diff --git a/easybuild/framework/easyblock.py b/easybuild/framework/easyblock.py
index df88ad9ffd..8b89cc255c 100644
--- a/easybuild/framework/easyblock.py
+++ b/easybuild/framework/easyblock.py
@@ -4208,6 +4208,15 @@ def sanity_check_load_module(self, extension=False, extra_modules=None):
                 self.sanity_check_fail_msgs.append("loading fake module failed: %s" % err)
                 self.log.warning("Sanity check: %s" % self.sanity_check_fail_msgs[-1])
 
+        # This should happen after `self.load_module` or `load_fake_module` as this calls purge the
+        # current modules
+        sanitycheck_deps = self.cfg['sanitycheck_dependencies']
+        if sanitycheck_deps:
+            self.log.info("Sanity check dependencies enabled, loading dependencies before sanity check...")
+            # load dependencies (if any) before running sanity check commands
+            mod_names = [d['short_mod_name'] for d in sanitycheck_deps]
+            self.modules_tool.load(mod_names, allow_reload=True)
+
         return self.fake_mod_data
 
     def _sanity_check_step(self, custom_paths=None, custom_commands=None, extension=False, extra_modules=None):
diff --git a/easybuild/framework/easyconfig/default.py b/easybuild/framework/easyconfig/default.py
index 272e9b87bf..994ec03b7a 100644
--- a/easybuild/framework/easyconfig/default.py
+++ b/easybuild/framework/easyconfig/default.py
@@ -168,6 +168,7 @@
 
     # DEPENDENCIES easyconfig parameters
     'allow_system_deps': [[], "Allow listed system dependencies (format: (<name>, <version>))", DEPENDENCIES],
+    'sanitycheck_dependencies': [[], "List of dependencies required for the sanity checks", DEPENDENCIES],
     'builddependencies': [[], "List of build dependencies", DEPENDENCIES],
     'dependencies': [[], "List of dependencies", DEPENDENCIES],
     'hiddendependencies': [[], "List of dependencies available as hidden modules", DEPENDENCIES],
diff --git a/easybuild/framework/easyconfig/easyconfig.py b/easybuild/framework/easyconfig/easyconfig.py
index dd022fc786..932b3680a8 100644
--- a/easybuild/framework/easyconfig/easyconfig.py
+++ b/easybuild/framework/easyconfig/easyconfig.py
@@ -816,6 +816,10 @@ def remove_false_versions(deps):
                 builddeps = [self._parse_dependency(dep, build_only=True) for dep in builddeps]
             self['builddependencies'] = remove_false_versions(builddeps)
 
+            sanitycheck_deps = self['sanitycheck_dependencies']
+            self['sanitycheck_dependencies'] = remove_false_versions(
+                self._parse_dependency(dep, sanity_only=True) for dep in sanitycheck_deps)
+
             # keep track of parsed multi deps, they'll come in handy during sanity check & module steps...
             self.multi_deps = self.get_parsed_multi_deps()
 
@@ -1611,7 +1615,7 @@ def get_parsed_multi_deps(self):
         return multi_deps
 
     # private method
-    def _parse_dependency(self, dep, hidden=False, build_only=False):
+    def _parse_dependency(self, dep, hidden=False, build_only=False, sanity_only=False):
         """
         parses the dependency into a usable dict with a common format
         dep can be a dict, a tuple or a list.
@@ -1625,6 +1629,7 @@ def _parse_dependency(self, dep, hidden=False, build_only=False):
 
         :param hidden: indicate whether corresponding module file should be installed hidden ('.'-prefixed)
         :param build_only: indicate whether this is a build-only dependency
+        :param sanity_only: indicate whether this is a sanity-only dependency
         """
         # convert tuple to string otherwise python might complain about the formatting
         self.log.debug("Parsing %s as a dependency" % str(dep))
@@ -1646,6 +1651,8 @@ def _parse_dependency(self, dep, hidden=False, build_only=False):
             'hidden': hidden,
             # boolean indicating whether this this a build-only dependency
             'build_only': build_only,
+            # boolean indicating whether this is a sanity-only dependency
+            'sanity_only': sanity_only,
             # boolean indicating whether this dependency should be resolved via an external module
             'external_module': False,
             # metadata in case this is an external module;
diff --git a/easybuild/framework/easyconfig/format/format.py b/easybuild/framework/easyconfig/format/format.py
index e4971c888d..2edc858179 100644
--- a/easybuild/framework/easyconfig/format/format.py
+++ b/easybuild/framework/easyconfig/format/format.py
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@
 FORMAT_VERSION_REGEXP = re.compile(r'^#\s+%s\s*(?P<major>\d+)\.(?P<minor>\d+)\s*$' % FORMAT_VERSION_KEYWORD, re.M)
 FORMAT_DEFAULT_VERSION = EasyVersion('1.0')
 
-DEPENDENCY_PARAMETERS = ['builddependencies', 'dependencies', 'hiddendependencies']
+DEPENDENCY_PARAMETERS = ['builddependencies', 'dependencies', 'hiddendependencies', 'sanitycheck_dependencies']
 
 # values for these keys will not be templated in dump()
 EXCLUDED_KEYS_REPLACE_TEMPLATES = ['description', 'easyblock', 'exts_default_options', 'exts_list',