diff --git a/subprojects/gst-plugins-base/meson.build b/subprojects/gst-plugins-base/meson.build
index 311604f737..b50d70c0ec 100644
--- a/subprojects/gst-plugins-base/meson.build
+++ b/subprojects/gst-plugins-base/meson.build
@@ -303,6 +303,9 @@ if get_option('default_library') == 'static'
   gst_plugins_base_args += ['-DGST_STATIC_COMPILATION']
 endif
 
+valgrind_dep = dependency('valgrind', required: false)
+core_conf.set('HAVE_VALGRIND', valgrind_dep.found())
+
 libdrm_dep = dependency('libdrm', version : '>= 2.4.98',
   required : get_option('drm'),
   allow_fallback: host_system not in ['darwin', 'ios', 'android', 'windows']
diff --git a/subprojects/gst-plugins-base/tests/check/meson.build b/subprojects/gst-plugins-base/tests/check/meson.build
index 18153192c2..0b8ad09afb 100644
--- a/subprojects/gst-plugins-base/tests/check/meson.build
+++ b/subprojects/gst-plugins-base/tests/check/meson.build
@@ -129,11 +129,6 @@ test_defines = [
   '-DGST_USE_UNSTABLE_API',
 ]
 
-valgrind_dep = dependency('valgrind', required: false)
-if valgrind_dep.found()
-  test_defines += ['-DHAVE_VALGRIND']
-endif
-
 if build_gstgl
   test_defines += ['-DTEST_GST_GL_ABI_CHECK']
 endif