diff --git a/esphome/components/wifi/wifi_component_esp_idf.cpp b/esphome/components/wifi/wifi_component_esp_idf.cpp
index 2a2f5fece2..99474ac2f8 100644
--- a/esphome/components/wifi/wifi_component_esp_idf.cpp
+++ b/esphome/components/wifi/wifi_component_esp_idf.cpp
@@ -835,6 +835,7 @@ void WiFiComponent::wifi_process_event_(IDFWiFiEvent *data) {
       err = esp_wifi_scan_get_ap_record(&record);
       if (err != ESP_OK) {
         ESP_LOGW(TAG, "esp_wifi_scan_get_ap_record failed: %s", esp_err_to_name(err));
+        esp_wifi_clear_ap_list();  // Free remaining records not yet retrieved
         break;
       }
       bssid_t bssid;