diff --git a/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/kokkos-tools/package.py b/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/kokkos-tools/package.py
index f190954bbe7..c27751b3df5 100644
--- a/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/kokkos-tools/package.py
+++ b/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/kokkos-tools/package.py
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ class KokkosTools(CMakePackage):
     variant("mpi", default=False, description="Enable MPI support")
     variant("papi", default=False, description="Enable PAPI support")
 
+    depends_on("cxx", type="build")
+
     depends_on("kokkos")
     depends_on("mpi", when="+mpi")
     depends_on("papi", when="+papi")