diff --git a/lib/spack/spack/cmd/env.py b/lib/spack/spack/cmd/env.py
index daf57a0e0ba..17926a900a4 100644
--- a/lib/spack/spack/cmd/env.py
+++ b/lib/spack/spack/cmd/env.py
@@ -594,6 +594,7 @@ def get_install_target(name):
 {}: {}
 
 {}: {}
+\t@touch $@
 
 {}:
 \t@mkdir -p {}