diff --git a/haystack/components/routers/conditional_router.py b/haystack/components/routers/conditional_router.py
index 7b310d0419..6a47dfa781 100644
--- a/haystack/components/routers/conditional_router.py
+++ b/haystack/components/routers/conditional_router.py
@@ -398,10 +398,23 @@ def _validate_routes(self, routes: list[Route]):
 
             # Validate templates
             if not self._validate_template(self._env, route["condition"]):
-                raise ValueError(f"Invalid template for condition: {route['condition']}")
+                condition_value = route["condition"]
+                if not isinstance(condition_value, str):
+                    raise ValueError(
+                        f"Invalid template for condition: {condition_value!r} (type: {type(condition_value).__name__})."
+                        f"Condition must be a string representing a valid Jinja2 template. "
+                        f"For example, use {str(condition_value)!r} instead of {condition_value!r}."
+                    )
+                raise ValueError(f"Invalid template for condition: {condition_value}")
 
             for output in outputs:
                 if not self._validate_template(self._env, output):
+                    if not isinstance(output, str):
+                        raise ValueError(
+                            f"Invalid template for output: {output!r} (type: {type(output).__name__}). "
+                            f"Output must be a string representing a valid Jinja2 template. "
+                            f"For example, use {str(output)!r} instead of {output!r}."
+                        )
                     raise ValueError(f"Invalid template for output: {output}")
 
     @staticmethod
@@ -429,6 +442,9 @@ def _validate_template(self, env: Environment, template_text: str):
         :param template_text: A Jinja template string.
         :returns: `True` if the template is valid, `False` otherwise.
         """
+        # Check if template_text is a string before attempting to parse
+        if not isinstance(template_text, str):
+            return False
         try:
             env.parse(template_text)
             return True
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/conditional-router-template-error-message-f633f9e786a8c7fc.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/conditional-router-template-error-message-f633f9e786a8c7fc.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8934e1c0dc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/conditional-router-template-error-message-f633f9e786a8c7fc.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+fixes:
+  - |
+    Improved error messages in ConditionalRouter when non-string values are provided as route outputs.
+    Users now receive clear guidance (e.g., "use '2' instead of 2") instead of the cryptic "Can't compile non template nodes" error.
diff --git a/test/components/routers/test_conditional_router.py b/test/components/routers/test_conditional_router.py
index 17a933d845..1dd26f3289 100644
--- a/test/components/routers/test_conditional_router.py
+++ b/test/components/routers/test_conditional_router.py
@@ -40,6 +40,47 @@ def test_invalid_condition_field(self):
         with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="Invalid template"):
             ConditionalRouter(routes)
 
+    def test_invalid_output_template_non_string(self):
+        """
+        ConditionalRouter init raises a ValueError with helpful error message when output is not a string
+        """
+        # output is an int instead of a string template
+        routes = [
+            {
+                "condition": '{{ flag == "double" }}',
+                "output": 2,
+                "output_name": "num_additional_outputs",
+                "output_type": int,
+            }
+        ]
+        with pytest.raises(ValueError) as exc_info:
+            ConditionalRouter(routes)
+        error_message = str(exc_info.value)
+        assert "Invalid template for output" in error_message
+        assert "string" in error_message
+        assert "Jinja2 template" in error_message
+        assert "2" in error_message
+
+    def test_invalid_output_template_non_string_list(self):
+        """
+        ConditionalRouter init raises a ValueError with helpful error message when output in list is not a string
+        """
+        # output list contains an int instead of a string template
+        routes = [
+            {
+                "condition": '{{ flag == "double" }}',
+                "output": ["{{streams}}", 2],
+                "output_name": ["streams", "num"],
+                "output_type": [list[int], int],
+            }
+        ]
+        with pytest.raises(ValueError) as exc_info:
+            ConditionalRouter(routes)
+        error_message = str(exc_info.value)
+        assert "Invalid template for output" in error_message
+        assert "string" in error_message
+        assert "Jinja2 template" in error_message
+
     def test_no_vars_in_output_route_but_with_output_name(self):
         """
         Router can't accept a route with no variables used in the output field