diff --git a/builtin/logical/consul/path_config.go b/builtin/logical/consul/path_config.go
index f95dce980..2f925d5b2 100644
--- a/builtin/logical/consul/path_config.go
+++ b/builtin/logical/consul/path_config.go
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ func (b *backend) pathConfigAccessWrite(ctx context.Context, req *logical.Reques
 		}
 		token, _, err := client.ACL().Bootstrap()
 		if err != nil {
-			return logical.ErrorResponse("Token not provided and failed to bootstrap ACLs"), err
+			return logical.ErrorResponse("Token not provided and failed to bootstrap ACLs: %s", err), nil
 		}
 		config.Token = token.SecretID
 	}
diff --git a/changelog/20891.txt b/changelog/20891.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3057ec56f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog/20891.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+```release-note:improvement
+secrets/consul: Improve error message when ACL bootstrapping fails.
+```
+