diff --git a/easybuild/easyblocks/s/slepc.py b/easybuild/easyblocks/s/slepc.py
index aa240b4b6d6..3d34e23950b 100644
--- a/easybuild/easyblocks/s/slepc.py
+++ b/easybuild/easyblocks/s/slepc.py
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ def configure_step(self):
         self.log.debug('SLEPC_DIR: %s' % os.getenv('SLEPC_DIR'))
 
         # optional dependencies
-        dep_filter = self.cfg.builddependencies() + ['PETSc', 'Python']
+        dep_filter = [d['name'] for d in self.cfg.builddependencies()] + ['PETSc', 'Python']
         deps = [dep['name'] for dep in self.cfg.dependencies() if dep['name'] not in dep_filter]
         for dep in deps:
             deproot = get_software_root(dep)