diff --git a/esphome/components/ota/ota_component.cpp b/esphome/components/ota/ota_component.cpp
index 5e07bb64e7..0c13efa135 100644
--- a/esphome/components/ota/ota_component.cpp
+++ b/esphome/components/ota/ota_component.cpp
@@ -388,8 +388,10 @@ void OTAComponent::handle_() {
     size_t requested = std::min(sizeof(buf), ota_size - total);
     ssize_t read = this->client_->read(buf, requested);
     if (read == -1) {
-      if (errno == EAGAIN || errno == EWOULDBLOCK)
+      if (errno == EAGAIN || errno == EWOULDBLOCK) {
+        delay(1);
         continue;
+      }
       ESP_LOGW(TAG, "Error receiving data for update, errno: %d", errno);
       goto error;
     }