diff --git a/tests/test_api_build.py b/tests/test_api_build.py
index 50e1fd5ac9..fdcaa98dd6 100644
--- a/tests/test_api_build.py
+++ b/tests/test_api_build.py
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ def test_python_version_independent(
     monkeypatch.setenv("CONDA_TEST_VAR", "conda_test")
     monkeypatch.setenv("CONDA_TEST_VAR_2", "conda_test_2")
     output = api.build(str(recipe), config=testing_config)[0]
-    *_, subdir, * = output
+    *_, subdir, * = output.split("/")
     assert subdir != "noarch"