diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index 932eb136681..635dfc9169e 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -1408,7 +1408,9 @@ if dep_thread.found() and host_machine.system() != 'windows'
     pre_args += '-DHAVE_PTHREAD_SETAFFINITY'
   endif
 endif
-if host_machine.system() != 'windows'
+if host_machine.system() == 'darwin'
+  dep_expat = meson.get_compiler('c').find_library('expat')
+elif host_machine.system() != 'windows'
   dep_expat = dependency('expat', fallback : ['expat', 'expat_dep'],
                          required: not with_platform_android or with_any_broadcom or with_any_intel)
 else