diff --git a/Modules/Platform/Windows-MSVC.cmake b/Modules/Platform/Windows-MSVC.cmake
index 776b2097e7..7a83859eca 100644
--- a/Modules/Platform/Windows-MSVC.cmake
+++ b/Modules/Platform/Windows-MSVC.cmake
@@ -421,5 +421,7 @@ macro(__windows_compiler_msvc_enable_rc flags)
   endif()
 
   enable_language(RC)
-  set(CMAKE_NINJA_CMCLDEPS_RC 1)
+  if(NOT DEFINED CMAKE_NINJA_CMCLDEPS_RC)
+    set(CMAKE_NINJA_CMCLDEPS_RC 1)
+  endif()
 endmacro()