diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 826c960a7..c2a6a0ef0 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -156,6 +156,7 @@ to change Zappa's behavior. Use these at your own risk!
         }],
         "domain": "yourapp.yourdomain.com", // Required if you're using a domain
         "exclude": ["*.gz", "*.pem"], // A list of regex patterns to exclude from the archive
+        "exclude_conda_packages": ["boto3","botocore","pip","python","readline","sqlite","wheel"] // When using conda, a list of conda packages to remove before zipping.
         "http_methods": ["GET", "POST"], // HTTP Methods to route,
         "integration_response_codes": [200, 301, 404, 500], // Integration response status codes to route
         "keep_warm": true, // Create CloudWatch events to keep the server warm.
@@ -172,7 +173,7 @@ to change Zappa's behavior. Use these at your own risk!
         "vpc_config": { // Optional VPC configuration for Lambda function
             "SubnetIds": [ "subnet-12345678" ], // Note: not all availability zones support Lambda!
             "SecurityGroupIds": [ "sg-12345678" ]
-        }
+        },
     }
 }
 ```
diff --git a/zappa/cli.py b/zappa/cli.py
index a684e07fa..7a60f8ecf 100644
--- a/zappa/cli.py
+++ b/zappa/cli.py
@@ -450,7 +450,9 @@ def create_package(self):
                 self.lambda_name,
                 handler_file=handler_file,
                 use_precompiled_packages=self.zappa_settings[self.api_stage].get('use_precompiled_packages', True),
-                exclude=self.zappa_settings[self.api_stage].get('exclude', [])
+                exclude=self.zappa_settings[self.api_stage].get('exclude', []),
+                exclude_conda_packages = self.zappa_settings[self.api_stage].get('exclude_conda_packages',
+                    ['pip','python','readline','sqlite','wheel', 'boto3', 'botocore'])
             )
 
         # Throw our setings into it
diff --git a/zappa/zappa.py b/zappa/zappa.py
index cbe08dcb2..fc7cf4e3d 100755
--- a/zappa/zappa.py
+++ b/zappa/zappa.py
@@ -179,8 +179,6 @@
 
 ZIP_EXCLUDES =  ['*.exe', '*.DS_Store', '*.Python', '*.git', '*.zip', '*.tar.gz','*.hg']
 
-STANDARD_CONDA_PACKAGES = ['openssl','pip','python','readline','sqlite','wheel', 'boto3', 'botocore']
-
 ##
 # Classes
 ##
@@ -239,7 +237,8 @@ def __init__(self, boto_session=None, profile_name=None):
     ##
 
     def create_lambda_zip(self, prefix='lambda_package', handler_file=None,
-                          minify=True, exclude=None, use_precompiled_packages=True, include=None, venv=None, exclude_conda_packages=STANDARD_CONDA_PACKAGES):
+                          minify=True, exclude=None, use_precompiled_packages=True, include=None, venv=None, 
+                          exclude_conda_packages=[]):
         """
         Creates a Lambda-ready zip file of the current virtualenvironment and working directory.
 
@@ -327,7 +326,8 @@ def splitpath(path):
                 excludes = ZIP_EXCLUDES + exclude
                 shutil.copytree(conda_env, temp_package_path, symlinks=True, ignore=shutil.ignore_patterns(*excludes))
                 # Use conda cli to remove standard packages like python, pip, ...
-                subprocess.call(['conda','remove','-p',temp_package_path,'--force','--yes']+exclude_conda_packages)
+                if len(exclude_conda_packages):
+                    subprocess.call(['conda','remove','-p',temp_package_path,'--force','--yes']+exclude_conda_packages)
             else:
                 shutil.copytree(conda_env, temp_package_path, symlinks=True)