diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/qiskit-aer/default.nix b/pkgs/development/python-modules/qiskit-aer/default.nix
index 3f0439efc7a83d..8e73e942be92ff 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/python-modules/qiskit-aer/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/qiskit-aer/default.nix
@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@
 , cmake
 , cvxpy
 , cython
+, muparserx
+, ninja
+, nlohmann_json
 , numpy
 , openblas
 , pybind11
@@ -19,7 +22,7 @@
 
 buildPythonPackage rec {
   pname = "qiskit-aer";
-  version = "0.5.2";
+  version = "0.6.1";
 
   disabled = pythonOlder "3.5";
 
@@ -27,18 +30,20 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
     owner = "Qiskit";
     repo = "qiskit-aer";
     rev = version;
-    fetchSubmodules = true; # fetch muparserx and other required libraries
-    sha256 = "0vw6b69h8pvzxhaz3k8sg9ac792gz3kklfv0izs6ra83y1dfwhjz";
+    sha256 = "1fnv11diis0as8zcc57mamz0gbjd6vj7nw3arxzvwa77ja803sr4";
   };
 
   nativeBuildInputs = [
     cmake
+    ninja
     scikit-build
   ];
 
   buildInputs = [
     openblas
     spdlog
+    nlohmann_json
+    muparserx
   ];
 
   propagatedBuildInputs = [
@@ -48,10 +53,10 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
     pybind11
   ];
 
-  postPatch = ''
-    # remove dependency on PyPi cmake package, which isn't in Nixpkgs
-    substituteInPlace setup.py --replace "'cmake!=3.17,!=3.17.0'" ""
-  '';
+  patches = [
+    # TODO: remove in favor of qiskit-aer PR #877 patch once accepted/stable
+    ./remove-conan-install.patch
+  ];
 
   dontUseCmakeConfigure = true;
 
@@ -60,11 +65,6 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
     "-DAER_THRUST_BACKEND=OMP"
   ];
 
-  # Needed to find qiskit.providers.aer modules in cython. This exists in GitHub, don't know why it isn't copied by default
-  postFixup = ''
-    touch $out/${python.sitePackages}/qiskit/__init__.pxd
-  '';
-
   # *** Testing ***
 
   pythonImportsCheck = [
@@ -77,11 +77,6 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
     pytestCheckHook
   ];
   dontUseSetuptoolsCheck = true;  # Otherwise runs tests twice
-  disabledTests = [
-    # broken with cvxpy >= 1.1.0, see https://github.com/Qiskit/qiskit-aer/issues/779.
-    # TODO: Remove once resolved, probably next qiskit-aer version
-    "test_clifford"
-  ];
 
   preCheck = ''
     # Tests include a compiled "circuit" which is auto-built in $HOME
@@ -100,11 +95,8 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
     description = "High performance simulators for Qiskit";
     homepage = "https://qiskit.org/aer";
     downloadPage = "https://github.com/QISKit/qiskit-aer/releases";
+    changelog = "https://qiskit.org/documentation/release_notes.html";
     license = licenses.asl20;
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ drewrisinger ];
-    # Doesn't build on aarch64 (libmuparserx issue).
-    # Can fix by building muparserx from source (https://github.com/beltoforion/muparserx)
-    # or in future updates (e.g. Raspberry Pi enabled via https://github.com/Qiskit/qiskit-aer/pull/651 & https://github.com/Qiskit/qiskit-aer/pull/660)
-    platforms = platforms.x86_64;
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/qiskit-aer/remove-conan-install.patch b/pkgs/development/python-modules/qiskit-aer/remove-conan-install.patch
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..1c5ae87b082feb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/qiskit-aer/remove-conan-install.patch
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
+index efeacfc..77bd6bd 100755
+--- a/CMakeLists.txt
++++ b/CMakeLists.txt
+@@ -121,7 +121,11 @@ endif()
+ # Looking for external libraries
+ #
+ 
+-setup_conan()
++find_package(muparserx REQUIRED)
++find_package(nlohmann_json REQUIRED)
++find_package(spdlog REQUIRED)
++# for tests only
++find_package(catch2)
+ 
+ # If we do not set them with a space CMake fails afterwards if nothing is set for this vars!
+ set(AER_LINKER_FLAGS " ")
+@@ -269,16 +273,16 @@ endif()
+ set(AER_LIBRARIES
+ 	${AER_LIBRARIES}
+ 	${BLAS_LIBRARIES}
+-	CONAN_PKG::nlohmann_json
++	nlohmann_json
+ 	Threads::Threads
+-	CONAN_PKG::spdlog
++	spdlog
+ 	${DL_LIB}
+ 	${THRUST_DEPENDANT_LIBS})
+ 
+ set(AER_COMPILER_DEFINITIONS ${AER_COMPILER_DEFINITIONS} ${CONAN_DEFINES})
+ # Cython build is only enabled if building through scikit-build.
+ if(SKBUILD) # Terra Addon build
+-	set(AER_LIBRARIES ${AER_LIBRARIES} CONAN_PKG::muparserx)
++	set(AER_LIBRARIES ${AER_LIBRARIES} muparserx)
+ 	add_subdirectory(qiskit/providers/aer/pulse/qutip_extra_lite/cy)
+ 	add_subdirectory(qiskit/providers/aer/backends/wrappers)
+ 	add_subdirectory(src/open_pulse)
+diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
+index fd71e9f..1561cc4 100644
+--- a/setup.py
++++ b/setup.py
+@@ -11,12 +11,6 @@ import inspect
+ 
+ PACKAGE_NAME = os.getenv('QISKIT_AER_PACKAGE_NAME', 'qiskit-aer')
+ 
+-try:
+-    from conans import client
+-except ImportError:
+-    subprocess.call([sys.executable, '-m', 'pip', 'install', 'conan'])
+-    from conans import client
+-
+ try:
+     from skbuild import setup
+ except ImportError:
+@@ -46,8 +40,6 @@ common_requirements = [
+ 
+ setup_requirements = common_requirements + [
+     'scikit-build',
+-    'cmake!=3.17,!=3.17.0',
+-    'conan>=1.22.2'
+ ]
+ 
+ requirements = common_requirements + ['qiskit-terra>=0.12.0']