diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/catch2/3.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/catch2/3.nix
index 7a4d1ff52dfa..9c2de74bea26 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/catch2/3.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/catch2/3.nix
@@ -23,6 +23,10 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   cmakeFlags = [
     "-DCATCH_DEVELOPMENT_BUILD=ON"
     "-DCATCH_BUILD_TESTING=${if doCheck then "ON" else "OFF"}"
+  ] ++ lib.optionals (stdenv.isDarwin && doCheck) [
+    # test has a faulty path normalization technique that won't work in
+    # our darwin build environment https://github.com/catchorg/Catch2/issues/1691
+    "-DCMAKE_CTEST_ARGUMENTS=-E;ApprovalTests"
   ];
 
   doCheck = true;