diff --git a/src/serverSideTranslations.test.ts b/src/serverSideTranslations.test.ts
index 31d17f59..16991cf0 100644
--- a/src/serverSideTranslations.test.ts
+++ b/src/serverSideTranslations.test.ts
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ describe('serverSideTranslations', () => {
           locales: ['en-US', 'fr-CA'],
         },
       } as UserConfig)
+      expect(fs.existsSync).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(0)
       expect(fs.readdirSync).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
       expect(fs.readdirSync).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringMatching('/public/locales/en-US'))
       expect(props._nextI18Next.initialI18nStore)
diff --git a/src/serverSideTranslations.ts b/src/serverSideTranslations.ts
index b48d42f6..ab6633ad 100644
--- a/src/serverSideTranslations.ts
+++ b/src/serverSideTranslations.ts
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ export const serverSideTranslations = async (
 
   let userConfig = configOverride
 
-  if (fs.existsSync(path.resolve(DEFAULT_CONFIG_PATH))) {
+  if (!userConfig && fs.existsSync(path.resolve(DEFAULT_CONFIG_PATH))) {
     userConfig = await import(path.resolve(DEFAULT_CONFIG_PATH))
   }