diff --git a/esphome/components/json/json_util.cpp b/esphome/components/json/json_util.cpp
index 4d6c7993f7..7b59facfe5 100644
--- a/esphome/components/json/json_util.cpp
+++ b/esphome/components/json/json_util.cpp
@@ -71,10 +71,22 @@ SerializationBuffer<> JsonBuilder::serialize() {
     buf[2] = '\0';
     return result;
   }
-  size_t size = measureJson(doc_);
-  SerializationBuffer<> result(size);
-  serializeJson(doc_, result.data_writable(), size + 1);
-  return result;
+  // Intentionally avoid measureJson() - it instantiates DummyWriter templates that add ~700 bytes
+  // of flash. Instead, try serializing to stack buffer first. 768 bytes covers typical JSON payloads
+  // (sensors ~200B, lights ~170B, climate ~700B). Only entities with many options exceed this.
+  // serializeJson() returns actual size needed even if truncated, so we can retry with heap if needed.
+  constexpr size_t buf_size = SerializationBuffer<>::BUFFER_SIZE;
+  SerializationBuffer<> result(buf_size - 1);  // Max content size (reserve 1 for null)
+  size_t size = serializeJson(doc_, result.data_writable(), buf_size);
+  if (size < buf_size) {
+    // Fits in stack buffer - update size to actual length
+    result.set_size(size);
+    return result;
+  }
+  // Needs heap allocation - serialize again with exact size
+  SerializationBuffer<> heap_result(size);
+  serializeJson(doc_, heap_result.data_writable(), size + 1);
+  return heap_result;
 }
 
 }  // namespace json
diff --git a/esphome/components/json/json_util.h b/esphome/components/json/json_util.h
index 56ae17b721..5dbeed8b76 100644
--- a/esphome/components/json/json_util.h
+++ b/esphome/components/json/json_util.h
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ namespace json {
 /// Supports move semantics for efficient return-by-value.
 template<size_t STACK_SIZE = 768> class SerializationBuffer {
  public:
+  static constexpr size_t BUFFER_SIZE = STACK_SIZE;  ///< Stack buffer size for this instantiation
+
   /// Construct with known size (typically from measureJson)
   explicit SerializationBuffer(size_t size) : size_(size) {
     if (size + 1 <= STACK_SIZE) {
@@ -84,6 +86,8 @@ template<size_t STACK_SIZE = 768> class SerializationBuffer {
   size_t size() const { return size_; }
   /// Get writable buffer (for serialization)
   char *data_writable() { return buffer_; }
+  /// Set actual size after serialization (must not exceed allocated size)
+  void set_size(size_t size) { size_ = size; }
 
   /// Implicit conversion to std::string for backward compatibility
   operator std::string() const { return std::string(buffer_, size_); }  // NOLINT(google-explicit-constructor)