diff --git a/easybuild/easyblocks/p/pybind11.py b/easybuild/easyblocks/p/pybind11.py
index 09d711b28c2..d964ffb9ac2 100644
--- a/easybuild/easyblocks/p/pybind11.py
+++ b/easybuild/easyblocks/p/pybind11.py
@@ -70,8 +70,9 @@ def configure_step(self):
 
     def test_step(self):
         """Run pybind11 tests"""
-        # always run tests
-        self.cfg['runtest'] = 'check'
+        # run tests unless explicitly disabled
+        if self.cfg['runtest'] is not False:
+            self.cfg['runtest'] = 'check'
         super(EB_pybind11, self).test_step()
 
     def install_step(self):