diff --git a/recipes/rust/rust.inc b/recipes/rust/rust.inc
index 3cbbc02..a7adafa 100644
--- a/recipes/rust/rust.inc
+++ b/recipes/rust/rust.inc
@@ -13,7 +13,8 @@ LIC_FILES_CHKSUM ="\
 
 # Controls whether we use the local rust.
 # For -native, we set this to "0" by default.
-USE_LOCAL_RUST = "1"
+# This avoids us downloading and using the snapshot for every rust build.
+USE_LOCAL_RUST ??= "1"
 
 # We generate local targets, and need to be able to locate them
 export RUST_TARGET_PATH="${WORKDIR}/targets/"