diff --git a/.changeset/tidy-template-readiness.md b/.changeset/tidy-template-readiness.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..87cd9f1d7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/tidy-template-readiness.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@aws-blocks/create-blocks-app': patch
+---
+
+Make starter template E2E setup wait for the Blocks server without depending on a sample API.
diff --git a/packages/create-blocks-app/templates/auth-cognito/test/e2e.test.ts b/packages/create-blocks-app/templates/auth-cognito/test/e2e.test.ts
index 400154f4f..42756df15 100644
--- a/packages/create-blocks-app/templates/auth-cognito/test/e2e.test.ts
+++ b/packages/create-blocks-app/templates/auth-cognito/test/e2e.test.ts
@@ -27,11 +27,15 @@ test.before(async () => {
   api = mod.api;
   hello = mod.hello;
 
-  // Wait for server to be ready
+  // Wait for the Blocks server to be ready without depending on the sample API.
   for (let i = 0; i < 60; i++) {
-    try { await hello.greet('ping'); return; } catch {
-      await setTimeout(1000);
+    try {
+      const response = await fetch('http://localhost:3000/.blocks-sandbox/config.json');
+      if (response.ok) return;
+    } catch {
+      // The server is not listening yet.
     }
+    await setTimeout(1000);
   }
   throw new Error('Server not ready');
 });
diff --git a/packages/create-blocks-app/templates/backend/test/e2e.test.ts b/packages/create-blocks-app/templates/backend/test/e2e.test.ts
index 18d09e059..ea1f15cc5 100644
--- a/packages/create-blocks-app/templates/backend/test/e2e.test.ts
+++ b/packages/create-blocks-app/templates/backend/test/e2e.test.ts
@@ -9,9 +9,10 @@ installCookieJar();
 
 let server: ChildProcess | null = null;
 let api: typeof apiType;
+const serverPort = 3001;
 
 test.before(async () => {
-  if (!await isServerRunning()) {
+  if (!await isServerRunning(serverPort)) {
     server = spawn('npm', ['run', 'dev'], {
       cwd: process.cwd(),
       stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
@@ -25,11 +26,15 @@ test.before(async () => {
   const mod = await import('aws-blocks');
   api = mod.api;
 
-  // Wait for server to be ready
+  // Wait for the Blocks server to be ready without depending on the sample API.
   for (let i = 0; i < 30; i++) {
-    try { await api.greet('ping'); return; } catch {
-      await setTimeout(1000);
+    try {
+      const response = await fetch(`http://localhost:${serverPort}/.blocks-sandbox/config.json`);
+      if (response.ok) return;
+    } catch {
+      // The server is not listening yet.
     }
+    await setTimeout(1000);
   }
   throw new Error('Server not ready');
 });
diff --git a/packages/create-blocks-app/templates/bare/test/e2e.test.ts b/packages/create-blocks-app/templates/bare/test/e2e.test.ts
index 28a9ffe74..b035598a9 100644
--- a/packages/create-blocks-app/templates/bare/test/e2e.test.ts
+++ b/packages/create-blocks-app/templates/bare/test/e2e.test.ts
@@ -25,11 +25,15 @@ test.before(async () => {
   const mod = await import('aws-blocks');
   api = mod.api;
 
-  // Wait for server to be ready
+  // Wait for the Blocks server to be ready without depending on the sample API.
   for (let i = 0; i < 30; i++) {
-    try { await api.greet('ping'); return; } catch {
-      await setTimeout(1000);
+    try {
+      const response = await fetch('http://localhost:3000/.blocks-sandbox/config.json');
+      if (response.ok) return;
+    } catch {
+      // The server is not listening yet.
     }
+    await setTimeout(1000);
   }
   throw new Error('Server not ready');
 });
diff --git a/packages/create-blocks-app/templates/demo/test/e2e.test.ts b/packages/create-blocks-app/templates/demo/test/e2e.test.ts
index 400154f4f..42756df15 100644
--- a/packages/create-blocks-app/templates/demo/test/e2e.test.ts
+++ b/packages/create-blocks-app/templates/demo/test/e2e.test.ts
@@ -27,11 +27,15 @@ test.before(async () => {
   api = mod.api;
   hello = mod.hello;
 
-  // Wait for server to be ready
+  // Wait for the Blocks server to be ready without depending on the sample API.
   for (let i = 0; i < 60; i++) {
-    try { await hello.greet('ping'); return; } catch {
-      await setTimeout(1000);
+    try {
+      const response = await fetch('http://localhost:3000/.blocks-sandbox/config.json');
+      if (response.ok) return;
+    } catch {
+      // The server is not listening yet.
     }
+    await setTimeout(1000);
   }
   throw new Error('Server not ready');
 });