diff --git a/release/tools/vmimage.subr b/release/tools/vmimage.subr
--- a/release/tools/vmimage.subr
+++ b/release/tools/vmimage.subr
@@ -73,12 +73,15 @@
 vm_filter_base_packages() {
 	# Reads a list of all base system packages from stdin.
 	# Writes a list of base system packages to install to stdout.
-	grep -v -e '^FreeBSD-src.*' -e '^FreeBSD-kernel.*'
+	grep -v -e '^FreeBSD-src.*' -e '^FreeBSD-kernel.*' -e '^FreeBSD-set.*'
 	# There are several kernel variants available in separate packages.
 	# For VMs it is sufficient to install only the generic kernel.
 	echo "FreeBSD-kernel-man"
 	echo "FreeBSD-kernel-generic"
 	echo "FreeBSD-kernel-generic-dbg"
+	# Add back the "minimal" set, to ensure that any future packages
+	# which are included in "minimal" get installed upon upgrading.
+	echo "FreeBSD-set-minimal"
 }
 
 vm_extra_filter_base_packages() {