diff --git a/cmake/abseil-cpp.cmake b/cmake/abseil-cpp.cmake
index 10e7e5c00b..8aff9d6a23 100644
--- a/cmake/abseil-cpp.cmake
+++ b/cmake/abseil-cpp.cmake
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-if(protobuf_ABSL_PROVIDER STREQUAL "module")
+if(TARGET absl::strings)
+  # If absl is included already, skip including it.
+  # (https://github.com/grpc/grpc/issues/29608)
+elseif(protobuf_ABSL_PROVIDER STREQUAL "module")
   if(NOT ABSL_ROOT_DIR)
     set(ABSL_ROOT_DIR ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/third_party/abseil-cpp)
   endif()