diff --git a/plugins/inputs/logparser/grok/grok.go b/plugins/inputs/logparser/grok/grok.go
index f684e933907d565c542fcc78fb078c449d7895a4..ae23e5f51b82529264f6653bf890c4ff6613c7dd 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/logparser/grok/grok.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/logparser/grok/grok.go
@@ -118,11 +118,18 @@ func (p *Parser) Compile() error {
 
 	// Give Patterns fake names so that they can be treated as named
 	// "custom patterns"
-	p.namedPatterns = make([]string, len(p.Patterns))
+	p.namedPatterns = make([]string, 0, len(p.Patterns))
 	for i, pattern := range p.Patterns {
+		if pattern == "" {
+			continue
+		}
 		name := fmt.Sprintf("GROK_INTERNAL_PATTERN_%d", i)
 		p.CustomPatterns += "\n" + name + " " + pattern + "\n"
-		p.namedPatterns[i] = "%{" + name + "}"
+		p.namedPatterns = append(p.namedPatterns, "%{"+name+"}")
+	}
+
+	if len(p.namedPatterns) == 0 {
+		return fmt.Errorf("pattern required")
 	}
 
 	// Combine user-supplied CustomPatterns with DEFAULT_PATTERNS and parse
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/logparser/logparser.go b/plugins/inputs/logparser/logparser.go
index 0b5bcb811b6780614686793ad114da3fd74506cf..b986aec7d242493934928bd9facae2da685a1a2a 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/logparser/logparser.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/logparser/logparser.go
@@ -117,16 +117,11 @@ func (l *LogParserPlugin) Start(acc telegraf.Accumulator) error {
 	}
 
 	// compile log parser patterns:
-	var haveError bool
 	for _, parser := range l.parsers {
 		if err := parser.Compile(); err != nil {
-			acc.AddError(err)
-			haveError = true
+			return err
 		}
 	}
-	if haveError {
-		return nil
-	}
 
 	l.wg.Add(1)
 	go l.parser()
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/logparser/logparser_test.go b/plugins/inputs/logparser/logparser_test.go
index 66802da4fb0d451985c0b8ffaf65caeafe77e167..b706c62d7e31385a5973cb8ff1eede6d17d4bd66 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/logparser/logparser_test.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/logparser/logparser_test.go
@@ -38,12 +38,8 @@ func TestGrokParseLogFilesNonExistPattern(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	acc := testutil.Accumulator{}
-	logparser.Start(&acc)
-	if assert.NotEmpty(t, acc.Errors) {
-		assert.Error(t, acc.Errors[0])
-	}
-
-	logparser.Stop()
+	err := logparser.Start(&acc)
+	assert.Error(t, err)
 }
 
 func TestGrokParseLogFiles(t *testing.T) {