diff --git a/aiida/cmdline/commands/cmd_config.py b/aiida/cmdline/commands/cmd_config.py
index 6ac6ef9dd7..95e0533d7c 100644
--- a/aiida/cmdline/commands/cmd_config.py
+++ b/aiida/cmdline/commands/cmd_config.py
@@ -119,6 +119,8 @@ def verdi_config_set(ctx, option, value, globally, append, remove):
 
     List values are split by whitespace, e.g. "a b" becomes ["a", "b"].
     """
+    import typing
+
     from aiida.common.exceptions import ConfigurationError
     from aiida.manage.configuration import Config, Profile
 
@@ -146,6 +148,8 @@ def verdi_config_set(ctx, option, value, globally, append, remove):
             value = list(set(current + [value]))
         else:
             value = [item for item in current if item != value]
+    elif option.valid_type == typing.List[str]:
+        value = [value]
 
     # Set the specified option
     try:
diff --git a/aiida/manage/configuration/config.py b/aiida/manage/configuration/config.py
index dd6811a510..d88f81f30c 100644
--- a/aiida/manage/configuration/config.py
+++ b/aiida/manage/configuration/config.py
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ def validate_caching_identifier_pattern(cls, value: List[str]) -> List[str]:
         return value
 
 
-class GlobalOptionsSchema(ProfileOptionsSchema):
+class GlobalOptionsSchema(ProfileOptionsSchema, defer_build=True):
     """Schema for the global options of an AiiDA instance."""
     autofill__user__email: Optional[str] = Field(
         None, description='Default user email to use when creating new profiles.'
diff --git a/tests/cmdline/commands/test_config.py b/tests/cmdline/commands/test_config.py
index eac3d10e2b..95f2c67e93 100644
--- a/tests/cmdline/commands/test_config.py
+++ b/tests/cmdline/commands/test_config.py
@@ -32,17 +32,21 @@ def test_config_set_option_no_profile(run_cli_command, empty_config):
     assert str(config.get_option(option_name, scope=None)) == option_value
 
 
-def test_config_set_option(run_cli_command, config_with_profile_factory):
+@pytest.mark.parametrize('option_name, is_list', (
+    ('storage.sandbox', False),
+    ('caching.enabled_for', True),
+))
+def test_config_set_option(run_cli_command, config_with_profile_factory, option_name, is_list):
     """Test the `verdi config set` command when setting an option."""
     config = config_with_profile_factory()
 
-    option_name = 'daemon.timeout'
-    option_values = [str(10), str(20)]
-
-    for option_value in option_values:
+    for option_value in ['value0', 'value1']:
         options = ['config', 'set', option_name, option_value]
         run_cli_command(cmd_verdi.verdi, options, use_subprocess=False)
-        assert str(config.get_option(option_name, scope=get_profile().name)) == option_value
+        if is_list:
+            assert config.get_option(option_name, scope=get_profile().name) == [option_value]
+        else:
+            assert str(config.get_option(option_name, scope=get_profile().name)) == option_value
 
 
 def test_config_append_option(run_cli_command, config_with_profile_factory):