diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index c2b46ff6e0562f..792ec1139d486e 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ NODE_G_EXE = iojs_g$(EXEEXT)
 # or set the V environment variable to an empty string.
 V ?= 1
 
+USE_NINJA ?= 0
 ifeq ($(USE_NINJA),1)
 ifneq ($(V),)
 NINJA := $(NINJA) -v