diff --git a/lib/libzfs/libzfs_util.c b/lib/libzfs/libzfs_util.c
index dc2d68ebeb..eed6282ca3 100644
--- a/lib/libzfs/libzfs_util.c
+++ b/lib/libzfs/libzfs_util.c
@@ -1139,7 +1139,7 @@ int
 zcmd_alloc_dst_nvlist(libzfs_handle_t *hdl, zfs_cmd_t *zc, size_t len)
 {
 	if (len == 0)
-		len = 16 * 1024;
+		len = 256 * 1024;
 	zc->zc_nvlist_dst_size = len;
 	zc->zc_nvlist_dst =
 	    (uint64_t)(uintptr_t)zfs_alloc(hdl, zc->zc_nvlist_dst_size);