diff --git a/include/u-boot.mk b/include/u-boot.mk
index 2b8106410f..280c6e35a1 100644
--- a/include/u-boot.mk
+++ b/include/u-boot.mk
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ PKG_FLAGS:=nonshared
 PKG_LICENSE:=GPL-2.0 GPL-2.0+
 PKG_LICENSE_FILES:=Licenses/README
 
-PKG_BUILD_PARALLEL:=1
+PKG_BUILD_PARALLEL ?= 1
 
 export GCC_HONOUR_COPTS=s