diff --git a/dramatiq_workflow/_base.py b/dramatiq_workflow/_base.py
index 3ac58b2..2ad018a 100644
--- a/dramatiq_workflow/_base.py
+++ b/dramatiq_workflow/_base.py
@@ -145,6 +145,21 @@ def __workflow_with_completion_callbacks(self, task, completion_callbacks) -> "W
         )
 
     def __schedule_noop(self, completion_callbacks: SerializedCompletionCallbacks):
+        """
+        Schedules a no-op task to trigger the workflow middleware.
+
+        This is necessary when a Chain or a Group is empty, to ensure that
+        the completion callbacks are still processed and the workflow can
+        continue.
+        """
+
+        if not self._delay:
+            # If there is no delay, we can process the completion callbacks
+            # immediately instead of scheduling a noop task. This saves us a
+            # round trip to the broker and having to encode the workflow.
+            self.__middleware._process_completion_callbacks(self.broker, completion_callbacks)
+            return
+
         noop_message = workflow_noop.message()
         noop_message = self.__augment_message(noop_message, completion_callbacks)
         self.broker.enqueue(noop_message, delay=self._delay)
diff --git a/dramatiq_workflow/_middleware.py b/dramatiq_workflow/_middleware.py
index f751610..1f2eb5d 100644
--- a/dramatiq_workflow/_middleware.py
+++ b/dramatiq_workflow/_middleware.py
@@ -38,6 +38,11 @@ def after_process_message(
         if completion_callbacks is None:
             return
 
+        self._process_completion_callbacks(broker, completion_callbacks)
+
+    def _process_completion_callbacks(
+        self, broker: dramatiq.Broker, completion_callbacks: SerializedCompletionCallbacks
+    ):
         # Go through the completion callbacks backwards until we hit the first non-completed barrier
         while len(completion_callbacks) > 0:
             completion_id, remaining_workflow, propagate = completion_callbacks[-1]
diff --git a/dramatiq_workflow/tests/test_workflow.py b/dramatiq_workflow/tests/test_workflow.py
index 8c023a6..e82974b 100644
--- a/dramatiq_workflow/tests/test_workflow.py
+++ b/dramatiq_workflow/tests/test_workflow.py
@@ -189,13 +189,58 @@ def test_simple_workflow(self, time_mock):
             delay=None,
         )
 
+    def test_empty_chain_workflow(self):
+        middleware = self.broker.middleware[0]
+        middleware._process_completion_callbacks = mock.MagicMock()
+
+        workflow = Workflow(Chain(), broker=self.broker)
+        workflow.run()
+
+        self.broker.enqueue.assert_not_called()
+        middleware._process_completion_callbacks.assert_called_once_with(self.broker, [])
+
+    def test_empty_group_workflow(self):
+        middleware = self.broker.middleware[0]
+        middleware._process_completion_callbacks = mock.MagicMock()
+
+        workflow = Workflow(Group(), broker=self.broker)
+        workflow.run()
+
+        self.broker.enqueue.assert_not_called()
+        middleware._process_completion_callbacks.assert_called_once_with(self.broker, [])
+
+    @mock.patch("dramatiq_workflow._base.workflow_noop.message")
     @mock.patch("dramatiq_workflow._base.time.time")
-    def test_noop_workflow(self, time_mock):
+    def test_empty_chain_workflow_with_delay(self, time_mock, noop_message_mock):
         time_mock.return_value = 1717526000.12
-        workflow = Workflow(Chain(), broker=self.broker)
+        updated_timestamp = time_mock.return_value * 1000
+
+        original_noop_message = self.__make_message(999)
+        noop_message_mock.return_value = original_noop_message
+
+        middleware = self.broker.middleware[0]
+        middleware._process_completion_callbacks = mock.MagicMock()
+
+        workflow = Workflow(WithDelay(Chain(), delay=10), broker=self.broker)
         workflow.run()
 
+        middleware._process_completion_callbacks.assert_not_called()
+        noop_message_mock.assert_called_once_with()
+
         self.broker.enqueue.assert_called_once()
+        args, kwargs = self.broker.enqueue.call_args
+        enqueued_message = args[0]
+
+        self.assertEqual(kwargs, {"delay": 10})
+        self.assertEqual(enqueued_message.message_id, original_noop_message.message_id)
+        self.assertEqual(enqueued_message.message_timestamp, updated_timestamp)
+        self.assertEqual(enqueued_message.options, {})
+
+    def test_missing_middleware(self):
+        self.broker = mock.MagicMock(middleware=[])
+        workflow = Workflow(Chain(), broker=self.broker)
+        with self.assertRaisesRegex(RuntimeError, "WorkflowMiddleware middleware not found"):
+            workflow.run()
 
     def test_unsupported_workflow(self):
         with self.assertRaises(TypeError):