diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/base/application-load-balanced-service-base.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/base/application-load-balanced-service-base.ts
index 74411bb217558..61b05ad0be968 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/base/application-load-balanced-service-base.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/base/application-load-balanced-service-base.ts
@@ -78,7 +78,8 @@ export interface ApplicationLoadBalancedServiceBaseProps {
    * The desired number of instantiations of the task definition to keep running on the service.
    * The minimum value is 1
    *
-   * @default 1
+   * @default - When creating the service, default is 1; when updating the service, default uses
+   * the current task number.
    */
   readonly desiredCount?: number;
 
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/base/application-multiple-target-groups-service-base.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/base/application-multiple-target-groups-service-base.ts
index f3eb132e934ae..171b8a1a976c8 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/base/application-multiple-target-groups-service-base.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/base/application-multiple-target-groups-service-base.ts
@@ -47,7 +47,8 @@ export interface ApplicationMultipleTargetGroupsServiceBaseProps {
   /**
    * The desired number of instantiations of the task definition to keep running on the service.
    *
-   * @default 1
+   * @default - When creating the service, default is 1; when updating the service, default uses
+   * the current task number.
    */
   readonly desiredCount?: number;
 
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/base/network-load-balanced-service-base.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/base/network-load-balanced-service-base.ts
index 656cc19d19d43..0d4188ff4b752 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/base/network-load-balanced-service-base.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/base/network-load-balanced-service-base.ts
@@ -67,7 +67,8 @@ export interface NetworkLoadBalancedServiceBaseProps {
    * The desired number of instantiations of the task definition to keep running on the service.
    * The minimum value is 1
    *
-   * @default 1
+   * @default - When creating the service, default is 1; when updating the service, default uses
+   * the current task number.
    */
   readonly desiredCount?: number;
 
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/base/network-multiple-target-groups-service-base.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/base/network-multiple-target-groups-service-base.ts
index d34a6b548076d..c9a4f587a782d 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/base/network-multiple-target-groups-service-base.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/base/network-multiple-target-groups-service-base.ts
@@ -45,7 +45,8 @@ export interface NetworkMultipleTargetGroupsServiceBaseProps {
    * The desired number of instantiations of the task definition to keep running on the service.
    * The minimum value is 1
    *
-   * @default 1
+   * @default - When creating the service, default is 1; when updating the service, default uses
+   * the current task number.
    */
   readonly desiredCount?: number;
 
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/base/queue-processing-service-base.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/base/queue-processing-service-base.ts
index 3248514931f4d..59cfb5c7ae095 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/base/queue-processing-service-base.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/base/queue-processing-service-base.ts
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ export interface QueueProcessingServiceBaseProps {
    * The desired number of instantiations of the task definition to keep running on the service.
    *
    * @default 1
+   * @deprecated - Use `minScalingCapacity` or a literal object instead.
    */
   readonly desiredTaskCount?: number;
 
@@ -109,10 +110,17 @@ export interface QueueProcessingServiceBaseProps {
   /**
    * Maximum capacity to scale to.
    *
-   * @default (desiredTaskCount * 2)
+   * @default 2
    */
   readonly maxScalingCapacity?: number
 
+  /**
+   * Minimum capacity to scale to.
+   *
+   * @default 1
+   */
+  readonly minScalingCapacity?: number
+
   /**
    * The intervals for scaling based on the SQS queue's ApproximateNumberOfMessagesVisible metric.
    *
@@ -222,6 +230,11 @@ export abstract class QueueProcessingServiceBase extends CoreConstruct {
    */
   public readonly maxCapacity: number;
 
+  /**
+   * The minimum number of instances for autoscaling to scale down to.
+   */
+  public readonly minCapacity: number;
+
   /**
    * The scaling interval for autoscaling based off an SQS Queue size.
    */
@@ -274,12 +287,9 @@ export abstract class QueueProcessingServiceBase extends CoreConstruct {
 
     // Determine the desired task count (minimum) and maximum scaling capacity
     this.desiredCount = props.desiredTaskCount ?? 1;
+    this.minCapacity = props.minScalingCapacity || this.desiredCount;
     this.maxCapacity = props.maxScalingCapacity || (2 * this.desiredCount);
 
-    if (!this.desiredCount && !this.maxCapacity) {
-      throw new Error('maxScalingCapacity must be set and greater than 0 if desiredCount is 0');
-    }
-
     new CfnOutput(this, 'SQSQueue', { value: this.sqsQueue.queueName });
     new CfnOutput(this, 'SQSQueueArn', { value: this.sqsQueue.queueArn });
   }
@@ -290,7 +300,7 @@ export abstract class QueueProcessingServiceBase extends CoreConstruct {
    * @param service the ECS/Fargate service for which to apply the autoscaling rules to
    */
   protected configureAutoscalingForService(service: BaseService) {
-    const scalingTarget = service.autoScaleTaskCount({ maxCapacity: this.maxCapacity, minCapacity: this.desiredCount });
+    const scalingTarget = service.autoScaleTaskCount({ maxCapacity: this.maxCapacity, minCapacity: this.minCapacity });
     scalingTarget.scaleOnCpuUtilization('CpuScaling', {
       targetUtilizationPercent: 50,
     });
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/ecs/application-load-balanced-ecs-service.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/ecs/application-load-balanced-ecs-service.ts
index b9bdcf2d100ad..ef06356705033 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/ecs/application-load-balanced-ecs-service.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/ecs/application-load-balanced-ecs-service.ts
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ export class ApplicationLoadBalancedEc2Service extends ApplicationLoadBalancedSe
 
     this.service = new Ec2Service(this, 'Service', {
       cluster: this.cluster,
-      desiredCount: this.desiredCount,
+      desiredCount: props.desiredCount,
       taskDefinition: this.taskDefinition,
       assignPublicIp: false,
       serviceName: props.serviceName,
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/ecs/application-multiple-target-groups-ecs-service.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/ecs/application-multiple-target-groups-ecs-service.ts
index 6ed6b6b71802f..9bb4f8714e844 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/ecs/application-multiple-target-groups-ecs-service.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/ecs/application-multiple-target-groups-ecs-service.ts
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ export class ApplicationMultipleTargetGroupsEc2Service extends ApplicationMultip
   private createEc2Service(props: ApplicationMultipleTargetGroupsEc2ServiceProps): Ec2Service {
     return new Ec2Service(this, 'Service', {
       cluster: this.cluster,
-      desiredCount: this.desiredCount,
+      desiredCount: props.desiredCount,
       taskDefinition: this.taskDefinition,
       assignPublicIp: false,
       serviceName: props.serviceName,
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/ecs/network-load-balanced-ecs-service.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/ecs/network-load-balanced-ecs-service.ts
index fae46b68e7380..8a8b2f9128a54 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/ecs/network-load-balanced-ecs-service.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/ecs/network-load-balanced-ecs-service.ts
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ export class NetworkLoadBalancedEc2Service extends NetworkLoadBalancedServiceBas
 
     this.service = new Ec2Service(this, 'Service', {
       cluster: this.cluster,
-      desiredCount: this.desiredCount,
+      desiredCount: props.desiredCount,
       taskDefinition: this.taskDefinition,
       assignPublicIp: false,
       serviceName: props.serviceName,
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/ecs/network-multiple-target-groups-ecs-service.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/ecs/network-multiple-target-groups-ecs-service.ts
index eb8392d3b2148..3fe17e79ac6ff 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/ecs/network-multiple-target-groups-ecs-service.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/ecs/network-multiple-target-groups-ecs-service.ts
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ export class NetworkMultipleTargetGroupsEc2Service extends NetworkMultipleTarget
   private createEc2Service(props: NetworkMultipleTargetGroupsEc2ServiceProps): Ec2Service {
     return new Ec2Service(this, 'Service', {
       cluster: this.cluster,
-      desiredCount: this.desiredCount,
+      desiredCount: props.desiredCount,
       taskDefinition: this.taskDefinition,
       assignPublicIp: false,
       serviceName: props.serviceName,
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/ecs/queue-processing-ecs-service.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/ecs/queue-processing-ecs-service.ts
index f9d9b98810aa0..eb92fefc07532 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/ecs/queue-processing-ecs-service.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/ecs/queue-processing-ecs-service.ts
@@ -102,7 +102,6 @@ export class QueueProcessingEc2Service extends QueueProcessingServiceBase {
     // autoscaling based on cpu utilization and number of messages visible in the SQS queue.
     this.service = new Ec2Service(this, 'QueueProcessingService', {
       cluster: this.cluster,
-      desiredCount: this.desiredCount,
       taskDefinition: this.taskDefinition,
       serviceName: props.serviceName,
       minHealthyPercent: props.minHealthyPercent,
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/fargate/application-load-balanced-fargate-service.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/fargate/application-load-balanced-fargate-service.ts
index 2ae468bcae558..d1611ef3218a8 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/fargate/application-load-balanced-fargate-service.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/fargate/application-load-balanced-fargate-service.ts
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ export class ApplicationLoadBalancedFargateService extends ApplicationLoadBalanc
 
     this.service = new FargateService(this, 'Service', {
       cluster: this.cluster,
-      desiredCount: this.desiredCount,
+      desiredCount: props.desiredCount,
       taskDefinition: this.taskDefinition,
       assignPublicIp: this.assignPublicIp,
       serviceName: props.serviceName,
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/fargate/application-multiple-target-groups-fargate-service.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/fargate/application-multiple-target-groups-fargate-service.ts
index 495049dfccfa8..135eb0b059cd2 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/fargate/application-multiple-target-groups-fargate-service.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/fargate/application-multiple-target-groups-fargate-service.ts
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ export class ApplicationMultipleTargetGroupsFargateService extends ApplicationMu
   private createFargateService(props: ApplicationMultipleTargetGroupsFargateServiceProps): FargateService {
     return new FargateService(this, 'Service', {
       cluster: this.cluster,
-      desiredCount: this.desiredCount,
+      desiredCount: props.desiredCount,
       taskDefinition: this.taskDefinition,
       assignPublicIp: this.assignPublicIp,
       serviceName: props.serviceName,
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/fargate/network-load-balanced-fargate-service.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/fargate/network-load-balanced-fargate-service.ts
index 4aad4b31e7efe..8e2686169b325 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/fargate/network-load-balanced-fargate-service.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/fargate/network-load-balanced-fargate-service.ts
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ export class NetworkLoadBalancedFargateService extends NetworkLoadBalancedServic
 
     this.service = new FargateService(this, 'Service', {
       cluster: this.cluster,
-      desiredCount: this.desiredCount,
+      desiredCount: props.desiredCount,
       taskDefinition: this.taskDefinition,
       assignPublicIp: this.assignPublicIp,
       serviceName: props.serviceName,
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/fargate/network-multiple-target-groups-fargate-service.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/fargate/network-multiple-target-groups-fargate-service.ts
index dab033b1938ce..4393edf6a5a92 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/fargate/network-multiple-target-groups-fargate-service.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/fargate/network-multiple-target-groups-fargate-service.ts
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ export class NetworkMultipleTargetGroupsFargateService extends NetworkMultipleTa
   private createFargateService(props: NetworkMultipleTargetGroupsFargateServiceProps): FargateService {
     return new FargateService(this, 'Service', {
       cluster: this.cluster,
-      desiredCount: this.desiredCount,
+      desiredCount: props.desiredCount,
       taskDefinition: this.taskDefinition,
       assignPublicIp: this.assignPublicIp,
       serviceName: props.serviceName,
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/fargate/queue-processing-fargate-service.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/fargate/queue-processing-fargate-service.ts
index 8ba7fed3f5e76..09997e8ec22ea 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/fargate/queue-processing-fargate-service.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/lib/fargate/queue-processing-fargate-service.ts
@@ -123,7 +123,6 @@ export class QueueProcessingFargateService extends QueueProcessingServiceBase {
     // autoscaling based on cpu utilization and number of messages visible in the SQS queue.
     this.service = new FargateService(this, 'QueueProcessingFargateService', {
       cluster: this.cluster,
-      desiredCount: this.desiredCount,
       taskDefinition: this.taskDefinition,
       serviceName: props.serviceName,
       minHealthyPercent: props.minHealthyPercent,
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/ec2/integ.multiple-application-load-balanced-ecs-service.expected.json b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/ec2/integ.multiple-application-load-balanced-ecs-service.expected.json
index 147a8bc8a7bfb..37591d33dc38b 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/ec2/integ.multiple-application-load-balanced-ecs-service.expected.json
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/ec2/integ.multiple-application-load-balanced-ecs-service.expected.json
@@ -1128,7 +1128,6 @@
           "MaximumPercent": 200,
           "MinimumHealthyPercent": 50
         },
-        "DesiredCount": 1,
         "EnableECSManagedTags": false,
         "HealthCheckGracePeriodSeconds": 60,
         "LaunchType": "EC2",
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/ec2/test.l3s-v2.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/ec2/test.l3s-v2.ts
index 745bad2c660fc..a14f0f07ecaa2 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/ec2/test.l3s-v2.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/ec2/test.l3s-v2.ts
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@ export = {
       expect(stack).to(haveResource('AWS::ElasticLoadBalancingV2::LoadBalancer'));
 
       expect(stack).to(haveResource('AWS::ECS::Service', {
-        DesiredCount: 1,
         LaunchType: 'EC2',
       }));
 
@@ -878,7 +877,6 @@ export = {
       expect(stack).to(haveResource('AWS::ElasticLoadBalancingV2::LoadBalancer'));
 
       expect(stack).to(haveResource('AWS::ECS::Service', {
-        DesiredCount: 1,
         LaunchType: 'EC2',
       }));
 
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/ec2/test.l3s.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/ec2/test.l3s.ts
index 959a6348fde11..8f903b0621430 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/ec2/test.l3s.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/ec2/test.l3s.ts
@@ -424,7 +424,6 @@ export = {
     }));
 
     expect(stack).to(haveResource('AWS::ECS::Service', {
-      DesiredCount: 1,
       LaunchType: 'FARGATE',
     }));
 
@@ -488,7 +487,6 @@ export = {
     }));
 
     expect(stack).to(haveResource('AWS::ECS::Service', {
-      DesiredCount: 1,
       LaunchType: 'FARGATE',
     }));
 
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/ec2/test.queue-processing-ecs-service.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/ec2/test.queue-processing-ecs-service.ts
index d449cc27db2c4..1dfc9dc118436 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/ec2/test.queue-processing-ecs-service.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/ec2/test.queue-processing-ecs-service.ts
@@ -23,7 +23,6 @@ export = {
 
     // THEN - QueueWorker is of EC2 launch type, an SQS queue is created and all default properties are set.
     expect(stack).to(haveResource('AWS::ECS::Service', {
-      DesiredCount: 1,
       LaunchType: 'EC2',
     }));
 
@@ -98,7 +97,6 @@ export = {
 
     // THEN - QueueWorker is of EC2 launch type, an SQS queue is created and all default properties are set.
     expect(stack).to(haveResource('AWS::ECS::Service', {
-      DesiredCount: 1,
       LaunchType: 'EC2',
     }));
 
@@ -190,7 +188,6 @@ export = {
 
     // THEN - QueueWorker is of EC2 launch type, an SQS queue is created and all optional properties are set.
     expect(stack).to(haveResource('AWS::ECS::Service', {
-      DesiredCount: 2,
       DeploymentConfiguration: {
         MinimumHealthyPercent: 60,
         MaximumPercent: 150,
@@ -261,33 +258,12 @@ export = {
 
     // THEN - QueueWorker is of EC2 launch type, an SQS queue is created and all default properties are set.
     expect(stack).to(haveResource('AWS::ECS::Service', {
-      DesiredCount: 0,
       LaunchType: 'EC2',
     }));
 
     test.done();
   },
 
-  'throws if desiredTaskCount and maxScalingCapacity are 0'(test: Test) {
-    // GIVEN
-    const stack = new cdk.Stack();
-    const vpc = new ec2.Vpc(stack, 'VPC');
-    const cluster = new ecs.Cluster(stack, 'Cluster', { vpc });
-    cluster.addCapacity('DefaultAutoScalingGroup', { instanceType: new ec2.InstanceType('t2.micro') });
-
-    // THEN
-    test.throws(() =>
-      new ecsPatterns.QueueProcessingEc2Service(stack, 'Service', {
-        cluster,
-        desiredTaskCount: 0,
-        memoryLimitMiB: 512,
-        image: ecs.ContainerImage.fromRegistry('test'),
-      })
-    , /maxScalingCapacity must be set and greater than 0 if desiredCount is 0/);
-
-    test.done();
-  },
-
   'can set custom containerName'(test: Test) {
     // GIVEN
     const stack = new cdk.Stack();
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.asset-image.expected.json b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.asset-image.expected.json
index 364f0a27d8b15..0e4ea6e768090 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.asset-image.expected.json
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.asset-image.expected.json
@@ -637,7 +637,6 @@
           "MaximumPercent": 200,
           "MinimumHealthyPercent": 50
         },
-        "DesiredCount": 1,
         "EnableECSManagedTags": false,
         "HealthCheckGracePeriodSeconds": 60,
         "LaunchType": "FARGATE",
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.executionrole.expected.json b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.executionrole.expected.json
index 2d70c2c40cae2..93c7a7307a6ee 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.executionrole.expected.json
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.executionrole.expected.json
@@ -589,7 +589,6 @@
           "MaximumPercent": 200,
           "MinimumHealthyPercent": 50
         },
-        "DesiredCount": 1,
         "EnableECSManagedTags": false,
         "HealthCheckGracePeriodSeconds": 60,
         "LaunchType": "FARGATE",
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.l3-autocreate.expected.json b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.l3-autocreate.expected.json
index 84a73622ee2d8..5813cd78e41f3 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.l3-autocreate.expected.json
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.l3-autocreate.expected.json
@@ -228,7 +228,6 @@
           "MaximumPercent": 200,
           "MinimumHealthyPercent": 50
         },
-        "DesiredCount": 1,
         "EnableECSManagedTags": false,
         "HealthCheckGracePeriodSeconds": 60,
         "LaunchType": "FARGATE",
@@ -894,7 +893,6 @@
           "MaximumPercent": 200,
           "MinimumHealthyPercent": 50
         },
-        "DesiredCount": 1,
         "EnableECSManagedTags": false,
         "HealthCheckGracePeriodSeconds": 60,
         "LaunchType": "FARGATE",
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.l3-vpconly.expected.json b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.l3-vpconly.expected.json
index c549746d8769e..5556df70a59b7 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.l3-vpconly.expected.json
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.l3-vpconly.expected.json
@@ -583,7 +583,6 @@
           "MaximumPercent": 200,
           "MinimumHealthyPercent": 50
         },
-        "DesiredCount": 1,
         "EnableECSManagedTags": false,
         "HealthCheckGracePeriodSeconds": 60,
         "LaunchType": "FARGATE",
@@ -1249,7 +1248,6 @@
           "MaximumPercent": 200,
           "MinimumHealthyPercent": 50
         },
-        "DesiredCount": 1,
         "EnableECSManagedTags": false,
         "HealthCheckGracePeriodSeconds": 60,
         "LaunchType": "FARGATE",
@@ -1560,7 +1558,6 @@
           "MaximumPercent": 200,
           "MinimumHealthyPercent": 50
         },
-        "DesiredCount": 1,
         "EnableECSManagedTags": false,
         "HealthCheckGracePeriodSeconds": 60,
         "LaunchType": "FARGATE",
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.l3.expected.json b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.l3.expected.json
index c79a622e159a9..40d86be5d331b 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.l3.expected.json
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.l3.expected.json
@@ -586,7 +586,6 @@
           "MaximumPercent": 200,
           "MinimumHealthyPercent": 50
         },
-        "DesiredCount": 1,
         "EnableECSManagedTags": false,
         "HealthCheckGracePeriodSeconds": 60,
         "LaunchType": "FARGATE",
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.load-balanced-fargate-service.expected.json b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.load-balanced-fargate-service.expected.json
index 532377e2accdd..1d670f79f58a6 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.load-balanced-fargate-service.expected.json
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.load-balanced-fargate-service.expected.json
@@ -664,7 +664,6 @@
           "MaximumPercent": 200,
           "MinimumHealthyPercent": 50
         },
-        "DesiredCount": 1,
         "EnableECSManagedTags": true,
         "HealthCheckGracePeriodSeconds": 60,
         "LaunchType": "FARGATE",
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.multiple-network-load-balanced-fargate-service.expected.json b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.multiple-network-load-balanced-fargate-service.expected.json
index 815cfe99b94f6..2cdd6991792e8 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.multiple-network-load-balanced-fargate-service.expected.json
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.multiple-network-load-balanced-fargate-service.expected.json
@@ -597,7 +597,6 @@
           "MaximumPercent": 200,
           "MinimumHealthyPercent": 50
         },
-        "DesiredCount": 1,
         "EnableECSManagedTags": false,
         "HealthCheckGracePeriodSeconds": 60,
         "LaunchType": "FARGATE",
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.queue-processing-fargate-service-isolated.expected.json b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.queue-processing-fargate-service-isolated.expected.json
index d19d9c6a9fbb9..32325656e79ee 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.queue-processing-fargate-service-isolated.expected.json
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.queue-processing-fargate-service-isolated.expected.json
@@ -899,7 +899,6 @@
           "MaximumPercent": 200,
           "MinimumHealthyPercent": 50
         },
-        "DesiredCount": 1,
         "EnableECSManagedTags": false,
         "LaunchType": "FARGATE",
         "NetworkConfiguration": {
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.queue-processing-fargate-service.expected.json b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.queue-processing-fargate-service.expected.json
index 3fd9825b7db3b..11b8a2dab2f59 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.queue-processing-fargate-service.expected.json
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.queue-processing-fargate-service.expected.json
@@ -590,7 +590,6 @@
           "MaximumPercent": 200,
           "MinimumHealthyPercent": 50
         },
-        "DesiredCount": 1,
         "EnableECSManagedTags": false,
         "LaunchType": "FARGATE",
         "NetworkConfiguration": {
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.special-listener.expected.json b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.special-listener.expected.json
index 76e5e6a13aaf7..5075f6511573b 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.special-listener.expected.json
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/integ.special-listener.expected.json
@@ -539,7 +539,6 @@
           "MaximumPercent": 200,
           "MinimumHealthyPercent": 50
         },
-        "DesiredCount": 1,
         "EnableECSManagedTags": false,
         "HealthCheckGracePeriodSeconds": 60,
         "LaunchType": "FARGATE",
@@ -826,7 +825,6 @@
           "MaximumPercent": 200,
           "MinimumHealthyPercent": 50
         },
-        "DesiredCount": 1,
         "EnableECSManagedTags": false,
         "HealthCheckGracePeriodSeconds": 60,
         "LaunchType": "FARGATE",
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/test.load-balanced-fargate-service-v2.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/test.load-balanced-fargate-service-v2.ts
index becc38e6a9fd1..a257aea5670ac 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/test.load-balanced-fargate-service-v2.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/test.load-balanced-fargate-service-v2.ts
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ export = {
       expect(stack).to(haveResource('AWS::ElasticLoadBalancingV2::LoadBalancer'));
 
       expect(stack).to(haveResource('AWS::ECS::Service', {
-        DesiredCount: 1,
         LaunchType: 'FARGATE',
         LoadBalancers: [
           {
@@ -325,7 +324,6 @@ export = {
       expect(stack).to(haveResource('AWS::ElasticLoadBalancingV2::LoadBalancer'));
 
       expect(stack).to(haveResource('AWS::ECS::Service', {
-        DesiredCount: 1,
         LaunchType: 'FARGATE',
         LoadBalancers: [
           {
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/test.queue-processing-fargate-service.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/test.queue-processing-fargate-service.ts
index 0bee7da1c51f3..7760b025728ed 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/test.queue-processing-fargate-service.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecs-patterns/test/fargate/test.queue-processing-fargate-service.ts
@@ -23,7 +23,6 @@ export = {
 
     // THEN - QueueWorker is of FARGATE launch type, an SQS queue is created and all default properties are set.
     expect(stack).to(haveResource('AWS::ECS::Service', {
-      DesiredCount: 1,
       LaunchType: 'FARGATE',
     }));
 
@@ -120,7 +119,6 @@ export = {
 
     // THEN - QueueWorker is of FARGATE launch type, an SQS queue is created and all default properties are set.
     expect(stack).to(haveResource('AWS::ECS::Service', {
-      DesiredCount: 1,
       LaunchType: 'FARGATE',
     }));
 
@@ -235,7 +233,6 @@ export = {
 
     // THEN - QueueWorker is of FARGATE launch type, an SQS queue is created and all optional properties are set.
     expect(stack).to(haveResource('AWS::ECS::Service', {
-      DesiredCount: 2,
       DeploymentConfiguration: {
         MinimumHealthyPercent: 60,
         MaximumPercent: 150,