diff --git a/pkgs/top-level/lua-packages.nix b/pkgs/top-level/lua-packages.nix
index d53bd43a800..c1b04afba38 100644
--- a/pkgs/top-level/lua-packages.nix
+++ b/pkgs/top-level/lua-packages.nix
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ let
 
     preBuild = ''
       makeFlagsArray=(
-        ${stdenv.lib.optionalString stdenv.cc.isClang "CC=clang"}
+        ${stdenv.lib.optionalString stdenv.cc.isClang "CC=$CC"}
         INCLUDES="-I${lua}/include"
         LUA="${lua}/bin/lua");
     '';