diff --git a/src/main/java/mezz/jei/util/StackHelper.java b/src/main/java/mezz/jei/util/StackHelper.java
index 2e971eabf..6ea44b7fe 100644
--- a/src/main/java/mezz/jei/util/StackHelper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/mezz/jei/util/StackHelper.java
@@ -389,7 +389,10 @@ public String getUniqueIdentifierForStack(@Nonnull ItemStack stack, @Nonnull Uid
 				if (nbtTagCompound == null) {
 					nbtTagCompound = new NBTTagCompound();
 				}
-				nbtTagCompound.setTag("ForgeCaps", serializedNbt.getCompoundTag("ForgeCaps"));
+				NBTTagCompound forgeCaps = serializedNbt.getCompoundTag("ForgeCaps");
+				if (!forgeCaps.hasNoTags()) { // ForgeCaps should never be empty
+					nbtTagCompound.setTag("ForgeCaps", forgeCaps);
+				}
 			}
 			if (nbtTagCompound != null && !nbtTagCompound.hasNoTags()) {
 				itemKey.append(':').append(nbtTagCompound);