaml
 kubectl rollout status deployment keda-operator -n keda --timeout=180s
 
 #### Setup a Kafka cluster which we'll use for testing