diff --git a/xarray/core/indexes.py b/xarray/core/indexes.py
index e71c4a6f073..a005e1ebfe2 100644
--- a/xarray/core/indexes.py
+++ b/xarray/core/indexes.py
@@ -632,7 +632,8 @@ def from_variables(
         # the checks below.
 
         # preserve wrapped pd.Index (if any)
-        data = getattr(var._data, "array", var.data)
+        # accessing `.data` can load data from disk, so we only access if needed
+        data = getattr(var._data, "array") if hasattr(var._data, "array") else var.data
         # multi-index level variable: get level index
         if isinstance(var._data, PandasMultiIndexingAdapter):
             level = var._data.level