diff --git a/packages/plugin-legacy/index.js b/packages/plugin-legacy/index.js
index 571b0bc3b78b19..f30f125ef231fa 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-legacy/index.js
+++ b/packages/plugin-legacy/index.js
@@ -97,7 +97,9 @@ function viteLegacyPlugin(options = {}) {
           legacyPolyfills,
           bundle,
           facadeToLegacyPolyfillMap,
-          config.build.minify
+          // force using terser for legacy polyfill minification, since esbuild
+          // isn't legacy-safe
+          config.build.minify ? 'terser' : false
         )
       }
     }
@@ -166,6 +168,10 @@ function viteLegacyPlugin(options = {}) {
         return
       }
 
+      // @ts-ignore avoid esbuild transform on legacy chunks since it produces
+      // legacy-unsafe code - e.g. rewriting object properties into shorthands
+      opts.__vite_skip_esbuild__ = true
+
       const needPolyfills =
         options.polyfills !== false && !Array.isArray(options.polyfills)
 
diff --git a/packages/vite/src/node/plugins/esbuild.ts b/packages/vite/src/node/plugins/esbuild.ts
index 01540e41fb3025..bc74260eaf755b 100644
--- a/packages/vite/src/node/plugins/esbuild.ts
+++ b/packages/vite/src/node/plugins/esbuild.ts
@@ -134,7 +134,12 @@ export function esbuildPlugin(options: ESBuildOptions = {}): Plugin {
 export const buildEsbuildPlugin = (config: ResolvedConfig): Plugin => {
   return {
     name: 'vite:esbuild-transpile',
-    async renderChunk(code, chunk) {
+    async renderChunk(code, chunk, opts) {
+      // @ts-ignore injected by @vitejs/plugin-legacy
+      if (opts.__vite_skip_esbuild__) {
+        return null
+      }
+
       const target = config.build.target
       const minify = config.build.minify === 'esbuild'
       if (!target && !minify) {