diff --git a/packages/astro/src/core/create-vite.ts b/packages/astro/src/core/create-vite.ts
index 8acace7a9..a25885844 100644
--- a/packages/astro/src/core/create-vite.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/src/core/create-vite.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ const ALWAYS_EXTERNAL = new Set([
   '@sveltejs/vite-plugin-svelte',
   '@proload/core',
   '@proload/core/lib/esm/requireOrImport.mjs',
+  '@babel/core',
   'serialize-javascript',
   'micromark-util-events-to-acorn',
   'node-fetch',