diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index de0e357..3076455 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -14,7 +14,9 @@ if gtkver == 3
 			default_options: ['default_library=static', 'introspection=false'],
 			required: false,
 		)
-		gtk_layer_shell = proj.get_variable('gtk_layer_shell')
+		if proj.found()
+			gtk_layer_shell = proj.get_variable('gtk_layer_shell')
+		endif
 	endif
 else
 	gtk = dependency('gtk+-2.0')
diff --git a/src/meson.build b/src/meson.build
index e385442..73f816d 100644
--- a/src/meson.build
+++ b/src/meson.build
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ if vte.found()
 else
 	cfg.set('HAVE_VTE', 0)
 endif
-if gtkver == 3
+if gtkver == 3 and gtk_layer_shell.found()
 	dep += [gtk_layer_shell]
 	cfg.set('HAVE_GTK_LAYER_SHELL', 1)
 else