--- a/libsecret/meson.build
+++ b/libsecret/meson.build
@@ -306,7 +306,7 @@ if get_option('introspection')
   # Vala tests
   # FIXME: Don't add Vala tests when generating a coverage build, as this
   # will fail due to https://github.com/mesonbuild/meson/issues/7426
-  if get_option('vapi') and not get_option('b_coverage')
+  if get_option('vapi') and not get_option('b_coverage') and get_option('test_setup').enabled()
     # FIXME: the "native" kwarg should be added once we can require meson ≥0.54
     add_languages('vala')
     valac = meson.get_compiler('vala')