diff --git a/mesonbuild/interpreter/interpreter.py b/mesonbuild/interpreter/interpreter.py
index c3a82533e..1010494b8 100644
--- a/mesonbuild/interpreter/interpreter.py
+++ b/mesonbuild/interpreter/interpreter.py
@@ -170,6 +170,7 @@ permitted_test_kwargs = {
 }
 
 permitted_dependency_kwargs = {
+    'allow_fallback',
     'cmake_args',
     'cmake_module_path',
     'cmake_package_version',