diff --git a/playbooks/roles/ansible-cron/defaults/main.yaml b/playbooks/roles/ansible-cron/defaults/main.yaml
index b3e04e1676..4d21c72b6c 100644
--- a/playbooks/roles/ansible-cron/defaults/main.yaml
+++ b/playbooks/roles/ansible-cron/defaults/main.yaml
@@ -4,3 +4,5 @@ update_cron_interval:
   day: '*'
   month: '*'
   weekday: '*'
+# Flag that can be set in tests to ensure cron is not run
+ansible_cron_install_cron: true
diff --git a/playbooks/roles/ansible-cron/tasks/main.yaml b/playbooks/roles/ansible-cron/tasks/main.yaml
index 4e65e12b67..f3724c815d 100644
--- a/playbooks/roles/ansible-cron/tasks/main.yaml
+++ b/playbooks/roles/ansible-cron/tasks/main.yaml
@@ -19,9 +19,10 @@
     day: "{{ update_cron_interval.day }}"
     month: "{{ update_cron_interval.month }}"
     weekday: "{{ update_cron_interval.weekday }}"
+  when: ansible_cron_install_cron
 
 - name: Setup log rotation
   include_role:
     name: logrotate
   vars:
-    logrotate_file_name: /var/log/ansible/run_all_cron.log
\ No newline at end of file
+    logrotate_file_name: /var/log/ansible/run_all_cron.log
diff --git a/playbooks/zuul/templates/host_vars/bridge.openstack.org.yaml.j2 b/playbooks/zuul/templates/host_vars/bridge.openstack.org.yaml.j2
index d464f38c65..8a10d384ac 100644
--- a/playbooks/zuul/templates/host_vars/bridge.openstack.org.yaml.j2
+++ b/playbooks/zuul/templates/host_vars/bridge.openstack.org.yaml.j2
@@ -59,3 +59,4 @@ clouds:
   openstackzuul_arm64ci_password: password
   openstackzuul_arm64ci_project_name: project
 gitea_kube_key: Z2l0ZWFfazhzX2tleQ==
+ansible_cron_install_cron: false