diff --git a/packages/grafana-ui/src/components/Select/DropdownIndicator.tsx b/packages/grafana-ui/src/components/Select/DropdownIndicator.tsx
index 0a9fc619deb..90bd977cd99 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-ui/src/components/Select/DropdownIndicator.tsx
+++ b/packages/grafana-ui/src/components/Select/DropdownIndicator.tsx
@@ -4,9 +4,13 @@ import { Icon } from '../Icon/Icon';
 
 interface DropdownIndicatorProps {
   isOpen: boolean;
+  hidden?: boolean;
 }
 
-export const DropdownIndicator: React.FC<DropdownIndicatorProps> = ({ isOpen }) => {
+export const DropdownIndicator: React.FC<DropdownIndicatorProps> = ({ isOpen, hidden = false }) => {
+  if (hidden) {
+    return <></>;
+  }
   const icon = isOpen ? 'angle-up' : 'angle-down';
   return <Icon name={icon} />;
 };
diff --git a/packages/grafana-ui/src/components/Select/SelectBase.tsx b/packages/grafana-ui/src/components/Select/SelectBase.tsx
index d6ab426a6cb..1d21a3068f9 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-ui/src/components/Select/SelectBase.tsx
+++ b/packages/grafana-ui/src/components/Select/SelectBase.tsx
@@ -102,6 +102,7 @@ export function SelectBase<T>({
   formatCreateLabel,
   getOptionLabel,
   getOptionValue,
+  hideIndicator,
   inputValue,
   invalid,
   isClearable = false,
@@ -332,7 +333,7 @@ export function SelectBase<T>({
             );
           },
           DropdownIndicator(props: any) {
-            return <DropdownIndicator isOpen={props.selectProps.menuIsOpen} />;
+            return <DropdownIndicator isOpen={props.selectProps.menuIsOpen} hidden={hideIndicator} />;
           },
           SingleValue(props: any) {
             return <SingleValue {...props} disabled={disabled} />;
diff --git a/packages/grafana-ui/src/components/Select/types.ts b/packages/grafana-ui/src/components/Select/types.ts
index a634735b24a..54a38a2680c 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-ui/src/components/Select/types.ts
+++ b/packages/grafana-ui/src/components/Select/types.ts
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ export interface SelectCommonProps<T> {
   formatCreateLabel?: (input: string) => string;
   getOptionLabel?: (item: SelectableValue<T>) => React.ReactNode;
   getOptionValue?: (item: SelectableValue<T>) => string;
+  hideIndicator?: boolean;
   inputValue?: string;
   invalid?: boolean;
   isClearable?: boolean;
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilter.test.tsx b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilter.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..479fb1da91d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilter.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+import React from 'react';
+import { fireEvent, render, screen, within } from '@testing-library/react';
+import userEvent from '@testing-library/user-event';
+import { MultiFilter } from './MultiFilter';
+
+describe('MultiFilters', () => {
+  describe('when rendered with two existing multifilters', () => {
+    it('should render two filter items', async () => {
+      const filters = {
+        InstanceId: ['a', 'b'],
+        InstanceGroup: ['Group1'],
+      };
+      const onChange = jest.fn();
+      render(<MultiFilter filters={filters} onChange={onChange} />);
+      const filterItems = screen.getAllByTestId('cloudwatch-multifilter-item');
+      expect(filterItems.length).toBe(2);
+
+      expect(within(filterItems[0]).getByDisplayValue('InstanceId')).toBeInTheDocument();
+      expect(within(filterItems[0]).getByText('a')).toBeInTheDocument();
+      expect(within(filterItems[0]).getByText('b')).toBeInTheDocument();
+
+      expect(within(filterItems[1]).getByDisplayValue('InstanceGroup')).toBeInTheDocument();
+      expect(within(filterItems[1]).getByText('Group1')).toBeInTheDocument();
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('when adding a new filter item', () => {
+    it('it should add the new item but not call onChange', async () => {
+      const filters = {};
+      const onChange = jest.fn();
+      render(<MultiFilter filters={filters} onChange={onChange} />);
+
+      userEvent.click(screen.getByLabelText('Add'));
+      expect(screen.getByTestId('cloudwatch-multifilter-item')).toBeInTheDocument();
+      expect(onChange).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('when adding a new filter item with key', () => {
+    it('it should add the new item but not call onChange', async () => {
+      const filters = {};
+      const onChange = jest.fn();
+      const { container } = render(<MultiFilter filters={filters} onChange={onChange} />);
+
+      userEvent.click(screen.getByLabelText('Add'));
+      const filterItemElement = screen.getByTestId('cloudwatch-multifilter-item');
+      expect(filterItemElement).toBeInTheDocument();
+
+      const keyElement = container.querySelector('#cloudwatch-multifilter-item-key');
+      expect(keyElement).toBeInTheDocument();
+      userEvent.type(keyElement!, 'my-key');
+      fireEvent.keyDown(keyElement!, { keyCode: 13 });
+
+      expect(within(filterItemElement).getByDisplayValue('my-key')).toBeInTheDocument();
+      expect(onChange).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('when adding a new filter item with key and value', () => {
+    it('it should add the new item and trigger onChange', async () => {
+      const filters = {};
+      const onChange = jest.fn();
+      const { container } = render(<MultiFilter filters={filters} onChange={onChange} />);
+
+      const label = await screen.findByLabelText('Add');
+      userEvent.click(label);
+      const filterItemElement = screen.getByTestId('cloudwatch-multifilter-item');
+      expect(filterItemElement).toBeInTheDocument();
+
+      const keyElement = container.querySelector('#cloudwatch-multifilter-item-key');
+      expect(keyElement).toBeInTheDocument();
+      userEvent.type(keyElement!, 'my-key');
+      fireEvent.keyDown(keyElement!, { keyCode: 13 });
+      expect(within(filterItemElement).getByDisplayValue('my-key')).toBeInTheDocument();
+      expect(onChange).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+
+      const valueElement = container.querySelector('#cloudwatch-multifilter-item-value');
+      expect(valueElement).toBeInTheDocument();
+      userEvent.type(valueElement!, 'my-value');
+      fireEvent.keyDown(valueElement!, { keyCode: 13 });
+      expect(within(filterItemElement).getByText('my-value')).toBeInTheDocument();
+      expect(onChange).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+        'my-key': ['my-value'],
+      });
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilter.tsx b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilter.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..a6a9fc9f2e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilter.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+import { isEqual } from 'lodash';
+import React, { useEffect, useState } from 'react';
+import { EditorList } from '@grafana/experimental';
+import { MultiFilters } from '../../types';
+import { MultiFilterItem } from './MultiFilterItem';
+
+export interface Props {
+  filters?: MultiFilters;
+  onChange: (filters: MultiFilters) => void;
+}
+
+export interface MultiFilterCondition {
+  key?: string;
+  operator?: string;
+  value?: string[];
+}
+
+const multiFiltersToFilterConditions = (filters: MultiFilters | undefined) =>
+  Object.entries(filters ?? {}).reduce<MultiFilterCondition[]>((acc, [key, value]) => {
+    if (value && typeof value === 'object') {
+      const filter = {
+        key,
+        value,
+        operator: '=',
+      };
+      return [...acc, filter];
+    }
+    return acc;
+  }, []);
+
+const filterConditionsToMultiFilters = (filters: MultiFilterCondition[]) => {
+  return filters.reduce<MultiFilters>((acc, { key, value }) => {
+    if (key && value) {
+      return { ...acc, [key]: value };
+    }
+    return acc;
+  }, {});
+};
+
+export const MultiFilter: React.FC<Props> = ({ filters, onChange }) => {
+  const [items, setItems] = useState<MultiFilterCondition[]>([]);
+  useEffect(() => setItems(multiFiltersToFilterConditions(filters)), [filters]);
+  const onFiltersChange = (newItems: Array<Partial<MultiFilterCondition>>) => {
+    setItems(newItems);
+
+    // The onChange event should only be triggered in the case there is a complete dimension object.
+    // So when a new key is added that does not yet have a value, it should not trigger an onChange event.
+    const newMultifilters = filterConditionsToMultiFilters(newItems);
+    if (!isEqual(newMultifilters, filters)) {
+      onChange(newMultifilters);
+    }
+  };
+
+  return <EditorList items={items} onChange={onFiltersChange} renderItem={renderFilter} />;
+};
+
+function renderFilter(
+  item: MultiFilterCondition,
+  onChange: (item: MultiFilterCondition) => void,
+  onDelete: () => void
+) {
+  return <MultiFilterItem filter={item} onChange={(item) => onChange(item)} onDelete={onDelete} />;
+}
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilterItem.tsx b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilterItem.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..5a803fdae9d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilterItem.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+import { css, cx } from '@emotion/css';
+import { GrafanaTheme2, toOption } from '@grafana/data';
+import { AccessoryButton, InputGroup } from '@grafana/experimental';
+import { Input, MultiSelect, stylesFactory, useTheme2 } from '@grafana/ui';
+import React, { FunctionComponent, useState } from 'react';
+import { MultiFilterCondition } from './MultiFilter';
+
+export interface Props {
+  filter: MultiFilterCondition;
+  onChange: (value: MultiFilterCondition) => void;
+  onDelete: () => void;
+}
+
+export const MultiFilterItem: FunctionComponent<Props> = ({ filter, onChange, onDelete }) => {
+  const [localKey, setLocalKey] = useState(filter.key || '');
+  const [inputValue, setInputValue] = useState('');
+  const theme = useTheme2();
+  const styles = getOperatorStyles(theme);
+
+  const handleInputChange = (inputValue: string) => {
+    setInputValue(inputValue);
+  };
+  const handleKeyDown = (keyEvent: React.KeyboardEvent) => {
+    if (['Tab', 'Enter'].includes(keyEvent.key)) {
+      onChange({ ...filter, value: filter.value ? [...filter.value, inputValue] : [inputValue] });
+      setInputValue('');
+      keyEvent.preventDefault();
+    }
+  };
+
+  return (
+    <div data-testid="cloudwatch-multifilter-item">
+      <InputGroup>
+        <Input
+          aria-label="Filter key"
+          id="cloudwatch-multifilter-item-key"
+          value={localKey}
+          placeholder="key"
+          onChange={(e) => setLocalKey(e.currentTarget.value)}
+          onBlur={() => {
+            if (localKey && localKey !== filter.key) {
+              onChange({ key: localKey, value: undefined });
+            }
+          }}
+        />
+
+        <span className={cx(styles.root)}>=</span>
+
+        <MultiSelect
+          aria-label="Filter value"
+          value={filter.value ? filter.value.map(toOption) : []}
+          inputId="cloudwatch-multifilter-item-value"
+          inputValue={inputValue}
+          allowCustomValue
+          onChange={(items) => {
+            onChange({ ...filter, value: items.map((item) => item.value ?? '') });
+          }}
+          onInputChange={handleInputChange}
+          onKeyDown={handleKeyDown}
+          isOpen={false}
+          hideIndicator
+          options={filter.value ? filter.value.map(toOption) : []}
+          placeholder="value"
+        />
+        <AccessoryButton aria-label="remove" icon="times" variant="secondary" onClick={onDelete} type="button" />
+      </InputGroup>
+    </div>
+  );
+};
+
+const getOperatorStyles = stylesFactory((theme: GrafanaTheme2) => ({
+  root: css({
+    padding: theme.spacing(0, 1),
+    alignSelf: 'center',
+  }),
+}));
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryEditor.test.tsx b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryEditor.test.tsx
index fffb71a724a..56ec787b863 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryEditor.test.tsx
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryEditor.test.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-import { render, screen, waitFor, within } from '@testing-library/react';
+import { fireEvent, render, screen, waitFor, within } from '@testing-library/react';
+import userEvent from '@testing-library/user-event';
 import React from 'react';
 import { select } from 'react-select-event';
 
@@ -13,11 +14,9 @@ const defaultQuery = {
   region: '',
   metricName: '',
   dimensionKey: '',
-  ec2Filters: '',
   instanceID: '',
   attributeName: '',
   resourceType: '',
-  tags: '',
   refId: '',
 };
 
@@ -40,7 +39,7 @@ ds.datasource.getMetrics = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue([
 ]);
 ds.datasource.getDimensionKeys = jest
   .fn()
-  .mockImplementation((namespace: string, region: string, dimensionFilters?: Dimensions) => {
+  .mockImplementation((_namespace: string, region: string, dimensionFilters?: Dimensions) => {
     if (!!dimensionFilters) {
       return Promise.resolve([
         { label: 's4', value: 's4' },
@@ -61,6 +60,7 @@ ds.datasource.getDimensionValues = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue([
   { label: 'bar', value: 'bar' },
 ]);
 ds.datasource.getVariables = jest.fn().mockReturnValue([]);
+ds.datasource.getEc2InstanceAttribute = jest.fn().mockReturnValue([]);
 
 const onChange = jest.fn();
 const defaultProps: Props = {
@@ -167,6 +167,40 @@ describe('VariableEditor', () => {
         dimensionFilters: { v4: 'bar' },
       });
     });
+    it('should parse multiFilters correctly', async () => {
+      const props = defaultProps;
+      props.query = {
+        ...defaultQuery,
+        queryType: VariableQueryType.EC2InstanceAttributes,
+        region: 'a1',
+        attributeName: 'Tags.blah',
+        ec2Filters: { s4: ['foo', 'bar'] },
+      };
+      render(<VariableQueryEditor {...props} />);
+
+      await waitFor(() => {
+        expect(screen.getByText('Tags.blah')).toBeInTheDocument();
+      });
+
+      const filterItem = screen.getByTestId('cloudwatch-multifilter-item');
+      expect(filterItem).toBeInTheDocument();
+      expect(within(filterItem).getByText('foo')).toBeInTheDocument();
+      expect(within(filterItem).getByText('bar')).toBeInTheDocument();
+
+      // set filter value
+      const valueElement = filterItem.querySelector('#cloudwatch-multifilter-item-value');
+      expect(valueElement).toBeInTheDocument();
+      userEvent.type(valueElement!, 'baz');
+      fireEvent.keyDown(valueElement!, { keyCode: 13 });
+
+      expect(onChange).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+        ...defaultQuery,
+        queryType: VariableQueryType.EC2InstanceAttributes,
+        region: 'a1',
+        attributeName: 'Tags.blah',
+        ec2Filters: { s4: ['foo', 'bar', 'baz'] },
+      });
+    });
   });
   describe('and a different region is selected', () => {
     it('should clear invalid fields', async () => {
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryEditor.tsx b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryEditor.tsx
index 62aca6bac92..1898bed9fe7 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryEditor.tsx
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryEditor.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
+import { union } from 'lodash';
 import React from 'react';
 
-import { QueryEditorProps, SelectableValue } from '@grafana/data';
+import { QueryEditorProps, SelectableValue, toOption } from '@grafana/data';
 import { InlineField } from '@grafana/ui';
 
 import { Dimensions } from '..';
@@ -9,6 +10,7 @@ import { useDimensionKeys, useMetrics, useNamespaces, useRegions } from '../../h
 import { migrateVariableQuery } from '../../migrations';
 import { CloudWatchJsonData, CloudWatchQuery, VariableQuery, VariableQueryType } from '../../types';
 
+import { MultiFilter } from './MultiFilter';
 import { VariableQueryField } from './VariableQueryField';
 import { VariableTextField } from './VariableTextField';
 
@@ -160,19 +162,29 @@ export const VariableQueryEditor = ({ query, datasource, onChange }: Props) => {
       )}
       {parsedQuery.queryType === VariableQueryType.EC2InstanceAttributes && (
         <>
-          <VariableTextField
+          <VariableQueryField
             value={parsedQuery.attributeName}
-            placeholder="attribute name"
-            onBlur={(value: string) => onQueryChange({ ...parsedQuery, attributeName: value })}
+            options={
+              parsedQuery.attributeName ? union(ec2Attributes, [toOption(parsedQuery.attributeName)]) : ec2Attributes
+            }
+            onChange={(value: string) => onQueryChange({ ...parsedQuery, attributeName: value })}
             label="Attribute Name"
+            inputId={`variable-query-attribute-name-${query.refId}`}
+            allowCustomValue
+            tooltip='Create a "Tags.<name>" value to select a tag'
           />
-          <VariableTextField
-            value={parsedQuery.ec2Filters}
-            tooltip='A JSON object representing dimensions/tags and the values to filter on. Ex. { "filter_name": [ "filter_value" ], "tag:name": [ "*" ] }'
-            placeholder='{"key":["value"]}'
-            onBlur={(value: string) => onQueryChange({ ...parsedQuery, ec2Filters: value })}
+          <InlineField
             label="Filters"
-          />
+            labelWidth={20}
+            tooltip='Pre-defined ec2:DescribeInstances filters and tags to filter the returned values on. Tags should be formatted "tag:<name>" '
+          >
+            <MultiFilter
+              filters={parsedQuery.ec2Filters}
+              onChange={(filters) => {
+                onChange({ ...parsedQuery, ec2Filters: filters });
+              }}
+            />
+          </InlineField>
         </>
       )}
       {parsedQuery.queryType === VariableQueryType.ResourceArns && (
@@ -183,14 +195,47 @@ export const VariableQueryEditor = ({ query, datasource, onChange }: Props) => {
             onBlur={(value: string) => onQueryChange({ ...parsedQuery, resourceType: value })}
             label="Resource Type"
           />
-          <VariableTextField
-            value={parsedQuery.tags}
-            placeholder='{"tag":["value"]}'
-            onBlur={(value: string) => onQueryChange({ ...parsedQuery, tags: value })}
-            label="Tags"
-          />
+          <InlineField label="Tags" labelWidth={20} tooltip="Tags to filter the returned values on.">
+            <MultiFilter
+              filters={parsedQuery.tags}
+              onChange={(filters) => {
+                onChange({ ...parsedQuery, tags: filters });
+              }}
+            />
+          </InlineField>
         </>
       )}
     </>
   );
 };
+
+const ec2Attributes = [
+  'AmiLaunchIndex',
+  'Architecture',
+  'ClientToken',
+  'EbsOptimized',
+  'EnaSupport',
+  'Hypervisor',
+  'IamInstanceProfile',
+  'ImageId',
+  'InstanceId',
+  'InstanceLifecycle',
+  'InstanceType',
+  'KernelId',
+  'KeyName',
+  'LaunchTime',
+  'Platform',
+  'PrivateDnsName',
+  'PrivateIpAddress',
+  'PublicDnsName',
+  'PublicIpAddress',
+  'RamdiskId',
+  'RootDeviceName',
+  'RootDeviceType',
+  'SourceDestCheck',
+  'SpotInstanceRequestId',
+  'SriovNetSupport',
+  'SubnetId',
+  'VirtualizationType',
+  'VpcId',
+].map(toOption);
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryField.tsx b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryField.tsx
index 53a32f5db91..f80172dbfca 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryField.tsx
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryField.tsx
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ interface VariableQueryFieldProps<T> {
   inputId?: string;
   allowCustomValue?: boolean;
   isLoading?: boolean;
+  tooltip?: string;
 }
 
 export const VariableQueryField = <T extends string | VariableQueryType>({
@@ -25,9 +26,10 @@ export const VariableQueryField = <T extends string | VariableQueryType>({
   allowCustomValue = false,
   isLoading = false,
   inputId = label,
+  tooltip,
 }: VariableQueryFieldProps<T>) => {
   return (
-    <InlineField label={label} labelWidth={LABEL_WIDTH} htmlFor={inputId}>
+    <InlineField label={label} labelWidth={LABEL_WIDTH} htmlFor={inputId} tooltip={tooltip}>
       <Select
         menuShouldPortal
         aria-label={label}
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/migration.test.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/migration.test.ts
index 4745efa9151..cfa3ede6c6c 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/migration.test.ts
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/migration.test.ts
@@ -227,11 +227,22 @@ describe('migration', () => {
   });
   describe('when resource_arns query is used', () => {
     it('should parse the query', () => {
-      const query = migrateVariableQuery('resource_arns(us-east-1,rds:db,{"environment":["$environment"]})');
+      const query = migrateVariableQuery(
+        'resource_arns(eu-west-1,elasticloadbalancing:loadbalancer,{"elasticbeanstalk:environment-name":["myApp-dev","myApp-prod"]})'
+      );
       expect(query.queryType).toBe(VariableQueryType.ResourceArns);
+      expect(query.region).toBe('eu-west-1');
+      expect(query.resourceType).toBe('elasticloadbalancing:loadbalancer');
+      expect(query.tags).toStrictEqual({ 'elasticbeanstalk:environment-name': ['myApp-dev', 'myApp-prod'] });
+    });
+  });
+  describe('when ec2_instance_attribute query is used', () => {
+    it('should parse the query', () => {
+      const query = migrateVariableQuery('ec2_instance_attribute(us-east-1,rds:db,{"environment":["$environment"]})');
+      expect(query.queryType).toBe(VariableQueryType.EC2InstanceAttributes);
       expect(query.region).toBe('us-east-1');
-      expect(query.resourceType).toBe('rds:db');
-      expect(query.tags).toBe('{"environment":["$environment"]}');
+      expect(query.attributeName).toBe('rds:db');
+      expect(query.ec2Filters).toStrictEqual({ environment: ['$environment'] });
     });
   });
 });
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/migrations.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/migrations.ts
index d03cd7661ec..66aab1d65e5 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/migrations.ts
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/migrations.ts
@@ -82,11 +82,11 @@ export function migrateVariableQuery(rawQuery: string | VariableQuery): Variable
     metricName: '',
     dimensionKey: '',
     dimensionFilters: {},
-    ec2Filters: '',
+    ec2Filters: {},
     instanceID: '',
     attributeName: '',
     resourceType: '',
-    tags: '',
+    tags: {},
   };
   if (rawQuery === '') {
     return newQuery;
@@ -147,7 +147,13 @@ export function migrateVariableQuery(rawQuery: string | VariableQuery): Variable
     newQuery.queryType = VariableQueryType.EC2InstanceAttributes;
     newQuery.region = ec2InstanceAttributeQuery[1];
     newQuery.attributeName = ec2InstanceAttributeQuery[2];
-    newQuery.ec2Filters = ec2InstanceAttributeQuery[3] || '';
+    if (!!ec2InstanceAttributeQuery[3]) {
+      try {
+        newQuery.ec2Filters = JSON.parse(ec2InstanceAttributeQuery[3]);
+      } catch {
+        throw new Error(`unable to migrate poorly formed filters: ${ec2InstanceAttributeQuery[3]}`);
+      }
+    }
     return newQuery;
   }
 
@@ -156,7 +162,13 @@ export function migrateVariableQuery(rawQuery: string | VariableQuery): Variable
     newQuery.queryType = VariableQueryType.ResourceArns;
     newQuery.region = resourceARNsQuery[1];
     newQuery.resourceType = resourceARNsQuery[2];
-    newQuery.tags = resourceARNsQuery[3] || '';
+    if (!!resourceARNsQuery[3]) {
+      try {
+        newQuery.tags = JSON.parse(resourceARNsQuery[3]);
+      } catch {
+        throw new Error(`unable to migrate poorly formed filters: ${resourceARNsQuery[3]}`);
+      }
+    }
     return newQuery;
   }
 
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/types.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/types.ts
index 0380c8a1d78..b032bca9a44 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/types.ts
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/types.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,10 @@ export interface Dimensions {
   [key: string]: string | string[];
 }
 
+export interface MultiFilters {
+  [key: string]: string[];
+}
+
 import {
   QueryEditorArrayExpression,
   QueryEditorFunctionExpression,
@@ -394,9 +398,9 @@ export interface VariableQuery extends DataQuery {
   metricName: string;
   dimensionKey: string;
   dimensionFilters?: Dimensions;
-  ec2Filters: string;
+  ec2Filters?: MultiFilters;
   instanceID: string;
   attributeName: string;
   resourceType: string;
-  tags: string;
+  tags?: MultiFilters;
 }
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/variables.test.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/variables.test.ts
index 592506cba98..71c05bd21a4 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/variables.test.ts
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/variables.test.ts
@@ -8,11 +8,9 @@ const defaultQuery: VariableQuery = {
   region: 'bar',
   metricName: '',
   dimensionKey: '',
-  ec2Filters: '',
   instanceID: '',
   attributeName: '',
   resourceType: '',
-  tags: '',
   refId: '',
 };
 
@@ -114,7 +112,7 @@ describe('variables', () => {
       ...defaultQuery,
       queryType: VariableQueryType.EC2InstanceAttributes,
       attributeName: 'abc',
-      ec2Filters: '{"a":["b"]}',
+      ec2Filters: { a: ['b'] },
     };
     beforeEach(() => {
       ds.datasource.getEc2InstanceAttribute = getEc2InstanceAttribute;
@@ -139,7 +137,7 @@ describe('variables', () => {
       ...defaultQuery,
       queryType: VariableQueryType.ResourceArns,
       resourceType: 'abc',
-      tags: '{"a":["b"]}',
+      tags: { a: ['b'] },
     };
     beforeEach(() => {
       ds.datasource.getResourceARNs = getResourceARNs;
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/variables.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/variables.ts
index 3a6932b3ca7..82733bb0861 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/variables.ts
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/variables.ts
@@ -122,11 +122,7 @@ export class CloudWatchVariableSupport extends CustomVariableSupport<CloudWatchD
     if (!attributeName) {
       return [];
     }
-    let filterJson = {};
-    if (ec2Filters) {
-      filterJson = JSON.parse(ec2Filters);
-    }
-    const values = await this.datasource.getEc2InstanceAttribute(region, attributeName, filterJson);
+    const values = await this.datasource.getEc2InstanceAttribute(region, attributeName, ec2Filters ?? {});
     return values.map((s: { label: string; value: string }) => ({
       text: s.label,
       value: s.value,
@@ -138,11 +134,7 @@ export class CloudWatchVariableSupport extends CustomVariableSupport<CloudWatchD
     if (!resourceType) {
       return [];
     }
-    let tagJson = {};
-    if (tags) {
-      tagJson = JSON.parse(tags);
-    }
-    const keys = await this.datasource.getResourceARNs(region, resourceType, tagJson);
+    const keys = await this.datasource.getResourceARNs(region, resourceType, tags ?? {});
     return keys.map((s: { label: string; value: string }) => ({
       text: s.label,
       value: s.value,