diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index c278f1a2ad..bcf918e398 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -468,7 +468,7 @@ validate_module_configs:
 .PHONY: clean submodulesclean submodulesupdate gazeboclean distclean
 
 clean:
-	@find "$(SRC_DIR)/build" -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -type d -exec sh -c "echo {}; cmake --build {} -- clean || rm -rf {}" \; # use generated build system to clean, wipe build directory if it fails
+	@[ ! -d "$(SRC_DIR)/build" ] || find "$(SRC_DIR)/build" -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -type d -exec sh -c "echo {}; cmake --build {} -- clean || rm -rf {}" \; # use generated build system to clean, wipe build directory if it fails
 	@git submodule foreach git clean -dX --force # some submodules generate build artifacts in source
 
 submodulesclean: