diff --git a/helm/kaap/templates/operator.yaml b/helm/kaap/templates/operator.yaml
index 8b2ba748..5e5ff158 100644
--- a/helm/kaap/templates/operator.yaml
+++ b/helm/kaap/templates/operator.yaml
@@ -59,6 +59,10 @@ spec:
                 name: {{ include "kaap.name" . }}
           image: {{ .Values.operator.image }}
           imagePullPolicy: {{ .Values.operator.imagePullPolicy }}
+          {{- if .Values.operator.resources }}
+          resources:
+            {{- toYaml .Values.operator.resources | nindent 12 }}
+          {{- end }}          
           livenessProbe:
             failureThreshold: {{ .Values.operator.livenessProbe.failureThreshold }}
             httpGet:
@@ -85,4 +89,4 @@ spec:
             successThreshold: {{ .Values.operator.readinessProbe.successThreshold }}
             timeoutSeconds: {{ .Values.operator.readinessProbe.timeoutSeconds }}
       serviceAccountName: {{ include "kaap.serviceAccountName" . }}
-{{- end }}
\ No newline at end of file
+{{- end }}
diff --git a/helm/kaap/values.yaml b/helm/kaap/values.yaml
index b141e6cb..a6c930d4 100644
--- a/helm/kaap/values.yaml
+++ b/helm/kaap/values.yaml
@@ -39,7 +39,9 @@ operator:
   enabled: true
   image: datastax/kaap:0.2.0
   imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
+  resources: {}
   replicas: 1
+  
   livenessProbe:
     failureThreshold: 3
     periodSeconds: 30
@@ -68,4 +70,4 @@ cluster:
       name: pulsar
       image: datastax/lunastreaming-all:2.10_3.1
       storage:
-        existingStorageClassName: default
\ No newline at end of file
+        existingStorageClassName: default
diff --git a/tests/src/test/java/com/datastax/oss/kaap/tests/BaseK8sEnvTest.java b/tests/src/test/java/com/datastax/oss/kaap/tests/BaseK8sEnvTest.java
index 74e1cbf6..de14498b 100644
--- a/tests/src/test/java/com/datastax/oss/kaap/tests/BaseK8sEnvTest.java
+++ b/tests/src/test/java/com/datastax/oss/kaap/tests/BaseK8sEnvTest.java
@@ -220,6 +220,7 @@ private String simulateHelmRendering(List<String> allRbac) {
         vars.put(".Values.operator.replicas", "1");
         vars.put(".Values.operator.image", OPERATOR_IMAGE);
         vars.put(".Values.operator.imagePullPolicy", "Never");
+        vars.put(".Values.operator.resources.requests", "{}");
         vars.put(".Values.operator.livenessProbe.failureThreshold", "3");
         vars.put(".Values.operator.livenessProbe.initialDelaySeconds", "0");
         vars.put(".Values.operator.livenessProbe.periodSeconds", "30");